Personalized Eid Cards – Limited time offer!

Ramadan is a special time in the Muslim calendar and many of us start preparing at least a month ahead of time. Which reminds me that I have fasts to make up 🙂 I better get on that quick because no matter how early I start thinking about Ramadan…it still sort of sneaks up on me. And for some reason, though I always make it a point to write down how many fasts I missed the last Ramadan, I can never for the life of me find where I wrote it. For me, Ramadan is about so much more than not eating or drinking during the daylight hours. Ramadan is a time in which I stop to reflect on my life and my relationship to God. I use this month as an opportunity to analyze how we fared in the past year…what have I improved upon in my life (holistically – work, relationships, personal progress, etc.)…and what do I feel like I need to work on. So the planning that goes into Ramadan involves setting aside one or two goals for myself and really working on them during the holy month. By focusing and dedicating myself during that month, my hope is that it will develop into a habit and I will continue to progress in my goals after Ramadan is over.

Ramadan is also a truly special time because it affords us many opportunities to get together with friends and family – to further connect with our community. Iftars (breaking the fast) get booked up within the first week and soon people are vying for an opening in your dinner schedule. 🙂 Ahhh the days of hopping from one iftar to another before finally heading off to the mosque. Nights are the mosque often felt electric too – some of the best speakers are flown own just to host a Ramadan series. I usually leave feeling like I’m on a high because of the number of neurons that probably fired during one of the speeches. And oh! the chai at my masjid…it just closes the night perfectly. Thoughts of my masjid conjure up the smell and images of hot, steaming chai while sitting outside in the cool summer night breeze.

Over the years, I’ve seen Ramadan and the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr change for my family. The week before, the house would be in a frenzy as my mom, my sister and I would begin preparing all the various dishes to lay out for Eid day. As children, we used to wake up super early, shower and dress in our new clothes. My parents struggled financially when we were growing up. But somehow, they always managed to make sure we had a new Eid outfit. We’d go to the mosque for the Eid prayer and couldn’t wait to come home to a table FULL of food. In one day, we probably gained back double of what we lost while fasting 🙂 Okay, maybe not. Then the rest of the day was spent playing board games, visiting other Muslim families in the neighborhood…and hopefully, just hopefully, running into a generous aunt or uncle that wanted to give you Eidi money!

Now that we are all older, Eid is harder and harder to celebrate together. My sister’s family lives in Texas and sometimes all of us aren’t able to get the day off work or school. The day has become more streamlined – a visit to the mosque in the morning and time to chill with the family during the day. I love how my sister has made the day exciting and fun for her family. When Ramadan starts, they decorate the house with balloons and streamers. Most of their Ramadan is spent exchanging dinners with neighbors and friends before heading out to the night prayer. And sometimes on Eid day, she hides the children’s gifts around the house and they run around on a mini scavenger hunt looking for them. How cute is that?

I realize more and more each year how precious each Ramadan and each Eid is. I want to squeeze every drop of time in that month to spend with my loved ones. And I always use to wish I had something special to keep as a memory for that day. With that in mind, I am offering a special promotion for the month of Ramadan. The promotion is called ONE{25} because for $125 you get a one hour photo session and 25 Eid cards+envelopes with the photograph of your choice. Maybe you just want photographs of your beautiful baby girl’s first Eid. Or perhaps you want a photograph of your family – to preserve a moment in time…or you just want to celebrate Eid as a newlywed couple this year. Maybe, just maybe you are just super fly and want to send your friends an Eid gift with a photograph of you. Because you love them and they love you. All I know is I wish I had these growing up and I can’t wait to share them with you. So book your photo session today because this only lasts until August 1st!