Way to go, Team Gina!!!

Last week, 80 plus members of  Team Gina came out to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to celebrate Gina and the amazing woman she was.  The race began at 8:00, but we all met up at 7:00am because it can take a while to gather that many people together.  Thankfully, the sun chose to show itself at sunrise because it was a chilly start to the morning!  Okay, maybe the mid 50s isn't chilly for most, but it sure is in our neck of the woods.  It was the coldest morning to date this fall.

Unfortunately, I couldn't take any shots while I was walking because I had to push Madeline in the stroller.  Last year, my sister and Andy took turns pushing both Madeline and Leah in their strollers.  However, Andy carried Josh in his arms because he's bigger now (and they only have one stroller.)  So that left me pushing Madeline the entire walk.

And unfortunately, this was the best Team Gina shot I could get.  I didn't have time to move all the extra strollers out of the shot before the group decided the previous photographer's shot was enough. So everyone started dispersing.

Will and the kids had special shirts made.  Will's said "My wife", and the kid's shirts naturally said "My mommy."

I'm not gonna lie.  It hurt to do that walk without Gina.  My heart was heavy, and no doubt, I was not the only one.  This entire month has been difficult.  She is missed by so many people.  Will and the kids are doing as well as they can.  They are all in counseling, and they now have a nanny living with them, who has been a tremendous help.

We all hung around for a little bit, enjoying the breakfast foods provided, including cupcakes as the evidence below demonstrates.

And this is what happens to your tutu when you sit in your stroller for the entire walk.

Here's a closeup of the back of Lexi's shirt.

Not only did my sister Deb make the girls tutus for the walk, but she also made some for the both of us.

Like last year, I also took a photo of the POPS girls.  Debbie (middle) and Donna (right) also worked with Gina and my sister at the same pediatric outpatient surgery clinic.  It breaks my heart that Gina is not in this photo.

Most of the team headed home after the race, but the POPS peeps headed into Brighthouse Stadium to see all the fun freebies folks were giving away...stickers, pens, paper, cups, scarves, etc.

Then I figured it was about high time I embraced the camera.  That's me on the right with my twin sis on the left.

I love this shot of Madeline with a pen and pad in her hand, sporting her bunched up tutu and the "leggings" I made her. This girl loves to write. So very Madeline, indeed.  And yep, you read that right.  My sister made the girls' tutus, and I made leggings to go underneath.  Since these "leggings" were my first attempt at sewing with knits, I went with an easy interlock, which you're not supposed to use for pants.  And I already knew that, but I wanted "easy".  So I did it anyway.  Well, they don't have as much stretch as leggings typically do.  So they're more like "skinny" knit pants.  But hey, I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to add those cute ruffles on the bottom.  I had to whip out my walking foot for these pants, especially the ruffles.  Knits are not like wovens at all. They are very different.  But I'm eager and willing to learn.  Anyway, I can't wait to make more knit garments because knits are just so comfy to wear.

Well, our little crew finally decided to pack it up and head back to Deb and Andy's place.  The kids played together for a little bit before we headed back home.

It was great to see my sister, Andy, and Leah.  And it was great to see a lot of Team Gina members come out and show their love and support for Gina, her family, and breast cancer research.  I sure do hope a cure can be found soon.  So many ladies are being diagnosed these days and earlier too.  Cancer is a truly horrible disease.  And despite all the ups and downs during Gina's journey, she was like a bright shining star, always full of encouragement.  And it is the goal of her foundation, the Gina McReynolds Foundation, to provide encouragement to other families who also find themselves battling this awful disease.

We love you Gina, Will and family.  We hold you close to our hearts and will continue to lift you up in prayer.

Some forgotten shots

One of the drawbacks with my old computer is that if I snapped a few random photos here or there, I didn't take the time to upload them; It just took forever and a day.  So there they sat on my memory card, collecting digital dust.  But now that I have a computer with some RAM, I'm just a wee bit giddy.  The thought of working efficiently has my heart all in a flutter.  And those random photos begging to be uploaded have been dusted off and have seen the light of day.

Take these two shots, for example.  

My precious boy snapped them with my big girl camera just after my birthday, about 2 1/2 months ago.

Just sharing some love with my little princess.

And since it's been a while since I've embraced the camera, I thought I would share them and link up with Emily over at the Anderson crew.  Have you embraced the camera lately?  If so, join the fun!

Doing "the daily"

As I mentioned in a previous post,

I am seriously working on seeing life as a photo op.

It has really made me stop and think about all the many moments that pass in a day.

(And how many of those photo ops I miss!)

My two cameras (Nikon D700 and iPhone) follow me everywhere.

Well, almost everywhere, for the D700, that is.

So, how did I Embrace the Camera and see myself as part of a photo op this week?

 Well, Caleb finally got a new "bigger boy" bike since he had outgrown his previous one.

Consequently, it would take a little practice getting used to the new size.

What happened?

He took a spill in the driveway, scraping up his knee and elbow pretty badly.

And Madeline's reaction?

She cried.

So I comforted her.

Now for this shot, if you can believe it, Caleb handheld my D700.

That's a pretty heavy camera for a 7 year old.

A little bit later, the princess begged asked me to paint her piggies.

At the same time Caleb wanted me to watch him play basketball in the front yard.

So what better place to paint piggies than in the back of a minivan parked in the garage?

Right?  Doesn't everyone?

Actually we spend a lot of time this way, sitting in the back of my minivan.

When she's tired of playing and wants to watch her brother instead,

this is where we hang.

Yep. We sure do, usually with an ice cold Gatorade or Vitamin Water in hand.

And now if you think taking photos of Mommy and Madeline together

has gone to Caleb's head, well, it has!

He's now asking when he's going to get his own DSLR!!!

Uh oh!!! lol

Linking up with

Embrace the Camera  This or That Project 52

Me, my little man, and my sunshine

One of the things that I feel pretty crummy about with respect to my photography is the lack of photos

which include myself or Patrick with our dumplings.

This is most apparent during the holidays.

Sure, I'll snap some photos of the kids, perhaps a bunch.

But where are mom and dad?

Hmm..

So I've decided to do something about it.

I'm going to make a greater effort at getting in FRONT of my lens more often, 

not just behind it.

I will be utilizing my tripod and remote shutter release, on occasion, but more often, 

my trusty iPhone, to get the job done.

I might also recruit an assistant every so often, 

which is very easy to do in this house,

seeing that new photos mysteriously show up in my iPhone photostream frequently.

I snapped this the other afternoon when Caleb and I were playing in the front yard.

I also had to get one of me with Madeline, too.

Different day, of course.

In my search for inspiration, I have stumbled across a few new blogs, 

one of them being Emily's over at The Anderson Crew.

She hosts a weekly linkup called Embrace the Camera,

for those who wish to find themselves on the other side of their cameras.

Jackpot!  

This is just what I'm looking for to motivate me.

Now Rebecca over at Simple As That has created a checklist for photos

you should take with your kids.
I'm lovin' it!

This week ...

I'm sharing some kisses with my dumplings.

I also captured a shot of me helping Madeline wash her hands one morning.

This next photo almost didn't happen. 

We celebrated my birthday yesterday by taking a boat ride on the river (lots more from that later).

We were getting ready to pack the minivan back up when I realized that I had 

no photos of ME with either of my kids on my birthday.  Pathetic.

So I tried to rectify that.

Obviously, all of the above images were taken with my iPhone.

However, I also wanted to try to get at least one with my real camera.

So earlier in the week, while Caleb was coloring with his pencils, he asked me to sharpen one for him.

I immediately said yes, then ran and got my camera.

Our school room is small, and there's no room for a tripod.

So I stacked some books on our window bench and hoped for the best.

Caleb had fun triggering the shutter with my remote.

And me?  

Well, I'm just tickled to have captured this moment.

When we're done with school, the kids are always drawing something at the table 

while I get work done on the computer.

This?  Is real life.

And I'm happy to me a part of it.

Cluttered school table and all.