Nearing the End

 

When summer gathers up her robes of glory,

And, like a dream, glides away.

- Sarah Helen Whitman

 

It doesn't seem possible but our Summer break is almost over.
In Wisconsin our Summers are surely not taken for granted,
after our long Winters.

School starts next week.
Supplies have been purchased and still need to be labeled.
New school clothes and shoes are ready to be worn.
I do love the routine that the school year brings to our family
but a part of me will miss having them home
during the day.
We've had a fun Summer!

Taken a few weeks ago towards the end of our vacation in Door County.
We've had several Summer trips up to the peninsula over the years, and this is the first
time the cherries were ready to be picked.
So cherry picking we went...
Will found what he called
'a magical sword'
and was a knight for
a little while in the middle of the orchard. ;)



 

 

(Sunday Snapshot) Summer Vacation

 

"Happiness is a Summer breeze, sand between your toes, and your best friend right beside you."

 

~ unknown

 

 

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), It's always our self we find in the sea."

 

~e.e. cummings

 

 

I call it beach therapy, for us also known
as our Summer vacation.
And the beach can be at the ocean, a lake or a bay.
I've had a love affair with being near water for most of my life,
so naturally my children would love water too.

These were taken two weeks ago while we were in Door County
enjoying some time together in the town of Ephraim.
I had great plans for taking even more photos that
would eventually be used for our Christmas
card but that didn't happen.
We came home a little bit early as our oldest son
was ill, thankfully
he's well now.

 I have found that my favorite photos are the ones where I just sit back and observe what's going on.
So I'll let the rest of the images speak for themselves.



(Grace created this woven wreath herself with things she found
on the beach,
a twisty vine and leaves made a beautiful headpiece).
 



 

Please link up with Stefanie's

Sunday Snapshot.

 

 



She is Eleven

And then my soul saw you and kind of went,
"Oh there you are. I've been looking for you."
~ Iain Thomas

I sometimes wonder if I'm supposed to love her as much as I do.
She is my muse, my inspiration (many times) with
photography, my heart and my daughter.
I will protect her fiercely until the day I die.

We know nothing about the circumstances of her birth or her birth parents.
But maybe we do know some about them through Grace.
Most likely they are soft spoken, kind hearted, sensitive,
artistic and striking in appearance.

What we do know is that the names she has been given fit her.
In China, she was named Fu Lan Li which means 'beautiful orchid' -
and then we named her Grace which couldn't be a more perfect name for her.
Orchids are sturdy flowers that need the right environment to grow and thrive.
When she came to us, she was just 12 mos. old - not talking or walking yet.
Now 10 years later at age 11, she has blossomed into a young lady who carries

herself with grace.

Yes she is beautiful but it goes much much deeper than the surface.
Grace is a kind and thoughtful person.
She is loving, creative and turns simple things into
works of art and beauty.
Recently on our vacation I found three long scraggly roots on
the beach and braided them to make a rope.
Grace turned it into a beautiful crown decorated with flowers and leaves.
She didn't say a word about it.
She just made it, put it on her head and acted like it
was supposed to be that way.

Every day she makes us smile.
Laughter comes easily and often to her and it puts a smile on my heart.
Her hugs and kisses warm my soul.
I can't imagine our lives without her or how diminished the world would
be if her light didn't shine.
Thank you God for the delightful gift you have given us.
We are blessed beyond our dreams.

May all your hopes and dreams come true,
Happy Birthday, Grace!

Taken about two weeks ago before sunset
in the beautiful fields of Southern Wisconsin.
 

July Snapshots

I take a lot of photos every month, and am surprised at how many I take with my iphone.

These are some of my favorites from July.

 

1. Grace and friends sitting on the deck enjoying snowcones. 2. Grace had decorated

her walking stick while we were at the dog park. 3. Dan, Will and Zoe at the park.

4. Batman, one morning, standing on the landing. 5. Grace and handsome Jack.

6. A beautiful sunset at Pope Farm Park. 7. The back of my big camera, a recent

session with three little girls. 8. Grace and Lydia going down the slide at our town's

Summer festival. 9. A happy Will with his snowcone!

 

July has flown by.

When Summer starts I always feel like

it will last forever and it always seems to go way too fast.

(Sunday Snapshot) 5 Years

"The wildest colts make the best horses."

 

~ Plutarch

 

 

"The most wasted of days is one without laughter."

 

~ ee cummings



"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons.

And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn into heroes,

even if it's just in your eyes."

 

~ Walter Schirra, Sr.

He answers to several different names depending on the day or his mood...

Spiderman, Batman, Tony Stark, Clark Kent, Ironman, Green Lantern.

Oh and of course Will or William.

 

The thing that stands out most about my youngest son is his good heart.

He also loves to build with lego's,

is a good Christian, and is a gifted athlete and dancer.

He has a curious mind and often thinks deeper than I do.

I believe that he is here to do great things.

 

We can't always say it's been easy but it's certainly been worth it.

There have been bumps in the road but we're happy to be

on this journey.

Without William it would have been a very different and much less exciting

5 years.

 

It was on this day 5 years ago in a conference room in the Lakeside Hotel in Fuzhou,

Fujian Province, China, we first met him. A very scared and upset 2 year old little boy,

who first went to Grace, then Dan and about a week later came to me.

The changes in him in the past 5 years have

been nothing short of miraculous,

and for that we are thankful.

 

My sweet William, I love you so.

 

 

 

"Yours is the light by which my spirit is born;

you are my sun, my moon

and all my stars."

 

~ ee cummings

 

 

 

  There are over 100,000,000 orphans world wide, please consider adoption.

Dog Days of Summer

The phrase, "the dog days of Summer" refers to the wicked hot, sultry days
of July and August.
And it's certainly arrived in Wisconsin and in many parts of the U.S.
 

 

I love Summer, maybe it's because I was born at the end of July.

I'd take a Summer day over a cold, snowy Winter one...anytime.

I thought Grace and her friends Miles and Lydia were quite creative (and cute)

  riding their scooters up and down the sidewalk through the sprinkler.

(Sunday Snapshot) a Red, White and Blue long weekend

 

It was one of those gloriously long holiday weekends.

 

(iphone collage)

 

 Fun with friends...with swimming and relaxing at Devil's Lake.

 We celebrated with a parade, sparklers, fireworks and playing outside until it was dark.

 

And a neighborhood get together with yummy food,
 playing games and a lot of mosquito bites thrown in there
for good measure
(and they were worth it).

Hope yours was a fun one!!

July 4th

 

'I love my freedom. I love my America.'

 

~ Jessi Lane Adams

'In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed;
it must be achieved.'

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
 

 

 Every country celebrates "their day."
Many call it Independence Day.
The USA was
founded by people looking for religious freedom.
They were followed by people trying to find all types of freedom...
freedom from oppression, famine, poverty, you name it.
Our forefathers fought to get freedom, to keep it and let others have it -
at home and abroad.
This is a great country and I'm proud to be an American.
I'm happy that my children will grow up here.
Happy 4th!

Taken about 10 days ago in the beautiful fields not far from where we live in Wisconsin.