Sunday Snapshot (Thankful)

As I write this November is 2/3 over and Thanksgiving
is nearly here.
I realize that I almost got through this month without doing another blog post
but decided to get this one in.
It's been a busy month for me for various reasons, but not too busy to reflect a little bit about
what I'm thankful for...

I'm thankful that Will is a happy person and that he surprises me almost everyday. 
The things he knows and asks about, the things he thinks about and does - always make me smile
 and wonder how we got him. 
I'm thankful that Will is smart and kind - it will make his road a little easier.  I'm thankful that he has a strong belief in God - it will give him strength through hard times.  I'm thankful that Will loves his family - it makes our Wisconsin winters a bit warmer.
And finally I'm thankful that I get to be his mom.

 

(Sunday Snapshot) 10 Years Ago

 

"You don't choose your family, they are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
~ Desmond Tutu

 

 

 "There is only one happiness in life - to love and be loved."

~ George Sand

 

 

 

 "You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the
universe is unfolding as it should."

~ Desiderata



 

 

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name

welcomes me."

 

~ Matthew 18:5

 

My first glimpse of her in a referral photo was 10 years ago in early July of 2003.
She looked a little forlorn and sad, and I loved her instantly.

All those little details of how we first met are still with me and
it's a moment I will never forget as long as I live.
Dan and I were nervously waiting in our room in the Gloria Plaza Hotel in Nanchang.
It was a Sunday evening around 7:30 pm and there was a knock at the door.
The orphanage director, our social worker, and a nanny holding our baby girl
named 'Fu Lan Li' entered the room.
It was absolutely silent until I softly spoke to Lanli (Grace).
Though quite shy, she smiled at me and came easily into my arms.
In an instant the hole in my heart that had been there for years
was healed.
I was holding an angel, sent straight from heaven.
The rest of that evening really was somewhat of a glorious blur, but
I do remember playing with Grace, feeding her, holding and loving her.
All of our lives have changed profoundly since that late Summer evening
in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.
Grace (Fu Lan Li) is so much more than we could have possibly ever
hoped for or dreamed.

10 years later Grace is now an eleven year old
and you can clearly see the lovely young lady that she has become.
She is happy, healthy, thoughtful and kind, a good friend to all and deeply loved
by those who know her.

Recently, I was told that Dan and I have had remarkable lives.
I have to admit I've never thought of it that way...
remarkable, yes(maybe) but if it has been that, it's because of our profound
experiences with adopting both Grace and William
and our lives with them.
For me it was also my last trip to China in 2012
with An Orphan's Wish that helped me to understand a little bit better
both of my youngest childrens' stories before they came to live with us,
and even see for my eyes what it's like to be an orphan.
I say listen to that little voice that is your heart
and follow it.
An orphan child's dream for a family can come true.

10 years ago we were forever changed for the better.
To our dearest Grace,
we cannot possibly imagine our lives without you.
 xoxo

Mommy

 

I felt I had to do something very special

to quietly observe Grace's 10th forever family day

and did that by taking this series of photos for her.



Choosing a location out of my regular comfort zone of fields and countryside,
I took these at the Monona Terrace, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
in 1938 but wasn't constructed on Lake Monona in Madison until the mid 1990's.

I loved the lines and curves and beautiful light.
It all suited my subject quite well. ;)
 

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.
 

(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.

(Sunday Snapshot) - my greatest gifts

There is no way to be a perfect mother... but a million ways to be a good one.

~ unknown

 

 

 

God could not be everywhere, so He created mothers. ~ Jewish Proverb

 

 

 

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.
~ Oprah Winfrey

 

 

My greatest gifts have been the days I became a mother.

I still have moments where it's hard to believe that I got be a mom

 a second and third time after many years.

Personally I've never felt a love so profound

and it doesn't matter if your child comes from your body or through adoption.

I know of no stronger bond than between a mother and her child.

 

My Mother's Days have never been about expensive gifts

or big meals. I usually receive the most perfect handmade

cards and drawings or pictures and we all spend time together as a family.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms and Grandmas, and the mothers who wait for their

children.

We remember the mothers who are now in heaven.

And as always on Mother's Day I honor and say a prayer for the two birth mothers in China who

gave me my two youngest, and say thank you.
However motherhood comes, it's always a miracle!

 

 

 

 

 

Captured of Grace in her ballet costume this week,

her Spring dance recital is coming up soon.

It's our little tradition to photograph her.
(In past years indoors and this time outside with some beautiful light).

 

 

Cabin Fever

{Yesterday afternoon after homework, I come around the corner and this is what I find.}
 

Someone's been a little bit restless lately and trying to find other things to do indoors

 besides playing with legos, toys or his DS. 

Zoe doesn't like to be left out and decided she could get in the photo of Will. ;)
She saw Will sitting there, stepped over him and stayed for a little while.
I think she was posing.
 

Back to our case of 'cabin fever,'
Will's cure for it is doing headstands, headstands going into handstands
roundoffs and cartwheels and roundoffs with back handsprings.

 

Spring Break is coming soon, we're hanging around locally but will find some fun things to do!

In Between

 

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,

it became a butterfly."

 

~ unknown

 

 

"Beauty is not in the face;

beauty is a light in the heart."

 

~ Kahlil Gibran

 

 

 

 In a blink of an eye she is growing up. It seems like yesterday that
she was wearing princess dresses and having tea parties.
Officially she's a 'tween.'
So I guess that means she's 'in between' a child and a teenager.
Grace still loves and plays with her American Girl dolls, Barbies
and collects puppy stuffed animals.
Oh and she wants a phone.
I don't see a phone in the future for a while.
Not yet.

She is a child, and wants to grow up so fast.
Now I think it would be great if time would slow down.
I am a conservative momma in many ways
and am fiercely protective of her.
Grace has overcome many obstacles and challenges
in the last 10 years and I couldn't be more proud
of this girl who is my daughter.
I couldn't possibly love her more.

 

Week 4

{Wild - captured this morning}


Another week has gone by.
And February is near which means Spring isn't far behind!

Some more photos of the day with their prompts:
1. Wild - Our bed hog dog, Zoe making herself comfortable.
2. Cold - a bitter cold snowy field near our little town.
3. A Circle - a curvy circle, that's a beautiful little dish given to me
by a thoughtful friend. 4. Frozen - snowflakes on my red mitten.
5. Snuggle - Will with his much loved and well worn blankie.

It's been  horribly cold this week and I know

it's cold when our dog Zoe doesn't want to go out.

 

The prompt or theme on Tuesday was 'Bright' and

I went with some lemons we had in a bowl.

The color yellow makes me happy during these grey Winter days.

 

 

 

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.

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

Merry Christmas!

Behind all the commercial-ism of the season
is the simple story about a family trying to get through difficult times.
And a baby born in a manger.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

~ Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas!

 May you find the blessings of Christmas - peace, love and hope...today and always.