It's Happening!

It's happening! Just got a call from the social worker at Sanders (Kaitlyn's school) that she will be starting full time at Western Hills Middle School on Wednesday, Nov. 20th!

Kaitlyn will go to school at Sanders Academy on Monday and Tuesday. This will give her those two days to say her goodbyes to her classmates and teachers, and to mentally prepare herself for Wednesday.

On Wednesday Kaitlyn will walk the halls of Western Hills as a member of the student body, not just a visitor. By starting on Wednesday, she'll have a more gradual transition. A three day week followed by a weekend, and then another three day week, as that second week is shared with Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving she will begin her 5 day weeks like everyone else.

It has been a long hard journey, but now our girl is "coming home"! I pray that Kaitlyn will grace the hallways and classrooms of Western Hills with a sense of entitlement, because she has worked damn hard to get there.

Kaitlyn, we love you to the stars and back and I hope that you are as proud of yourself as we are.



Little by little, step by step, making my way every day.

I've Caught the Bug

This is probably not the most interesting subject matter for a lot of people, but I write what moves me and today it's picture taking.

It seems that I've caught the bug. The shutter bug that is. Lately I'm finding myself noticing the light and colors all around me like never before. The sunrise and sunsets have been particularly captivating the last week or so. The most gorgeous shot I've ever seen was one I was unable to capture on camera because I was driving the car and I was in the city at the time so I couldn't just pull over and stop. Josh tried to get it on his phone for me, but the tail lights from the other cars were interfering and all he got was red tail lights. The light changes so quickly at sunrise and sunset, that seconds can make all the difference in the world to getting the shot you want or not.

Yesterday morning as Alexa and I were on our way home from dropping Josh off at the train station, I was awestruck by the way the light and colors in the sunrise were playing in the leaves of the trees and giving them almost an ethereal glow. I wanted to stop and take pictures so badly, but on a school day, I just don't have the time to stop, and I wanted my good camera rather than the one on my phone (though that does take some lovely pictures sometimes). 

I promised myself that if today was going to be sunny and I could get up early enough, I would go out and get those pictures I missed out on yesterday. Now the light was just different enough that I didn't get exactly the shots I would have captured yesterday, but it was definitely beautiful, and well worth not rolling over in bed and going back to sleep. Every time I thought I was done and ready to go inside, I would see one more chance for a good or fun shot that I just couldn't resist. It was so much fun, and I felt so energized! Of course, that could partially be because it was about 30 degrees outside and I was in my pajamas and a light jacket. Ha ha! 

Most everything I do is for my family, and I love taking care of them, but everyone needs something that they do just for themselves. Taking pictures just may be my thing. I don't have to take magazine quality pictures, and other people don't have to love them as much as I do. I just have to enjoy taking them and looking at them afterward. My photo shoot this morning was the most fun I've had in quite a while.