(Sunday Snapshot) Summer

 

 

"The earth laughs in flowers."

 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

 Our peonies bloomed late this year, it was last week and they surely
didn't last long.
That's why I decided to take some photos of them.
I frequently say I don't have a favorite flower,
I love all of them.
But really peonies are my favorite...

 I've been a terrible blogger lately, school is out for the Summer,
then I got sick with some viral thing for a week.
I will try and play catch up very soon.

 

Spring in all it's glory

I love flowers and I love to photograph flowers.

The great thing about that is they don't run away or make a face when you attempt a photo.

Our Spring is late but I'm not complaining one little bit.

Enjoying it all...

Favorite Photo Friday - time is flying by

(Grace is wearing Sophia Jane Boutique's shabby flower clip

that matches perfectly with the Matilda Jane Serendipity line)

In a little over 2 short months she'll be 10 years old.

Double digits.

My baby girl is growing up so fast.

And at almost 10 we're seeing a few glimpses of 'tween-dom'.
 (My made up word)
With some attitude changes now and then...perhaps it's a bit of those hormones kicking in...

And though I'd love for time to stop for quite a while,
I'm embracing it all.

Sweet Grace...my artistic, compassionate, caring, and kind daughter.
She is a dream come true!

17/52 and Favorite Photo Friday - looking out my front door

{Beauty}

Early Tuesday morning after coming back from walking

our pup Zoe, I grabbed my camera and went out
the door again...to take some photos.

It didn't take long for me to find beauty in the ordinary, the mundane, and the things

I sometimes take for granted that I see and look at every day.

These photos remind me to appreciate and celebrate what is around me
each and every day.

(I imagine I looked kind of funny laying on my belly in the grass, 
capturing the dandelions gone to seed. Ah...what we'll do for a photo).


Happy Friday!

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 - vacation days

So as I look back at the many pictures from our little getaway recently,
I can't help but smile and remember this special place.
I think I'll call it one of the best kept secrets as far as vacation spots in the U.S.
My husband and I started coming up here before we adopted Grace, so this
was a first for our two littles.

There are quaint little villages that have Norwegian, Icelandic and French Canadian influences,
that have names like Egg Harbor, Ephraim, Fish Creek, Sister Bay, Bailey's Harbor
and others.
We stayed in Ephraim which is known for it's views of Eagle Harbor off Green Bay,
and it's charming white buildings and stone fences.
You can see why Door County is sometimes called the 'Cape Cod of the Midwest.'

(At historic Anderson dock in Ephraim, WI as the sun is starting to set).

Some of our favorite parts of the trip was our time at Wilson's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor,

swimming twice a day, the beautiful sunsets, delicious tart cherries, perusing a few antique shops, the food,

 seeing the lighthouses, wine tasting and watching the sailboats on the bay.

The best part...spending time with the people I love the most, my husband and Grace and Will...just us.

Looking forward to returning again soon, someday!

24/52 - Summer garden

(If you look really close at the image on the right side, there's a bee on the daisy in the foreground.)

Summer is in full bloom here in Wisconsin.

These aren't mine, I found them near the Mill from my previous post and pics

about Grace and her friend Lydia.

I'm a flower and garden lover going back to as long as I can remember.

Happy Friday, hope your weekend is wonderful!

black and white Wednesday - my little buddy

I find age 5 a very helpful one...whether it's putting away toys,

 his dishes on the counter after a meal...

Or going to the flower farm to help me choose flowers to plant...

Mr. Will happily complies and goes along with me (every Friday he's with me all day)

to wherever it is that we may need to travel.

This particular day he met a new friend.

And checked out the red tractor,

then excitedly ran to tell me all about it.

We walked back and he sat on it and pretended to drive of course.

I was looking for a certain color of flower (yellow) and stopped to look at these herbs.

We walked to the back of the farm and Will navigated the wagon.

He demonstrated some awesome wagon handling skills if I say so myself.

We then hit the jackpot at the greenhouse at the back of the farm

where I found just what I was looking for...

and Will took a little rest.

It was right about this time 3 years ago that we received

our PA and then LOA (letter of approval) from China to adopt Will.

 I've been moving a lot of my pictures off
my hard drive to make more room.
I found the below black and white scan of one of the first pictures we saw of Will
in his file in 2008.
I don't have an original picture, it's a copy (not a great one) but I treasure it.
I have no idea how old he was here,
but he's just precious and you can see why we said YES to this little boy!

Presently there are many more little boys than girls on the Waiting Children or Special Needs

lists for China.

If you're thinking of adopting, please consider a son.

They're wonderful.

i heart faces photo challenge - May flowers

Magnolias

Our Spring in southern Wisconsin has been slow to arrive and pretty rainy and cold.

Recently we've had some beautiful sunny days and I noticed this Magnolia tree

in full bloom near my son's preschool.

The fragrance was heavenly!

Check out more beautiful flowers for the i heart faces photo challenge this week.