Merry Christmas - Project GIVEAWAY selection!

Hello everyone! I hope you've each had a very Merry Christmas!!!

I am very excited to announce the winner of the Project GIVEAWAY photo session. What a special woman this is and it will be an honor to meet her family. Choosing amongst such touching stories was truly one of the most difficult things I've done. I thank you all tremendously for sharing each of them with me.

Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
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Ann is a pretty private person, but she has gone through an unbelievable amount of hardship over the last few years. I think a photo session with her family would be such a wonderful gift.

When Ann isn't working for us, she cares for her handicapped husband, who has had several hip replacements (and needs another), and an adult daughter with lupus in her home. She has five grown children and four grandchildren and is actively involved in all of their lives attending piano recitals, baseball games and the like. She keeps her five year old granddaughter on the weekends so her granddaughter's parents can work. Ann is active in her church and sings in the choir.

Several years ago, her home, which was a long-time family home, flooded due to the neglect of the City of Atlanta's sewage system in a park across the street. Ann lost all of her furniture and many of her belongings in the flood. The flooding continued with every heavy rain and she eventually had to give up her home and move. (The city never reimbursed her for the damage and she lost the small amount of principal that she had in the house). Then, she bought a house at a time when lenders were being overly aggressive with home loans. She was using any money that she had to care for her family, including lending a hand with medical expenses for her adult daughter who gave birth to a premature grandson who died after only several weeks of life.

Then, things got worse financially and in the housing market and Ann lost her home. She had to move to a rented home where she's lived for the last year or so with her husband and adult daughter. She took in her son's family last spring when her son lost his job. This fall, her husband received notice that he had lost his job. We just learned this news and, last weekend, they had to pack up their belongings and move in with one of her sons (who is a school teacher and has a family to support). On top of everything, she will no longer have healthcare coverage as of this winter due to the loss of her husband's job.

Ann has been through so much hardship over the last few years and we've done everything we can to support her through these troubles. She has always been very private and never wanted anyone to know of her struggles. However, I wanted to share her story with you in the event that you decide to select her family for your giveaway.