Can it really be one year since I joined the other fabulous photographers and embarked on a weekly theme to photograph? It really is remarkable to me that one year ago, I took a self-portrait with my 2-year old Jack in our master bath and just today I snapped the same photo. What a difference a year makes…I think I am better with my white balance; the days of onesies are gone; my hair is longer; I am better at removing clutter before taking a self-portrait in the bathroom . But despite those differences, I still love to snuggle with this little man; he is still home with me (no school yet); and above all, I remain richly blessed.

And now, for one final blog rotation, you can begin by visiting the fabulous, Chrissy, of My Lily Rose, a Cincinnati Family & Child Photographer and see the self-portrait she took. Finally, thanks to all of my fellow photographers for this amazing journey we have been on together for the last year.

My boys have always wanted to decorate outside with multi-colored lights for Christmas and I have always preferred white lights for their simplicity. This year, they won and they are so happy. That makes me happy too!

One of my most favorite days is when Starbucks brings out the red cups to ring in the holiday season. In my humble opinion, November 1st is a bit early for the red cups, but they do make me smile and that is really all that matters.  I am off to get today’s coffee.  Have a good one!

This beautiful girl has been in my life since she was in fifth grade. She has been a constant as my children have grown from babies to toddlers to young boys. She has babysat for me, been a photographer’s assistant to me, helped me with my mac computer, and countless other things. It is still surreal to me to think that now she is a senior in high school and she is embarking on a whole new chapter in her life. She is such a gorgeous girl and I love her like my own daughter.

Texture.

This is such a great word in a photographer’s language. We are always looking for cool textures to use as backgrounds or for macro shots. For our photographic journey this week, we were to photograph texture. While many things came to mind, i.e. sea shells, tree trunks, blankets, pottery, etc. recently I have been photographing flowers with my macro lens and I am in awe of the beautiful folds of various flowers like roses and ranunculus. I chose to photograph a rose up close and I converted it to black and white to emphasize the texture even more.

You can see how all of my fellow photographer friends interpreted this word and you can begin with the wonderful, Jennifer.

It’s Friday again…the weeks sure do go by quickly.  The theme for this week’s photographic journey is new/beginnings. Whenever I think of the word newand fresh beginnings, I see the color white in my head…a blank slate, the absence of color. While I was at the grocery store this week, I visited the floral department (as I always do…it’s an addiction) to see if there were any unusual flowers available and I happened upon these beautiful  white hyacinths. One smell and I was immediately  transported to spring and Easter mass. For me, spring is definitely a sign of new beginnings, as life blooms and grows all around us. These beautiful flowers brightened my home this week and filled it with their beautiful springtime aromas. In turn, I have become hopeful for spring and new beginnings.

To see how the wonderful photographer, Jennifer Carroll interpreted this prompt, visit her blog here.