Week 12: Struggle

Today is Independence Day and when I think about this week's theme, I can't help but think of all the struggles we have gone through as a country. All the brave men and women that have sacrificed everything so that we continue to have the freedoms we so often take for granted.

Proud to be an American.
SA

Week 11: Temptation

"When I am able to resist the temptation to judge others, I can see them as teachers of forgiveness in my life, reminding me that I can only have peace of mind when I forgive rather than judge."

~Gerald Jampolsky

SA

Week 10: Words

Exciting things are happening in my world. I'm getting married!! Our invitations came in this week in perfect time for this week's "words" theme. I also ordered a stamp for the return address on the envelopes and I LOVE it. Here is a little glimpse of what I've been up to today. :) Happy Saturday!

-R

There are few words I love to hear more than "ice cold beer" on a hot summer day! Today for the first time in over a week, it didn't rain. We spent the day outdoors celebrating :)

SA

Week 9: Love

I never dreamed that I had it in me to love someone else's child so much that it hurt. This girl right here, she proves me wrong every day. This is my younger stepdaughter and I truly do not have the words to express the love that I feel for this girl. She is vibrant, charming, funny, smart, and the most positive person I've ever met. 

Thanks for teaching me how to really love, Abba-Labba-Ding-Dong! 

SA 

This week I am posting a picture of my tiny girl in her element. She LOVES being outside. She loves searching for bugs and picking flowers and playing in the dirt. I went through and sorted out all the bins of outgrown kids clothes that I've been holding onto. 8 bins. Sizes NB-5T. It's so hard for me to get rid of things that I've loved seeing my girls wear. The dress pictured here was one of Kennedy's most favorites dresses... This is the first time this little one is wearing it and honestly, it may be the last because it's already a little short on her. She has legs for days. So here is my tiny little love in a dress that has been loved so much already. I hope I can find it a new home and another little girl can love it as much as mine do. <3 

-R

Week 8: Move

Don't move. 

I wanted to enter a photo contest on a popular tech website, gizmodo.com. They have a weekly shooting challenge and this week's theme was Door. I asked my husband if he knew of any cool doors around us that I could go and see. He told me about a place called Schnormeier Gardens and the Japanese inspired tea houses they have. It's a private residence and they only open their grounds to the public once a year. As fate would have it, this year it's open June 4-7! We visited yesterday and while I did get my door picture, I also got so many wonderful shots of all the artwork they have in their 9 different gardens. 

The statue below is called Affirmation of Rejection. It's made of steel and was crafted in 2000. The title of the statue made me think of this week's theme because when one is rejected, doesn't it seem easiest to just stop? Be still. Don't move.

SA

I have three shots for this week. Firstly, we were BUSY this week so I chose to edit a picture I had taken a few weeks ago. One of the reasons we were so busy this week is this was the last week of school. I knew I wanted to do something involving Miss K because she graduated kindergarten this week and she is moving on up! I can't wait to see what is in store her future. I love the motion in her hair and the movement in her dress in this shot. This girl is ON.THE.MOVE.

My other two images for this week came from my vacation to NYC last weekend. Let me tell you, if you have never been in the city, these people MOVE. We used several different forms of transportation while we were in the city; subway, taxi, uber and of course, we walked. a lot. There were lots of people on bikes, too. Down by the water, there were helicopter tours and boat tours and people walking and biking... it was nuts. There were literally people moving everywhere!! 

- R

Week 7: Trees

This week's theme is one of my favorite things! The tree I chose to photograph is down the road from our house. We drive by it all the time but it was just last week that the tire swing caught my eye and I knew I wanted to get some pictures of it. Here is my shot for this week, and further proof that waking up with the sun pays off!

SA

I am posting late this week because I was on vacation. I went to NYC for the very first time. One of the places I knew I wanted to see was Central Park. The trees there were all STUNNING but the sun was shining through this one and I loved that I could see the New York City buildings in the background. 

-R

Week 6: Solitude

Drying off the morning dew; waiting to begin the day's important work.  The older I get, the more I appreciate a soft, quiet morning spent alone.

SA

Doing this blog with my sister, one of my most favorite people, is showing me how similarly we think. I had NO idea she had posted about the pure goodness of early morning solitude when I came to post my image for the week- which happens to be the pure goodness of a still, quiet sunset at the end of a long day. I think this just confirms my feeling that there is something to be said about starting the day and ending the day with a quick moment to yourself... 

-R

Week 5: Spring

Spring around Appleman Farm means a lot of wild apple trees in bloom! Every few days I take a walk around the property and I'm always in awe at the new things there are to see every day. Spring has certainly sprung and upper 80's tells us Summer isn't too far behind.

SA

Spring here in Houston means rain, rain and more rain! That also means, UMBRELLA's. My little ones love umbrella's and if they feel the tiniest drop of rain, they are begging for their umbrella's. :)

-R

Week 4: Pattern

There are two patterns in my photo this week, but the one that really drew my attention is the pattern on the blanket. This blanket reminds me of growing up in New Mexico and while Ohio is my home, a giant piece of my heart will always be in that desert.

SA

My photos for this week's 'pattern' theme make my heart happy. My two little ladies LOVE to play Candy Land, one of my all time favorite games. They got a "Princess Edition" Candy Land for Christmas last year and we play it all. the. time. Naturally, they always make me be Cinderella... fitting. ;) 

-R

Week 3: Body Parts

This week's theme is body parts and I chose to photograph hands. Four adorable, small, strong hands. Hands are important when you live on a hobby farm like us. These hands belong to my two step-daughters. Moments like this don't happen often with them and I'm happy to have captured one forever. :) 

SA

One of my girls' favorite things to do is jump on the bed. I don't let them do it all the time, so when they get permission, it's a real treat and always full of belly laughs. I love these happy little three year old feet and I especially love the freckle on her toe. :) 

-R

Week 2: Balance

balance[bal-uh ns]
noun
1. a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
2. mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgement, etc.

When I think of balance I'm reminded on the rocks that line the walk up to my front door. They aren't just any rocks, but rocks that we've collected over the past few years. Ohio rocks, Vermont rocks, Pennsylvania rocks, Maine rocks... I don't remember where each individual rock came from, but I love the feeling of calm and balance I get when I look at them each and every day. The memories that come flooding back with each glance. 

The rocks are stacked into piles called cairns. A cairn is a pile of stones that shows a place or marks a trail. For me, these cairns mark the short walk home. 

SA

off–balance

adjective (or adverb)

1

:  not well proportioned :  out of balance <the plans are off-balance> <their military is off-balance>

2

:  not standing, sitting, or resting in normal physical equilibrium <caught off-balance and knocked down>

This week there were a few things off-balance around here. My oldest daughter had strep throat, which led to me taking two days off work to be home with her. So the remainder of my work week was nuts, to say the least. She started feeling better on day two. She has been wanting to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels for awhile now, so I figured this was a good time to try it out. She did AWESOME. She rode about 20 feet by herself and only wiped out once. She is still a bit unsteady, but she is learning a fantastic lesson in balance. 

-R

Week 1: Relaxation

When you think about relaxation, what comes to mind? Are you sitting on a white sandy beach, big, beautiful sun high in the sky, legs crossed in your best yogi pose, eyes closed, fingertips together, slowly chanting, “Ooooommmm”? 

You know what comes to mind when I think of that scene? Sand fleas, sunburn, and sand in my butt crack. And none of those things are relaxing, at least not for me. 

This week, relaxation came to me in the form of sitting in a lawn chair; ice cold Redd’s apple ale in my hand, staring for hours on end at a giant pot full of maple tree sap boiling away over a hot fire. We were making maple syrup. Did you know it takes about ten gallons of maple tree sap to make one measly quart of syrup? It also takes all. freaking. day. to boil away the water portion of the sap to leave you with a sweet, sticky syrup. 

My husband started this fire outside at about 9am and continued to feed it until about 6pm. Lunch consisted of hot dogs grilled outside and s ‘mores for dessert. I finished reading a book by the fire. My older stepdaughter started writing her first chapter book (it’s about our dog, Waylon!), and the younger one got some much needed sunshine and fresh air (poor girl was sick all weekend). 

SA

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Living in Houston, we get a LOT of rain in the spring. Spring, for us, is the hot season before the even hotter season called inferno  summer. We had a fantastic thunderstorm last night that took the power out for over two hours. My two little people are with their dad for the weekend, so my boyfriend and I sat on the back patio with a glass of wine and watched the lightning. That is my idea of relaxation. 

-R