From www.moms-with-cameras.com…she shared something that really resonated with my heart and couldn’t have said it better, so here she is, Emily Potts:

Family Fridays | All You Need Is Love

I’m the kind of girl who gets a bad headache and instantly assumes I have a giant tumor. Blame it on my artistic, emotional personality, but I tend to get dramatic just a tiiiiiiiiiiny bit faster than your average gal. Recently, when I had a bit of a health concern, my hyperactive imagination sent me into fatalistic overdrive. I envisioned my husband raising our son alone, and cried many frightened (and totally unnecessary) tears. As I was waiting for test results I began to think about what my life looked like, and I have to admit, I wasn’t really thrilled with how my proclaimed vs. actual priorities lined up. I knew that I spent a lot of time working, but as I began to really examine how many hours I devoted to my career and how very few minutes I spent playing with my son, or hanging out with my hubby, I was ashamed of the size of the gap between the two.

When I look back on my own childhood, the moments that stand out to me aren’t the vacations or trips to the amusement park. The childhood memories I’m most fond of are my father singing to me as he tucked me in at night, or blow-drying my hair before bed. It’s my mother lovingly preparing home-cooked meals and reading books to me. For 2012, one of my major resolutions is to take time to show my son and husband how much they mean to me . . . especially through the everyday interactions. It will mean I’ll have to stop what I’m doing instead of saying, “Just a minute . . . mommy’s working.” It will mean I’ll have to close my laptop at night. It will mean some things for work just may not happen. It will mean they’ll know they’re loved . . . more loved than my work.

My son put this little sticky note on my computer. I have permanently sealed it down with tape to serve as a reminder of what my true priorities are. This way, when I look back on my life, I’ll feel good about where I spent most of it.

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but…I soon figured out I needed to get my pricing into levels I couldn’t afford anymore in order to have the business balance with my life (being a mom of 4 kids, having ministry responsibilities, a home to care for, a husband to encourage, etc.) and allow me to be able to invest into the business (pretty much all of the $ for the first few years I’m thinking) and eventually start making an income (in hopes of allowing my husband to not have to work bi-vocationally–that means 2 jobs–unless he wanted to) so I needed to price a little more appropriately.

BUT…I still have a desire to provide an incredible portrait experience and photos for the everyday family like mine! In 2011, it just kind of happened that I was able to give to several families a blessing and when thinking about this year, I wasn’t sure how to go about it, but now I do! *the family above was not one of those families*

So, inspired by my Creator who makes everyone fearfully and wonderfully…here’s this year’s plan to give back:

Four times this year I will choose a family/couple/senior to bless with an incredible deal. Three will receive a gift voucher for $200. They can apply that however they’d like. It could cover a session fee and lots of prints! The last one will be for a wedding couple and will be a $400 voucher towards a wedding package of their choice!! *If there are no wedding couples to choose from I will give another portrait voucher.

How do they receive these blessings? Well, that’s where you come in. If it’s you that needs the gift, let me know…but if you know someone who would LOVE professional portraits done and truly isn’t able to swing it, tell me who they are and why you want to nominate them. I’m not nearly as expensive as some but I know it’s an expense. I read recently of a mom who had all the excuses we all do (I need to lose weight first, my hair isn’t long enough yet…I just don’t have the money, etc) but ended up sick and wished they’d scheduled a session. Then recently another photographer received a letter in summary says something like: We scheduled you, then cancelled, not wanting to spend the $500 they usually spent with that photographer but then they went on to go out to eat for over $50 and bought a few things they didn’t really need for $50…you get the picture–pretty soon they spend what they would have on portraits…only to find out she had cancer and regrets terribly not having spent the money on something that would last beyond her instead of things that didn’t last long at all**. Family portraits are important. Wedding photography is SO important. Don’t skimp! I’m so glad to be a part of something bigger and longer lasting than myself.

So, feel free to email me at jen@ps139photography.com –please put GIVE BACK as your subject or leave your story here or on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ps-139-Photography-Jen-Jensen/137828272932207! I can’t wait to give back! It’s so much fun!!!

**here’s the link to the letter: http://fototails.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/a-letter-on-my-doorstep-portraits-are-more-than-paper/