senior pictures.

    My twin cousins are graduating this Spring.  My aunt asked me if I would take their senior pictures.  I love to fiddle with photography and enjoy using Adobe programs and my Apple computer to do editing.  I have a Nikon Coolpix L810 that I have been experimenting with for about a year. I was excited to take on this task and enjoyed every minute of this learning process.  My aunt and cousins seem happy with the outcome and I thought I would share a few favorites on my blog. Congratulations girls!

    As a side note, it is difficult to mess up two beautiful, cooperative girls and a perfect Michigan Fall backdrop.  Pretty sweet gig ;)

 

 

a few of my beautiful hollyhocks.

I have a small collection of HollyHocks started this year.  I love these traditional farm flowers and hope they really take off at my home. 

michigan fall-highlighted: atwood park.

I did not grow up in a small town. I did not grow up in the Midwest. I did not witness trees changing colors, cider & donuts or football games outside until college. I grew up in Goodyear, AZ and had an incredible upbringing. Now I find myself raising my own family in the small Michigan hometown my husband and many past generations of both of our families grew up in. Some things are a negative tradeoff (e.g. lack of shopping/eating choices and having my parents and sister so far away) but some things are an incredible positive tradeoff (e.g. this incredible thing they call "Fall" and experiencing small town America with my kids).

As I think is apparent from my blog, I try to find appreciation in all the little things in my life. This cute little park, Atwood Park, is just a block from my house and a great view from my front yard. Live music permeates the air on cool summer nights and the beauty of fall is highlighted among store fronts on State Street. The lighting and colors were perfect one night this week and my family and I strolled down for a photo shoot. These pictures are the result.

farm photography.

I love taking pictures and one of my favorite places to play and sharpen my photo skills is on my grandparent's farm. I love the wholesome, bright colored slices of Midwest living I can catch in my grandma's flower beds, the open sky meeting the treeline, growing crops and barefoot kids, tractors and animals. Here are a few recent favorite captured farmlife moments.

god is great.

Yesterday before a summertime storm my husband pointed this out in the sky. I also learned of a miraculous story of a prematurely born baby girl a friend had and received an especially touching phone call from my cousin. My son told me "Mom, you're a good mumma." Not that there is ever any doubt, but sometimes it is so clear that God is so great!

my grandparent's farm.

I have so many fond memories of my grandparent's Michigan farm. My grandparent's own 40 acres in the "thumb" of Michigan with hay fields, wooded trails, a creek, cattle, multiple barns, 3 tractors, a pumpkin patch and hundreds of eye catching, adventurous opportunities (especially for a kid).

My brother and cousins and I spent so much of our time roaming those grounds in the summertime. My brother and I spent a couple summers from Arizona at the farm without my parents...one in particular, we chose going to grandma and grandpa's over a second trip to Hawaii and my parents got a vacation for the two of them, while we explored the farm. My grandpa taught us city kids what 4H was and took us to the fair to show his cattle. My grandma taught us how to cook homemade pies and hang clothes out to dry. My brother and I didn't do these things in Arizona. My grandma would tour us around and introduce us to all our "kin folk." We slept many summer nights in their gazebo after bonfires and smores put us into a deep sleep. We caught lightning bugs in mason jars and fished crawdaddies out of the creek. And that summer in 8th grade when the man who would eventually become my husband dropped me off from our first date we hugged on that front porch. This farm has held a special place in my husband's heart from that point on too-as he helped me chase cows, wade down the creek, fish out of the culvert and eat many of grandma's home cooked meals. This is the house he would race from to make his parents curfew and eventually where we would gather antiques for our own home from.

This house and farm hold an incredible amount of memories for me and the two people who live here have made it my second home growing up. They have taught me about country living, life and love. I am now raising my family just 12 miles from this ol' farm and I never pass up an opportunity to let my kids explore the farm. These pictures show my son learning baking techniques from great grandma and driving great grandpa's tractors (his passion). Next Tuesday, my grandpa is getting his cattle delivered for the summer and we will be there to watch them unload. I am so grateful for all the incredible memories this place has provided me and now my family too. I love you grandma and grandpa and your farm on Rossman Road:)

Springtime kiddies

The dandelions have overtaken our yard...I set the kid's park bench out and had a mini photo shoot. The results speak for themselves. I love the bright colors and the smily, sweet faces of my kids.

blog overload.

The weather this week is as beautiful as my life and therefore my blog photo stash is in overdrive. I have hit some amazing outdoor sales, celebrated an incredible Mother's Day weekend and cherry blossoms and dandelions are out (my poor kids have had multiple photo shoots). I have so many great pictures I am anxious to share. However, I do not want to miss the opportunity to spend the day outside with my beautiful babies....so here are a few teasers of antique finished shots of my springtime clothesline. This is country living and I am so happy:)

Springtime in Michigan

Our luscious rhubarb...I saw this picked and in a vase on a blog yesterday...
After a fresh rain...


Michiganders are feeling frustrated by a lack of Spring weather...we tried and found a few signs mother nature will not disappoint.

Farmer's market

These photos are from summer 2010 in a western Michigan farmer's market...

I love a good birch

Took my kids sledding in the last snow and caught a few great photos...