bright bright bryton

if you live in utah, you might know that alpine, the home town of this adorable family–has been up in flames the last few days. when i sent the lovely bryton her images of her family in their perfect little cottage home, she said she was so greatful to have their cheery little space documented, in case anything happened….

luckily we were blessed with some rain for most of today, and bryton’s home is safe–but it kind of makes you think–

don’t you want your home, however lovely, or however not so lovely–whether its a tiny cramped space, or a huge expansive loft–don’t you want your home — with all its little stories, the place where your heart goes to relax, documented so that you never forget?

i grew up in the same home from birth until college. it was unfashionable, and smelled like my brother brett’s too many pets–the downstairs bathroom didn’t even have a proper cieling and at one point there was an iquana living in the bathtub (brett again). there were ten of us total (not really under the same roof at the same time) — but still — 10 of us who tore through that place and left our mark–and the mark wasn’t pretty. it looked like awhole lot of carpet stains, and a number of punched holes in the walls. but i loved it. it was my home. my favorite place to be.

sometime after i got married my parents moved out of that house. and now, whenever i’m back in boise and have the time, i drive by our old place, and i cry. which if you know me, you know i don’t cry a whole lot. but i do when i see the shell of all those memories. i cry and i ache, and i wish i could go inside just one more time even though i know that with a new owner, probably nothing is quite the same.

the images i have to remember that home are mostly in my head. and though they look quite lovely there, what i wouldn’t give to to see my memory in print–the way my mom handled all of us crazies from the day to day without losing her mind–the playhouse my dad built us in the backyard—–and yes

this is obviously leading up to a sales pitch, you caught me. but if you want someone to capture you in your home (and i’m telling you your house doesn’t have to be stylish or fancy), by golly, i’m your girl. personal spaces inspire me more than endless fields of wildflowers, i kid you not. because the stories are so rich–the meaning and soul of a family bouncing off of every surface–

okay okay okay. i’m talking too much now, but here are the morse’s — in their home. thanks so much for looking.