Cue the drumroll. The winner of our second photo contest is…..
…Ellen Allen! She sent in this great shot of her two daughters giggling together, and it has absolutely stolen the hearts of the judging panel. One of the judges wrote this about it:
“Two siblings loving life together. Loving each other. Having a good time without all the “glam” that our world tells us we need. As a mom of several children, it warmed my heart to see these 2 girls smiling, laughing, giggling. For me, this picture was truly a moment captured that their mom will probably always remember. Many years from now I can imagine her looking through old photos and coming across that one. A smile instantly comes to her face when she remembers her “little” girls and how sweet and carefree they were.”
Ellen and her husband Kevin moved to Northwest Arkansas about four years ago, and she says she absolutely loves it here. She is a stay-at-home mom for the two beauties you see above — Elizabeth, age 4, is on the left, and Olivia, age 2 is on the right.
In this shot taken on Memorial Day during a family gathering, Elizabeth (on the left) was pretending to be a train while Olivia was bouncing in her lap. When Elizabeth blew her pretend train whistle and said “Whoo-whoo!” both girls cracked up hysterically. Here is what their mom, Ellen, told us about the picture:
“They love to giggle together, as little girls do, and once one of them gets started, they can’t stop,” she said. “I love this picture so much because I can almost hear their sweet laughter just by looking at it.”
Ellen and her family scored a BIG prize for their winning photo. They’ll get a free photo shoot with photographer Melinda Worthington of MJW Photography and a huge 16×20 wall print of Ellen’s favorite shot from that session. Melinda specializes in kids and families, so we know Ellen and her crew will be in great hands. Ellen told us that this will be their very first professional family portrait. What a treat! We can’t wait to see it!
As for hobbies, Ellen likes getting together with family and friends, watching Razorback and LSU football, digital scrapbooking and finding a little “mommy time” to relax on her own. (Amen to that!)
Congrats, Ellen! And thanks to all of you who shared your wonderful photos with us and the judging panel. It was such a tough choice, and we’re happy to have the chance to show off all the photos in our online gallery, located at the bottom of the page. I flip through it when I need a little lift, and it always makes me smile. Keep taking those pictures, and send them in to gwen@nwaMotherlode.com.
