Growing Up Too Fast

November 23, 2009

  This photo of my daughter Ramona captures a wistful but joyous moment this past October at a local farm outside of Portland, Oregon. This snapshot memorializes her two front teeth, which she yanked out herself the following week. (As you can see, they're barely hanging on in the picture!) My almost seven-year-old is hovering somewhere in

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The Wild Tangle of Grasses

November 24, 2009

If there was a single photo that could capture my feelings and thoughts about the past year, this would be it. It reminds me to keep looking toward the brightness of the light, even if I am caught in the wild tangle of grasses. This shot reminds me that even though my family faced many trials and tribulations with illness and death, there is

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Joy Through a Child's Eyes

November 25, 2009

It was a cold and soggy day at the Star of Texas Fair & Rodeo. Cold, that is, for March day here in Austin. Of all the sights to see, my son spent most of our visit at the petting zoo. He picked out his favorite animal -- "Goatie" -- and gave him several handfuls of food from a Dixie cup. In return, Goatie allowed him a few hugs. As I kept

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My Year of Giving Thanks

November 26, 2009

A year is such a strange thing. It's hard to define, other than to say that it's (generally) 365 days long, or to assign some notion of time to it. Yet, the truth is, so much happens in a year that all those events and experiences seem enough for a lifetime. Even those of us who think that every day is pretty much the same -- and like it that way

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On My Own

November 28, 2009

We met up with my father for a weekend in Grayton Beach, Florida . It was too short as the girls don't see nearly enough of their grandparents, but we packed it full of fun. We spent our last day on the beach digging in the sand, and that's where I took this picture of Adelaide running int he surf. When Adelaide was an infant and toddler,

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