i waited 2 weeks.

it was worth the wait. 

i’ll share more over the next week or so.

hope your day brought some surprises too.

xo

A

hasselblad 500 cm, kodak ektar 100.

that’s all i have today.

ride on.

A

first, there were the throw-aways.

then, the fisher-price kid cameras.

then, the fisher price digital kid cameras.

and now, the girls all have nice point-and-shoots.

it is for this reason

that they are NEVER allowed to touch my D300.

until this past weekend.

the oldest asked…

and i said, “yes.”

and this is what she shot.

(i adjusted white balance and cropped one, but that is it, SOOC ~

straight-out-of-the-camera

for the neophytes).

i love all her leading lines everywhere.

and then,

an action shot.  me and fergus.

post-nip.

and then my 2nd oldest got in on the action.

she had a willing model (my oldest).

and the next morning,

she picked up the camera again.

i love this moment,

and the light.

greeting the morning.

there’s debate over who took this one.

mornings on the river are the best.

but what was even better was when i was talking with my oldest about her photographs.

i complemented her perspective and composition

and asked what made her think to take a certain picture.

and she said, “you mama.

i’ve watched you and learned from you.”

and my heart grew ten sizes that day…

here’s to kids with cameras and seeing the world through their eyes.

xo

A

we had a great weekend,

and here are some of my 500 photographs that i took.

this incredible view is from the home of a dear friend of mine.

yep, that is the view.

it’s hard to spend a whole weekend here hanging out

at the pool.

yep, this is really hard stuff.

relaxing.

watching the wildlife.

scouting out bald eagles.

meeting new people, er, things.

stopping to smell the flowers.

thinking about separating the wheat from the chaff.

driving through the countryside.

feeling the wind whisper in your ears.

thinking about what came before.

and dreaming of reaching for new goals

that sometimes seem out of reach.

good week to you dear readers.

xo

A

i say to you,

no one can enter

the kingdom of God

without being born

of both water and Spirit.

John 3:5

congratulations to my nephew.

xo

aunt aileen

virginia, where my husband and children and business are.

and pennsylvania, where i grew up, where my mom still lives in the same house,

where i have been traveling to regularly for the past two months to help my mom clear some things out of the house.

i left that house at 17 for college, and honestly haven’t either looked back or been back much since.

{suppose i should mention that i’m 41 or else that doesn’t seem like much}

so it is now, on 95 northbound and 95 southbound, that i volley in between my past and my present.

i assume there is a safe merger somewhere in maryland, but as of yet, i haven’t located it.

there is “me” wherever i look, but not any of it feels just right of late.  this is bound to happen i suppose as i unearth long since forgotten parts of me.

i could write more, but i won’t.  some things should remain where they are, in the past.

some things are meant to remain private.

if i remained silent though on everything going through my head, my blog would never be updated.

so while i try to balance all the pieces of me and all the demands of people needing me, i continue to do what i do.

take pictures.

and i will continue to share them.

for that is one thing i am sure of.

and truly, one thing that has been a constant my whole life, wherever i may be.

these images i took at St. Peter’s Village in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

this quarry carries memories of hot days, skipping school (sorry mom), my friends and i, my boyfriend, and carefree having fun.

yep, some would jump off there into the water (i never did mom, i swear).

this visit, i found a little purple house on the main street.  i fell in love.  so quaint.

the side door.  can i just move in now?

the walkway.

the petals, like scattered wishes upon the ground.

and here is French Creek, which runs adjacent to St. Peter’s.

great location for a celebration.

or just to spend some time alone.

roll the dice.  heads or tails.  aces lucky.

i also took these images at St. Peter’s, but when post-processing, they spoke to me more as black-and-whites.

stark contrasts.  metals, materials, details, and age.

these film images i took at Hopewell Furnace National Park.

and if you’ve made it this far, please enjoy this.

my new favorite singer.  brandi carlile.  a seattle girl.

good stuff.

until we meet again,

xo

A

On a train.

To New York City.

I met my new nephew.  Scroll down if you’re even hoping for a peek of his preciousness, but you won’t see much.

Some in my family actually like to keep things private { HUH? }.

But I have other things I can share.  Something I did just for me.

I took a film camera and walked around the city on my way to my brother’s.  And I did some street shooting.

And I had a blast.

I met the new little guy { see him back there with mom and his big brother?  didn’t think so! }.

And I went out at night with my brother.  A little brother-sister time.  Everyone needs it.

Great DJing at the Vig Bar.

and then it was time to leave and get back to my real world.

Bye NYC.

Hope to see you again soon.

xo

A

First, breakfast in bed.  Incredible.  And delicious.

And then?

A whole DAY of NO plans.  No sports.  No birthday parties.  No playdates.  Nothing.  Nada.  No how.

What to do?

What to do?

After a little research, we decided to take the kids to a Flying Circus ~ of the old airplane variety.

It was a drive of a little over an hour, but Virginia is beautiful (it’s for Lovers, have you heard?), and a drive in the country with some lazy fun afterwards sounded just great.

We arrived though and were dismayed to find the sign:

“Air Show Canceled Due to High Winds.”

Change of plans and FAST was necessary.

The whines were starting (“Are we there yet?” “I’m hungry.” “My bottom hurts.”).

Good times.

Thanks to my handy-dandy iPhone though, I was quickly able to locate all kinds of fun within a 1/2 hour radius.  But only one thing caught my eye:

WooHoo!  It’s Mother’s Day!!

The rest of the day we had fun.  Or at least I did.  Which is most important on MOTHER’S DAY!

My crew.

K-Lo came.  She cracks me up.

B skipped stones into the lake pond.

Love his little hand on dad’s back for support.

There was a large chess board.

Unfortunately, two former members of the Oakton Chess Club battled it out on where to put the king.

I enjoyed this:

And these little people:

This one is a little like me in some ways:

I had a grand time.  And it only took about 70 shots to get a picture of my kids and I looking at least 1/2 way decent.

A little history about the Old House Vineyards.

On Mother’s Day 1998, the Kearney Family found the 75 acres and abandoned farm house at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  They restored the 1800′s farmhouse and the formerly overgrown alfalfa fields are now a vineyards, producing six different grape varietals.

I loved this place.  Lots of character.  Beautiful setting.

And the Wicked Bottom red is really quite good.

May all your wishes come true today.

xo

A

Nothing hits me more than watching the sunrise.  Day after day, it comes.  It’s always a new day, an opportunity for a new start, a do-over, a “try again” day.  A beginning.  And He did this for us.

I am humbled in the presence of the sunrise.

The morning was gorgeous.  The blooms were a-plenty.  I have been to see the Cherry Blossoms many many times over the past many years, and this years were some of the fluffiest, pinkest, fully-attached blossoms I have seen during the bloom season. 

But it was when I saw this grove that my heart went all a-flutter.  I knew that this was it, my black and white image.  I know, who thinks “cherry blossoms” and thinks “black and white”?  Right?  Me.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the all the colors and shades of pink, but this, this is how I see.  And this made my day.

Here are a couple more of my faves ~

I call this one “flight.”  Bird v. plane.

I hope you all had a great weekend.  I look forward to sharing more from my weekend ~ two shoots and some actual pics of my kiddos.

till then,

A

I grew up in the country.  And spent most of my time trying to figure out how to get out of the country.  I wanted to be anywhere but there in the country.

And now, after spending years living in various cities and suburbs, from one end of the United States to the other, I love heading back to the country.  There is something about this scene that brings a peace to my heart.  A familiarity.  And though this is nowhere near where I grew up, it feels the same.   And I find this ~ you can spend most of your life running away only to find when you get far enough away that you actually liked it over there.  That it is a part of you that in no way can be denied.

Here.  There.  Trying to find focus somewhere in between.

xo

A