12/09/2025
I’ve had my business for almost 13 years.....
It's not the date that matters though...
It's how it all got started
And WHO got me there.
It all started because two incredible women believed in me before I fully believed in myself.
Sarah Staebell and her Mom, Dona Frickson, once owned Cobblestone Creek in Evansdale. One day I did photos for Sarah’s daughter, Addie—just helping a friend out. It wasn’t a business plan. It wasn’t a big dream mapped out on paper. It was simply me doing what I’d always done: taking photos, loving people, capturing moments.
Not long after, they invited me to start my own business.
"Why not take photos professionally? You can use a room in the store.”
I hadn’t even thought about it that way. I’ve just always taken photos for fun...
But they saw something in me. They spoke life into a gift I hadn’t named yet. They helped me turn a love into a calling.
And just like that, Inspiring Werk by Sarah became official.
Over the years, I took so many photos for their family. But one session keeps replaying in my heart today.
It was one of Addie’s shoots—when Sarah wanted her daughter photographed wearing her wedding dress.
It was creative, joyful, and so FULL of Sarah. She brought such warmth and imagination into the session. At the time, it was simply a beautiful idea. Looking back now, it feels like something more. Like a "divine appointment."
Which brings me to now-
Where the story takes a heavier turn.
On December 1st at 8:44 a.m., Sarah’s fight here ended. And yesterday, everyone who loved her gathered to say one last goodbye. She went to war with cancer for 5 1/2 years and showed up every single day. And while our hearts are still catching up, I believe she’s finally home.
But this loss has hit me differently.
Because Sarah wasn’t just a client or a friend I once knew. She was part of the foundation of my life. She helped shape the beginning of a dream I hadn't even dreamt.
Aside from that... She was like the big sister I never had. She was the Godmom to my girls. She took them to camp one summer and wrote them letters while they were there. She'd pack a bag full of fun for the girls when I'd take them on our road trips. They even had their own little drawer at her house. She made them feel safe, loved, and truly like family.
I will always be grateful for those years.
And that wedding-dress session… it feels like a divine appointment.
Sarah’s kids are all grown now except one—Miss Addison. She got to witness weddings and graduations with her other children. But she won’t get to witness Addie getting married someday.
So that day, in a way, she did.
She got to see her little girl in white, glowing and grown-up for a moment.
And because Sarah wanted me to capture it, Addie will always have that moment—frozen in time. Proof of a mother’s love. A memory of a joy that mattered.
Sarah didn’t just help me start a business...
She helped me grow into my gift;)
And I don’t think she ever fully knew the ripple effect of her kindness.
But I do.
And I’ll carry it—with gratitude, with "good"tears, and with love—forever. ❤️
Heaven gained one of the best. 😇 And we’ll honor her by learning to live without her while making sure her legacy keeps living through us.
~To all my clients who’ve truly enjoyed my work over the years—your joy is part of Sarah’s legacy too, because she saw that in me first.❤️❤️❤️
