Merry Merry! (Sunday Snapshot)

 

 

Well it definitely was a Merry one.

All those days of preparation, shopping, wrapping, baking and cooking...

then it's over awfully fast.

 

 

 

 

 

And all that getting ready is worth every single second,

to see their faces.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a quiet, low key Christmas with my own family,

(Dan, me, Nick, his girlfriend Lindsay, Grace and William).

 

 

 

 

I put my camera down after I took these and didn't pick it up again,

which is good for me to do now and then.

Over the weekend we spent Saturday at my parents house with my 3 siblings

and their families.

A very, very fun evening and as always I laugh till I cry

when I'm with my two brothers and sister Betsy.

 

 

I hope everyone's Christmas was lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Some March daily pics

Winter does not seem to want to leave.

As a result I haven't liked taking many photos in the snow...

we are more than over it.
Come on Spring!

 

Starting at the top left: 1. low angle (Dan and Grace playing chess).

2. water (Droplets in a line on our Japanese Maple). 3. Friend (Will and his friend

playing crimefighters). 4. Shadows (Jack kitty looking handsome).

5. Selfie of me with my iphone.

and 6. hat (Grace wearing one of her favorite hats).

Birthday Girl (Sunday Snapshot)

{Grace and friends celebrating her 10th} 

I've been a mom for a very long time and I always try to make each of my children's birthday celebrations special. They have input about what they'd like to have for a party.
Some years the parties are family ones, some years they celebrate with friends.

Most of the time if the request is reasonable we can find a way to do it.

Grace (my little artist) loves to draw, paint and create. 

When she mentioned she'd like to have a party where she and her friends could get together and make something, I had the perfect place in mind... 

Located in Middleton, WI....Confectionique is a French inspired vintage craft market that sells the most beautiful things. One of the owners, Jessica(in the photos) teaches all kinds of classes.
May I add that Jessica is as sweet as a person can possibly be. 

The girls made little pink and white cakes out of Sculpey clay that they cut and rolled out that eventually were decorated and baked.

And of course they had to celebrate with cupcakes all around!

 

This was a treat for me because I thoroughly enjoyed myself just watching the girls interact, create and help my daughter celebrate her special day. I loved capturing Grace and her friends and some of the details of this adorable shop. 

The first image was taken with my Nikon d700.

35mm 1.4 lens

f/2

ISO 800

1/160 sec.

All were quickly edited in Photoshop with Florabella's

Classic Workflow actions. I used Classic Color,

with Ivory Boost and 1968.

She is 10 (Sunday Snapshot)

Dear Grace,

 Happy Birthday! Today you turn 10 years old...wow... We can't help but think back to the little baby we brought home nearly 9 years ago. So sweet and innocent...not much has changed in that department. You have grown so much - physically, mentally and emotionally. Though you are still a girl, we can see the beginnings of the young woman you will become. 

When you have children of your own one day (through biology or adoption), you'll find that you never know what you're going to get. Everyone is different and all have their strengths and weaknesses. We've been blessed to have you - which is where we got your name in the first place...By the Grace of God. your name couldn't be more appropriate. You're full of grace, carry yourself with grace...and we delight in being a part of your life because you brighten ours so much. 

There are so many things that you'll learn over the next 10 years that we can't begin to tell you everything. Instead, we'll give you some advice gathered through our own life experiences.

 1) Be happy. This is easily said but requires work every day. Every day of life is full of good and bad things; winning, losing, happiness, sadness, hard work, pain, good luck, bad luck, accomplishments and failures. It's all there and we all control how we respond to it. Focus on the good, fun and enjoyable things in life. There are so many. Get through the hard times...."Hit, lift and drive," as Grandpa likes to say. Bad times will happen but once they're in the past, they don't seem that bad. 

2) Let your light shine. You've always been a happy, joyful person who loves to laugh and smile. You can brighten a gloomy night and bring a smile to sad faces. Share your joy and love of life. Don't be afraid to take risks or be yourself. There will be mean unhappy people in the world who will be jealous of your happiness. Ignore them and don't let them steal your smile or joy. 

3) Challenge yourself. Set your own goals and don't take the easy road. We grow by stretching ourselves out of our comfort zone; by trying and learning new things. Self confidence comes from achieving what we set out to do. If we let others set goals for us, we'll always be trying to live up to someone else's standard. Set your own course and enjoy the ride.

4) Lastly, be strong. You don't need to be told this but it's good to remind yourself from time to time. Whether you realize it or not, you have overcome tremendous obstacles and challenges in your short life. There will be more but you have a strong spirit and your inner strength will carry you the rest of your life.

 It is a gift from God.

 Never let it go.

Grace, you're a wonderful daughter, a great sister and a beautiful person - inside and out.
We thank God every day that you're a part of our lives.
Happy Birthday darling.











I chose the first image as my favorite because of Grace's expression.
The last one makes me cry every time I look at it, I imagine
she looks very much like her birth mother.
A woman who I honor and pray for especially on this day.

Nikon d700
35mm 1.4 lens
f/2.5
ISO 200
1/640 sec.

The location was the Wisconsin Historical Society Building
on the UW Madison campus.
The stone on the steps and walkway were a natural reflector.

I wanted to do something special for her 10 year old portraits
and that's why we chose the silver embellished crown.
It's handmade by Kelly of the Love Crush Bowtique.
You can find her here and here.

28/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - He's a fish

{Will wearing his new goggles}

We lived in California 17 years ago and were lucky enough to have a pool. 

My oldest was in elementary school in those days and he swam pretty much every single day.

We're water people and usually try to vacation somewhere near it. This is the first year

we've joined a pool here in Wisconsin and are using it quite frequently.
 My little swimmer(shown above) has definitely found his fins.
Will has never officially taken swimming lessons but he's learned quickly and has really taken to water.

He's already mastered all those fun water things we did as kids...cannon balls, standing on his hands, forward roll, backward roll, he's even attempted cartwheels underwater. His new favorite game... he is 'AquaMan' and I'm the shark that chases him.
We are loving our Summer!

Keepin' cool - Sunday Snapshot

{What you do on a blazing hot Summer day} 

(Lots of giggling going on here).

A month ago when I bought the Summer pool membership,

I had no idea that this would be the hottest Summer on record in over 100 years.

It's been as handy as a snow blower in the Wisconsin Winter.

Both Grace and Will were initially afraid to try the water slides, tube slides

and lazy river but we can't say that now.

This pool has been a blast for all of us and a welcome relief from the heat.

The first snapshot of the girls under the wall of water was

taken with my Nikon d700.

50mm 1.4 lens

F/2.5

ISO 200

1/4000 sec.

Spot metered.

Edited in levels and curves in photoshop to my taste.

Please stop by Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot for many more images.

July - Sunday Snapshot

{Summer sky}

"Like painted kites, those days and nights
They went flying by
The world was new beneath the blue
umbrella sky..."

 Excerpt from "The Summer Wind", lyrics by Johnny Mercer

I have quite a few photographers that I admire and one of my favorites
is Audrey Woulard.
I just finished re-reading her book,
Natural Enlightenment Photography.

I consider Audrey a master of light and color.
And secretly I like that she shoots with the same camera as me. ;)
I don't claim to be any Audrey Woulard and it was fun to put my own spin on some of the things she uses
with her photography style.

For these photos I did what Ms. Woulard does with her clients as far as I styled Grace minimally
with clothing and props.
Less was definitely more here as the setting of the blue- green water, the weathered pier
and endless blue sky spoke volumes.

These were taken in pretty much full sun at 11am a few days ago.
The pier and water worked as natural reflectors.
With the first image, I was facing West...hence the brilliant blue sky.
 I deliberately wanted to capture that color.
It was one of those perfectly clear days
without a cloud.


In the first image Grace was looking back at a family of ducks
swimming toward the pier.

Nikon d700
35mm 1.4 lens
f/2.5
ISO 250
1/5000 sec.

Edited in Lightroom and  then Photoshop with Florabella's
Classic Bright action on a low opacity.


See many more images at Ni Hao Y'all's Sunday Snapshot!





(Grace's dress and hair clips are from JCrew).

Click It Up a Notch - June

{Baby E} 

My very favorite photo taken in June.

I had a session with a family of seven who had recently

adopted this beautiful toddler from Ethiopia.

She was peacefully resting in her Daddy's arms.

24/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - road trip

{Summer in Wisconsin}

No Wisconsin road trip would be complete without seeing canoes (so many lakes here)

and wildflowers, as we drove to our destination.

One of my goals for the Summer with my kids
is to have them try or experience some new things.

They're experienced travelers. 

Both have traveled with us quite a bit and their passports have gotten a fair bit of use

for people their age.

They've been pumpkin and apple picking, but no strawberry picking.

My last strawberry picking experience was in Northern California many years

ago when my oldest was a little guy.

Thankfully it was pretty cool for this time of the year (in the 70's)

and we didn't have full sun beating down.

Both kids hung in there and were troopers.

Grace was totally into it and she was a bit competitive.

I helped Will get his berries.

 I had to explain to him that we only pick the red ones (he was gathering any and all, 

even the green ones at first). 

They were all fair game.  ;)

Will found a heart shaped strawberry and was showing it to his sister.

(These small berries are so sweet, no sugar needed).

You can tell our little adventure was a big success...
I'm thinking blueberries in July when they come into season?