Black and White Wednesday - "Patiently Waiting"

Here is my girl chillin' out at the bottom of our staircase.....patiently waiting for me to finish up my work so we could head out to do some shopping for a baby shower that we were attending the next day.



Sarah was so excited to go to her first shower, but I don't think she fully understood what it was all about!!!



As we were walking the aisles of this baby superstore, we were both intrigued by all the cool gadgets and equipment.

Just as I grabbed a few things to put into our shopping cart, Sarah asked me if we were going to get to bring the baby home right after the "shower".....



Ummmm.....I think I she was a little confused.

We have been talking to her about becoming a big sister.......

She thought if we attended a "Baby Shower", that we were going to "get the baby"

I definitely had some explaining to do......

and it seems as though Sarah is going to have to conitnue to "Patiently Wait"



Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday:)

A quick little update: Someone asked about Sarah's cute little rose bud clip!! You can purchase them, along with a WHOLE BUNCH of cute hair accessories and tutus, by visiting Kimberley's, SOPHIA JANE BOUTIQUE. Click HERE to check out all of her beautiful things:)

I Heart Faces - "Yellow"

I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful little girl, along with her pretty twin sister and adorable little brother, a few weeks ago. Too bad the I heart faces rules stipulate that you can only post one picture per entry.....there was some serious cuteness involved in this session. I will just have to share the rest of the "cuteness" at another time:)

Pop over to "I Heart Faces" and check out all the pretty shades of yellow......they are sure to brighten your day:)

A Big Night In A Small Town

Thursday night my parents called to tell me that the local fire company was having their annual carnival. They were babysitting my two nephews and planned to take them down Friday night and wanted to know if Sarah would like to go along.

Of course what child wound not want to go ride the rides and overindulge in some good old fashioned and greasy carnival food, so we quickly acceppted the invitation. As soon as I mentioned it to Sarah, she started to jump up and down and said.......Can I ride the big ferris wheel?















Unfortunately {or fortunately, depending on how you look at it} Sarah did not ride the Ferris Wheel. I think their version of the ferris wheel was a little too wild and daunting for a three year old {and for her Mommy}, so we had kindly talked her out of it.

She didn't miss a beat though, because there was plenty of other rides more her "size".....and mine too:)

The kids had a fun night.....and so did we. Watching their expressions was just priceless........I am so happy I brought the camera. These are the kind of childhood memories that will last a lifetime!!

Black and White Wednesday - "The Dymamic Duo"

Friday afternoon Sarah and I were getting ready to run a few errands. I was still in my office finishing up my work for the day and she was patiently waiting for me in the foyer. She was sitting at the bottom of the staircase and looked adorable, so I grabbed my camera.

When I downloaded those photos, I really LOVED all the cool angles of the staircase behind her........

I am not quite ready to share those pictures....they are coming next week, but that little 10 minute session indoors with Sarah was what inspired me to take Nick outdoors and photograph him on the staircase of our deck.


Nick granted me "twenty minutes and only twenty minutes" of picture taking. I posted the color version of this on Monday along with all the others, but I really liked it in black and white too!! I still cannot get over how much he has grown these last few months.....we are closing in on 13 years of age......say it isn't so!!

After a few minutes out there with Nick, a certain little three year old was beginning to look a tad jealous that her brother was in the "spotlight" and she was not.....so she asked if she could get in the pictures too!!

She quickly jumped into Nicky's lap and of course I did the happy dance because usually I have to beg and bribe to get the two of them together........but not this glorious day:)

Here are the "Dynamic Duo" hamming it up for the camera........


How is this pose Mom?


Nicky, close your eyes...and I will tell you a little secret!!


Isn't that funny?


My big brother is the best......
Just wait Nicky....soon there will be two of us trying to share "the spotlight" with you:)

UPDATE: A few of you have commented on the processing or the vintage feel of this week's pictures. I should have added this last night, but forgot..... I processed them in black and white first, then added a Cappucinno Overlay to achieve this look.......all thanks to Florabella Textures and Actions!! If you haven't checked them out yet, make sure that you do:)
Click here to visit Florabella Collection.
or stop by I HEART FACES and enter a chance to win her actions today!

I Heart Faces - "Faces and Flowers"

It has been a long time since I have participated in an "I Heart Faces" photo contest, but this weeks theme was too fun to pass up!!

I know most of you have seen this photo in a previous blog post, but I thought it fit this weeks theme perfectly.
This photo tops my list of fav pics of Miss Sarah............that look and those pouty lips do me in every time!!

If you haven't already done so, head over to "I Heart Faces" and check out all the beautiful faces......and flowers:)

The judges are surely going to have their work cut out for them this week!!

He's Come Out of Hiding

It has been a long time since this little guy has stepped in front of the camera, but I was lucky enough to catch him "in the mood" this weekend. He is way overdue for an update here on the blog, so I thought I would take this opportunity to fill you in on the latest:)



He is growing like a weed.........I cannot believe how tall he has gotten........his Dad is 6 foot and I believe Nick has his genetics.....luckily!!!



Nick stays busy on the weekends with his friends. He has become such an outgoing kid....gone are the days of the child that clung to his Mom's leg and buried his head when someone looked at him.



He is thoroughly enjoying his electric guitar!! He has been taking lessons since his birthday in January and he is doing really well:)

Nick and a good friend in his class are taking lessons at the same studio. The two of them are working on a special song to play for their class on the last day of school. Their teacher thought it would be fun for them to bring their guitars in the last day and show the class "what they've got".

The boys are very excited and have decided that they are going to play "School's Out For the Summer". Pretty appropriate, don't you think?




As we were taking pictures, someone decided to get in on the action....our dog Rudy!!! He gave us a little scare this past week, he was pretty sick, but one trip to the vet to get some meds and he is all better and back to himself!! Apparently he ate something in the yard.......we still are not sure what it was, but whatever it was wreaked some havoc on his stomach. Poor little guy!! We are all happy to see him bouncing around the house again:)

Rudy was not the only one who wanted to jump in some pics....... Our party was crashed by a little girl who normally runs when she sees the camera.....

I am going to post those pictures on Wednesday.....some of my favorite brother/sister photos EVER!!!

Hope you all have a Happy Monday and a wonderful week!!

Black and White Wednesday - "4 Years"

Today marks exactly four years that we have been waiting......

Our dossier arrived and was logged into Chin@'s system on May 12, 2006.

At that time we were a small family of three..... Pat, Nick, and me!!

We dreamed of the day our new daughter would be placed in our arms......but quickly realized that our dream was going to take a little longer than anticipated.

We tried to go on living our life and stop worrying about "when she was going to arrive"

Six months later we received a WONDERFUL surprise........

SARAH!!!

Our lives were forever changed the day she was born.

We felt extremely blessed to have been given such a gift.

Many asked us if we were going to stop our China adoption because of completing a domestic adoption. From the day we found out about Sarah, we said that we were not going to give up on China.......we felt that Sarah was a sign that we were meant to have three children, not two.

Even though a lot has changed in four years.......the love we have in our hearts certainly has not and never once have we given up on our dream of that little girl waiting for us halfway across the world.



I took this photo last year as our summer vacation on Cape Cod came to an end. It is one of my favorite photos of the two of them together. I remember thinking that it would be the last summer I had just two children to photograph on the beach....I thought for sure that by this year, I would have three little ones that I would be chasing after.......

It seems as though we will be going to Cape Cod one more summer without our "China Baby"........but we have high hopes that our long wait will come to an end and she will make her appearance this fall!!

So maybe it won't be the beaches of Cape Cod, but I will be chasing three kids with the camera sometime very soon..... Maybe around the pumkin patch:)

Even though this is a picture from the summer archives, I had a lot of fun processing it using some of the very talented, Shana Rae's Florabella Textures and Actions. In this photo I used her Black and White "Rain" Action and her "Champagne" texture. She just realeased a new line of Spring Actions.
Please take a minute to hop over to her blog and check them out!!
Trust me.......you will not be disappointed!!
Her actions and textures are second to none......

Click here to visit Florabella Collection.

A "Berry" Sweet Mother's Day!

Since we have been moving at wharp speed around here, I purposely cleared the calendar this weekend so that we could enjoy some family time.

Friday night we kicked off our weekend by enjoying a great dinner with some wonderful friends. They have two children the same ages as Nick and Sarah, so it was a perfect evening for everyone!! My friend Lina cooked the main course, so I brought an appetizer and a dessert.

As I was searching through my recipes and cookbooks for ideas, I decided I wanted to spend some time in the kitchen this weekend. I do love to cook, but lately I have not been doing a whole lot of it......we have been grilling out quite a bit and I just have not had much time to "play in the kitchen"

Normally, I would let the kids pick a dessert, but since it was Mother's Day.....I overruled their decision....... they both wanted chocolate and peanutbutter and although I LOVE that combination, I wanted to try something different......



Strawberry and Marscapone Filled Cupcakes
Recipe Courtesy of Giada De Laurentis

Ingredients
1 box vanilla cake mix (like Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe French Vanilla cake)
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, chilled
1/2 cup thawed and drained frozen strawberries
1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions
Make the cupcakes according to package instructions. Lightly grease the muffin tin and fill the batter almost to the rim of each muffin cup. Bake according to package directions and let cool.

In a food processor combine the mascarpone cheese, strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice. Process the mixture until smooth. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip. Push the tip gently into the bottom of a cupcake and squeeze in the strawberry mixture until the cupcake plumps. Continue with the remaining cupcakes.

In a small saucepan bring the 1/2 cup sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. In a medium bowl combine the vanilla syrup with the confectioner's sugar. Stir until smooth. Working quickly, use a rubber spatula spread the icing on the top of the cupcakes. If the icing begins to firm up, place in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up again.


Thought I would give you a closer look!!

These cupcakes were SO DELICIOUS!!! Even the kids loved them...... Nick and Sarah both helped me in the kitchen today, but when Nick saw me bring out the Marscapone Cheese, he started to get a little funny. He said he didn't know if he was going to like a cake that had cheese in it. Then I explained that Marscapone is like an Italian Cream Cheese and I had to remind him how many desserts he enjoys that include cream cheese. After that he agreed to try one....... or two:)

If you are looking for a new spin on your traditional cupcakes......give this a whirl!! The best part of this cupcake is the "Berry" sweet filling.

My favorite TV Chef, Giada, never dissapoints........ and BTW, have you seen that she has released another cookbook? Check it out HERE!!!

Hope that you all enjoyed an extra special Mother's Day! Mine was certainly sweet!! There is nothing better than spending an entire day surrounded by the ones you love:)

Black and White Wednesday - "Emotion"

The other day I started to think about what it is that I really love about photography.

Yes, I love taking photos and working with children and families. I also love seeing joy on the faces of Mom and Dad when they see their beautiful children in print.....

but that is not what I am talking about.

I am talking about actually looking at a photo....and not only my photos, photos of other enthusiasts, bloggers, and photographers......pro and amateur.

What is it that captivates me....

What draws me into the picture??

EMOTION

It is as pure and simple as that.

I love when you look at a photo and you just get a feeling that washes over you as if you were right there at that moment in time as the camera snapped.



You don't need to see a facial expression to catch the mood of the photo




....and you don't even need to see the entire person!!




Sometimes it is the tiniest detail that intrigues me.
Like a little girl wrapped around her Daddy's finger!




.....and other times it is the stunning beauty that is looking me straight in the eye as she holds her "emotion" in her precious little hands!

So what is it that you love about photography?

A special thanks to all of the families I had the pleasure of photographing this weekend who have allowed me to share some previews here on the blog. I am still buried in photos that need to be processed and will be posting just a few more over the next couple days. More cuteness coming soon:).