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.

 

 

Little Boys and Football

 

A Mom's Observations About Flag Football

 

(Now Will is the first of my 3 children to try flag football,

so it's new too me. These are some things I noticed)

 

~ There's quite a bit of energy out on that field of little boys

and it's not necessarily going in the right direction

 

~ Pulling a flag seems to be harder than tackling

 

~ There is some little boy that cries on every play(after all they're only 7)

 

~ The favorite play is "RUN!"

 

 

 

Will might be small but he's quite fast.

And it's really been a joy to watch him play.

It's all about Apples (Sunday Snapshot)

 

When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves
Welcome wool sweaters.

 

~ B. Cybrill

 

 

Fall has finally arrived in our neck of the woods.

Why do I love Fall so much?
 Maybe because for us Midwesterners it's 'just right' as in not too cold,
not too hot and humid, and not too rainy.

  Cool nights and bright blue skies have arrived.

So to celebrate Fall's arrival we made a little trip to a local farm that offers apple picking.
This is a new place for us this year.
The one we used to frequent had gotten crazy busy and

we were pleasantly surprised by the Appleberry Farm.

 

 

 

Now, what do I do with all these apples?
No worries, our two apple picking helpers have plenty of yummy ideas!

 I need to get busy. :)

 

 

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.

 

School Days

School started last week here in Wisconsin.

Mr. Will is now in 2nd grade and Grace is at a new school (Intermediate) for 5th grade.

Will was happy to be back and loves his teacher.

 

After two weeks, we've settled into the routine of homework and after school activities
pretty well.
And Grace has her first 'official' locker ever,
which she's decorated quite nicely.
She's done great with this transition to a different school, all new teachers
and principal.
We couldn't be more proud of her!

(Walking home after getting off the bus, the first day of school).

 

I'm way behind on blogging but hope to get caught up next week.

(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. ;)
 

Nearing the End

 

When summer gathers up her robes of glory,

And, like a dream, glides away.

- Sarah Helen Whitman

 

It doesn't seem possible but our Summer break is almost over.
In Wisconsin our Summers are surely not taken for granted,
after our long Winters.

School starts next week.
Supplies have been purchased and still need to be labeled.
New school clothes and shoes are ready to be worn.
I do love the routine that the school year brings to our family
but a part of me will miss having them home
during the day.
We've had a fun Summer!

Taken a few weeks ago towards the end of our vacation in Door County.
We've had several Summer trips up to the peninsula over the years, and this is the first
time the cherries were ready to be picked.
So cherry picking we went...
Will found what he called
'a magical sword'
and was a knight for
a little while in the middle of the orchard. ;)



 

 

(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).
 



 

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