837 - my last post

"The journey is the reward." ~ Chinese Proverb

 

This is my 837th blog post, and the last one.

It was August 2007 that I wrote my first post on 'Aging with Grace and strong Will.'

I certainly found my voice

about adoption, attachment, my children, and then visually through photography.

I've met some incredible friends through this blog, many of them lifelong ones and Will's entire adoption trip in 2008 was documented here too. So this blog is precious to me

and I will be getting it printed into book form.

 

Blogging has changed a lot since those former days and I will still be posting

but now it'll be here at my brand new blog, A Mother's Art Photography.

Photography is a lifelong journey for me

and I will continue to write about our life, my children and some of my favorite photography sessions. I will also write about what inspires me to capture some of  photos that I do

and even how I shoot them.

I hope you'll follow me on this journey.

 

And just because I had to post some sort of photo, the above is some of our February,

Instagram style.

1. Mr. Will drawing Wolverine (his current fave Super Hero). 2. Colorful Ranunculus flowers. 3. A serious Will waiting at the doctor's office for a pre-op physical. 4. Cool brick wall and arched windows in an antique store that I was browsing. 5. Grace and her friend Izzy dressed in costumes at their 5th grade musical. 6. Grace up on stage, she was a Thai Lantern Girl in the production. 7. Photos for Will's Star of the Week timeline, he helped me chose photos for it. 8. Will right before he left for the OR for an oral surgery he had last week. 9. A pensive Will looking out the window.

Will is fully recovered and did great.

He has a palate surgery coming up in the next 1-2 years.

 

 

I am on Instagram, here if you'd like to follow me and see what we're up to.
Thank you for the last 6 plus years.

xoxo
Gail



June Snapshots

Some of our June.

We've been out of school almost exactly two weeks and I think we've

discovered our 'new normal.'

Though normal every day is a bit different.

Grace started Summer school this week and is enjoying it very much,

she's taking an arts and crafts class and a reading/writing class.

Will gets to be a man of leisure with me in the mornings for now.

We've been swimming in the afternoon and they start VBS next week in the evenings.

 

1. They are now officially 5th and 2nd graders and I cannot believe

how much they've grown and how fast this school year has flown by.

2. Selfie 3. Yummy strawberries, we are loving all the seasonal fruit right now.

4. Grace and Will were baptized on Father's Day. They each thought of and wrote

a statement of faith, and spoke in front of our congregation. Grace read the 23th Psalm

and told everyone it is her favorite because she knows 'God is always with her' when she reads it.

Will summarized Christianity in 9 sentences and elaborated on several.

The congregation enjoyed it very much and we were struck by how moved

everyone was.

Dan and I are extremely proud!

5. Clark Kent made an appearance in our backyard.

6. Red poppies (taken with my dslr).

May Instagram Love

The month of May has flown by for us.

That's probably due to school winding down and the recital.

Grace and Will have only 5 and a half days left of school until they're out for the Summer!

 

I use my iphone for most of the photos I post on Instagram,

and the above are some of my favorites from May.

1. My little 'cool dude' Will. 2. Grace with her best friends. 3. Grace and her friend Tess

waiting to get their photos taken at the dance school.

4. Will at hip hop dress rehearsal. 5. Grace before we left for the recital. 6. Backstage.

7. My 'happy place' as of late, my favorite garden center which I've visited a few times.

8. Our white lilacs in full bloom. 9. A serious Ironman.

29/52 - Instagram catch-up

{Mid July} 

A little catch up per Instagram from the last week to 10 days.

Starting in the upper left and moving right: 1. Grace ready to leave for a friends' birthday party.

2. A very wet Zoe from swimming at the dog park, she was drying off in the grass.

3. Summer evening sky. 4. 3 nine year olds being silly and making me laugh.

5. A tired Will after spending an afternoon swimming at the pool.

6. Wisconsin in Summer, red barns and Queen Anne's Lace.

25/52 - June 14 - 18th

{A few from the past week and weekend}

It's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that 2012 is almost halfway over. 

It's week 25.
Instagram seems to be my way of taking photos once a day. 

From the top left: 1. Grace and her friend Julia in the Justice store. Grace is now in the Chicago area spending a week with her lifelong friend. 2. Chicago downtown street. I met two lovely ladies there on Friday that I work for/with at An Orphans Wish. 3. Father's Day 2012, spent the afternoon with my parents. My Dad is in is early 80's and is healthy and happy, he's one lucky man. 4. Three nine year old girls playing in a box and being silly!

Our Summer has been awesome so far.

23/52 - my life

{Instagram pics from the last week} 

Starting in the upper left hand side: 1. Will on his class field trip to the zoo. 2. Me right after getting my hair cut. 

3. Grace and a friend playing in the evening (having a sleepover). 4. Yellow flower in my backyard 5. Grace

drawing a flamingo on the Smart Board for her class talent show. 

6. Will with his cute feet in a new pair of flip flops (Superman).

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.