Posted on December 9, 2011
The ocean is just magical to me. In May my husband booked a trip to Hil
ton Head Island, SC at the beginning of December. I thought he was crazy to do this….a trip right before Christmas. Such a busy time of year for everyone. But you know, this has been a magical trip for he and I. We’ve had some time to recharge and reconnect without the children. Long walks and bike rides on the nearly empty beach is heaven. The beach, sun and surf has some magical healing properties. The feel of the sand between my toes, sun on my face and sound of the surf crashing seems to make me relax. This is magic to me. Now don’t think that I’ve forgotten about our kids. In less than two weeks we will be heading down to Disney, with both sets of grandparents for some kiddie magic and wonder. But right now, I’m enjoying my kind of magic.
Now head on over to Australia to see what Lucy Jane, Adelaide Photographer finds Magical.
Posted on October 21, 2011
This week’s theme was Feet. Cooper is infatuated with his rainboots right now and wear them everywhere. They are a couple sizes too big and he wears them without socks so they are always falling off. He adores the attention that he gets from wearing them.
Now head on over to Nancy Schumacher, Thompson,ND Photographer Blog to see her entry.
Posted on October 6, 2011
This week’s prompt was “Definition…what defines you?” This was an easy week. My family easily defines me. And my children are the essence of me. They are now old enough where I can hear them mimicking and repeating my “pearls of wisdom”. My son just today told me that it wasn’t the end of the world if we left his monster truck at home. When they hug me or kiss on me, I can see myself they way they see me.
My husband is crazy supportive of me as a mother and business owner. He’s never questioned any of the choices that I’ve made for our family. His actions have been a huge support to me. Chris, Grace and Cooper make me strive to be a better wife and mother and more importantly a better person. Through their love, I see myself.
Now head on over to Lynn’s blog to see how she defines herself.
Posted on September 30, 2011
It’s another Friday and another image. This is an oldie but goodie. Grace and I took a quick trip to the beach this spring. She was in awe of how big the ocean is and I was in awe of just
how really tiny she is.
Now head on over to see Linsey Stuckey, Houston, Texas photographer.
Posted on September 15, 2011
The theme for this week’s 52 Fridays was “Glitter, Sparkle, Shine”. In all honesty, I shouldn’t even call these 52 Fridays since I’ve participated in half of the assignments. But life happens and I try to do them when I can. Such is my life. I try my best.
Anyway, when trying to come up with something that represented those three words, I immediately thought of my daughter’s new Sketcher’s Twinkle Toes light up tennis shoes. In fact the first images that I took were of her shoes. But I was just not in love with them. I guess I photograph enough kids stuff.
When I was doing dishes at the sink a couple of days ago, this ring caught my eye. It was sitting in the ring holder just shinning and dancing in the morning light. I knew this was to be the object of my picture. It’s my grandmother’s ring. She gave it to me about 5 years ago. It’s a ring that she had worn on a pretty regular basis until arthritis made it too difficult to get it on and off. My grandmother and I both have birthdays in the month of February so she thought it was fitting for me to have our birthstone ring.
Now I have plenty of jewelry with amethyst stones in it but I have to say that this is my absolute favorite piece. The stone quality isn’t the best nor is it a striking setting but this was my grandmas. The band is thin in the back and has been stretched and warped from years of wear. This was one of her favorite pieces of jewelry and I’m honored to now have it. I wear it on my right hand proudly. One day this will be Grace’s and I hope it will be handed down to Grace’s daughter. And the thought of this makes me smile.
Now head on over to Australia to see what Lucy Jane, Adelaide Photographer has found that glitter, sparkles and shines!
Posted on August 19, 2011
52 Fridays
My daughter starts school in exactly one week. I’m a bag of emotions. I am excited for her and all that lays ahead of her. Excited for the new friendships to be made. Excited that her little brain will learn so many new things. Excited for the playground fun that she will have. But part of me wants to hold on to my baby, my first born. If I could wrap her up in swaddling and make her that 6 lb 14 oz sweet goodness, I would. When she was that small, I could protect her from the world. I could hold her close so she wouldn’t hear mean things said about her (yes I’m a realist and know that she will come home crying because of hurtful words thrown carelessly). I could protect from the scraps and boo boos that come with childhood and a quick hug and kiss and the promise of a princess band aid was all that would make her better. I would be the only one to teach her and she would look at me with adoring eyes. Too soon, I know that I will not be the smartest person that she knows and her adoration of me may waiver. My sweet Baby Girl (and I still call her Baby Girl on a regular basis) is taking her first steps towards independence. I can’t wait to see all that she can do and what she can become. For this, I am ecstatic!
Now head over to Jennifer Hill , South Georgia photographer http://www.hillartandphotography.com/blog and see what back to school means to her.
Posted on June 24, 2011
This week’s theme is growth. And while I can go on about how my photography skills have grown or my children have grown or even how my waistline has grown (grrr….), I thought I would highlight some special people in my life. Since having children, my friendships have grown immensely. I met my friend Whitney when Grace was about 6 months old. I actually met her through an on-line forum which is now defunct. She and I “found” each other on a post about mothers whose children were considered small. To look at Grace now you would have no idea that the first 18 months she lived her life at the under 5th percentile for weight. It was completely nerve wracking as a mother. Getting ready for well checks would leave my stomach in knots. I never knew if they would want to do testing and more importantly I felt as if I wasn’t being a good mother bec
ause my daughter was small.
After I found the right doctor who told me that she was fine and that not every child is going to be in the 50th percentile and that kids come in a rainbow of sizes, if felt a sigh of relief. Whitney’s son is about 4 months younger than Grace and she was going through the same issues that I had. I knew very few people at this time that had about the same age as my daughter so I thought it would be nice to meet this person. She seemed OK on the internet. We decided to meet at a coffee shop and hit it off instantly. Fast forward 4, no 5 years and both of our children are strong and thriving. Through my mothering career Whitney has been one of two friends that are my rock. She is one of the two people that I can call up and say what’s really on my mind or how at that exact moment, I don’t really like my kids and she will listen with no judgement. She will commiserate and tell me it’s OK. We all feel this way. We now each have two children and our second children are only 3 weeks apart. (We joke that we hope they will marry one another since we already know that we’ll get along with the in-laws.)
These pictures are of 3 of our 4 children (Grace was at school the morning we got together). They represent the growth of our children but more importantly the growth of our friendship. From a internet message of “you live in Raleigh too? Let’s get together.” to life long friends, it really amazes me. Thank God for children because without them, we would have never found each other.
Now head on over to New Jersey to see Lynn, Bugsmom Photography, NJ. She always has fantastic images.
Posted on June 10, 2011
And here were are again at another Friday. This week’s theme is Treasure. There were so many ways to interpret this idea. Since I focused on my son last week, I thought it only fair to focus on my daughter this week. Hey, I’m a mom and I know I can’t play favorites.
I need to learn to treasure these moments of her childhood. She will be starting kindergarten in a few short weeks. I know this precious time will slip by. Time where I can ask her if she wants to go hang out with mom for a little bit and she breathlessly says yes
as she runs to get her shoes. Time where she still finds there nothing in the world better than picking a bouquet of flowers and deciding who should receive them. Time where a box of crayons and some paper is all the entertainment she needs for an afternoon. Time where she wakes up in the morning and asks, “What are we doing today?” Time where my lap is where she wants to be better than anywhere else in the whole wide world.
Now head on over to Australia to see Lucy Jane, Adelaide Photographer. I know her images will be fabulous!
Posted on June 3, 2011
Ah desire, so many things were swimming in my head until I took this picture.
I knew that the dreamy look in my son’s face represents my desire.
I desire that he never looses the joy of using his imagination.
I desire that he will always remember that it’s good to just stop and take in all the beauty around you.
I desire that he never hates his freckles because I adore each and every single one of them.
I desire that he will grow into a good and caring man.
I desire that he will always know that his mom is his biggest supporter and champion.
Now head on over to New Hampsire to see what Nicolasa Moreau, New Hampshire Photographer desires.
Posted on May 27, 2011
So this week’s theme was Memorial, which is very appropriate since it is Memorial Day Weekend. This one was a little harder for me. Obviously I could take a picture of a flag but then as I was driving home one day, it hit me. We actually have the National Veterans Freedom Park literally right down the street from me. I pass it so much that I’ve become forget that it’s there. Which really isn’t a good thing. I’ve wanted to stop by and take pictures of it for years and either the time wasn’t right or I didn’t have my camera with me. This week I did make time to take some pictures. It really is moving that our veterans are being honored and they are wanting to build an even bigger monument for them. I just want to say thank you to all the US Veterans out there. Thank you for your service. Thank you for everything you have done to make the land where I live and raise my family a safe place.
Now head on over to New Hampshire to see Nicolasa Moreau Photography , New Hampshire Photographer interpretation of memorial.