dreams do come true

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference. ~ Robert Frost





"Remember that the beauty of any dream is in never letting it go." ~unknown


7 years ago we saw her face for the first time. China adoption was different in many ways. There was no Rumor Queen to give us the heads up on what was happening, we had a yahoo group for support. SARS had stopped the program and we just waited and waited, not knowing when it would start again.

(Grace was 10 mos. old when we received her referral)

We were completely surprised by our referral as far as the timing of it, and every single shred of worry and uncertainty of those times disappeared when we saw that perfect, beautiful little face. It was love at first sight. Grace has brought only great joy to our family, we have been incredibly blessed to have been chosen to be her parents. On the anniversary of Grace's referral I think of the families waiting for their children and those with possibly that secret hope or dream to adopt. Keep on believing, your dream will come true. :)

his alter ego...(on Sweet Shot Tuesday)

There are some days he's the 'Caped Crusader.'
That can be pretty serious business for a 4 year old...

And he can get a little silly fighting crime or 'bad guys' as he calls them.



In my opinion, Batman is quite dashing... (I do love a little man wearing a cape!)


He tells great jokes. ;)



And he always has his Mommy's heart...



William loves to pretend, and one of his favorite things to do
is to play Batman with his little friends. It was his idea for me to take pictures of him in character. I'm making a photo book for him(there were many more wonderful images) to keep of these.






Please check out more pictures here, for Sweet Shot Tuesday, and join in if you like.

this boy

'See things from the boy's point of view.' ~ Robert Baden -Powell
Of course it helps to have cool shades on, I think!

(he has the greatest belly laugh)

Taken yesterday of Will, who almost always has a funny outlook on every situation...;)

Have a wonderful weekend!

portrait of my 4 year old (Sweet Shot Tuesday)

Taken a few days ago of Will, our precocious youngest son. Will is wearing what he calls his 'fishing hat.' This particular day we were in the backyard and he found a tiny caterpillar, measuring about a quarter of an inch. Will held and carried him around for a good 45 minutes...and (happily) the caterpillar survived. Will loves caterpillars but is terrified of pretty much any insect, especially lightning bugs. He will scream very loudly and find me to help rescue him...it's a little bit funny in a way and very cute! 4 is a wonderful age. :)

And please go over to Sweet Shot Tuesdays to see more pictures.

Giveaway!!!! Sophia Jane Boutique

Please check out the AWESOME giveaway from the Sophia Jane Boutique.

If you go over to the Chasing Dreams Photography blog, Colleen explains all the specifics on how to enter. The lucky winner will win a pettiskirt, a crocheted Kufi cap and a flower(all items must be in stock). Good luck!

Beautiful Sophia wearing her pink and white petti.

Adorable miss Addison modeling her purple petti, brown and pink petti and her orange Kufi cap with a flower.

And Grace in her black and pink petti, pink cap and pink zebra flower.
The pettiskirts are extremely well made and Grace loves her's...we've also given the pettis as birthday gifts to some of her friends!

{June}

' Be intent upon the perfection of the present day.' ~ William Law
'In Summer the song sings itself.' ~ W. Williams

'Deep Summer is when laziness finds respectability.' ~ Sam Keen



'I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.' ~ L. Montgomery





Saturday was a typical warm and humid day for June in Wisconsin,

the 4 of us went to our local farmer's market. The Dane County Farmer's Market was inspired by Europe's open markets and started in 1972. Vendors surround our state capital on every Saturday and in Winter the market goes to an indoor location. The magnificent landscape and stunning architecture are a spectacular backdrop to this celebrated (and very popular) local event.


Grace and Will were pulled in the wagon by their Dad, and we leisurely found our way through the local vendors. It was truly a feast for the eyes...

What did we buy? Flowers, fresh asparagus, strawberries, tomatoes, snap peas, spicy garlic bread, and of course some cheese! (after all, we are in Wisconsin).



We took some time to relax on the Capital building's grounds where Grace and Will played with their new slinky toys, did cartwheels and entertained some new found friends.

If you're ever in our neck of the woods,
you must make the Farmer's Market a stop on your trip!

favorite foto(s) Friday

A couple of my favorite pics taken in the last 2 weeks. Mr. Will above playing on the monkey bars(and he's quite the monkey). You can see his daddy behind him helping another little boy. I love Will's focus and concentration on what he's doing.
And finally, Grace at her first riding lesson in silhouette with the sunlight behind her
in the stable door. I've never taken a picture like this and I love the contrast in it and image of Grace, her teacher and the horse.

Happy Friday, hope this weekend is a fun one!

it's that time of the year!

I think Will is saying 'whoo hoo' as he celebrates school being out for the Summer...of course with a cartwheel! I have a big smile on my face as I remember (well) that deliriously wonderful feeling of what it was like to have the entire Summer ahead.


Will has come SO far this year and will not be in Early Childhood preschool next year. In his teacher's own words, 'It's been an absolute joy to watch him grow and change. Emotionally, he's matured greatly.' She feels he's no longer a candidate for this type of classroom and would like to see him challenged a bit more academically, and believes he's up for it(and we heartily agree!) This Fall he'll start in a local preschool that emphasizes Math and Music(2 subjects that he demonstrates a gift in), he'll still receive Speech and Occupational therapy through our district and they'll come to his school. Will is a popular guy who has many friends and his teachers adore him, he's the kind of child you meet and never forget(in a wonderful way). This is bittersweet for me because we've grown to love his teachers, classroom aides and Speech and OT who have done so much for our little boy. It truly does take a village to raise a child.
And miss Grace will be a second grader, I can hardly believe it! Grace is the type of child that loves everything about school very much, and doesn't want it to be over for the Summer. She has exploded with her reading and loves it(just like her mamma), learned to tell time, count money, writes many stories and has a gift for art in my opinion. She'll continue with a reading program this Summer to keep her skills going strong.

(Grace's hat, zebra flower and pink and black pettiskirt came from Kimberley's, Sophia Jane Boutique)
As for our Summer, we'll have some lazy unscheduled days which we need. Grace will continue swimming and is starting a ballet/tap class. We have VBS starting in 2 weeks, trips to Chicago to get together with friends, and birthdays and a family vacation in early August to the beach. At the beginning of every Summer I think we have so much time ahead and then it flies by. But for now we're ready to relax and enjoy every single moment, and I hope you do too! :)

Grace ~ early Summer (Sweet Shot Tuesday)

My seven year old daughter, taken last week at a location I've only used once before.

I had many images I loved and these were three of my favorites. With the first one, I liked the contrast of colors of the balloons and her skirt with the background. The above one because the expression is so true to her peaceful personality. And the below one is a favorite...well just because I loved it and it says Summer to me. :)

Please check out more beautiful pictures for 'Sweet Shot Tuesday' here.

{waltz of the flowers}

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly. "One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~ Hans Christian Andersen

I have loved flowers for as long as I can remember, and as a child the first flowers I tried planting were sunflowers and nasturtiums. Every house we moved to, my parents had a garden and my Dad has taught me to love and appreciate roses. May I add he's more talented at growing them than I am!

Every year I try something new...I'm thinking of trying dahlias next.



I called this post, 'waltz of the flowers' because so many of them like my poppies, roses and peonies (that I don't have a current picture of) remind me of a dancer's skirt or dress. I have never found a flower than I didn't absolutely love...whether it's the shape and form, color, or scent... they always draw me in.
Some people don't like to photograph flowers, but not me. I love taking pictures of them.
Right now our garden is vibrant and lovely and I'm happy I can capture some of that.
These beautiful days of early Summer.

friends forever

'These are the days we'll remember forever." ~ unknown

A little bit of our weekend with dear friends... Emily is 5, Will is 4 and he has a big crush on this pretty little girl. Will was pretending that he was 'Clark Kent'...that's why he's wearing the glasses. ;)

We spent 2 days with Grace's best friend Julia and her sister Emily. Julia is a lover of horses and asked Grace to go along with her to ride. Grace had her first lesson. She was a little nervous at first, but truly did love it...her horse's name was Royal.

Though we live 2 hours apart, these 2 girls always pick up where they left off. Julia's mother and I make it a point to get our daughters together as often as we can. I love to see them giggle, play and catch up with what's going on in their lives. Two girls born on the same day, brought to the same SWI, and adopted by American parents who happened to live in the Chicago area at the time of their adoptions. I believe they'll be friends always, and will do anything to help this friendship flourish. They are sisters in so many ways.

Julia 'Hui Mei' and Grace 'Lan Li.'

Both born 8/6/2002, our beautiful Jiangxi girls.

Soon to be 8 years old in early August...the time goes so fast doesn't it? It seems like they were just babies.