This year’s fall mini sessions were a huge success! So many amazing families, a few new faces, and some that have been in the Cotton family for years, all wonderful! Because of these incredible families, we are donating $525 from our Houston fall mini sessions for Parkinson’s Research! And to us, that is AWESOME!

Houston Fall Mini Sessions for Parkinson’s Research

I’m so excited to not only share a few of our favorites from the minis but also to share the heart behind our fall 2018 minis and why we choose to donate a portion of the minis to Parkinson’s Research.

Why We chose Parkinson’s Research

I was getting my nails done when my mom called. One of our besties was getting married in less than 48 hours so celebrating with champagne and nails was a must.

I am the baby, the youngest of three in my family with my mom. So, inevitably, she treats me a little different. She shelters me more than my sister and brother. Now being a mom, I totally get it. It’s her way of protecting me and I love her for it.

But I can always tell when she has that voice, that sweet voice that she puts on when something’s wrong, that same voice she had on when she called to tell me my grandmother passed away.

She said, “I went to the doctor and they told me I have Parkinson’s.” My heart. It completely stopped for what felt like 5 minutes. Fear consumed me. What does this mean for her? What will life look like? Why is California so far away? Why am I not there right now!? How have I been ignoring the signs? Why wasn’t I there for her like she’s been there for me my entire life!?

My sister had noticed a few early symptoms of Parkinson’s but we kept telling ourselves that no one in our family has Parkinson’s. I’m sure she doesn’t either.

She asked if I was okay as I tried to pull myself together through the tears. I tried to remember she’s the one that’s having to go through all of this. She’s the one that just got the diagnosis. I need to be there for HER, not the other way around!

My entire childhood, I felt like my parents were invincible so it was hard to wrap my head around the idea of this being part of my mom’s story.

Today, a year later, my mom feels 100x better than she did before finding out. She was relieved to finally have some answers to her health issues.

I couldn’t be more proud of my sweet momma and the example she is setting for us. She’s not rolling over and using this as a crutch to do less. She’s fighting Parkinson’s like a BOSS! She even takes boxing classes to literally “fight” it, help delay symptoms and build up her strength.

Mom, you are an inspiration and there aren’t enough words to explain how much you mean to me. We are on your side, rooting for you always!

So from here on out, donating to Parkinson’s research will be our number one goal because no matter how small the amount, every dollar counts!

 

Thank you to all the amazing families that supported us and Parkinson’s research! We can’t wait for Christmas minis in November!

XO,
Michelle, Kellan & Kinsey

P.S. You know we had to get a photo of Kinsey with the pumpkins at the very end of the shoots!