Family Ties

Two beautiful boys and their great parents make for a fun weekend session - even if it rained all day. Custer and Winn are cousins just around 7 months apart, and they give you a great example of how quickly babies grow up and change.

Baby Winn with Luca, who just seemed to know what to do.





Custer's baby blues!








Winn's mommy. Isn't she gorgeous?



The neighbors let us borrow their porch and fun bench for a couple outdoor shots in between the rain showers. I'm sure four adults and two babies on your doorstep making such a request is not what they expected on a Sunday morning, but luckily they obliged.

Natural Beauty

"You were just on the porch", my husband said as I startled him in the bedroom, entering only two seconds behind him.
"I have to get my camera."
I had laid down on the porch swing in the sun and immediately noticed the gorgeous clouds and patterns that they were forming in the sky. Remembering a cloud project that my first and only photography professor had done and how beautiful and interesting it was, I was inspired to give it a go. Good thing I was fast because they were moving swiftly and were gone in less than a minute.







The Corkscrew Willow in our backyard is my favorite tree we have. It's very large and grows super fast, but it looks so delicate. I love to trim the branches (I call it a haircut) and bring them indoors.

It's so hard to say goodbye.

When your big brother and best friend leaves, it's rough.

Pretty Jenny

This bouquet in Jenny's dining room is a good representation of the weather we had for our session. Wilting roses at the end of their lives and strong bright tulips standing up straight, reflect the 40 degree temperature with cold winds along side the very bright sun that helped to warm us up. Winter will end, and Spring will arrive.................eventually.

Jenny is being honored in her profession and is in need of a recent image to be hung on the wall for all to see for many years to come. We talked a little about her work life and I know that it takes a very caring and strong person to do what she does. It is an honor well deserved.

Her smile is contagious and we laughed most of the time. I'm sure her neighbors had a few questions afterwards as to what I had her doing in her front yard. We surely looked silly, but I love the images we ended up with. Her fair hair and blue eyes are a lovely combination.

Maggie Blue Eyes

I only had a short time with Mag and the kittens yesterday, but I had to grab my camera and get some images of her happy smile and big blue eyes. There was some pretty strong sunlight coming through the front door window and it made for some dramatic lighting which is always a favorite of mine. I love working when no one is expecting me to. We get to avoid the need for trying to make things "picture perfect". I like them this way. You end up with things you could not have planned if you tried. Thanks for letting me grab these!

Our House

Sometimes when your sick and have a runny nose and are tired of having it wiped over and over again; a lollipop is all you need to make it better. Poor BooBoo.




Drew having fun with his new goggles and Wii golf club. He's a maniac when he plays - stand back!

B-Day

Today is my husband birthday! He's a little concerned about getting older, but he's four years younger than me, so unfortunately I do not have much sympathy. :)
Isn't he handsome? This is my favorite image of him. He looks serious and playful at the same time. Happy Birthday Andy from me and the boys. We love you!

Please leave him a birthday wish in the comments below.

HAPPY EASTER

We had a great day and we hope you and your families did as well.
My favorite things this Easter;

1. Bunny photos at the zoo in the snow/rain and visiting the manatees, stingrays, frogs, turtles, and snakes. Boys are all about reptiles and amphibians.
2. Egg hunt indoors
3. Drew getting to fly the rc airplane from his basket outside -not so favorite - getting it stuck on the roof of the school :(
4. Lots of Roman squeezes and hugs in Church and him yelling "Hi mom mom" over and over while sitting on my lap during prayer!
5.Having the whole day to spend with my family and friends and great meals together.
6. Grandma's eggstra special "clue" hunt for Drew
7. Making chocolate chip cookies from Whole Foods - so good and healthy.
8. Never forgetting what Easter is really about.

Motherhood

Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body.
..............Elizabeth Stone

Reuse-A-Shoe

On the Today show early this morning they were discussing spring cleaning and giving tips to help get us organized and healthy. They mentioned that Nike has a Reuse A Shoe program that recycles worn out shoes that are too old to donate to charity. They will take any brand of tennis shoe and grind them up and use them to make all sorts of sports equipment for kids including playground mulch and basketball courts. These are typically in areas where they would not have them otherwise and they are largely focusing on the New Orleans area. They have collected over 20 millions shoes and created 250 pieces of equipment.



You can read more about it here
http://www.innovateforabetterworld.net/community/features/reuse-a-shoe.html#
and at www.nike.com
You can send shoes to Nike Recycling Center c/o Reuse A-Shoe 26755 SW 95th Ave. Wilsonville, Or 97070 or call 800-344-6453 to find a pick up location near you.

I love when people/companies actually take the opportunity to create something from nothing that benefits so many. With as much as the shoes cost, they should.
We all have something that we don't need but may be of value to someone else in ways we can only imagine. All we have to do is to take the time and get it to them. Of course for shoes that are in decent shape, we can always drop them off at amvets or goodwill. There are three drop offs within 2 miles of my home that I know of. I try to keep a bag or a box in the basement and when I find something we don't need anymore, I will toss it in there instead of the trash. When the bag is full, we just drop it off.
I think often times we don't understand the importance of a simple helping hand when we do not see the direct effect it can have. Also we need to remember; a gift is a gift because someone receives it. It isn't a true gift if we require to be acknowledged or patted on the back because we did the right thing. I love anonymous gifts just for that reason.