Light and Dark (Sunday Snapshot & 2/52 Project)

Penny for her thoughts.

As light is a precious commodity here in Winter

as it doesn't last long and we can have some grey, overcast skies.

When I see the opportunity to use a little window light, I use it.

Taken last Wed. before we left for ballet.

I love the way the light falls off her face

and the dark gently wraps around her as if to give her a hug.

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Birthday Boy!

 

 

There are very few birthday photos of Will without

him near our Christmas tree.

Will is our Christmas baby.

 

 

 

 

Recently I asked Will a few questions and thought I'd share them ~

 

What do you like about the fact that your birthday is on Christmas Day?

(Will) I love that it's Jesus' birthday and it's when the baby King was born.
 I also

really like to get presents.

 

What are your favorite subjects in school?(he loves school)

(Will) Math and Science. Mostly I like them because I love to learn new things and

how to figure out how things work.

 

Who's your current favorite Superhero or Crime Fighter?

(Will) It's a tie between Batman and Wolverine.

 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

(Will) A Scientist, rock star, athlete, and Doctor

 

 

 

 

We have no doubt that William will accomplish all those things and more!

This mom hopes for the doctor, I dream of him helping children someday.

 

Happy Birthday sweet boy, we love you to the moon and back!

 

 

 

 







Getting into the Christmas Spirit (Sunday Snapshot)

 

 

 “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!” 

~ Dr. Suess, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

 

I've often wondered, what is the Christmas spirit?
What does that mean?
It seems like people are happier, kinder
and more giving.
It's a shame that it goes away after Christmas is over.
Maybe we can all try to keep Christmas in our hearts
all year round.

 

 

 

 

These were all taken this week...

the bits and pieces that I saw of Christmas around me.

Vintage tree decorations that come from my mother in law's family,

Will's school Christmas program, Grace performing at a benefit for a local

charity that helps families, and the lights at a nearby tree lot.

I see Christmas in all the details.

I leave shortly to photograph the live Nativity at our church tonight.

I hope you see Christmas around you.

 

 

 

 



Keeping Christmas in my Heart(Sunday Snapshot)

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

 

  ~ Charles Dickens

 

As much as I enjoy seeing the Christmas decorations and giving gifts to people I love.

  It is easy to feel a lot of pressure to get the decorating & shopping done, the cards sent, the presents wrapped and all of the other activities going on this time of year. 

 Unfortunately, it is way too easy to forget about the reason for the season. 

Getting out into the quiet of the snow with Grace was a great way to get back to what is really important: love, family, simple beauty and God. 

 The blessings of the season are with us everyday. 

 We should try to enjoy them as much as we can. 
Time passes so quickly and these days will be fond memories before we know it. 

A Christmas Carol

The shepards had an angel,
The wise men had a star;
But what have I, a little child,
To guide me home from far,
Where glad stars sing together,
And singing angels are?

~ Christina Rossetti
written in 1856



 

 

Tradition (Sunday Snapshot)

 

 

 

 At Christmas, all roads lead home. 

~Marjorie Holmes

 

 

 

 

Growing up my family had the tradition of cutting
down our Christmas tree and as the years have gone by
and I now have my own family, we've continued it.
We moved to Wisconsin 8 years ago when Grace
was a little one of 3. That year Dan carried her
through the tree farm and it was bitter cold!
We still go to the same farm to find our tree and now
my two youngest definitely help and voice their own opinion
on which is the perfect tree.
This year the tree we chose is the tallest we've ever had.

I think I love this entire experience so much because
we get to drink yummy hot apple cider and
the fragrance of the fresh trees outdoors always
speaks of Christmas to me.


(Taken yesterday afternoon, the hazy light was gorgeous)

 

Welcome Autumn (Sunday Snapshot)

If you stand still outside you can hear it...
 Winter's footsteps, the sound of falling leaves.

 

~ unknown

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came,

The Ashes, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name.

The sunshine spread a carpet,
And every thing was grand;
Miss Weather led the dancing;

Professor Wind, the band....
The sight was like a rainbow
New-fallen from the sky....

 

~ George Cooper, "October's Party"

 

 

Autumn is here in Wisconsin.
This week our yellow leaves popped,
next will be the oranges and reds.

It's my favorite season for many reasons but
as a photographer I notice the light is low in the sky, golden
and delicious in color.
This week I took Grace out to a new location and loved the light in the trees.
I can't get enough of seeing these Fall colors
and spending as much time as we can as a family
outdoors.

 

 

(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. ;)
 

(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.

 

 



(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.