Mother's Day Morning

Oh how I love being their mom!!!!

Family "Hiking" (more like a long walk)

We are working on stepping away from the many screens in our life (T.V., computer, i-pad, i-phone, i-havehaditwithscreens) and venturing into the great outdoors.  Now I consider myself a country girl at heart, except for maybe the bugs, dirt, sand, pollen, sweating and sticky sunscreen.....other than that, just call me "Nature Girl".

The boys are studying the rules (thinking about putting one of these signs up in their bedroom).

Yep, that's "wild animal" poop....any resistance that the boys initially had to being in nature has now disappeared and they think this is pretty much the coolest thing we have ever done together!!!

A little pre-hiking dancing is always in order!!!

Can I get an, "Awwwww....."

So, this is about the point where I headed back to the car.....

....but they survived....phew!!!

Picnic time (do you feel like you're being watched??)....

Some Family Football.....

Yes, even little sister is a fan of football!!!

The dirt is a sure sign that fun was had by all and we will be stepping away from screen time more often!!!

Be Well.



What's Up....

I know I've been a little MIA so I thought I would fill you in on "What's Up" with me....
A few months back I took a photography course and learned more about how to use my camera in manual mode....that would be the scary "M" on your dial.  Well let's just say that a whole new world opened up for me.

I have been obsessed with taking pictures for as long as I can remember really.  My dad was into photography while I was growing up and even had a darkroom in our basement.  I remember sitting in the corner watching as he dipped the paper into different dishes of chemicals until the picture began to emerge.  It was like magic.

In high school my best friend and I did our own photoshoot by setting up a tripod and camera with a timer.  I picked different spots in the yard where the light was good and set up camera and tripod, pressed the button and ran to get in place before it snapped.  My friend died 3 years ago last week and I treasure those photos, as a matter a fact, one of the photos is framed and sitting on my dresser and I glance at it every morning.

What I love about photography is the ability to capture the moment.  It is really the only way to stop time.  There are big moments to capture, such as weddings, pregnancy, newborn babies, a family that feels complete.  There are also the day to day moments like pancakes dripping in syrup, a child's proud face after making their first goal, the sun streaming in while your partner reads a book in their favorite chair.  I love capturing all of it.

So I am on a new adventure....trying to capture the moments.  It's exactly what I am supposed to be doing.  I can feel it.  I hope you'll come along with me and let me know what you think of the photos I share as I truly value your insight.

Here are a couple photos from the engagement session I just shot with Sarah and Josh.  They are such a gorgeous, dare I say "Hot", young couple who are so fun and so in love.  They met in the same beach community that my husband and I met so it was so meaningful to all of us to return to this place to take their engagement photos.  We had such a great day!!!

Be Well.

We interrupt this program to........

.....tell you that there are some changes happening for me.  With change come uncertainty, doubt and also excitement.  I thought maybe I would start with a little background....

I worked as an Occupational Therapist for 16 years and it will always be part of who I am.  I loved working with special needs children and their families.  What I loved most was being a part of their extraordinarily challenging yet rewarding lives.  They let me into their homes and often into their hearts and allowed me to do my best to help their most precious gift....their child.  And even though it is rather cliche, I can say, without a doubt, they helped me more than I helped them.  So why did I stop working as an Occupational Therapist?  Something was missing for me....I could never explain it.  Part of it was the pressure I put on myself and the insecurity that remains from growing up with a learning difference (Dyslexia).  I never felt like I knew enough, no matter how much of a demand there was for my services, no matter how many people told me I was so good at what I did....I just didn't fully believe it.  It was also quite a demanding career and required a lot of caregiving.  Once I had children I realized I had to reserve some of that caregiving to take care of my kids.  I just couldn't do it all.

I still can't do it all, which is a hard lesson to learn (over and over again).  The rebel in me loves to hear, "You can't do that," so I can say, "Oh really?  Watch me!!!"  And I do push forward and take on A LOT and then I have to regroup when I realize that I'm yelling too much, not sleeping enough, not breathing deeply and most importantly, not enjoying this one life I've been given.  It's kind of too bad that we can't carry around a crystal ball that can give us a look into the future so we can see if the decisions we are making are going to work out.  But we can't, so we learn by doing, and making mistakes, and then making adjustments.

So I am making an adjustment......I am putting the Friday Feature Artist interview on hold.  Now that I realize it is a lot to plan and organize I just don't have the time right now to do it.  So much to juggle....can't do it all.  I hope you enjoyed the ones I posted.....I sure did.....so let's just say...."to be continued," when the time is right.  In the meantime, I am going to post more of my art and photography and reflections on....."doing it all".  Hope you'll still stop by to say "Hello".....I like having you here.

Be Well.