Afternoon Delight!

My neighbor's granddaughters came to visit last weekend and when I saw them come outside with their matching piggy-tails, I grabbed my camera and was out the door! I brought along some new props I had purchased - butterfly nets and feather boas! Perfect for little girls! You should have seen their eyes light up! They ran around the yard flitting and jumping, primping and posing for a good hour!

We had so much fun! I only took about 400 pictures! Thank Goodness for digital!!!!

Their "Mimi" bought them these adorable garden shoes ...

By the time we were done, it looked like a couple of birds had lost their lives or something!!!! There were feathers EVERYWHERE!!!! But we sure had fun!

Childhood Joy

There's just nothing like the simple joy of being a child. Do you remember it?

A Lovely Family

I met and photographed a lovely family a couple of nights ago. The "G" Family was just great! I haven't had alot of experience with family photography yet, and they were so gracious and helpful. Their girls are just adorable!

This is Miss "L". I just love her toothless smile!

And this little cutie is Miss "R". She wasn't so much in to the sit down and pose part of the photo shoot. I was happy to capture her anyway I could!

Miss "L" was very proud to show me how she could climb this wonderful curly willow tree all by herself!

Daddy and his girls...

Look at these beautiful girls (Mom, too!)

Sweet.

Love these.

Thank you so much "G" Family! It was a real pleasure to meet you all. And you were so nice to work with. I should have the rest of your photos done soon!

Home

Look who's home! Miss 'S' has completed her first year of college!!! I can't believe it! Seems like we just got her all moved into her dorm, and now she's back home for the summer and all her stuff is literally littering my living room floor!!!

She did good. Made the Dean's List!! Learned to grocery shop and do some real cooking. Learned to do her laundry all by herself. She's practically all grown up! We're so proud of her!



I think she's happy to be home. She's thrilled to have her own room again - no roommates! She's thrilled to have no 8:00 a.m. classes or homework. And she's thrilled to have her car again - Freshman were not allowed to have cars. And she's thrilled to have someone else to cook for her and do her laundry again.



Her beloved puppy Gidget is thrilled to have her home. So am I.

Now we must see about getting that hair cut .... :)

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Mom's who frequent my blog, I wish for you a wonderful weekend and a fabulous Mother's Day! It is, by far, one of the most rewarding (and some times the most frustrating) professions on Earth. Cherish it always.

GOOD NEWS!!!!

For those of you who have been keeping up with Juan and his family, they have Great News!!! Juan is out of surgery and the doctors are very optimistic about his recovery! Thanks to all who have kept Juan and his family in their thoughts and prayers. I believe those prayers produced a miracle for Juan. But, please, keep them coming. Juan still has a rough road ahead of him as he continues to battle this disease.

~ Sandy

Update on Juan

I learned this morning that Juan's surgery was postponed until this afternoon. Please continue to keep Juan, Lisa and their entire family in your thoughts and prayers today as they go through this difficult time.

Thanks so much,
Sandy

Please Pray for Juan Carlos Iriarte

Many of you know Juan Carlos Iriarte or another member of the Iriarte family. Juan's father owns Startown Stables. Juan and his fiance, Lisa, own Rancho El Destino in Newton.

Juan Carlos is battling Leukemia. Last week he was put back in the hospital with a severe fungal sinus infection. This can be life threatening for a cancer patient. Last week Juan lost an eye in order to save his life.

Today Juan is back in surgery as they fear the infection may have spread. The Iriarte Family has asked for everyone to please pray for Juan Carlos. He needs all the love, support and prayers he can get right now. Please think of Lisa too. She has been by his side every second.

You can post a message to Juan at their website http://www.ranchoeldestino.com/ Just click on the message board link on the left side.

LOVE THIS ONE!!!

This photo would be awesome enlarged to poster size, framed and hanging over Miss "J"s bed!!! Just beautiful!

One Courageous Young Lady

I introduced you yesterday to Miss "J" . She is one courageous 5th Grader! A few weeks ago she underwent surgery on not one, but both of her feet. She had the accessory navicular bone removed from both feet and the tendon was reattached to the naviuclar bone. Ouch!

Miss "J" is a very active young lady. She takes dance and plays sports. When the pain became so great that she was having trouble functioning, surgery became a must. Miss "J" bravely faced her surgery a few weeks ago, knowing that she would be immobile and requiring a wheelchair for several weeks and after that she would be "upgraded" to physical therapy and crutches. That's an awful lot for a very active 5th grade child to deal with. But Miss "J" has handled it all with a wonderful optismism and maturity. I must say, not one word of pity or "woe-is-me" came out of this child's mouth during our photo shoot. She was absolutely up for anything, including laying down in the grass - which was no easy feat, I might add!! She was just a joy to be around.

I loved her beautiful casts. When I was 7 and broke my arm, I can tell you that I didn't have a pretty cast like these!!! Mine was an ugly off white contraption. Yuck.

.

I asked Jenny to come up with 10 words to describe how she feels about her whole experience. You'll find her words (and a couple from her mom) on the first picture in this post. We were quite amazed at a couple of the words she came up with. I can only hope that I would be half as good a patient as Miss "J" if I found myself immobile for such a length of time!!! NOT!