Progress Report

So, it turns out that this whole Blogging thing is a LOT harder to do with a school-age child than it was when she was a baby/toddler who occasionally slept. LOL!

I just wrote a post (with photos) over at the other blog about Isabel's first progress report. I wish I had the energy right now to be more creative and write a different version of it for this blog.

But I don't.  Though I DO wish I could bottle some of my daughter's energy for myself! LOL!

You can check out the update by clicking here:

or here:  http://www.laureenburkephotography.com/2011/09/progress-report-last-friday-at-end-of.html

Thanks for understanding
(and hope to see you over on the other blog!)

All is Well...

A month in and all is well

 Today marks the one month point of my Kindergartener’s formal education in the public school system. While part of me still cannot believe that we are coming up on five years as mother and daughter, the rest of me stands in awe of the amazing child that Isabel has developed into. She is bright, witty, intuitive and quite the social butterfly. 
Walking through the doors of that school was her first step into a whole new world…a world of discovery, laughter, failure, friends, joy, pain. The whole gamut. 

 The space where her first two teeth fell out last month is gone, filled by the two new adult teeth. 

As quick as that. The baby replaced by the adult. I know that I have 13 years ahead of me before the child as a whole becomes the woman she will be. 

Thirteen years. 

I know that it will fly by in a heartbeat. And I will be writing about how my *baby* is finishing her first month of college. 

Until then, I will try my hardest to be present. To enjoy moments like this morning’s, when, as she waited for her Vanilla Bean mini Scone, she excitedly announced to the folks in line that “My Mom got paid today!” To embrace the time of reading bedtime stories together and listening to Veggie Tales in the car. To experience bittersweet times of growth, like her decision to walk to her classroom by herself today.

The next decade will be filled with change and growth…for us both. And while there is a tad bit of apprehension, if these last five years have been any indication, the adventure has just begun.

Love is in the Air

“As the ocean is never full of water,

so is the heart never full of love”

 

With the exception of when I studied abroad, I have always lived my life within 30 minutes of the Atlantic Ocean. There is something about the sound of gulls and the smell of the salt on the air that comforts me, embraces me, calms me. The sheer enormity of the ocean helps me put things into perspective. There is a peace that envelopes me; the waves rolling in and out, in and out… they remind me of the cycles of life.

I was there last month, an hour before sunset to shoot an engagement session for a colleague of mine. I seriously couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening. The beach was deserted. The weather was not too hot. There were gorgeous clouds in the sky and the sunset was spectacular. It was a photographer's dream come true.

And that was just the setting.

As D.H. Lawrence put it,

"I am in love - and, my God, it is the greatest thing that can happen to a man."

Indeed, it would seem to be.

You can check out images of this session

over at the other blog by clicking here.

{Thanks for visiting}

 

Seeing What Isn't There

Please check out my new post over at the other blog.
http://www.laureenburkephotography.com/2011/09/seeing-what-isnt-there.html
Hope you enjoy!