Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Kempiak Family

While we were in Arizona, I had the privilege of doing family portraits for the Kempiak family. What an amazing experience! Kymberly, the mom of this cute family, was Nate's 4th grade teacher -- his favorite elementary school teacher, by the way. :)

Kymberly is one of those people who truly possesses a gift when it comes to teaching. Her students knew without a doubt that she loved them and wanted them to succeed -- that she expected them to succeed. She challenged her students to do their very best and encouraged and supported them along the way. When I volunteered in her classroom, I was in awe of the way she operated.

The year Nate was in her class, he had to have eye surgery, and I remember how excited he was when Mrs. Kempiak came to our house to visit him when he came home from the hospital. She always went out of her way to do things to let her students know how important they were to her.

In 4th grade, the students learned about map making, and each of them had to draw a map and give instructions to their homes. Mrs. Kempiak then followed each student's map to his or her house....and if she was successful in following the directions, she left a treat at the doorstep. Just another example of her amazing skills as a teacher.

Years after Nate and his classmates had moved on from Mrs. Kempiak's class, she sent all of them a letter congratulating them on their graduation from high school. She included each of their names and talked about the fun and challenging things they had done together in 4th grade.

Although we moved away from Arizona just a couple of days after Nate finished 4th grade, I've kept in touch with Kymberly through Christmas cards..and more recently, Facebook. It was so fun to see her after all this time and to take pictures of her family.

The saying "To Teach is To Touch Lives Forever" was written with teachers like Kymberly Kempiak in mind, I am certain!

Here are some shots of the awesome Kempiak family.
:)









19 comments:

Janae said...

I couldn't even chose a favorite...but I think I like #4 and #5 best!

Jami said...

What a gorgeous family! And really great shots!

Sharon said...

Great captures!

The Kempiak Party of Five said...

We had a blast with this photo shoot and loved being with YOU! Thank you Margaret for so much...from the kind words that touched my heart so much in the blog post, all the way to the photo shoot for us...a true, evelasting gift.

Your family will always be found in the deepest part of my heart. I am forever grateful that God blessed me with you all.

You are simply wonderful!

Becca said...

Beautiful family! I love the shots with the kids in the front and mom & dad in the background. tfs

Suzy said...

The Kempiak family is absolutely beautiful! I love all of these and esp that last shot!

bprincephoto said...

Wonderful shots! Wish I could get families to dress so great.

Anissa said...

I really like the last one! Great job!

~JustJulie~ said...

Great pictures, gorgeous family. Kymberly is absolutely beautiful, and from your post, it sounds as though she's just as beautiful inside. I can only hope that my kids will one day get to experience a teacher as wonderful as her. What a great thing for Nate!

Heather said...

Beautiful family. Nice shots!!

Maria said...

The world definitely needs more teachers like Kymberly. Gorgeous pictures!

Kim said...

Such a beautiful family! It looks like you've captured some great personality in your shots. (Love that last one!)

Jodie said...

What a wonderful relationship, history and photos of a gorgeous family.

Reds said...

Awesome shots!! And what a beautiful family!!

tori said...

What a beautiful family!

Denita said...

Great family shots - they are model perfect!

Kelly said...

Love the pose of them all sitting in the leaves. Such a nice looking family

April O'neil said...

i love all of them they are just all gorgeous

Kate said...

I loooove the one of them kissing in the background and the one little boy looking at them! So cute!! And wow, she sounds like a truly amazing teacher!