His Heart

“How far away is my heart, Mommy?” Nicholas asks me.

“Your heart is inside your body, baby. It isn’t far.”

“Yes, it is far. It’s very very far away. That’s why Heller is far away.”

“Heller is far away, to you, because you can’t see him. You can’t see him because he is in Heaven. But, he is also in your heart because you love him. We say, ‘he is in our hearts’ because our hearts feel our love, and we love him forever.”

Nicholas is insistent. “My heart is far far away. Very far. Further than the farthest far.”

I try again.

“When we love somebody, or something, we say that it is in our heart. It means, our heart holds a part of that thing forever and ever. You are in my heart, Jenny is in my heart, Daddy is in my heart. It means we love someone.”

Nicholas gets the final words. “Well, I love my stuffed animals, but they are not in my heart. They are at home, on my bed.”

I’ll try again tomorrow.

I Heart Faces - Let's Hear it for the Boys!

These boys are fierce! They’re the roughest, toughest soccer team around! So, when it came time to choosing a team name, these fearsome four-year-olds didn’t mess around. Their motto—“Mess with us, and you won’t forget it!” This may be "Bitty Sports," but there's nothing bitty about the Orange ELEPHANTS!

Yeah...we don’t get it either.

Let’s Hear it for the Boys this week at I Heart Faces!

Silhouette Photography Fun

I particularly remember the fun I had as a child, making silhouette portraits from cutouts of black paper, and framing them for my mom. Even more fun, I discovered, is being the mom and dressing up your entire family for a silhouette portrait photo shoot. Over the course of the last few weeks, I have enjoyed participating in a 30 Day Photo Challenge. Today's shoot, as you can see, called for silhouettes! Easy peasy mac-n-cheesy!

As dynamic as they appear, it is hard to believe that a silhouette capture is probably one of the easiest photo light tricks. Simply find a location that offers little background obstruction, position your subject between the you and the light, and voila--silhouettes!

I Heart Faces - Vivid - To Infinity and Beyond!

They meet their instructor along the side of the pool, and their lesson begins promptly at 6:45. Moms and Dads watch from afar as they gather together along the water's edge on blankets, towels, and whatever empty chairs they are lucky enough to locate. This is no “mommy and me” class. These boys are in the big league now.

First, the instructor lines her little eels along the edge of the pool wall, securely fastened into what she playfully calls their “space backpacks.” She begins her address on the rules of safety. They listen. Next, she proceeds to demonstrate the goal. They watch. Finally, she pulls each boy into the water, one at a time. They do.

I am intrigued by the instructor’s ability to capture the focus of these boys for the full half hour. Whether she is teaching them one on one, or in a group, these boys offer her their undivided attention. They seem to know that this is important. I am focused too. I am thankful for my camera’s zoom.

Pleasantly exhausted after a good swim, my boy goes to bed early on lesson night. I am able to sit down and browse through my photo captures of the day. In these quiet moments, I can vividly see the future as I imagine he sees the future.

I pretend to hear my little guy talking to his friend. “One day,” he says, “we are going to cross the pool!” Yes, my little one, even without your backpack, I know you will go “to infinity and beyond!”

This week, I Heart Faces wants to see our Bright and Vivid photos. Check them out here!

Baby Girl "J" is Number Four!

Of course, we are convinced that she will have fewer legs and less fur than her "siblings," Dory, Nemo, and Squirt. At first glance, you would think they stole the entire show, but when you take another look at this beautiful mommy and darling dad, you will see that this shoot did not go to the dogs.

Thank you both for allowing me to capture such a wonderful time in your lives, and for enduring the heat. I cannot wait to meet Baby "J" when she arrives!

I Heart Faces - Sunflare

The Dichotomy of Jenny!

di·chot·o·my: n. 1. Division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions.
"The dichotomy of the college girl who is still a child at heart."

Check out other I Heart Faces sunflare photos this week here.

Wordless Wednesday - Sleep is for Humans

2 Kids/12 Times/12 Colors

The end of 2010 found me desperately trying to fill a photo album with photos of my children (taken together) over the course of the last year. I found that it could not be done. I was forced to settle for separate, yet similar, captures. It seems that their fourteen-year age difference does not contradict the definition of sibling rivalry. I could see it in their photos--my children each competing to define who they are as a person, and each wanting to show that they are separate from their sibling.

Well, that just would not do.

It has been said that our siblings are the people we practice on. They teach us fairness, cooperation, kindness, and compassion. Jenny is beginning her adult life this year. Nicholas barely knows the joys of being a full-fledged kid. They are still learning and growing together, and I intend to capture these moments while I can.

If I had the pleasure of raising them together as small children, I confess, I would have dressed them the same and paraded them around in all their cuteness. Sometimes, it happens naturally, and I secretly love it. For my project, it will happen at least once a month.

So begins a new project--2 Kids/12 Times/12 Colors.

This is not a new concept. I admit, I borrowed it from several members of my photographer community. Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without your inspiration.

So it begins…

2 Kids/In January/In RED

On Pin Trading and Theme Selection

Our Disney Pin collections were always themed as follows:

Jenny kept on the lookout for Tinkerbell and other fairies. Ford let the kids find Pluto, Goofy, and other dogs for him. As for me, I searched for pins that reminded me of my own Disney days, scuba diving, and memories of my kids. Having a theme made it fun and easy to decide when to make a trade.

But, Heller’s was always my favorite theme. It still makes me smile. He never seemed to have a problem finding the perfect pins for his lanyard. The day he made his theme decision, I knew I had a smartest kid on the block.

“So Heller?” we asked. “Did you decide what pins to collect?”

“Yep.” He responded without a bit of hesitation. “My theme is pins I like.”

The Yellow Wall

When life hands you a giant, yellow wall of sunshine...