11/19/31-9/18/09

Joseph T. Patrick

Joseph T. Patrick, age 77, of Dauphin, died Friday, September 18, 2009 at his home. Mr. Patrick was retired from HARSCO. He was born November 19, 1931 in Tower City, the son of the late Robert and Verna Salen Patrick. He was a member of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Enterline, PA; the American Legion Post # 404 of Elizabethville and the United Steel Workers. Mr. Patrick served in the US Army during the Korean War.He is survived by his Wife of 52 years, Katharine M. (Reiner) Patrick; Son, Timothy A. Patrick of Halifax & grand puppy Koko; Daughter, Deborah K. Kinard & husband Kevin of Dauphin; Granddaughters, Katie A. (Kinard) Greenawalt & husband Eric of Harrisburg & Abbey E. Kinard of Dauphin; Two Brothers, Robert Patrick of Marysville and Marlin Patrick of Phoenixville; three sisters, Helen Bowman of Winter Park, Florida; Dorothy Ann Patrick of Williamstown & Marie McIntosh of Lewis Center, Ohio. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 4:00 PM in the Jesse H. Geigle Funeral Home, Inc., 2100 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg with the Rev. Michael Petresky officiating. A viewing will be held in the funeral home on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 3:00 PM. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.Memorial donations may be given to Pinnacle Health Hospice, 3705 Elmwood Drive, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17110.

Death

Death is a crazy thing. I never thought I was afraid of it, until most recently. As of last night, I was forced to deal with the thought of losing my Pappy. For as long as I can remember he's been an essential part of my life. From laying on the floor coloring with my sister and myself, living with us as we grew up, and being present for my wedding reception. Yesterday he finally was brought home from the hospital, just not on the terms which I would have rejoiced over. He has come home to be comfortable and with family. Hospice has joined our family to make his journey a little more peaceful than if he were hooked up to machines at a hospital. Eric and I went to see him last night and as I came in he was sleeping, hopefully with out pain. Since he has come home, he has remained a sleep and unresponsive much to all of our sorrow. Yes, I have had some breakdowns, but I try to remain strong for my family during this time. I guess if I write about it, I may accept it better.
To add to this traumatic time, my cousin's were in a horrific car accident on the way back from my uncle's viewing. They lost their grandfather and father. Their mother has a broken back and each of them have sustaining injuries. I guess what they say is true. When it rains it pours.
I leave for vacation on Sunday and all I can hope for is that when I return I still have time to say good bye. Not that I want to keep Pappy in his discomfort, but because all of this comes at a very difficult time for my family to accept death. I can only pray that he goes in peace and that the Lord guides him.

Anthony

For a guy not really wanting to have pictures taken, Anthony did really well. Here are a few of my favs.

3 months already!

This past weekend, I was able to photograph little Braydon, who already is three months old. Time flies! We had so much fun laughing at all this guy's face. Here are a few that I just love.

Marian and Maddy

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be asked by my boss's wife for some surprise portraits for his Father's day gift. It was so awesome that they chose me out of all the photographers in the area, especially for something so important. Thanks for the opportunity guys! We had so much fun.

Father's Day

This past weekend a close friend from work and her daughter decided to surprise Daddy! Here are a few of my favorites.

First 5K

I'm proud to say that I, a month after having knee surgery, was able to run and finish my first 5K on Saturday. It was quite an experience but I loved it! All the benefits raised went to the Colorectal Cancer Department at the Hershey Med Center. It was such a great accomplishment-hopefully one of many more to come.

ACS CAN

I had the honor of photographing for an American Cancer Society Action Network event.  Here are some photographs of those who chose to take part in a portrait session that evening.  

Relay For Life Special

As many of you know, my full time job is working for the American Cancer Society. Right now, we all are fundraising for the yearly Relay For Life. With that in mind, and the economy down the drain, our fundraising efforts are necessary to be able to continue to support the financial need of cancer patients. I am running a family portrait session special that includes a complimentary 8x10 for $25 with any other sheets at a discounted price, all proceeds benefitting ACS Relay For Life. If anyone is interested, please contact me at 717.503.6312 for details. Thanks in advance for helping our efforts.

Baby Braydon

The little guy finally arrived, and in style.  Braydon is only two weeks old and already moving like a pro, plus holding his head up.  Here's a few from our small shoot the other week.

If it can, IT WILL

So, its definitely official that anything that could possible be thrown in my direction, has been and continually will present itself.  Today I found out that I will be having the first of my two knee surgeries on May 1.  Although I have been dealing with knee issues for over ten years, I didn't think it was too bad until recently when I began training for a 5K with a friend of mine.  The pain became so constant I finally gave in to the warnings of friends and family.  They were right.  My knees are so damaged from constant activity from my youth that surgery is the only remaining option for me.  In layman's terms-my knee caps shift out of the groves where they should be and cause pressure and pain on my knee.  My surgeon will use a scope and slice the tissue to hopefully relieve stress on my knee cap so it will pull back into place. For all those smart people out there, this procedure is called knee scope with lateral release.  SO... this means no 5K .... at least not this year.  Hopefully my recovery time will be about a month and then its on to knee #2.  I'm pretty sure that my number HAS got to come up soon.  Maybe just once I'll catch a break.

Maternity Shoot

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Eric's good friend and his wife, who are expecting Braydon any day now.  We had so much fun.  Nicole and Josh had never really had portraits taken before, so it was all new to them.  By the time we were done, they were old pros.

My Babies

Twins!!!!-Bella and Jager

Well, I have great news! As of Saturday I am the proud mother of adopted twins. Eric and I drove to North Carolina to pick them up and we are very excited to show everyone them. Check back soon for their pictures!

-P.S. there's always more to a story like this -I'm sure you're all dying to find out.-