Game, Set...Match??? {Sunday Snapshot}

Oh. My. Lanta. We are off and running around here! I have been so so blessed to be able to be home full time with Jillian since we brought her home last November. It has been glorious for all of us...a special time to really focus on Jillian's adjustment...and in fact, ALL of our adjustments to becoming a family of four.

But...as they say...all good things must come to an end...and September found three of us heading back to school.

One week in...I feel good. Lia seems happy, Jillian mostly happy...and me? It felt great to be back at my middle school and the best group of co-workers ever. I think it's all going to work out perfectly...a little rushed...and the feeling that all I am doing is packing lunches constantly...but good. (Please don't visit unexpectedly until late June though...not sure my house is going to be company ready any time soon. Just sayin'... :-))

Definitely a balancing act!



I have also made a conscious effort to keep our activities at a minimum...at least until we get back into the groove. Both girls will take dance class (Lia actually does two this year)...and we added a new love...tennis.

One of the few sports I know NOTHING about. :-)

Lia expressed an interest in tennis this summer...and I scheduled a few lessons for her just to see if she did, indeed, love it as much as she imagined she would.

She did.



:-)

...and so...Saturday afternoons this fall will find Lia on the court...practicing her skills...and learning to love a game that I hope she will enjoy well into adulthood. Time will tell...but for now?



Definitely...

Game.

Set.

Match.



{ps...if anyone has a good lead on Tennis for Dummies...I wouldn't mind the hook up.}

Photo 4-1-1:{Canon 50D, 50 mm, f/2.5, 1/250, ISO 160}

Edited with Florabella Actions.

I am linking up to Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot. Hop on over for some serious photo love. Did you notice how I worked that tennis phrase in? Love? Get it???



Yeah...I really need the book for dummies. And perhaps a book of jokes...

Treasures {Sunday Snapshot}

I recently found myself discussing with Lia the phenomenon of "happy tears". It certainly is not the first time we have had this discussion...as, it appears, I am a frequent flier in the realm of "happy tears".

It's not pretty.

I know this because my sister wrote me the most beautiful thank you note when I was her Maid of Honor. Her last line read, "Don't cry when reading this note. It's not your best look."

As if.

I appreciated the sentiment...but it did nothing to stem the waterworks.

Everyone could use a sister like her I tell you. F'real.

...anyway...back to the reason for this post. I cried the ugly "happy cry" because my husband loves a good garage sale.

And he is passing that...ahem...passion...right down to Lia.

While I am a firm believer that one man's junk is...well...one man's junk, as it turns out, neighborhood garage sales are an excellent place to spend Tooth Fairy money (lots of bang for your buck!)...and hopefully learn the value of a dollar along the way.

I am so proud that Lia more often than not comes home with a little something something for Jillian too. So proud.

But that doesn't normally bring on the tears.

It's that genuine plastic carousel/music box/jewelry keeper beauty in the photo that brought me down. And not for the reason you might think. :-)

Lia came home cradling that contraption like it was made of solid gold one Saturday in June. She declared it her "most favorite treasure" ever. THERE IS EVEN JEWELRY INSIDE THE DRAWERS MOM!( ...and I use the term "jewelry" loosely here). But to her seven year old eyes...magical.

A treasure to be sure.

Jillian was equally besotted.

Causing many...shall I say...disagreements...about who was going to play with it.

And how.

And when.

That nearly drove me to tears of another sort.

But since this is a family blog...I am going to stick to the happy.

We finally put it up on a shelf in Lia's room where we could all gaze upon it's loveliness whenever we chose.

Never underestimate the value of a high shelf.

Peace reigned once again...until one night a few weeks ago...Lia and her carousel made me cry.

Lia has taken to getting both herself AND Jillian ready for bed each night as a "surprise" for us.

They scamper upstairs and I can hear Lia coaching Jillie through putting on her pajamas, brushing her teeth...and using the potty.

On this particular night, Jillian was a bit resistant to the whole potty part of the routine. I heard Lia tell Jillian that she would give her a "present" if she did it. So Jillian did it.

I headed upstairs to make sure Lia would honor her promise to find her scanning the shelves in her bedroom. I suggested a hair bow or ribbon...but she wasn't satisfied. She asked me to take Jillian into my room to wait for the surprise.

I could hear her pushing her stool around...a little banging...and then..there she was.

With the genuine plastic carousel/music box/jewelry keeper beauty.

I tried to quickly point out that she needn't part with such a dear possession...but Lia was adamant. She was proud of Jillian and she wanted her to have the treasure "because she loves it so much Mom. It will make her SO happy."

So you know where this ends right?

Me...in the bathroom, trying to hide my sobbing from the children, all the while babbling incoherently to Jim about what just happened. He thought I was hurt at first.

I think I gave them all a scare.

But it WAS a happy cry.

And even though I wasn't pretty...I sure was proud of MY treasure.



The Photo 4-1-1:

{Canon 50d, 50mm, f/2.5, 1/60}
{Edited with actions from the Florabella Collection}

Hello Sunday! Check out some really great photography! (and be sure to stop by here later this week. Coming up? A video of Jillian yodeling! It's a don't miss!!) :-)

Kickin' it Old School {Sunday Snapshot}

Once upon a time, Jim was the photographer around these parts. I was so excited the Christmas before we traveled to China for Lia when I gave him a S**y point and shoot digital camera. That trusty little workhorse saw us through that trip to China and our first year home with Lia.

Until I started carrying it around in my diaper bag.

With leaky sippy cups of apple juice.

Quick PSA...leaky sippy cups and cameras don't play well together.

I blame it on the sleep deprivation. :-)

Because it makes me seem slightly less...well...ditzy.

I started Livin' la vida Lia in January 2008 (you can see my first post here. It's actually two posts because I couldn't figure out how to add more than one photo on a post. :-)).

As I started to read more blogs and see such fabulous photography...I wanted to do a little more myself. Photographically speaking that is.

I convinced Jim I needed a better camera.

One not slowed up with apple juice and all.

So...he bought me a Canon Rebel. On the condition I learn how to use it. I promised I would.

So I did. :-)

...and boy did I have fun along the way.

I can't tell you how many afternoons I spent dressing Lia up so I could photograph her. I would like to say that my children look like they stepped out of a Matil*a J*ne look book on a daily basis...but really they do not. I love 'em just the way they are to be sure {all bed headed and usually wearing mismatched dress up clothes...if I'm lucky. Jillian is going through her "undies only" phase...a topic for another post}...just letting you know that becoming...ahem...fancy photo ready...takes a little bit of doing.(Although I want to be clear here...I LOVE shooting the everyday goodness too :-))

Luckily, Lia loves the "getting fancy photo ready" part...and was a very willing participant in those early days. You can see what I was up to back in the day here. Or here. Good times. :-) Filling my days up with fun photo shoots and my evenings blogging about it. And getting LOTS of camera practice in the process!

Now that I have branched out a bit, a lot of my photography time is spent planning and editing photos for other people. And while I truly love every second of that...I sometimes miss those early days of my journey.

So I decided to head out with Lia one night this week to kick it old school. Me, my camera and my best big girl. (this photo totally inspired by the genius of her.)



Total bliss.

...and the fact that the park maintenance workers had apparently decided to mow everysinglefield I wanted to use? Didn't slow us down a bit.

We made it work.



Tim Gunn is somewhere smiling. I just know it.

My Lia is an artist. Compelled to create. She literally wakes up each morning and heads right to her craft table. And I love every blessed, messy second of it. It is a sight to behold...watching her work...so lost in what she is doing...usually humming or whistling a happy tune. Joyful.



Completely unaware of her surroundings...lost in her happy place. I dropped her in the middle of the woods...and she sat right down and went to work...drawing, blowing away the loose bits of chalky pastels...creating. I could not even bring myself to interupt her to give directions...I just let her be.

And it was beautiful to me. The girl. The location. The passion.

Magical.



After a recent visit to our local art store, she told me she wanted to stay there all day looking at the art supplies.:-)

She told me "photography people" were my people and "art people" were her people.

I told her my people would give her people a call.

Maybe we could do dinner.

She was not amused.



I just hope someday she appreciates the effort. :-)

(Because even though I didn't mention it...I proudly claim the Goofy in the world as my people too.) :-)

So...she's growing up...despite my efforts to stop the hands of time.



But these photos...treasures to me...helped capture THIS moment...and in the process re-live some others.

Old School rocks.

And so does my little artist.



{Canon 50d, 50mm, f/2.5, 1/60, ISO 400}
{Edited with Florabella Actions ("Splendor" and "Add Some Drama") and Textures (Cream Canvas)and Nicole Van Sunflare Action}

{Shirt is from The Gap}
{Petticoat from The Measure}

I have been loving the Sunday Snapshot! Be inspired, make a friend, have some fun and join in. :-)