favorite foto(s) Friday

A couple of my favorite pics taken in the last 2 weeks. Mr. Will above playing on the monkey bars(and he's quite the monkey). You can see his daddy behind him helping another little boy. I love Will's focus and concentration on what he's doing.
And finally, Grace at her first riding lesson in silhouette with the sunlight behind her
in the stable door. I've never taken a picture like this and I love the contrast in it and image of Grace, her teacher and the horse.

Happy Friday, hope this weekend is a fun one!

it's that time of the year!

I think Will is saying 'whoo hoo' as he celebrates school being out for the Summer...of course with a cartwheel! I have a big smile on my face as I remember (well) that deliriously wonderful feeling of what it was like to have the entire Summer ahead.


Will has come SO far this year and will not be in Early Childhood preschool next year. In his teacher's own words, 'It's been an absolute joy to watch him grow and change. Emotionally, he's matured greatly.' She feels he's no longer a candidate for this type of classroom and would like to see him challenged a bit more academically, and believes he's up for it(and we heartily agree!) This Fall he'll start in a local preschool that emphasizes Math and Music(2 subjects that he demonstrates a gift in), he'll still receive Speech and Occupational therapy through our district and they'll come to his school. Will is a popular guy who has many friends and his teachers adore him, he's the kind of child you meet and never forget(in a wonderful way). This is bittersweet for me because we've grown to love his teachers, classroom aides and Speech and OT who have done so much for our little boy. It truly does take a village to raise a child.
And miss Grace will be a second grader, I can hardly believe it! Grace is the type of child that loves everything about school very much, and doesn't want it to be over for the Summer. She has exploded with her reading and loves it(just like her mamma), learned to tell time, count money, writes many stories and has a gift for art in my opinion. She'll continue with a reading program this Summer to keep her skills going strong.

(Grace's hat, zebra flower and pink and black pettiskirt came from Kimberley's, Sophia Jane Boutique)
As for our Summer, we'll have some lazy unscheduled days which we need. Grace will continue swimming and is starting a ballet/tap class. We have VBS starting in 2 weeks, trips to Chicago to get together with friends, and birthdays and a family vacation in early August to the beach. At the beginning of every Summer I think we have so much time ahead and then it flies by. But for now we're ready to relax and enjoy every single moment, and I hope you do too! :)

Grace ~ early Summer (Sweet Shot Tuesday)

My seven year old daughter, taken last week at a location I've only used once before.

I had many images I loved and these were three of my favorites. With the first one, I liked the contrast of colors of the balloons and her skirt with the background. The above one because the expression is so true to her peaceful personality. And the below one is a favorite...well just because I loved it and it says Summer to me. :)

Please check out more beautiful pictures for 'Sweet Shot Tuesday' here.

{waltz of the flowers}

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly. "One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~ Hans Christian Andersen

I have loved flowers for as long as I can remember, and as a child the first flowers I tried planting were sunflowers and nasturtiums. Every house we moved to, my parents had a garden and my Dad has taught me to love and appreciate roses. May I add he's more talented at growing them than I am!

Every year I try something new...I'm thinking of trying dahlias next.



I called this post, 'waltz of the flowers' because so many of them like my poppies, roses and peonies (that I don't have a current picture of) remind me of a dancer's skirt or dress. I have never found a flower than I didn't absolutely love...whether it's the shape and form, color, or scent... they always draw me in.
Some people don't like to photograph flowers, but not me. I love taking pictures of them.
Right now our garden is vibrant and lovely and I'm happy I can capture some of that.
These beautiful days of early Summer.

friends forever

'These are the days we'll remember forever." ~ unknown

A little bit of our weekend with dear friends... Emily is 5, Will is 4 and he has a big crush on this pretty little girl. Will was pretending that he was 'Clark Kent'...that's why he's wearing the glasses. ;)

We spent 2 days with Grace's best friend Julia and her sister Emily. Julia is a lover of horses and asked Grace to go along with her to ride. Grace had her first lesson. She was a little nervous at first, but truly did love it...her horse's name was Royal.

Though we live 2 hours apart, these 2 girls always pick up where they left off. Julia's mother and I make it a point to get our daughters together as often as we can. I love to see them giggle, play and catch up with what's going on in their lives. Two girls born on the same day, brought to the same SWI, and adopted by American parents who happened to live in the Chicago area at the time of their adoptions. I believe they'll be friends always, and will do anything to help this friendship flourish. They are sisters in so many ways.

Julia 'Hui Mei' and Grace 'Lan Li.'

Both born 8/6/2002, our beautiful Jiangxi girls.

Soon to be 8 years old in early August...the time goes so fast doesn't it? It seems like they were just babies.

workshop, week and weekend

(These are 2 of the beautiful models from the workshop I attended this week, there was also an adorable little boy and another senior girl.)

Not sure how to start this post because we've had so much going on this week, so I guess I'll jump right in. My head is still spinning from the workshop and I'm not quite sure how to articulate it all adequately. So to summarize it briefly, in the 2 days spent with Amy Wenzel, I feel like I learned more than I have in the last year! What a gifted photographer and teacher...she spoke about how she started her photography business, what worked and didn't work for her, how she decided to specialize in her particular market and for me... boosted my confidence with my own photography and inspired me tremendously. My good friend Colleen and I are still processing it all. We met Grace for the first time in person, who is as lovely, genuine and funny as she is on her blog. Anyway, hands down the best money I've spent
as far as investing in myself and what I love to do, which is take pictures. Amy is truly a sweetheart and as beautiful on the inside as the outside. And we had the added excitement of spending an extra night in Grand Rapids due to our flight being cancelled due to thunderstorms. Almost forgot to add we also got together with Steffie, Kimberley and Tanya for dinner the first night, all friends that live locally. An amazing and fun week...I think Colleen and I may have to do a little road trip back to Michigan maybe this Summer!

As the week winds down and we get ready for a 3 day weekend, (we will be spending it with friends in Chicago)...I hope you have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend. Summer is pretty much here it looks like... we're looking forward to sleeping in a little later, swimming, playing at the water park and spending time with dear friends and family!

{Superman}

Superman(wearing swim goggles of course) AKA William, or Will or Spiderman or Batman these days...depending on what mood he is in. He is my little super hero and cracks us all up with his vivid imagination. 2 years ago we saw his picture for the first time in his file. We asked to adopt him and China agreed. Things went so fast after that and we were in China in less than 2 months. I've been missing China a lot lately. For both of our adoptions we traveled in hot and humid Summer months and I'm reminded of it right now. China is the kind of place that you visit and can never get out of your head...whether it is a smell, the heat, or a sound that triggers a memory. The last 2 years have been amazing and Will is truly a gift to our family.

On a very different note, I'll be leaving town tomorrow for a photography workshop in Michigan taught by the extremely talented Amy Wenzel. I hope to learn a lot and will be meeting some blog friends (some for the first time) and new photography ones too. Thank you Dan for holding down the fort while I'm gone! Have a wonderful week. :)

{friends}

'Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.' ~ Girl Scout motto

'A hug is worth a thousand words, a true friend is worth more.' ~ unknown

And Pooh said to Piglet, "Life is so much friendlier with two." ~ A.A. Milne

(There are more pictures of the 2 of them together and I plan to make little albums for them both.)

Grace and her dear friend Lydia first met almost 4 years ago, two 3 year old little girls who hit it off from the start. We live only 2 houses away from Lydia's family and at age 7, I would definitely call them best friends. And friends who are about as close as sisters. They giggle endlessly, play dress up, do crafts, spy on their little brothers, go to the same church and school, have sleepovers and even argue now and then like sisters. They also wear the same size in clothes and are in the same grade in school. I know that time and circumstance can change friendships, but I hope they will always be close. I love this special relationship that they share and Lydia's mother is one of my best friends. I consider Carla my little sister. We are extremely blessed to have them in our lives. :)