Celebrating Her Special day(Sunday Snapshot)

 

Grace turned 11 in early August.
 That month for us was a crazy busy one with our vacation,
a trip into Chicago, me making a brief trip to Florida to see a friend
 and getting ready for school so

we elected to have her party last weekend.

We had it at a 'Kid Spa' in Madison
where the girls were pampered with manicures,
a glittery faux tattoo, and their choice of a little bit of
makeup to wear.

  

 

 

Oh and their choice of flavor of ice cream.

You can tell by the big smiles all around that they all had a GREAT time!

I love every single one of Grace's sweet friends

and we cherish their friendships.

 

 At an age where Grace still loves to play with her American Girl dolls
but would like to start wearing a little makeup,
she is definitely a tween.
And I'm taking in every moment of this time in her life.

 

A Million Little Things

 

 

"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things."

Unknown

 

 

 

Take 4 ten year olds girls and one 8 year old girl(little sister to Julia N.).

Add to that a weekend slumber party with their moms,

you end up with the "First Annual Slumberfest 2013."

Maybe it should have been called a gigglefest.

Grace and her Chinese sisters (all born in the Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province area)

and fellow travel group members, love getting together.

We make a priority in our lives to make this happen as often as we can

and hope to do it more frequently this year.

Next to these girls' relationship with each of their parents,

this important relationship is the longest they've had in their 10 years.

One we will continue to cherish and nurture.

 

I was the 'official' photographer of the weekend and here are some
of my favorite images.

The girls loved dancing Gangnam style, playing Minecraft on their ipods,

watching movies and of course eating.

Thank you Michelle for your hospitality and TLC!

 

26/52 - buds

{Being 6} 

They didn't start out as friends when they first met almost 4 years ago.
In fact they butted heads frequently and it wasn't pretty.
Thankfully that phase is over and these two can't seem to get enough time together.
When they play, Will is Batman and Cruz is Green Lantern.
They have boundless energy combined with zero attention span.
They're fun to photograph because they laugh a lot and make sound effects.
It's all six year old boy stuff!
Adorable.

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.

Favorite Photo Friday and 15/52 - Spring picnic

{Grace and Lydia}

I've written about Grace and Lydia before,

but to refresh your memory these girls first met at age 3 and 4 and
hit it off immediately.

Over 5 years later their friendship is going strong.

This week I had some thoughts about doing a little themed session with them,
so brought a few props along to an orchard that isn't far away.

Lydia will be turning 9 soon and every year as her birthday approaches,
I take photos of the two girls together.
It's a beautiful keepsake for them and their mommas.
They girls enjoy each other's company so much
 but haven't had the good fortune to be in the same class in school.
That doesn't seem to matter as we live only 2 houses apart and they get to spend lots of time together.
They're best friends, confidants, supreme gigglers, lovers
of sleepovers, American Girl dolls, cupcakes and sweet tea!
Oh...to be 9 again.

It was so fun to photograph these 2 on this beautiful Spring afternoon.

The apple blossoms were starting to open on the trees.

I can see where the term 'Spring green' came from, the grass and new leaves are such a vibrant shade 

this time of the year.

Oh, and as far as shooting my first 'themed' session, I was very happy with the results!

(The props weren't purchased for this, I already had the items in my home and thought they fit well with the theme).

Lisa hosts Favorite Photo Friday, so please be sure and see what she's up to...

and all of her beautiful photos.

Have a great weekend!

Sunday Snapshot - brothers and sisters

"It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on,
someone to count on...someone to tell on!"

~ unknown

"Help your brother's boat across, and your own will reach the shore."

~ Hindu proverb

"In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips."

~ unknown

The groundhog in Wisconsin was correct this year and we're

having an early Spring.

Sunshine, warmth and children playing outside together...today

they're making some childhood memories.

I think brothers and sisters can be embroiled in a sometimes - love 

and sometimes - hate relationship from the beginning. One minute

they're playing happily and the next, they're arguing about something

inconsequential. They learn to "push each other's buttons," manipulate, 

cajole, tease, share (whether they want to or not) and tolerate.

And they learn to forgive.

Grace is the typical big sister - she likes to boss Will around, tells on him

and sometimes has him wait on her like a "butler." They both have

strong personalities and want the other to play their way.

Will is a typical little brother - he adores Grace, follows her everywhere, 

spies on her, and bugs/torments her at times.

Both are delighted to get the last cookie, Popsicle, soda - anything

that denies the other something they might want.

That being said, they truly love each other and usually

are delightful together.

As I've said many times, we are so blessed to have them in our lives.

I happen to be an oldest sister with 3 younger siblings(a sister and 2 brothers).

My husband is the youngest brother of 7 children.

We both well understand this complex, yet wonderful

life long relationship Grace and William have.

And Stefanie at Ni Hao Yall has changed it upin a good way for her Sunday Snapshot.It's new and improved with a twist!
These were taken this week when we were off school for Spring Breakand took a walk around a local nature conservancy.I chose the top image as my best one. Not sure it's my best but it's my favorite becauseit was a candid of them doing what they do best...be kids.
All shot with my Nikon d700 and a 35mm 1.4 lens.
The settings were:f2.51/2000 sec.ISO 500
I brought all my pics into Lightroom and adjusted the exposure as needed.Then into photoshop CS 3 where I used Florabella'sClassic Color action at about 50%,1968 action at around 20%and Warm Color Pop at 32% on everything except their skin.

Sunday Snapshot - a fun tradition

They were a bit tentative at first about getting into the water.
They hadn't been in a pool since last Summer.

But once they got in, my littlest fish took to the water.

As did his sister.

For 4 years we've made it our little tradition
to have a get away from the dreary days and cold of Feb. or March
 We meet halfway between Madison and Chicago with
members of our China travel group. Some years it's a bigger group.
This year was a small group but no one complained.
In fact there were only smiles and laughter.
And lots and lots of talking and catching up with the momma's!
Friends who truly are family.

(Taken last weekend).
Thank you for the prayers for our family, they'reso appreciated and felt.

Cupcakes and cocoa

About 5 days before Christmas

Grace expressed the desire to have a little tea party with a couple of her friends.

It was hard to squeeze it in before the 25th, but we managed to have

a little get together just before New Years.

She had a little notebook and had written down
everything she wanted.
She's a list maker like her mom.

Marie Grace was invited,

as were Lydia and Izzy.

The tea party theme eventually turned into cupcakes and hot chocolate.

(Definitely their favorite Winter time drink.)

Grace and I baked and frosted the cupcakes the night before.

If you ever bake mini cupcakes, you fill

the papers about 2/3 full and bake at 325 degrees for 15 -18 minutes.

They turned out perfect.

3 sweet girls who happen to each live only a few houses away.

They're beautiful on the inside and out,

we're so thankful for best friends!

32/52 - birthday girls

They were nursery mates in their orphanage in China and share the same birthday.

We first met Julia's parents in our pre- travel to China group meetings almost exactly 8 years ago.

During the Summer they see each other frequently and Julia's mom and I make sure it's a priority to 

get these best friends together.

These were taken on their birthday at Julia's house. 

Their personalities compliment each other perfectly...we're so happy that the girls have each other!

black and white Wednesday - best friends forever

"If you're alone, I'll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder.

If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile.

 But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me."

~ Author Unknown

"I like her because she smiles at me and means it."

 ~Anonymous

(Local coffee shop that's within walking distance of our home. I loved the pink wrought iron tables and chairs.)

"A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be."

 ~Douglas Pagels

Lydia and Grace first met 5 years ago.
Grace was nearly 4 and Lydia was 3. The two hit it off from the start.
And they only live 2 houses away from each other!

Their friendship has been easy and it's been a joy for Lydia's mom
 and I to see their friendship blossom
and flourish.
We are fortunate to live in a neighborhood with many children
and there are several other girls in the same age range.
They all get along extremely well.
It's no surprise that their mommas do too!

Lydia recently had a birthday and I took portraits of her, like I do every year.
These are some of the candids of the 2 best friends.
I brought them to our favorite local coffee shop to get ice cream for the girls,
and then to an old Mill (that's now a quilt store)
for more pics.
The girls had a blast (and so did I!)
The pictures show the fun they had together.

It's Wednesday again, hop on over to Lisa's "The Long Road to China"
to see what's going on, and lot's more photography.