When I announced the winner of the JC Photography
free photo shoot I was so excited that it was going to Alice. I had
never met her but her cute voice came through in her comments of why she
wanted to win. She was about to give birth to a cute little smooshy
baby and would want pictures of said smoosh. My heart hurt today when I
learned that Alice had passed away after complications after giving
birth to her sweet little baby girl. I cried and cried thinking about
this precious little spirit that would never know what her mommy went
through for her here on this Earth. I share Alice and her families faith
in knowing that they will meet and love each other as mother and
daughter on the other side of this life but for now Alice has been
called to other work. I wanted to express my sincere condolences to her
family and friends. I have been given permission
by her husband to share a little bit about Alice and to post information
about the Alice Hansen Family Fund. It is a fund to help cover expenses of funeral, medical bills and the cost of raising a young family without a mommy. This is what her beautiful obituary said:
“Alice was born August 22, 1978 in Winter Park, Florida, the eldest child
of Gary and Davideen Demske. She grew up in Coppell, Texas and studied
piano performance in London, UK at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal
College of Music where she received a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s
degree, and Graduate Performance degree, respectively. She married her
sweetheart Kurt Charles Hansen in the Mount Timpanogos LDS temple on
January 2, 2007. She finished her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the
University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2008 while pregnant with their
first child.
She is survived by her husband Kurt, and three beautiful
children: Kurt Charles Hansen Jr. (“Charlie”), 3; Edward Gary Hansen,
1; and Frances Pauline Hansen, 1 week. She is also survived by her
parents, a sister Hilary, a brother Arthur, and many relatives and
friends, all of whom loved and admired her very much.
Although Alice
had many extraordinary musical accomplishments, she was first and
foremost a devoted wife and full-time mother. She loved families and
sang the hymn “Families Can Be Together Forever” every night to her
little boys. She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, always serving devotedly in her callings. She was
filled with pure love for everyone she knew, and was passionate about
their joy and success more than her own. She always wanted to do the
right thing in whatever she did. She loved to read, be with her family,
and to spend time and go on walks with her husband.”
Dr. Alice Hansen was also an active and accomplished international
performer and teacher. Alice held a Doctorate
of Musical Arts degree from
the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she held the Gladys Casford
Memorial Scholarship. She also held a Master’s degree from the Royal College
of Music in London and a
Bachelor of Music degree from the Royal Academy of
Music in London. While attending the Royal Academy
she was awarded the Eric
Brough Prize and a special distinction from the principal, the Elsie Horne
Prize.
Dr. Hansen’s principal teachers included Samuel Wong, Bryce Morrison, Martin Roscoe, Gordon
Fergus-Thompson, and Dr. Robert Weirich. Dr. Hansen’s performing accomplishments included winning the
Ribble Valley International Piano Competition, the Jacques Samuel International
Piano Competition (RAM), participating in the Sydney International Piano
Competition of Australia, and a recent concert tour of Wales in the United
Kingdom. She was talented and accomplished to say the LEAST!!! My heart feels so heavy for her family for such a great loss. Jenelle and I still felt that her family should have a photo shoot to celebrate family and these beautiful faces. Here are some shots of this special family.
Such a precious sweet baby girl!
Look at that big man =).
An eternal family is a happy one. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
What a sweet little face.
I know that we can stand together and show our support in any way we can. If we cannot donate, we can pray, if we do not believe in that then we can send our strength to her little family with good thoughts and deeds toward others. If you can donate please visit this site. And if you have little ones (or big ones) of your own give them a big hug and kiss and tell them how much you love them and how grateful you are to be in their lives. I’ve been giving mine extras everyday, I can’t seem to stop sometimes. To learn more about what I and Alice’s family believes in as far as life after death click here and never be afraid to ask me anything. We love you Hansen family!!!
My darling husband and I just celebrated our 8 year anniversary last weekend. It was officially on the 7th but for what he had planned we put it off till Friday and Saturday. I woke up Friday morning to my “schedule” for the day. I was SO excited, I’m sure I squealed a little (ha!). Here is what it looked like front and back (anyone else having a Ross from Friends moment? FRONT AND BACK!) My first adventure would be to get my hair done by the lovely Jenn Scott (you’ll be seeing more of her soon). My husband LoVeS my hair down but since I am NOT good at doing hair he never sees it down. Then I went to get my nails done but was about 15 min late, the lady threw a tissy fit and I just backed away slowly. Was annoyed at the time but I had some errands to run anyway so it turned out well. Little Branson had a Mother’s Day brunch planned for me so I went home to get makeup on…what would I BE without it ; D?
Soon I was ready for my special date with my Mr. B. It was SO darling!!! They sang songs, recited poems and served delicious chicken salad sandwiches. I was so proud of my little man my heart was just bursting! All the kids gave us their treasures that they had been working on for two weeks and were just the perfect hosts. I had personally never been to a better preschool soiree. After hugs and kisses (since I knew I wouldn’t be seeing him till late the next day) Kev and I were off to pack up for our fun time together. We were soon heading up to Salt Lake to check into our hotel and to shop at the Gateway *SQUEAL*!!! He had worked so hard at getting a website done at work that they gave him a very sizable gift card to that particular mall and he gave it all to me…sniff…I was so touched and VERY ready to shop! LOL =D
We hit Forever 21, Z Gallerie, Urban Outfitters, Down East, Ann Taylor and loads of boutiques. I was quite literally in heaven. Dinner was also divine. Kev and I both worked the 10 year anniversary for the Olympics and were treated to some great spoils. One of which was a $100 gift card to the decadent restaurant Flemmings. We went to drop off all of our/my bags at the hotel and when they learned it was our anniversary and that we would be dining there they gave us a card for a free appetizer!!! This was SUCH an awesome trip =). Here I am before our wonderful meal was seved.
This was our appetizer. Filet Mignon served SUPER paper thin with mint, capers and egg crumbled on top. You took it and placed it on the cheese beget slices….SO yummy!!!!!
I opted for stake and Kev for pasta and at the end of our meal they brought us out truffles with a Happy Anniversary card and a $25 gift card to come back. I was so impressed with the service and the overall experience that I would LOVE to go back sometime soon…hint hint honey ; ).
When we were stuffed to almost full capacity (had to save room for popcorn at the movies, my FAV!) we decided to walk around and shop a little more before our movie. We saw Dark Shadows which btw was the DUMBEST movie ever made!!!!
Sorry to be so blunt but I wanted to walk out SO many times but stayed with the small hope that maybe maybe it would get better….it did not. We left with minimal brain cells left and headed to our hotel. I LOVE walking at night with my cute hubby just us. It feels like we are dating again and I get all giggly around him and his cute dimples. When we got all in our comfy comfies ready to hit up Netflix for a few episodes of Chuck, Kev said he had one more surprise for me. I had NO idea what he had up his sleeve but he made me sit on the couch and close my eyes. I heard the ruffling of bags and then something being placed on the ottoman in front of me. He told me to open my eyes and there before me in it’s PERFECT entirety was our home.
Well, the floor plan anyway and ALL of our furniture scaled perfectly for me to see what would fit where. WELL WHO NEEDED CHUCK ANYWAY?!?!? I played with my little “dollhouse” for at least an hour and was happy to see the boys beds fitting in their rooms where I wanted them to. It was SO fun to move around the couches and end tables too. Oh the simple joys that come from thoughtful presents. I love you Kev and am so happy we are together!!! Here’s to many more years of laughs, love, memories and life. Have you ever been blown away by a significant other? An amazing date? Proposal? Anniversary? Tell me about it!!!
So I REALLY love beautiful pictures!!! I love the lighting, the angles, the colors and fun backgrounds. I love watching a photographer at work…mainly because I am in awe of the skill set they possess that I will NEVER understand. I try to take my own pictures and just get frustrated when it doesn’t turn out the way that I want (whine). I feel that I have the tools but not the know how. I am hoping (fingers crossed) I am not the only one out there lost and confused…raise of hands please? Well I have asked our very own Janelle for some user friendly advice for all of us challenged in the “point and shoot” area. She has graciously agreed to teach us some tips and tricks of the trade to make our pictures go from blah to ah! I am VERY excited that Janelle decided to start with terminology because that is a basic that completely eludes me. Here is Janelle from JC Photography with her FIRST photography tutorial!!!!!! Take it away sister =).
I was BEYOND frustrated till about…well maybe I still am a touch. Blogger wasn’t letting me post this at the time I wanted to (10). I realized, like a FOOL, that I was logged into two different accounts and that’s why it wouldn’t work. So ALL user error on my part there friends, sorry!!! But I did want to post the winner that was chosen by Random.org, as always. This time good ole “random” chose….. EMILY!!!
Just email me at dollcosmetics@gmail.com and let me know where your mom would like her $25 gift card to and her address so she can get her special gift by Mother’s Day =). Congrats to your mom and to YOU for having such a great one! ; ) Be sure to celebrate your mom’s this Sunday and let them know how grateful you are for the wonderful things that they do!!! I’ll be off this weekend to celebrate our 8th anniversary with the hubs but I will for SURE be back to get cute little homemade cards from my two little men =). I also wanted to give a shout out to my dear friend Shalee who just had her FIRST little smooshy just in time for Mother’s day, YAY!!! Here is a shot of her maternity pictures where yours truly did the makeup.
He is here now, a doll and I love him already! Can’t wait to hear the name they settle on =). Now this is what Emily had to say about her cute mom:
I think I have the best mother in the world! She raised 5 wonderful
(slightly rebellious :)) kids, and has a dozen beautiful grandchildren,
whom she can’t seem to get enough of. However, she doesn’t look nearly
old enough to even be a grandmother! On top of that she built her own
quilt pattern business called Cotton Way, and has been enjoying it’s
success for almost 21 years! And working her buns of every one of those
years. Now she has even designed fabric lines for Moda! She is such a
busy woman, and she seems to balance everything in her life with such
grace. She’s loves her business, but family always came first. She’s
supported us in all that we do, and always puts others needs before her
own, and I think she deserves a little pampering all to herself!
Mother’s Day (ish) Post since we are getting close to the big day! Hope you don’t mind this is more on the personal side of my life…
As you guys know…since I told you {giggle}…my mom was in town this last week and I couldn’t have been MORE excited!!! I talk to her on a weekly basis, if not daily sometimes but we haven’t lived in the same state my whole married life and I don’t get back to Cali as much as I would love. Well this past week we went to a women’s conference that was just PaCkEd full of fun, uplifting thoughts and good ole service (one of my most favorite things!). I was so glad that I could share it with her and now I want to share some highlights with YOU of the trip! Yeah, get ready for a SLEW of photos!!!
When I picked her up at the airport in Salt Lake I whisked her over to the lavish Grand America Hotel for tea. We were struck by how beautiful the hotel was and how we felt the need to speak in English accents upon entering the lounge. We refrained and were escorted to our seats for our scheduled afternoon tea. Due to religion we don’t drink most teas but there were MANY wonderful ones that were within standard =). We both decided Very Berry would be our drink of choice and sat waiting, admiring the view and the table itself.
Our server came and asked for our orders and explained that the wine glass in the middle was our centerpiece. That the little ball that was at the bottom would slowly transform as we sat and ate. It was so cool to see it “grow” into something so unusual and pretty =).
Our yummy scones were paired with clotted cream (SO yummy and ALL kinds of fattening), lemon jelly and raspberry jam. Then there were an assortment of sandwiches including: salmon, egg, crab, cucumber, and olive.
Here’s Mamma giving me her best Downton Abbey face LOL.
So elegant….but I forgot to put up my pinky ; ).
About the time we finished with our food we started to sit up straighter to give our tummies more room and to relax a bit. I knew that maybe my eyes had been a bit bigger than my stomach but I just LOVE good food and can’t see anything left to waste. We were commenting to each other how perfect everything was and how we were very satisfied and even going to leave early! I run a tight ship and surprising the boys at their school was next on the list. To our utter shock and horror, our server comes and so sweetly says,”I’m so sorry dessert is taking so long but it should be out shortly.”
Insert me and my mom looking at each other with eyes as wide as dinner plates. I think polite oh yes, thank yous were offered but as soon as she left we burst out laughing and tears came streaming down as we imagined even one more bite. Oh how I love my mom. We are the same and we were both in fits of terribly contained giggles as the dessert tray came out loaded with gems of goodness. Needless to say we boxed them up for Kevin and the boys and rolled ourselves out of there. Here are a few of the treats. They also had assorted cakes, jellies and marshmallow creams. Just heavenly!
After we picked up the boys from school, went out to see the progress on the new home and packed me up we were off to Provo to go to the conference. The men in my life dropped us off at the dorms (we were going collegiate) and we were officially without children and husbands! There was something called instant choir that got up at the ugly side of dawn to practice then perform the very first morning of Women’s Conference. My mom and I, being eager, of course signed up so we had a quick dinner then straight to bed. The ugly side of dawn did indeed rear it’s head early! We were up and walking to the large conference center before being fully awake. We got settled in our seats and then became the poster children for the altos =). Look at that cute lil worker bee.
Classes were great fun and I took SO many notes!!! Mostly on how to be a
better mommy and wife to my darlings. The FOOD is what did us in and we
were happy to be “done” LOL. It was buffet style every night where we
would divide and conquer, bring back the spoils and share everything
mmmmmmmmm…
Then came the concert where we heard many artists (my FAV being Hilary Weeks, below, who also hosted) and where we heard some inspiring stories from many different people in many different situations being the best women they can be.
One woman from Christchurch, NZ came to speak about all the earthquakes they have been having and how they, as members of our faith, are spreading relief and aid to all those around them. These two gals I got to meet while I was doing makeup for the 50’s photo shoot I told you about (post coming soon). They were hiLARIOUS and ended up being one of the groups featured at the concert. SO fun =D. Their blog sistasinzion is quite fantastic! T
After two days of wonderfulness and SO much food we were again picked up by my hubby and two boys who had a rose for both me and their grandma (aww!). We hit my son’s soccer game, played board games, made dinner together, she met my friends and we just had a great time. Here she is with Mr. B playing Guess Who against K-Diddy = ).
I love you Mom and miss you already! Do you have a super special relationship with your mom? Leave me a comment here and your mom could receive a special Mother’s Day gift in the mail. You must be a follower and leave me a comment on why your mom is so special to you. Don’t forget to tell her to stop by and see your comment so that she can cry and give you a big hug =D. I’d love to send your mom:
– hand lotion for all the service she does with her hands (B&B Wild Honeysuckle)
– my favorite recipes for all the meals she cooks & probably ate cold (Jambalaya, Cream of Pumpkin Soup!)
– Coconut Lip Butter for all the hurt she has kissed better (the Body Shop) &
– a $25 gift card to a store of her choice
One mom will be lucky enough to win and will be chosen on Wed May 9th at 10pm MST. Please let me know what store you think she would love to shop at and I can send it off before Mother’s Day. Good luck to all and I can’t WAIT to read your entries!!!
Who loves to better themselves? Raise of hands? Good! I’m glad I’m
not alone =). Well last year I went to a WoNdErFuL conference where I
was able to hear uplifting messages, sing with thousands of women and
provide service and aid by completing service kits for people around the
world. It was such a great experience and I came home feeling motivated
and ready to promote change within myself and my family. I am SO
excited to attend again this year with. my. MAMMA!!!!!! I will be
picking her up from the airport momentarily with a cute hand made sign
that says…you guessed it MAMMA!!!!! Can’t wait to see her and show her
all around.
On a side note, Your Home Based Mom’s
Leigh Ann Wilkes will be in town and has asked me to do her makeup for a
fun 1950’s photo shoot. Since I will still be at the conference, she
asked if I wouldn’t mind doing it in one of the building during a break
LOL. SO excited to do that and to see the gorgeous pics that will be
done by Tara B.
Check them both out and if you are going to the very same conference
make sure to come and say hi! I would love to meet you and give you a
big hug =).
You followed on Facebook, you follow on Classy, YOU deserve a pat on the back!!! LOL The winner for our ever so fabulous Votre Vu Peel and wrap around scarf iiiiiiiiisssssssss………STACEY!!!!!!!
Stacey
said…I’m a FB follower!! Congrats!!
Well congrats to YOU Stacey =D. Just email me to claim your prize at dollcosmetics@gmail.com and I can get your goodies sent off to you!!!! Thanks again to everyone who participated and I will announce the NEXT milestone for Facebook and come up with a great prize. Any suggestions??? ; )
T
