The empty chair...

Several years ago, as my family of 5 was sitting down for dinner,  I looked over at the empty chair and had a feeling... someone was missing.

Maybe, it's the OCD in me that felt weird having one empty chair.

I felt like we were supposed to fill that chair in some way, some capacity.

Naturally, I thought we needed to adopt again.  

We started the adoption process in spring of 2011.

A sweet little boy from China with a minor special need had caught my eye. 

Of course, I wanted him to be ours and I prayed for him.

Soon, we had the overwhelming feeling not to proceed.

I felt peace knowing our family was complete.

I still didn't like looking at the empty chair every night at dinner.

Last year, we hosted an exchange student from France and we no longer had an empty chair, it felt good, it felt right, but the time was short and Capucine had to return home.

Shortly after moving into our new home, Olivia came to us and said one of her friends was having a hard time and needed a place to stay. 

This is a girl we have come to know well, and of course we said she could stay here.

She's a sweet girl and it's been fun having her here. 

So, again the empty chair has been filled, but only temporarily.. this girl will be off to college in August. 

We received an email last week from the kids' school asking if we would want to host another exchange student for the 2014-2015 school year.

We discussed it and said, yes.

Jennifer from Beijing will be joining us in September and filling the empty chair.

I love how God uses my empty chair to open our hearts and home to others.  

 Always have an empty chair at your table and an open heart,  you never know who might be joining you. 

A little magic...

 I took Lucy out again last night to help me with photo assignment for the week.

I found this great place right on our school campus. 

This is graduation bridge... Olivia will be crossing this bridge two years from now.. I can't even believe it. 

I was loving the light and the feel of these photos, but once I got home an downloaded them, I noticed a HUGE distraction... 

Tree limbs, big ones... 

So, I worked a little photoshop magic...

here's the before and afters.  

I loved this one of Lucy dancing, but it looked like she was hanging from the tree limb instead.

This one the limb isn't as distracting, but I took it out anyway and I think it made a difference. 

I love that my eye for detail is getting stronger and that I know what to do to fix it.

So, now I need to talk to the school and see if they can permanently remove those branches before I take Olivia's graduation photos here in just two short years.  :)

These were all taken with my new 85mm lens.  

Pretty in Pink

Spring has arrived in the Northwest!

I have started another photography class for the summer and I'm really excited to learn some new skills. 

My first assignment was to go out and shoot "my style" 

These pretty much sum up my style... 

Great light, soft haze, gorgeous backdrop, beautiful girl, color pop, etc. 

Lucy got a new haircut and was eager to be my model. 

Look how tall she's getting... I can't believe it. 

I'm pretty sure she's going to be the tallest one in our family, this makes me laugh! :)