Rainbow!

We had the most beautiful rainbow right at sunset tonight.  While I often complain about missing the heat and thunderstorms of the other places I have lived, I really love that in the spring in Seattle I get to see a rainbow usually every few weeks!  Tonight was the first time I have seen one during a sunset and it was beautiful!



I sat and watched the clouds meander on by til the sun set and the rainbow faded from view. What a great show!



A wonderful way to end a Monday - and if you are feeling particularly lucky (perhaps someone found the pot of gold?) do take a moment to enter the raffle I'm currently holding! Check it out here!

Read more...

A raffle like no other!

**A big post today! Please take the time to read it through, because at the end there is a great opportunity for everyone!**


For most moms, life with a baby is busy, exhausting, and full of little gripes like, 'Augh! Another tantrum leaving the park today!' Or, 'Oh man, going on a walk with a toddler is torturously slow.' Few of us take the time to really consider what a treat it is to have the ability to experience all the ups and downs of keeping up with a child.

I'd like like to introduce you to my dear friend, Catherine. She is an amazing mom and wishes only to have the chance to enjoy the wondrous bits of life that most moms cherish without a second thought. But with Sickle Cell Anemia and Pulmonary Hypertension, the cards are stacked against her. She has been on constant oxygen since the birth of her daughter, Ava, 17 months ago, and has made it through many difficult trials including coma, lung collapse, and extended hospital stays far from home. All the while she meets life with enthusiasm, and stays strong to be there for her daughter as she grows.

If you have never had watch your child learn to walk and wish you could hold her finger while she explores her new found talents, consider yourself lucky. If you've never had to wish you could twirl your child through the air or explain to her why you can't pick her up, consider yourself lucky. If you can make it through an entire book and groan about how many times you have to read it again, consider yourself lucky. If you have never sat in a hospital bed and hoped your baby would remember you when you come home, consider yourself lucky. If you have never had to pray that your child will have you by her side at her birthday this year and next, then you are truly lucky.

All you amazingly lucky people, this is where you come in! Catherine is blessed with wonderful family, friends, and doctors and has a chance at a life-changing surgery this summer, but she needs help getting there. A fundraiser has been set up to gather the funds to get her across the country where doctors are waiting to evaluate her candidacy.

I will be raffling off one complete portrait session, a $650 value!

Don't worry, if you aren't in the Pacific Northwest, since there will be secondary prizes that can be shipped anywhere. Each entry is $10, and you may enter as many times as you'd like.  Be sure to pass the word on, since the more entries I receive, the more prizes I will add to the pot!   It's a win-win situation, all around!

How to enter:  Please use the button on the top of this blog to purchase tickets. They are $10 a piece and you may enter as many times as you'd like. Each one brings you closer to winning, and brings Catherine closer to realizing her cross country trip and freedom from oxygen tanks! It's win-win. :0). 

As more raffle tickets are purchased, I will add more secondary prizes, so keep sharing with your friends all over the country!

I am very excited to have this raffle to offer my clients, fans and friends, so please share as much as you can! The more the merrier! (You will find more details below.)

You can get to know Catherine better and follow along on her journey here on her San Diego or Bust! page. Words of encouragement are always welcome!

And Cat, I plan for this to be you and Ava next summer- one more dream come true:

               (Portrait by Alta Dawne Photography)

Details: 

Grand prize: One Portrait Session including Complete Digital Collection - a $650 value! Session must take place in the greater Seattle, Portland, or Corvallis areas.  Session must be completed by August 13th, 2012.

Secondary prize: A collection of 5x7 greeting cards with original prints that may be framed after use.

The raffle begins today and will last through June 1st at 9pm Seattle time. All proceeds will benefit San Diego or Bust. Portrait session may be redeemed in the greater Seattle, Portland, and Corvallis areas. Secondary prizes will be shipped worldwide. Prizes may not be redeemed for cash. If winner cannot redeem grand prize, winner may choose from the secondary prizes and a new grand prize winner will be chosen.

Read more...

Tidbit #35

At the park today, Bella climbed higher than ever before, and took charge of all the kids on the merry-go-round. I really never imagined I'd see this day, and it caught me off guard. My timid little park-watcher is becoming daring.

Read more...

The Ice Storm

I never saw a wild thing 
sorry for itself. 
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough 
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

David Herbert Lawrence.

 

The ice storm was beautiful and terrible. It crippled our trees and set our region at a stand still- cold, immobile, and in awe at the kind of natural acts we so rarely see here.

All night we listened helplessly to the crash of trees as the weight of the ice snapped them in half and ripped them apart, branch by branch.  The scene the next morning was unbelievable. Our hearts ached for the trees, in disbelief that nature would do this to her own. 

The roads still look like this, lined with destruction no one will ever finish clearing. I wonder how long it will be before we no longer notice it there, no longer notice the roads lined with scattered pieces of trees, and forget how the proudest once stood, whole and flourishing.

The destruction is in every direction - undeniable and overwhelming.  And yet, it's not the way of nature to linger on it as we do. There's no pity in storms, no sorrow in the destruction they leave. Leaves will bud out this spring, proud and unaware of the winter's cruelty. Trees will not ache for their lost limbs or fallen neighbors. Those that do not make it become part of the earth again and nourish the saplings that will replace them.

The ones that survive will continue to stand strong, no matter the weather, and stretch their branches towards the sky.

 

Read more...

Tidbit #29

Unrelenting rain smacking the thin walls in huge, heavy drops. Listening in the darkness. Steady breathing from nearby. Hearts beating together as the little one gently rises and falls, sleeping on my chest again.

Read more...

More tidbit catchup!

Tidbits 15-27  (Apparently losing power for four days has me a bit behind.)

Sun 15th: How is it that the girls put on footy jammies and suddenly they're one year younger and completely cuddleable?

Mon 16th: Tracking foot prints in the snow. It's amazing how much wildlife is all around us, and how much we miss without the snow to record everything.

Tues 17th: Music holds our lives together. Lia is already taking to singing music, but when she and Bella were sitting in a boat together, she asked Bella to sing. A new understanding opened between them and suddenly they were off in their own world.

Weds 18th: Snow day! Lia looked like a giant pink marshmallow, and every time I saw her, I had to give her a big squishy hug. There's just no way around it.

Thurs 19th: So grateful for our amazing friends, opening their homes to keep us warm and dry during this incredible storm.

Fri 20th: Away from home tonight. Lia wants to sleep on my belly to fall asleep. Okay, snuggle baby. If you insist.

Sat 21st: It seems as if nature has turned on herself, sabotaging her amazing and beautiful work. It is heartbreaking to see the trees broken, fallen, beaten, just by ice and rain. But to her, it's just another part of the great cycle.

Sun 22nd: Oh my sweet sweet baby fell asleep in my arms, with the whole hubub of the house swirling around her. I can't remember the last time that has happened. Being trapped by a baby is bliss.

Mon 23rd: When we're listening to CDs or radio, one second between songs is one second too long for Lia. Song?

Tues 24th: Apparently, Lia has decided that if she is not grumping, she's going to be the world's most hilarious comedian. (Oh, I so dearly missed her goofies during these last few months of teething.)

Weds 25th: Sometimes it's hard to believe we live here. We really do. I look up at the jagged piney tree tops and sniff the cool, rainy air and I'm instantly transported back to my childhood vacations, riding in the car, dreaming someday I would live here. Now I'm living the dream, dreary days and all.

Thurs 26th: Giant squishy nap with my girls. We must be on the same sleep cycle, so I got to lie there and listen to the girls waking up. The both smacked their lips and squeaked the same way before waking. The same as they did as babies, too.

Fri 27th: Sitting in the sunbeam. Babies asleep, Bella reading an ipad book aloud. Watching this video (on my phone, no less) and giggling. 

Read more...

Tidbit #14

My parents came over for a sushi extravaganza tonight.  It's amazing to have them so close. I hope girls will never remember a time when we couldn't just call them up and invite them over for dinner.

Sidenote: How does anyone ever get full on sushi? By the time you've prepared it, you're hungry enough for three more rolls!

Read more...

Tidbit #13

Learning yoga is not so easy in the presence of a toddler who thinks you are a shape shifting jungle gym.

Read more...

Tidbit #12

Long long day with the girls. Some days I feel like flying out of the house the second Dave gets home from work.  And yet...  
That feeling vanishes at bedtime. That moment before I put Lia down for the night, it's nearly impossible to let her go. Tomorrow she'll be just a little bigger, her body a little longer. She'll never again fit just so on my shoulder as she does today, relaxed and snuggled close for comfort.

Read more...

Tidbit #10 & 11

Tidbit #10:  Amazing how quickly magical moments escape the memory when you don't write them down straight away.  Despite many wonderful things I smiled at, all I can remember from today was how beautiful the great golden moon was as it rose into a clear, starry night.

Tidbit #11: Another sunny day!  We headed to the park, and as soon as Lia saw the lake, she shouted, BATH!  That would be one cold, cold, bath, my dear.

Read more...

Tidibit catchup!

Jan 1 in my Project 365

Tidbit #1: It's a new year. We are so far past the intensity of 2010 that I feel like I can breathe.  This year's word is engage. I plan to be fully engaged in whatever I have chosen to do at that moment, working, playing, or just being. There's going to be a lot less multitasking this year!

Tidbit #2: Instead of directing her feet into her shoes, Lia grabs her foot just as I do and tries to shove her whole and and foot in the shoe. It's been less than successful so far, but oh-so-cute.

Tidbit #3:  When the fog rolls in ("it's froggy!") or clouds slip past the moon, or Bella squints so her eyelashes haze everything over, she calls it melting.  "Look mommy, the clouds are melting the moon!" "Hee. Hee. I'm melting you, Mommy." It's quite the perspective.

Read more...

Tidbit #7

I caught a brief glimpse of the sunset while driving tonight. One long, thin golden ribbon adorning the steely sky - a reminder that the sun rose today and was with us all along, even on the grayest of days.

Read more...

Tidbit #6

Things I never imagined I'd ever shout:

Enough! It's your dinner, not a water park! (Who knew soup could be so fun?)
Eat your food, don't decorate with it!
Lillia, get Jesus's head out of your mouth. He's not for teething! (Tho I guess no one can resist the Jesus Action Figure.)

Read more...

Tidbit #5

This afternoon Dave came home on lunch and rocked Lia to sleep.

Then again tonight, completely out of our routine, I did the same.

I sang this.
And this.
(As usual.)

Her little head kept popping up, swaying a little more each time, dropping down a little heavier each time.

I hope that little head will forever fit so perfectly in the nook of my collarbone, my cheek resting gently on her sweet, silky hair.

Read more...

Tidbit #4

This is part of my 366 Tidbits series. I'd love it if you'd join me!
(What? You like to start at #1?  Well, you can start wherever you'd like! I'll be catching up soon.)

Lia was in her birthday suit at dinner tonight - she shoveled rice in her mouth tonight, dropping it all over the chair. In the process of getting off the chair, she managed to cover herself with every single piece and then proceeded to run around the house, shedding rice right and left. (And I wonder why I'm always vacuuming.)  Oh, Lia. You crack me up.

Read more...

Memories and Tidbits

You may have seen this circulating around over the past few days: Portraits Are More Than Paper

It hits home for a lot of us. We take pictures out of habit, in hopes that we might ever get them up on Facebook, or even into albums and scrapbooks. But what happens when they are all we have left of someone we love?  The simplest snapshot takes on new meaning when someone in it is no longer with us.

I just came across the picture above - a little selfie I took in August with my point and shoot. I love this moment. Our days are so full that even though I might remember feeling this way, I doubt I could ever recall the moment without a photograph, and certainly Lillia never will.

It's not about getting your portraits done. Its about existing in living memory. Sure, not every moment needs a camera - but the sweetest moments need memories. We don't pass down spoken memories as societies used to, so it only makes sense that there is a shift in the way we maintain our history. A picture is one of many simple ways to do just that.

It doesn't matter how you capture your memories - just do it. Jot down your favorite moments of that day. Take a snapshot with your phone. HAND YOUR CAMERA OFF TO SOMEONE so that you are in a picture. Guess what? Your family loves you for who you are, and if you're avoiding the camera, you're depriving them of preserving memories they love.

That one letter has spurred a memory revolution - feel free to join in any way you would like. What am I doing to make sure my girls remember our beautiful, imperfect life?

I've started a 366 Tidbits Project.  (Yes, indeedy! It's a leap year!)

I'll be jotting down one tidbit each day and posting it here (informally, and not necessarily with a picture - gotta keep it simple, people!). I haven't kept up on the girls' monthly letters, and I feel their memories melting together and drifting away, which I hate.

So check back here for 366 days of tidbits - things I noticed, something quirky about my day, something that inspired me or made me giggle. It coincides nicely with my second project 365 that I started in October (which you can view here).  Hopefully through this, the girls will get to know the me they loved before they were old enough to really remember. 

Read more...

On experience and permanence

(The view from my parents' street - processed by my dad.)

My dad and I were walking up his driveway after running down the street to catch the last bit of a beautiful sunset. The driver of the Fed-Ex truck that was backing out stopped to say with relief, Oh, thank goodness someone's got their camera! What a beautiful sunset!  And it occurred to me then, what strange things technology has done to us.  We panic at the thought of losing a memory forever. Even if it's the grainiest phone snapshot and we never again look at it, just the fact that it exists is enough. Someone somewhere has the memory permanently stored, and with that knowledge, we can go back to enjoying our view. Or even turn away from it.

Our winters here are so long. Not the harsh, beating coldness of most northern winters. It's dark, dull, unrelenting gloom.  When we have crisp, clear days, they are treasures that inspire us to make it through the strings of dreary weeks.  I can certainly identify with that overwhelming pull to capture them forever. Some days I long for proof that the sun ever graced my views.

(Taken with my phone, as I stuck my knee in a pile of leafy muddy guck.)

Earlier this week, I ran up and down a few blocks in Seattle trying to get a better vantage point of this amazing sunset.  I wanted to shout, Look! Don't you see it? to every person on the street. Wild eyed and running around, I was snapping phone shots left and right. After I acknowledged my own ridiculousness, and decided to hop in my car and just enjoy it, I passed the Pike Place Market sign, illuminated from behind by these same stunning golden clouds. That was the view I had imagined in my head all along.

In the 1.5 second glimpse I had of the amazing view, all I could think was, "Thank God there are tourists here. Someone will have taken a picture."

P.S. You can bet I was thrilled to see a private plane soaring across the view above. Surely that was their best flight ever.

P.P.S. Who's getting up to see the lunar eclipse in the morning? I'll be waking up my 3 year old to watch with me if the skies stay clear!

Read more...

SWEET!

(cupcakes by: Trophy Cupcakes (omgsogood), decorative wrappers by: Bella Cupcake Couture)

Tomorrow I will be joining the live audience at the CreativeLIVE studio for a holiday cupcake and cookie decorating class. I couldn't be more excited! If you haven't heard of CreativeLIVE, run -do not walk- to their website. They offer amazing courses (most often about photography, but creativity has no limits!) that are FREE when viewed live, and are offered at an amazing price as downloads. It's a world wide classroom at its finest.

So you can imagine how stoked I am to get to learn about delicious decorations in this amazing manner! I love baking, but let's just say I lean towards unfinished cookies and cakes with messy toppings, because I can never get icing just right. I cannot wait to learn!

I hope you'll join me in the morning by tuning in LIVE, and if you can't make it, I'm sure the class will be more than worth purchasing the download.

P.S. If you know me even a little, you will know just how bad my sweet tooth can be! Don't get your hopes up that any finished delicacies will actually make it out of my kitchen, unless it's to pose for a portrait!

Read more...

Reflecting

One thing I love about photography is that it may be cold outside and ready to snow, but I can lose myself in an image and just like that, it's summer again. For a moment, Bella is newly three, the sun is bright, laughter is everywhere, and the air smells of grass and dandelions.



And then, back to my hot chocolate and dark cozy windows and I trudge nostalgically through a year of family photos. :O)

Read more...

Feeling like fall

Who else has been up to their elbows in pumpkins lately? Perhaps even a few pumpkin lattes?

(Not up to your elbows, of course.)

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! Well, and a happy October for that matter!

For me, autumn is all about the leaves! We've been having such a wonderfully dry autumn here, and it's the first year that Bella has really gotten to play in the leaves! Last year, Lillia couldn't stand the sound of leaves so piles of them were OUT! This year has been so much better.

It reminds me of being back in New England. We even had frost-coated leaves this morning, and I ran Bella out of the house to show her. Yes, I love fall that much.

These images of Bella playing in the leaves sum it all up for me. Happiness, anticipation, wonder, and freedom. All in one big pile. :O)

I would love to hear how you're celebrating this fall!

Read more...