Andre and I spend a lot of time each year thinking up goals and, well… dreams. As you know we are passionate about photographing people with Down syndrome (DS). We see it our mission to capture unique and authentic beauty, and to bring awareness to our willing readers. In March, we held our first DS Portrait event, where we hosted a photoshoot for twelve beautiful people diagnosed with DS. It truly was a great success, and we had a wonderful turn-out.

Back to our goals… Just earlier this year, January, we wrote a long term goal for five years from now that said:

“Become the official photographers for a Down syndrome organization.”

Little did we know that the very first Down syndrome Portrait event would receive so much attention and inspiring feedback. The Down Syndrome Partnership of Tarrant County (DSPTC) contacted us the day after we released the video Andre created. Their representative asked us to consider being their OFFICIAL photographers for their organization!!! WHA-WHAT!!! We were a little overwhelmed by the timing. You know, the little things like Dez being only a few months old, Lana being potty trained, sleep deprivation, summer break with the kids, and planning my return to college. Needless-to-say, we had to weigh our priorities before saying, yes. But honestly, if you know us, you know we think we can do anything we put our minds to. Of course, we said, YES!!!

The first event that we would like to share is the DSPTC Teen Dance hosted at Kinderfrogs TCU…

sweet, fun moments were shared by all

Remember Joshua – on the top right


limbo time

We are thankful for all of you who participated in our DS Portrait event and for helping us to achieve one of our dreams. We look forward to watching you grow and live inspirational lives. We hope we have the opportunity to photograph you throughout the years. We’ll see you around!

Also, BIG THANKS to the DSPTC for inviting us to be a part of your wonderful organization. We are so thrilled to be able to provide our services for your wonderful cause. Humbled and grateful!

P.S. The Down Syndrome Partnership of Tarrant County (DSPTC) is a not-for-profit organization that supports people with Down syndrome, their families, and caregivers in achieving the universally desired goals of self-fulfillment, pride in one’s achievements, inclusion in the community and reaching one’s full potential, through social and educational activities. – Anyone in Fort Worth, HEB, Grapevine, Southlake, Arlington, Keller, Colleyville, Mansfield and throughout North Texas with an interest in Down syndrome is invited to join.

I’ve fallen behind on blogging, but I have SO much that we want to share! I’m doing my best to keep things updated around here, but just when I think I’m going to catch up something throws me off course again. I won’t get into the many things right now as I really want to post photos from our shoot with Max.

What a spunky lil’ guy. He had us on our toes throughout the shoot. LITERALLY! As his Mom looked on and laughed we ran from one spot to the next trying our best to keep up. Following Max was so much fun!

Meet Max

These lil’ cute shoes enabled him to keep us on our toes… or shall I say on-the-go


So great to photograph you Max!!! I hope to see you again soon!

An evening filled with entertainment was then followed up with a sobering morning. The vibe was of reverence that resonated from the group of such a diverse grouping of people. The young, old, healthy, sick, happy and sad all came together to share a common experience. During the ceremony at the Texas Motor Speedway, before the DFW CureSearch Walk, a flood of extreme emotion fell upon the crowd and just few words and actions transformed those uncontrolled tears into hope and a silent determination. Having lost a nephew to cancer at a young age, along with several family members, we could relate and understand this real and present need to cure this disease. This event was a life-changing experience and an eye-opening realization that there are so many people that are making a difference and searching for the cure. To find out how you can make a difference and to give from your heart visit CureSearch Support.

Thank you CureSearch for an amazing experience and the work that you do for us all!

“Cancer is the #1 cause of death from disease in children. Every day, 35 children or nearly 2 classrooms are diagnosed with cancer, 7 of these children will not survive. 3 out of 5 children who survive cancer suffer devastating long-term side effects.” ~ CureSearch (Children’s Cancer Facts)

On a lighter note, it was fun to see the Star Wars crew come out for some unique family entertainment. We wished we would have brought Nate along, he would have gained from and LOVED the experience.

The walk began and ended with passion and determination. There was a total of $80,640.00 in donations.

We were so blessed to be asked to photograph the 2010 DFW CureSearch Walk Events. We had no idea the emotion that would be involved in such an occasion. The events were intended to celebrate and honor children who have been affected by children’s cancer, while raising funds for lifesaving research for the Children’s Oncology Group.

The first night, we drove into the Texas Motor Speedway (awesome!, I might add) and walked inside a garage/hanger of parked race cars, buffets, bars, items for raffles, and casino style entertainment. It was a great experience and we were honored to be involved.

Here are just a few of the many items that were donated in effort to raise funds that evening.

The men, Jim and Mo, in the above right image were the guys that brought CureSearch to the DFW area. The amount of time and effort that they put into these events were inspiring and successful!

You can’t have a Casino night in Texas without Texas Hold’em.

In honor of World Down Syndrome Day (Mar 21), we wanted to spend time capturing the beauty of people with an additional 21st chromosome.  So last weekend we were so excited and LUCKY to spend our day with 12 remarkably unique, gracious and lovely people, our daughter included.  I can’t express the joy we had getting to know and photograph each person that came out.

We’ve often said that even though people with Ds may be categorized together because they were born with an extra copy of chromosome 21 in their DNA structure, it does not define them… and this was more than evident throughout our day of shooting.

Here are our FAVS from the day:

Meet Miss A, energetic and spunky!  Perfect start of the day.

Meet Mr Josh, caring, strong, and filled with personality.

Meet Miss E, on the go & free spirited.

Meet Miss M, too cool for words.

Meet Mr M, giving & mischievous.  great combo!

Meet Miss E, pure sweetness.

Meet Miss C, knows what she wants!

Meet Mr H, cuteness overflows him.  It was crazy how much he reminded us of our Lil’ Dez.

Meet Miss K, shy but SO lovable.

Meet Miss J, talk about wit and charm.

Meet Mr M, such a flirt and conversationalist.

Meet our Little Miss Lana, all that and a bag-o-chips!

October is National (America) Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  We look forward to hosting another portrait event then, so if anyone is interested please let us know by commenting below.