Steve and Haley came for the weekend and it was pretty much non stop activity … as you can see …

Steve is really a master with photo shop and we set up this little scenario , after I asked him how you would shoot a multiple exposure picture in a digital setting… A little tricky it is … Nothing can be moved except your subject between the shots…

When I was a teenager and found out I was about to have a child, I wanted more than anything to do it right… to make sure my child felt loved….I remember a popular writing from the time that had a major impact on me the day I read it. It was very simple, no artistic embellishment, only the words in calligraphy on parchment paper. I hung it over Steve’s crib as a reminder that every action, positive and negative, affects the little child whose life we are entrusted with….

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn…

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight…

If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive…

If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself…

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy…

If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilt…

But…

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient…

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident…

If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative…

If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love…

If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is…

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice…

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him…

If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live.

By Dorothy Louise Nolte

He’s all grown up now and I think we did a great job ! He’s smarter than I ever dreamt of being , a good man, a loving father, a great friend, has a kind heart that’s about as big as the Atlantic ocean and not a single mean bone in his body…Happy Birthday my son…

If I didn’t mention the initial force behind my starting a blog, my son Steve. He laid out my header and set up my account and told me to “just start writing”

While tring to decide what picture to include in this post, I immediately thought of what we call ” The Paparazzi Shot”. I just love this one! Although I have really improved my technique and equipment since then, theses two pictures really are sentimental favorites. They were taken in 2000 I believe and signify a time when our sweet little girl was first really mobile. The second picture was taken as she climbed the 12 steps to my front door, knocked on the door and presented her Grannie with a flower … Ahhhhhh better than a bouquet of roses!

And then there is the faint outline of “Grandpa that laughs all the time” legs and feet, in the picture at the bottom of the stairs, dutifully watching over his favorite little girl.

Wonderful memories…That really is what life is all about.