Kelli Trontel

I want you all to meet my younger sister, Melissa. She is one of the strongest people that I know. She has faced some pretty dark moments in life, but by the loving grace and mercy of God….she lives with a story to tell.

At birth, my parents were told that she would not live to be 12.
At 12 years old she had to undergo an open heart surgey.
At 16 years old she was diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension [PPH].
At 18 years old she had a triple by-pass.
At 20 years old she spent 250+ days at UCLA hospital.

At 25 years old the doctors came out of a routine echocardiogram and told my parents that new vessels have grown in and around her heart and the bypasses that were put in place years prior were not being utilized. They were speechless. We called it a MIRACLE!

Today, Melissa turned 30. I celebrate her LIFE!

Melissa, I love you to pieces. I am thankful to God for giving us more life to live together. He has redeemed years lost from fighting and bickering {which we were so good at}, by the friendship I have in you today. You are beautiful. You are strong. You have a story to tell…..and I will forever encourage you to find ways to tell it to the world.

*HAPPY BIRTHDAY*
Love, KELLI

** Prayers for another miracle would be appreciated. Melissa has a pump that carries medication to her lungs for her PPH. With the advancement of medicine, a pill is now given to those diagnosed with PPH, but she has to slowly be taken off of the pump and transitioned to the pill. This process will take about one year and she started to lower her medication 2 months ago….Im believing for complete healing of her body!

I had the honor and privilege of photographing the Boling family this past summer. Well, as we all know….babies grow up way too fast! Parker turned ONE in November and her über creative parents threw a fabulous party for her at Studio Daylight in downtown Nashville. Her momma {Brooke} has an impeccable eye for detail, while her daddy {Greg} can draw and paint like no other! They combined their skills and brought the CIRCUS to town for their baby girl.

Greg & Brooke…..thank you {again} for asking me to document such a memorable time in your life. I love being creative with with you and most of all….i love our friendship! xoxo

::the details::

::the birthday girl::

::little buddies::

::grand exit::

Today I am joining many Nashville photographers, including Jeremy Cowart, at a photography event called “HELP-PORTRAIT.” The videos below tell the story behind this movement. I had the privilege of participating in a few “practice rounds” these past few months….and if today is anything like what I have already experienced…..it will be a powerful thing. For our city. For me. For them.

The first run though took place at the Nashville Rescue Mission and a new photographer friend of mine {Allister Ann} wrote a beautiful blog post about it and you can check that out ::here::

The second run through took place at the Sudanese Community Center in Nashville last week. The picture below only scratches the surface. This sweet mans face was glowing as he began to see himself as he pulled the paper from from the polaroid. His spirit was so gentle, yet bold as he smiled and said “Are you Christians? I love my Jesus.” Yes, thats when the tears….once again…fell down my face.

Our lives are not about us. I have realized in a fresh new way that giving…really is LIFE. It does something to our souls. Maybe this is why we are called to serve. To take care of the sick and the poor…..

These are my girls
and we sing together….

Another love in my life is music. I have been writing and recording with Chrissy and Kristin for about a year and half now and it’s exciting to see the fruits of our labor. Our songs are being mixed in the studio as I type….so more to come about our EP that will be available soon. You can read the article here {pg. 47}.