In Between

 

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,

it became a butterfly."

 

~ unknown

 

 

"Beauty is not in the face;

beauty is a light in the heart."

 

~ Kahlil Gibran

 

 

 

 In a blink of an eye she is growing up. It seems like yesterday that
she was wearing princess dresses and having tea parties.
Officially she's a 'tween.'
So I guess that means she's 'in between' a child and a teenager.
Grace still loves and plays with her American Girl dolls, Barbies
and collects puppy stuffed animals.
Oh and she wants a phone.
I don't see a phone in the future for a while.
Not yet.

She is a child, and wants to grow up so fast.
Now I think it would be great if time would slow down.
I am a conservative momma in many ways
and am fiercely protective of her.
Grace has overcome many obstacles and challenges
in the last 10 years and I couldn't be more proud
of this girl who is my daughter.
I couldn't possibly love her more.

 

Week 4

{Wild - captured this morning}


Another week has gone by.
And February is near which means Spring isn't far behind!

Some more photos of the day with their prompts:
1. Wild - Our bed hog dog, Zoe making herself comfortable.
2. Cold - a bitter cold snowy field near our little town.
3. A Circle - a curvy circle, that's a beautiful little dish given to me
by a thoughtful friend. 4. Frozen - snowflakes on my red mitten.
5. Snuggle - Will with his much loved and well worn blankie.

It's been  horribly cold this week and I know

it's cold when our dog Zoe doesn't want to go out.

 

The prompt or theme on Tuesday was 'Bright' and

I went with some lemons we had in a bowl.

The color yellow makes me happy during these grey Winter days.

 

 

 

Our week in photos

{A Doorway - Grace playing on her ipod}

 

It seems like January is flying by. 

I really am liking blogging again
and need to be better about checking the blogs I follow and comment more
 (another resolution of mine).

Starting at the top. 1. Movement - Grace leaping in dance class. 2. Jumbled - One of the junk
drawers in my house(note I said one, there are more). 3. Playing- Will with his much
loved Lego Batman plane. 4. Wild- Barn near where we live. 5. A Favorite Toy - my Raggedy Ann
doll. 6. Wild- colorful bowls at Anthropologie.

And below is my favorite image of the week, the theme
was 'In Low Light.' Will playing with his Green Lantern flashlight
in his closet.

 

365 project 2013

I've made a commitment to do a 365 photo project this year.

 Have never done one before.

 I have to say I'm looking forward to it very much.

 These were some of my favorites from the past week. Each day has a theme or prompt. 

Most were taken with my dslr.

1.  fur- Zoe resting. 2. self portrait - that's me. 3. wild - I loved the color and lines of these

large letters in an antique store. 4. peaceful - a snowfield with a moody sky.

5. colorful food - apples and oranges in my kitchen. 6. real life - Grace petting Zoe.

{Lots and lots of snow}

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our Winter in Wisconsin started Dec. 19th with a blizzard,

 leaving us with 20 inches of snow in 24 hours. Since then it's snowed a few inches now and then. 

It looks like our snow is here to stay for a while. 

And a certain 10 and 7 year old are pretty delighted!

While they were playing, Grace picked up a snow boulder 

(that's what I call them) and decided to carve a heart.

 (Her idea, which I thought was quite creative).

{Resolution}

 

For 2013

one of my resolutions is to take more photos of my children.

You see I got away from that after I stopped blogging 5 months ago.

I have missed it terribly and decided it was time to come back.

No better place to blog than this one, my first blog, "Aging with

Grace and strong Will."

I will post instagram photos, ones from my big camera

and talk about life with our family.

Again.

 

Happy New Year,

I hope that 2013 brings you joy, peace,

good health and happiness!

A Season

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less
traveled by, And that has made all the difference in the world."

~ Robert Frost

The Robert Frost quote is one of my favorites and could be called my life quote.

To me it speaks of my life and how adoption changed it profoundly
in so many wonderful ways.

{The good stick that broke.}

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a mom.

I'm the oldest of 4 (all quite close in age) and used to play teacher or mommy to my younger siblings.

My mentor is one of the best...my own mother, Barbara.

I have an incredible mom.

From her I learned patience, not to sweat the small stuff, 

give my children choices,

and be a good listener...our children have so much to teach us.

Both of my parents gave me the gift of compassion and it means very much

that my children have that gift too.

This time with our children is short and truly in a blink of an eye they've graduated

from High School and gone to college or are working full time in a job.

I know that first hand because I've raised one son who's now in his 20's

and it seems like yesterday that I first held him.

5 years ago in August of 2007, I started this blog. It was just after Grace's 5th birthday.

My husband Dan thought of the name, 'Aging with Grace,' it

was a little comment on our age (at the time in our 40's) and life with our little girl.

She was such a little peanut then.

The blog was a way to journal our wait for our second adoption.

Blogging has changed greatly in 5 years...

I used to blog nearly every day

and many of us participated in cute little memes, contests and giveaways.

It definitely was a sweet and supportive time in my life.

I can whole heartedly say that through blogging I've met

some amazingly supportive and kind people.

Good people.

Unless you've adopted and gone through the long, arduous, soul searching process,

not many folks understand the experience and

the emotional investment and deep love we have for our children.

We truly are a special little group.

4 years ago we made the trip with Grace to Fujian Province, China to adopt our William.

I wrote every single day about our time there, it was such an emotional time. 

Both of those trips to the birthplace of my children were profound experiences 

for both Dan and myself. 

It's not possible to travel to China and not be changed on some level.

Over time the blog became more of a photography one.

I was given a DSLR camera by my husband 4 years ago.

The goal of me wanting to learn to use that first camera well and take better photos, soon

 changed to me wanting to learn all that I could about photography.

I took photos 'from the heart.'

That part was easy for me, I'm a heart person.

A sensitive soul, I feel deeply and love the same way.

Shooting from the heart means shoot with a passion,

and don't get consumed with all the technical stuff at first.

That will come.

Maybe shooting from the heart as it relates to photography 

is a great analogy for how we all should live our lives,

passionately, deeply, and always in the moment.

I have an incredible life, a beautiful life some would say, I suppose.

I'm blessed in ways too numerous to count, but the the most important being with good health,

 people that love me unconditionally and a loving Father

in Heaven that cares about me.

I've learned that photography is a journey, just like life.

I will always be a photographer... whether as a professional or hobbyist.

It's a lifelong love and passion,

and it's really through photography that I've found myself.

The Gail that has always been there...the nurse/ mom/ artist/ caring / altruistic person.

I'm at a very good place in my life.

I have learned that one of my greatest joys is photographing my children
 and second to that is giving back with my gift.

Who would have thought that I can use this gift to give back to newly adoptive families

 through Red Thread Sessions and to volunteer with An Orphan's Wish,

an organization that serves 'the least of these,' orphaned special needs children in China.

I feel called to help these children and bring attention especially to the older ones who wait for their 

forever families.

So as life is a journey, I'm going to be enjoying it to the fullest.

We only have one time on this Earth.

Thank you for the last 5 years...the friends that I've met through my little blog
will always be a part of my heart.

 I've loved every single moment of this 'season' of our lives.

A little snapshot in time.

xo

As this is my last blog post (the 777th!) I can now

 be found at my new blog, A Mother's Art Photography.

I'll post favorites from client sessions and there

will still be some posts featuring my two littlest loves.
Follow along if you like.

(My heart)

Beach Days (Sunday Snapshot)

{A little beach fun...Door County style}

Why do we flock to the beach (whether it's near a lake or ocean) every Summer?

Maybe it's because everything about it is calming and renewing.

All stress and anxiety leaves.

We all need a little 'beach therapy' from time to time in our lives.

I have always loved the beach.

Maybe it's the sensory part of it...the sounds of 

the water, my children's laughter, the feel of sand, sun and wind,

and the obvious visual appeal of textures and color.

We took advantage of the little private beach where we stayed

last week. We were the only ones there for quite a while.

I happened to find the perfect vintage sand pail

and playing cards at a little shop that added some charm to our little beach themed shoot.

When I uploaded the photos I could really see how much my 

children had grown.

Time is flying by and I cherish all these images.

All the little details.

They stay young for such a short time.

I loved the image of Will's little feet in his flip

flops with the sand on his toes.

Someday I'll look at that photo and remember these precious days.

We have had a perfect Summer in so many ways

and are a little sad to see it leaving.

 

These were taken with two different lenses, my 35 mm 1.4 for the wide shots and
85mm 1.4 for others.

The first one ~
Nikon d700
85mm 1.4
f/2.2
1/6400 sec.
ISO 160

A very quick edit was done in PS with one of Florabella's new Colorplay actions.
I used an action called 'Matte Film' which
gave the perfect vintage matte finish which is
exactly what I wanted to add to these images.