Loving Life

I know, I know.

It's been almost two years. How in the world did I become THAT blogger? You know, the one who posted all the time and then fell off the planet. Well, it looks like I had a lot more time on my hands while Isabel was in preschool. She is finishing up second grade. Was tested and began attending a gifted program this year. She is full of life. HAs a voracious hunger for reading and a wicked sense of humor. Here she is as an eight year old, beach-loving ball of energy.

 I promise to try to be better about posting.

Until next time,

Laureen

Bye Bye Kindergarten!

Well, yesterday marked the end of Isabel's kindergarten days.

What an amazing and wonderful year it was.

I am so very thankful for the experience she had and for all that she learned, 

not only academically but socially and culturally as well. 

I love that her school has a multicultural population.  

Sort of like the world, huh?  

Today begins a summer filled with swimming and camp. 

My little girl is growing up!

Here are some images from her last day:

 La Princesa (complete with obligatory tiara)

en route to her Kindergarten Awards Ceremony

where she received the All A Honor Roll Award 

and Perfect Attendance Award

 With classmate and friend.

With two of her best friends.

Blueberries for Sal... (and Isabel and Laureen)

When I was little, growing up in New England, my two favorite books were Robert McCloskey"s Make Way For Ducklings and Blueberries For Sal. I bought the first one for my daughter even before she was born. The latter we recently checked out of our local library. We love the description of the blueberries hitting the bottom of the metal pail that Sal is holding.

"Plink. Plink. Plink."

Until this afternoon, it was just a story. But today, it became a reality when the two of us went blueberry picking for the first time. We ended up picking 3.5 lbs and will be freezing most of them for summer smoothies. At a time where most of us are so removed from where our food actually comes from, it was  almost mystical to pick a berry, warm from the sun, right off the branch and pop its sweet goodness into your mouth.

No plastic packaging. No preservatives.
No traveling across the country to get to the produce department.
Just traveling 10 miles up the road. With a metal bucket. And an excited little girl.

As I heard the first "Plink. Plink. Plink." I smiled.

Because now that story lives on in the another  generation of readers not only on the pages of a book, but in the blue-stained fingers of a mother and daughter.

You can check out this 

and other stories and photos over at my photography blog:

http://laureenburkephotography.com

Blueberries for Sal... (and Isabel and Laureen)

When I was little, growing up in New England, my two favorite books were Robert McCloskey"s Make Way For Ducklings and Blueberries For Sal. I bought the first one for my daughter even before she was born. The latter we recently checked out of our local library. We love the description of the blueberries hitting the bottom of the metal pail that Sal is holding.

"Plink. Plink. Plink."

Until this afternoon, it was just a story. But today, it became a reality when the two of us went blueberry picking for the first time. We ended up picking 3.5 lbs and will be freezing most of them for summer smoothies. At a time where most of us are so removed from where our food actually comes from, it was  almost mystical to pick a berry, warm from the sun, right off the branch and pop its sweet goodness into your mouth.

No plastic packaging. No preservatives.
No traveling across the country to get to the produce department.
Just traveling 10 miles up the road. With a metal bucket. And an excited little girl.

As I heard the first "Plink. Plink. Plink." I smiled.

Because now that story lives on in the another  generation of readers not only on the pages of a book, but in the blue-stained fingers of a mother and daughter.

You can check out this 

and other stories and photos over at my photography blog:

http://laureenburkephotography.com

Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May

This past Saturday evening, I was honored to photograph a small wedding in Ortega. The bride walked down a  path of rose petals. After the ceremony, I looked up and saw the children playing with them.

Love these shots I caught of Isabel.

Oh Happy Day!

Some out-takes from a recent photo session for a partnership between 

Sparrow Fund and Laureen Burke Photography.

Love these candid images!

Right on schedule.... unfortunately.

     I have been expecting it. 

    In fact, dreading it for years. 

The inevitable

And it happened just now.In the car. 

On the way home.

I look up in the rearview mirror as Isabel calls, Look Mom!"

I want to throw up.

She has the palms of her hands at the outside edge of her eyes,

pulling them back tight until they are nothing but slits. 

Then she starts saying "Me Chinese. Me Chinese" 

(And not in a nice way. A proud way.) 

I almost ran the car off the road.

I  asked her where she learned that.

"Sydney did it in class. She's funny." 

I told her it was not funny.

It was unkind and ignorant. 

My heart hurts. 

I know this is just the beginning.

I don't think I'll ever be ready.

Behind the Scenes

True confession: Working three jobs (one full-time and two part-time) is time consuming. Throw in keeping up with two blogs and well... you see what has happened. I apologize for the infrequency of posting here. I continue to do the best I can.

Sometimes, there is an overlap between the blogs. Such is the case with the current post. I think you will enjoy it. And so, instead of rewriting it for this blog, I am just going to give you the link to the one over there.

How's that for laziness  honesty? :) So here you go. Grab a cup of coffee and read some of my thoughts on what is behind the images of Isabel. Hope to see you there!

CLICK HERE : )

Fields of Gold

You'll remember me when the west wind moves 

upon the fields of barley.

You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky 

as we walk in fields of gold.

The Times, They are a-Changin'

Thirteen years ago, I walked across a stage at the University of North Florida to receive my M.Ed. With the exception of  a couple of high school graduations held in their arena, I haven't spent much time there since.
Until this past January...when Isabel began taking language lessons there at The Jacksonville Chinese School on Sunday afternoons. I have been waiting for years for her to be old enough to begin. As a foreign language teacher, I know the importance of being exposed to a second (or third) language as early as possible. While I was in China, I visited a multi-storied version of Barnes and Noble to buy as many Chinese language children's CDs as possible. I wanted Isabel to remember the tones and cadence of the first language she ever heard.
Fast forward five years and she is once again being exposed to Chinese. So, for two hours a week, we trek over to the university for her lessons. Is the classroom management the best? No. Is the pacing wonderful? Nope. Do I care? Not a bit. And do you want to know why?   
Because for 120 minutes a week, my child is no longer... The Asian.
Instead, I am...The White Woman.
And I like that.
I need that. I need to remember that my child's world is not my world. I need to be reminded that while I waltz through my days oblivious to feeling out of place, Isabel is acutely aware of her difference.
We have entered a new developmental stage. You know, the one of growing awareness that, for all our love for each other, there will always be hard things that will be our reality. Being a trasracial adoptive single-parent family, it pops up in different ways. Like recently, when Isabel commented that the Barbie she got in her Happy Meal had "brown hair and brown skin like me, Mommy." Or when I received her recent Valentine's Day card that was addressed to Mom and Dad. When I asked her about Dad, she replied matter-of-factly, "He's in China."


I see changes. In little things and big. In subtle ways and obvious ones.
Yup.. the Times, They are a-Changin'.


PS. After our trek to UNF on Sunday, we discovered the class was canceled due to the holiday. Isabel asked to hang out on the steps for a while practicing her "Take-Aways" (subtraction) in her notebook.
We did.
She did.
Here are some images from then.

Silly Saturday Morning

I filled most of my time waiting for Isabel either reading or writing blog posts. I lived vicariously experiencing what motherhood would be like... especially to a tiny Chinese baby girl.


I also remember being disappointed when folks would suddenly slow down their blog posting after the chid got home. And while I know, logically, that this was an inevitably reality, I found myself sort of sad. I wanted to know what  Life After the Adoption was like.

The irony, of course, being that I am now one of those people.

Life continues. All the more busy with this new baby>toddler>little girl. And so, I find myself with a child at the halfway point of her Kindergarten year and stand in awe at how quickly it has all passed.

Life is good. Isabel fills my life with joy. She is a pack rat, a lover of laughter, the ocean and cheese.

And so, if anyone is still reading this blog, here are some photos from yesterday morning. They totally convey her personality.

Going with the Flow...

I grew up in New England… where each season’s weather was fairly predictable: hot and sticky in the summer, cool and breezy in the fall, freezing cold in the winter and miserably rainy in the spring. The rain in particular, which began in March and pretty much hung around until May, was predictable. The sky would gradually start to darken one day, and then the rains would begin and last for days. I was used to the weather staying pretty consistent. So you can imagine my surprise when, after moving to Florida for college, I was introduced to the daily 30-minute summer afternoon rain shower.  It was amazing to me. Sun one minute, rain the next. Though it took a while for my northern brain to get used to the southern weather, I have come to expect that weather changes here often .. and quickly.

Check out the rest of this post... {and the pictures} over at the photo blog by clicking here.

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.