Favorite Photo Friday - a little talk therapy

{Penny for her thoughts}

 

I have learned after 27 years experience of being a mom 

that sometimes important conversations pop up out of nowhere. 

And many times when you least expect one.

When my oldest son was a teen, it was usually as I was driving and he was in the back seat.

I can't say that I can remember word for word what those car conversations were

but they were meaningful to both of us and important to him.

Nick is now an adult, on his own and he and I are still very close.

A few days ago I took Grace out for some photos and noticed

she seemed preoccupied with something,

and when she smiled she was tensing up the muscles around her mouth.

Something wasn't quite right.

 I put down my camera and we just talked...about school, friends, Summer, etc.

Eventually I found out about a little 3rd grade drama going on with a friend at school.
Thankfully Grace wasn't being bullied.

We talked about some solutions and what she could do.

Hopefully we'll continue these conversations.

 Edited with Florabella's Classic Film and Honey Haze actions at low opacities,

from her Classic Workflow collection. 

22/52 - his alter egos

   Pretty amazing how wearing a pair
of Batman sunglasses can make
Batman (on the left), Superman (middle) and the Hulk (right) appear.

Sunday Snapshot - my youngest son

He has a big name for such a little boy, our 

"William Michael Yousheng."

At age 6 years - 4 months, he is 42 lbs.

of fun, feisty and activity.

Pretty much from the moment we met Will in China, it was obvious he was a gifted child.

He's very intelligent but he's also a deep thinker. Will understands the concept of time travel, 

comprehends death and the implications of it, knows directions (North, South, East and West), 

and grasps the days of the week and time passing. 

Many of these things have become apparent when he asks us questions
about specific topics

and we had no idea he even knew about them.

(I love his strong hands).

He's gifted physically as well...he loves anything that's physically challenging.
(Dance and gymnastics for him...so far. He'd like to try karate next).
He reads (far above his grade level) and writes (more legibly than Dan).
I don't have any idea what he'll become when he grows up but his
outgoing, friendly and compassionate nature could lead him into
many careers.
I would love it if he became a doctor or a person who helps people.
Mostly I just want him to be happy.

Four years ago we found Will on our adoption agency's special need's list.
His special need was a repaired cleft lip and palate.
This superficial physical anomaly has been beautifully repaired and by the time
he's an adult it will only be a vague memory.
However, Will's real special need wasn't his cleft. His real special need
is related to an emotional disability and chemical imbalance in his brain.

And now as we hear words like "low levels of norepinephrine and dopamine " and "neurotransmitters".
They're words that have meaning to me because of my nursing background, but
now those words have additional meaning because they explain some things.
For the entire time we've had Will we've been learning more about him and
learning from him - attempting to understand and help this complex child.
He has sensory issues, problems with anger and defiance, and difficulty
attending and focusing in school.
We have a long road ahead, with no easy answers or a quick fix to any of this.
But we'll do whatever it takes to help Will cope with life and school a bit better.
Will has such a dear sweet heart and caring nature;
we want the world to see who he really is and not label him.

I am a photographer but that's just a part of who I am.
My most important role is that as a mom and right now my son needs me.
I couldn't possibly love this child anymore than I do right now.

The black and white of Will was taken about 30 minutes before sunset

and composed in camera using

the rule of thirds. 

Nikon d700

85mm 1.4 lens

f- 2.2

1/250 sec.

ISO 320

Favorite Photo Friday - time is flying by

(Grace is wearing Sophia Jane Boutique's shabby flower clip

that matches perfectly with the Matilda Jane Serendipity line)

In a little over 2 short months she'll be 10 years old.

Double digits.

My baby girl is growing up so fast.

And at almost 10 we're seeing a few glimpses of 'tween-dom'.
 (My made up word)
With some attitude changes now and then...perhaps it's a bit of those hormones kicking in...

And though I'd love for time to stop for quite a while,
I'm embracing it all.

Sweet Grace...my artistic, compassionate, caring, and kind daughter.
She is a dream come true!

21/52 - a slice of life

{5-6 days in May}

Per Instagram, a little view of our lives.
I think it's these ordinary things that I capture that will eventually be looked at as very special.

Starting at the upper left:
1. Grace and her friend playing with a fortune teller (Grace makes all kinds of sizes and plays with them often. 2. Grace and Will playing in the bath. 3. Grace's first 'official' pedicure.
4. Will chillin' with his
blankie and finger in his mouth (he does this when he's tired, and I think it's adorable).
5. Will on the tire swing last night.
6. Jack the kitty keeping an eye on the dog.
I am zoemom3 on Instagram.

Sunday Snapshot - Almost to the Finish Line

{Playing hopscotch}

 Grace and Will recently asked me how many days

 were left until Summer vacation.
We're doing a little countdown on the calendar until the last day of school.

As of today we have 13 and 1/2 days of school until it's here.

This is the first Summer we have nothing scheduled...no dance, no Summer school,
just Grace's birthday and a vacation to Door County in August.

I may be more excited about school getting out than they are...
We're hoping to have a couple of trips to the Chicago area to see friends.
Other than that they'll be spending some lazy days of sleeping late (wishful thinking on my part), running through the sprinkler, swimming,
playing with friends, and going to the library to check out new books to read.

It's hard to believe how fast this school year as flown by!

Though the first one is my favorite image,
it was a little mistake (as far as not what I was planning to shoot) that I found when I uploaded the pics.
I loved how as Grace was jumping, her legs framed Will in the bokeh and the
word 'finish' framed the bottom.
It's kind of funny because I'm finding as I continue on my journey
with photography some of those happy accidents with me and my camera
are becoming my very favorites.

Taken a few evenings ago with my Nikon d700.

50 mm lens

f/1.8 (the first image)

1/1600 sec.

ISO 640

Edited with Florabella's Classic Workflow actions

using Classic Color, 1968, and a tiny bit of Cross Process.
Please go on over and see some photographers that do amazing and inspiring
work at Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot.

20/52 - Birthday girl

{Zoe - age 1}

Our newest member of the family is officially one today.
Oh Zoe, what can I say about you?
You're a dear sweet girl who makes me laugh every day about your antics.
(Except for the week you chewed up 3 pairs of my shoes).
But we can pretend that didn't happen.

I'm hoping that she's full grown now, she weighs 65 lbs,
has long legs and can run like the wind.
Can't imagine our lives without her.

I've really been a terrible blogger lately and hope to be better about that...
have had a lot on my plate lately with the dance recital, end of school activities, and some things
going on with Will.
He's fine, I'll be blogging about what's been going on with him very soon.

19/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - it's showtime!

{Spring Recital}

I'll admit that this is one of my favorite times of the year,

and also some of my personal favorites as far as photos that I take
of my children.

There were some funky lighting situations... but I made the best of it and took

my time enjoying these moments.

(Grace and her friends waiting in the hallway before going on).

Last year at her recital I got thinking 

that there probably aren't too many people

that get to see this magical little 'world' that lies backstage at a dance performance.
The air is charged with excitement.

It is incredibly special to me.

(Older ballerinas watching Grace's class perform on stage.These girls were so encouraging to the younger ones).

And for Will...this was his first Spring recital.
The waiting part was a little hard for these guys
in the boys (5-7 yr.) hip hop class. They couldn't wait to show the audience what they could do.
The boys had 2 performances on Saturday and they did awesome!



(Waiting to go on...Will was the first onstage and led his group out).

Months and months of practice come down to this....
and finally it's their time in the spotlight.
My husband and I couldn't have been more proud of our two!

Grace had strep throat the week of the recital and missed both rehearsals as a result.
The photos of her were from Friday night of the ballet, "A MidSummer's Night Dream."
She was part of the lavender field.
Unfortunately she was too sick to dance on Saturday
and didn't get to perform in the ballet again or in her jazz and tap dances.
She was a little disappointed but is really looking forward to dancing again next year.
And thankfully she's healthy now.

Will's hip hip group danced to "My Girl" by Mindless Behavior.
He loved being on stage for his dance and also the finale (his first one).
He's still thinking about hip hop for next year but may possibly switch to gymnastics.
This boy can move!

And Happy Mother's Day a little early!

Sunday Snapshot - exquisite

{Grace - age 9 and 1/2}

The inspiration for these images
was my daughter Grace's
beautiful ballet dress.

My mother is a talented sewer, and it's from her that
I've gained a true appreciation for fabric, and love of color and design.
The pattern of the tiny beads on the top of this dress is exquisite
and I loved capturing the detail.

I originally thought I'd keep these images all in color 

but felt black/white suited them just as well.

You can see so much

 of this gentle, sweet soul (who is Grace)

in them.

These were taken early last week
when we had some time one late afternoon.
I used the beautiful north window light from different perspectives,
using light facing Grace, from the side and behind her.

Taken with my Nikon D700,
the portraits were taken with my 85mm 1.4 lens
with settings of:

 f/1.4
ISO - 320
 1/200 sec.

For the other images I used my 35mm 1.4 at:

 f/2
ISO - 1000
1/250-1/500 sec.

Edited with Florabella's bl/white 'Vanilla' action (one of my favorites for bl/whites).
I opened up the action and tweaked it a bit with the contrast and light, leaving the tones the same.
In the very first image I also added a little bit of 'White Haze' from her 'Hazy Skies Collection.'
I liked the effect.

For the color versions, I used Florabella's 'Classic Color' action with a touch of  'Soft Warmth'
on a couple of them.

For the last one of her profile,
 I did very little other than crop the image (it didn't need much)
and increase the contrast a bit. I love the simplicity of it.



As for personal favorites, I have two... they're the first one and second to last images.

Grace and her brother Will performed this weekend in their dance school's recital.

I'll blog about it later this week.

18/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - recital week

{Sunday at the dance school, waiting to get photos taken}

It's taken 9 months
of learning and practice
for Grace and William to get here, and recital time is nearly upon us.

I'd forgotten to bring my big camera (twice) to the dance school, so

 used my iphone to quickly get a few from this week and the above one was my favorite.

We've had a lot going on, add to that Grace has strep throat

and missed 4 days of school.
The antibiotic she's on has finally kicked in.

Right now I'm thinking she will perform Friday night and Saturday if she's up to it,
but we'll see.

Thankfully Mr. Will has stayed healthy,
keeping my fingers crossed with that one.


Below is Will at his dress rehearsal...unfortunately the end of the video
isn't there. He did a series of cartwheels and a round - off.
That's my boy! ;)

Have a great Friday!