Christmas is a magical and exhausting time. The endless to-do lists, the shopping, the wrapping, the celebrations, the traditions, all of them taking more time than you have. Then there is Christmas morning. And you see their faces, you feel their joy and you hear them repeat over and over “This is the best Christmas ever!”
Tagged: 2019, Christmas, family, photography
This was the moment I held you for the first time. After hours of labor, some small panics and too many doctors you were measured, cleaned and swaddled and placed into my arms. You were crying so I sang “Dream A Little Dream of Me”, a song I had been singing to you in utero. You instantly calmed down and tried to open your eyes to see me. This was the moment.
Tagged: birthday, childhood, family, Lucas, photography
The potential of a child inspires movies, music, and change. Imagine that potential not being realized due to a fundamental need. Share Our Strength’s mission is to solve that, to end childhood hunger and poverty in the U.S. and abroad. Since the launch of their No Kid Hungry campaign they have provided 775 million meals and their Cooking Matters initiative has helped 464,000 families learn to shop and cook healthier. Continuing our support of their No Kid Hungry campaign we attended Cookies & Cocoa, a fun afternoon of holiday magic, the spirit of giving and a culinary VIP experience.
Tagged: family, giving back, No Kid Hungry, photography, service, Share Our Strength
Oliver was our easiest baby. He slept through the night at 10 weeks, he nursed and fed easily, he didn’t fuss or whine. He mostly sat back and watched his big brother and big sister swirl around him. He was slow to crawl, to walk, to talk. He was the essence of the laid back third child.
Oliver as a baby and toddler was no indication of the boy he’d become. Nine year old Oliver is observant, inquisitive, detailed, analytical, energetic and independent. He is reason over sentiment, comprehension over illusion, deliberate over accidental. He can articulate his feelings while at the same time stomp over others, unintentionally. When I would say “Why would you do that, don’t you think it would hurt his/hers feelings?” he would merely shrug. This reaction would drive me insane, leaving me to think my son was being defiant and disrespectful. But recently I’ve come to learn that his shrug is not attitude but honesty; he doesn’t know the answer. So I’ve learned to explain it to him and he files it away. It’s almost like watching more machine than human; he takes new explanations, processes it, remembers it and learns from it.
Tagged: B&W photography, birthday, family, photography, photos
God bless Oliver, a boy with wit, silliness and sincerity. Observant and inquisitive, noticing all the details that make him thoughtful and make him worry.
Tagged: childhood, faith, family, first communion, photography
There is an ideology, a romantic notion of “getting lost”. To get lost is to throw away the maps and the plans in hopes of discovering something new. Driving on the Autostrada, 70 kilometers outside of Rome, we saw a small town sitting on a high cliff. It was shocking in contrast to the surrounding landscape. We drove into the small town on a narrow road that runs one-way through the entire town. And when I say narrow, I could reach my arm out of the car window and touch the stone walls. I craned my neck to stare up the length of the buildings and the only thing keeping my mouth from hanging open was the repeated utterance “Guys look at this, what a gem!” It was a gem because it was a treasure we were not seeking yet discovered all the same.
Tagged: family, family vacation, Italy, Orte, photography, travel, travel photography
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
― Marcel Proust
Tagged: Christmas, family, photography, storytelling photography
The colors
The warmth
Worked their way deep into our souls
Soaking it all in before it is just a memory
Forty three years ago my parents immigrated to America, leaving behind their parents and siblings. We grew up as four daughters and two parents. It was always just the six of us. Our aunts, uncles, cousins miles away and known only as names. A generation later my children have three aunts and uncles and eight cousins on my side of the family. Unlike siblings, cousins share a similar history but not the same roof, eliminating any rivalry or bickering. My children are the youngest three of eleven grandchildren. They are lucky to have eight big cousins who show them only patience and humor, granting every request for a piggy back ride, game of chase and to borrow their iPhone.
This 4th of July marks the end of childhood for the oldest three cousins, Summer, Justin and Simone. This fall they will start college as confident, independent adults. The foundation of family and love will help them make good choices, realize new possibilities and hopefully bring them home every holiday.
“This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
– Psalm 118:24
