8/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - a Dad and his daughter

I don't know about you but I'm a daddy's girl from as far

back as I can remember. 

Last weekend was Grace and Dan's first father-daughter dance.
I guess there were around 500 people that attended,
3 photographers to take pics, and a DJ.

Grace was a teeny bit shy and thought the music was kind of loud.
She had fun with her girlfriends and giggled and laughed.
She did dance with her dad and
they had a great time together!

And it's no surprise that Grace is a daddy's girl too. :)

Father - Daughter dance

Feb. 2012

Love is in the air

Only from the heart can you touch the sky.

~ Rumi

A hundred hearts would be too few
To carry all my love for you.

~ unknown

kisses are a better fate
than wisdom.

~ e.e. cummings

Happy Hearts Day...

xo

7/52 - happy hearts

'Without Valentine's Day, February would be...well, January.'

~ J. Gaffigan

Miss Grace has been chompin' at the bit so to speak

about making and decorating cookies for her Valentine

party at school on Tuesday.

We baked them together Saturday night and Sunday afternoon did the decorating.

Actually we had a little assembly line going...

I was the icing person and she was the decorator.

(Cookies were yummy too).


On a different note, Grace is the star student for her class this week.
We made a photo board for her to share with the class
and she's bringing in a few favorite personal items too!

Be Mine - Sunday Snapshot and Beyond Layers

{Vintage Valentine}

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching I thought I'd
capture a little love.

The vintage Valentine was found in my late Mother-in-laws things.

I thought it made a pretty still life
with the antique cake plate and flowers.

Textures used are Kim Klassen's 'Simplicity' and 'Lookup,'

both at soft light. I also added Kim's custom gradient...
 was very happy with the effect it gave the image.

Favorite photo(s) Friday - a little bit of my life

{Time capsule}

I've had quite a few roles in my lifetime...as a daughter, a student, wife,

a long and rewarding career as a Registered Nurse,

 an elementary school tutor for at risk kids and now part time photographer/full time mom.
Being a mom is hands down the best thing I've ever done.

It's my personal belief that motherhood isn't about a list of tasks we complete
or having a spotlessly clean home at all times,
it's about being there for our children.
The little ones and big ones.

I'm not a perfect mom but I'm a loving and caring one.
I thoroughly enjoy my children, and yes even the stages or phases
that are a little more trying. I've learned they all pass in time.

One of my favorite things is to observe my kids doing what they do best 

which is play.

And I jump in now and then too!

The storyboard shows parts of my life over about a 13 hour time period on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

There's Will and Grace at 7:20 am (on the left) waiting for their Dad to put on his coat 

to drive them to school.

The top row shows a photo of my kitchen table (a place we spend quite a bit
of time doing homework, crafts and eating meals),

then there's a cup of my favorite tea in front of the computer...

I was editing a lot that day.

Middle row is our 9 month old pup Zoe looking awfully cute

and Will (after school) working on some Valentines.

The last row is my little fish (Will) in the bath

and Grace fast asleep around 8pm that night.

She has to have her favorite stuffed animals arranged 'just so perfectly.'

I feel incredibly blessed.

6/52 and Texture Tuesday - Free and easy

{Daisies in vintage vase}

We've had what the weather people call a 'mild' Winter

in Wisconsin.

Mild in being in the 30's opposed to 5.

I still define the 30's as cold but know that Spring can't be too far away.

Daisies are one of my favorite flowers and these surely make me smile.

I used two of Kim Klassen's textures,

one layer of Revolution and one

of Providence, both on 'Soft Light.'

5/52 and Beyond Layers - Storyboard

This week for Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers class

 we were challenged to make a storyboard with our photos.

The antique cloisonne dragon teapot that we brought back

 from Guangzhou in 2008 inspired me for the theme of my storyboard.

With 2 children adopted from China we've been all things New Year in the last 2 weeks or so.

I happen to love that many different celebrations are still on going.

Wishing you health, happiness and many blessings in this new year!