ThisLife

So I know many of you are not “into” photography.  You don’t care about terms like aperture and white balance.  Unless this is wrong, and, in that case, you might be interested in online photography classes! You just like to take photos of your beautiful family.  You click away, either with your camera or with your phone, at every event.  Who are we kidding?  You take pictures of everything all of the time. 

How many of you have a place that you store all of your pictures and keep them organized?  Well there are a few hands.  The organized part might have lost some of you.
Now how many of you have a place like above but the photos are in a safe spot just in case your computer crashes?  Doh!!  I lost almost all of you, including myself. 

Enter ThisLife.  This unique site will store all of your photos from all of your sharing sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa, and Smugmug), from email you send to them, and from uploading straight from your computer. 

ThisLife improves photos using the only self-adjusting algorithms in the world that apply just the right amount of photo correction based on what is actually needed. This is very helpful for busy moms.  They take the guess work out of it for you.  They even remove red eye for you. 

ThisLife can organize your photos by displaying them on a timeline with face, date, and location tags. The timeline is searchable by person, date, location, or media type.  Way cool!  There is even a scrubber bar at the bottom of the page to allow you to scroll through easily.  With all of these options and tools at your disposal, you will be able to find that exact picture with ease.  Instead of spending hours scouring through archives and folders.  So that picture of your grandma holding your daughter from 4 years ago, but you can’t remember which holiday it was…it easily found.  Ahh!

If you are worried about privacy, don’t.  ThisLife allows you to share your photos and moments by email or posting them on Facebook, twitter, Flickr, etc.  You can share your timeline (ThisLife calls it your Life) with your spouse, parents, friends, and other family.

About that part I mentioned above about the photos being stored in a safe spot.  Well, ThisLife is stored centrally in the cloud.  This way you can access it at any time with any device and not have to worry about hard drives crashing.  This also means you can show off your kids to that “unexpected bump into at the store” friend. 

This product/service really is great or I wouldn’t be sharing it with you.  I have loved trying it out for free and I know you will, too. 

ThisLife is offering you a free 6 month membership!  You get the Adventure Box.  THis package will allow you to store up to 20,000 photos.  Do you think that will be enough for you?!

Just click this link to ThisLife Free Offer to sign up for free.  After the trial, the prices are very fair.  And trust me, I am stingy and cheap, so it really is. 

If you want to find out more about ThisLife you can connect with them on Facebook and twitter for neat tips and new ideas, too.

Disclosure: I want to let you know that this is a sponsored post. I did receive compensation for writing this, but my opinions are all my own.  If I didn’t really like this service, I would not have written the post.  I honestly recommend them from one friend to another.  I did sign up for the free trial mentioned above so I could try it out for myself.  ThisLife is offering my friends (readers) a 6-month trial of their Adventure Box package, which will house and organize up to 20,000 photos. Go check out the ThisLife free trial today.

Edit Me Challenge: Girlie

Okay, I am joining in on the Edit Me Challenge again.  I wasn’t really happy with my last one.  It really left me wanting more.  So I am trying with this one.

You know when you take a picture of something, you edit it to match how you saw it in your mind as you took it.  At least that is what I do.  Sure you adjust the camera settings to make sure it is taken correctly, but then you add that umph to it with post processing.  Well, I didn’t take this picture.  I have no idea what emotions or memories this was supposed to stir when the photographer took it.

So I do my weird thing and I squinted at it.  I closed my eyes to re-see it.  I imagine it different ways in my head.  Then I start to feel a story happening. 

Then I picture two old women sitting on a porch sharing a book between them.  The book is a photo album completed by one of their granddaughter’s as a present.  The women are sisters and laugh as they thumb through each page remembering outfits, boys, and hairstyles.  One stops as she sees this picture.  She remembers those socks and her sparkly shoes.  She starts regaling a tale of an afternoon tea party when they got all dressed up for their fairy guests.  After the tea party their mom thought they looked so cute, she took a picture of them. 

One woman turns to her sister and says, “How did she know to cut the picture at the shoes like that?”  speaking of her granddaughter’s scrapbooking efforts.  “I loved those pretty little shoes with the flowers on them. I almost forgot all about them and that tea party.”  The other woman turns to her sister and says, “I never forgot that day.  You whispered to me that ‘Sisters are friends forever’ as you held my hand.”

 

Then in my mind I walked over to the sisters and looked at the scrapbook over their shoulder and saw this.

That is how I decided to edit this shot.  Yes, I am weird.  We all know that.

 

Now how I did it:

• Cropped
• Made a background copy and use softlight blend mode
• Boosted the contrast
• Ran Paint the Moon’s Sweet Ivy action. Adjusted layers a tad, most importantly B&W layer from 100% down to 45% opacity to give it some color back
• Added Paint the Moon’s Time Worn Soft texture with multiply blend mode, adjusted opacity to 34%
• Added Paint the Moon’s Fairy Dust texture with softlight blend mode , adjusted to 30% opacity
• Added frame from The Coffeeshop Blog frames #3 collection in pink and added some text

I hope you like the edit and the story.  It isn’t my style, but it is the style I envisioned for this image. 

You should really join in.  It is actually a lot of fun.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

If you follow me on facebook or twitter (if you don't you should, I would love to get to know you better) then you know that yesterday was "legal screening".  That is a term used in the state of Illinois for a meeting between the child protection services and the individual case worker to decide to start the termination process.  When a child enters the foster care system the goal is (almost) allows reunification.  Well sometimes parents do not cooperate with that, so they have a concurrent plan running while they are trying to reunify.  This meeting is to decide if they want to stop the reunification plan and go with the "other" plan. 

Well...they decided to go with us "others"!!

So next month we start the actual process of termination of parental rights.  It is a three step process in Illinois.  They start off with a First Appearance.  This is where all of the parties go before the judge and declare that termination is being sought.  Everyone says yes at this hearing.  There are no objections or anything.  That can all be done at the next phase.   The case is officially changed to termination of parental rights.

The second part of the process is the fitness trial.  This is where Little Lady's birth mom's fitness as a mother comes into question.  They will examine her actions with all of her children, with Little Lady, and her actions away from the children (while they have been in foster care).  Many things will come to question and have to be answered for.  I honestly hope to avoid this part of the trial completely.  We can if birth mom surrenders parental rights.  In the state of Illinois, if you have had two children taken from you permanently then every child after that will be automatically taken at birth and you have to prove you are fit to parent those children.  Whereas if she surrendered her rights to this child (already lost them for Little Man) she would still have the ability to retain custody of her children, assuming that no accusations or investigations remove them.  It is in her best interest to surrender her rights to this child if she plans to have more children. 

The really crappy thing for the future children is that once the parent releases their rights, they are out of the system and no one is keeping track of them.  They could be using drugs, abusing kids, and anything else they did to get their kids taken away in the first place.  This particular kind of parent has been non-compliant for their previous children and has a very high risk of repeating the same activities and endangering these future children.  You just kind of have to hope that someone sees something and reports it.  Kind of scary for these at risk kids.

But obviously we are are hoping for the option that she surrenders her rights.  It makes it faster and simpler for us. But the protective mom side of me has another reason.  I really do not want the birth mother's history and every single thing she has ever done wrong to be lined out in court.  This woman will still have a connection to the girl I love.  I want to protect her from this.  So I hope that her birth mother will step forward and do this for herself and her daughter.  She will have to surrender her rights before the second part of the trial begins.  Any later and they will just go forward with declaring her unfit. 

The third part of the process is called the best interest of the child.  This is where my husband and I will testify to the care we have given her, the case worker will testify that she believes the best interest for the child is to keep the baby in the only home she has ever known and with the only family she has ever known.  By this point the mother has been seen as unfit by the eyes of the court (not legally, yet) and they are deciding on the future of this specific child.  When this part is done, the judge will consider all of the facts and decide if the baby should become an orphan.  That is what they are doing.  They officially terminate parental rights, make the baby an orphan, and then award permanent custody to the state.  Right now the state has temporary custody over the baby.  The court will declare the baby is legally available for adoption.  Back in January we signed a letter of intention to adopt if applicable.  This will be submitted to the court.  The judge will know that be baby will not be an orphan for long.  The judge will know that we have every intention of making her legally ours. 

That is where we step in.  Once that process is all done (it could take 6 months or more) we get to start the adoption process.  Until that day we stand in court and they declare her a Young, she is still technically our foster child and a ward of the state.  The family court judge will order her our daughter.  The coolest thing about this process is that when that happens the state of Illinois will actually print a brand new birth certificate for the baby.  One with her new name on it and listing me and my husband as her official parents.  The birth place and time will all remain the same, but we are listed as her parents.  Isn't that cool?  I will, of course, be sure to get a copy of her first birth certificate because I know she will probably want it later in life. 

So that is what our future holds for us.  Hopefully the birth mom will grow accustomed to this.  She lives in the same town as we do.  Our paths cross often.  Since we have an open case, she cannot really say or do anything when we run into each other.  We both kind of go opposite directions (like seeing a bad ex).  But without an open case and the idea of getting her child back, there is nothing to stop her from causing a huge scene.  I pray that this will not happen. 

Honestly she has not done one thing in the past 18 months since her children got into foster care to have them returned to her, so I doubt she will really do anything.  She knew she was pregnant when they removed Little Man and did nothing to get him back or keep them from taking the baby.  So I don't really know how she will react.  My husband always reminds me that I am always trying to think rationally for people that aren't rational.  I just can't be in her mindset to know what she could be thinking.  I feel for her and I pray for her.  No matter how irrational she may be, losing her child permanently will be tough.  Than add the idea of seeing them randomly throughout their life happily with another family.  I just can't imagine.  But then I just can't imagine not using every bit of my energy to get and keep my children with me. 

Letter to my {Foster} Daughter

 

Dear Little Lady,

As I type this you lie in your crib unaware of what tomorrow is.  A group of people are going to sit in a small room and make a huge decision on the direction your life is going to take.  I won’t be there and you won’t be there, but that place will be in my prayers. 

Words will be said that you don’t understand or know their meaning.  But unfortunately you will eventually understand their meaning and their effects.  Those words will undoubtedly surface here and there throughout your life.  Words like “addicted”, “exposed”, “noncompliant”, “uninterested”, “unfit”, and many others.

As you grow up I will try to teach you that you cannot control what others do and what they do to you.  You can only control how you allow that to affect you.  I hope that you will know by my actions and my words that I love you more than you could possibly imagine.  I would love to protect you from every hurt in this world, but that would not be fair to you.  Because this world is full of hurt.  The good news is with hurt comes healing.  With healing comes growth.  But don’t think you will not be protected.  That, my dear, was covered by a beaten body hanging on a cross thousands of years ago. 

I wish I could tell you that your birth mother’s actions and choices were just something that happened when you were a little baby and doesn’t matter because you have a family that has loved you and called you theirs since you were two days old.  But as someone that has felt the hurt and rejection of a parent not wanting you, it would be a lie to say that.  Those feelings will float around and stick every once in a while.  You can choose to let them haunt you or you can rise above it and know you are loved by Him and that is more than enough.  One day I will share my stories with you in hopes that you will know I do understand.

I do not hate your birth mother.  I could never hate the woman that brought such a beautiful girl into this world and into my life.  I will never understand her actions and the choices she has made, though.  There is a piece of her in you and I love you, so I couldn’t hate her.  I pray for her.  I pray that she gets her life together and her priorities in order. 

I don’t know what lies ahead of us.  I don’t know how long this process will take.  I don’t know how you will feel about all of this when you are older.  All of these things overwhelm me sometimes.

The things I do know are that God had a perfect plan for you before you were born.  I knew you would be in our family a month before you born and prayed for you and your safety.  I know that God told me and your dad that you were a part of our family.  There has not been one fraction of a second that you have not been my daughter in my heart. I also know that you will never know the abuse and neglect your biological brother suffered for two years and for that I am so grateful.  I also know that this is just the beginning of our fight for you, but it is a step in the right direction.

So sleep tight by beautiful angel.  Tomorrow we will hear some good news.  We can think about the impending court battles later.  Let’s just celebrate today.  Celebrate the decision to start court proceedings to terminate parental rights.  Celebrate your very first birthday.  Celebrate the year that has passed since taking this picture.

Love,

Mom

 

Read other hearts poured out over at Things I Can’t Say.

Mr. Fuzzybutt

Mr. Fuzzybutt is the caterpillar we discovered while playing on the swings in the backyard.  Of course the kids wanted me to get my camera to take a picture of it.  And of course I obliged.  I have these kids trained so well (if I only wished).

So here is Mr. Fuzzybutt’s profile.

 

And here he is up close and personal.  You can almost see his annoyance with me.  Well, maybe not.

You get one guess on who named him.   

The True Vine

I am joining up again for Scripture and a Snapshot with the fabulous Katie Lloyd of Katie Lloyd Photography.  Everyone is welcome to join in.  It is really neat to dive into your Bible trying to find the perfect scripture for your picture.  I encourage you to try it.

Hanging On

For some of you this is the first week of school.  For some of you it is the last week of summer vacation.  For others, it is just a regular week.  Any way you have it, this week has probably been stressful.  So I have a message for you…

Hee hee hee.

I just couldn’t resist.  Yes, it is another one of my bug shots.  But this time it was cute, admit it.  I made you smile!

Seriously, hang in there.  The weekend will be here soon.

Scripture and a Snapshot

This is my first time joining in the Edit Me challenge over at My Reflection of Something.  I have been meaning to do it, but as you know life happens. 

So here is the original that was shared for us to edit.

 

Here is my edit:

When I looked at the original this scripture kept going through my head, so I decided to turn this into my edition of Scripture and a Snapshot at Katie Lloyd Photography.

Both of these challenges are so much fun and they are done by awesome women.  I encourage you to visit them and join in. 

 

Photographing Bugs

I have recently realized that I might be able to make some money with photography if I can find someone interested in pictures of bugs.  Yep, bugs.  Any takers?  Yeah, I didn’t think so. 

My fondness for capturing images of insects has not gone unnoticed by my children, either.  We were sitting in the living room having a snack when Cole looked out the window and saw a caterpillar dangling from its silk on the porch.  He yelled, “Mommy, a caterpillar!  Quick, quick, get your camera so you can take a picture of that awesome bug God created!”  I promise he said those words.  That kid cracks me up and makes me proud.

So here is one of God’s awesome creations.

And since the kids and I went on a hunt in the yard and found more, I am sharing those as well. 

 

So any takers on buying some bug art.  You never know, it could be the next “thing”. 

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Digitally Painted Portraits

I have shared my love for Mountain Mama in the past, so it should not come as a shock that I read her blog daily.  I entered a recent giveaway of hers thinking the prize would be something neat for my brother-in-law and I won!  Talk about God’s favor, I found out I won another giveaway this week, too (more on that later).

I won an 11x14 “painted” portrait.  Pam at Alf Photography edits your high resolution image and makes it look like a painting.  So your snapshot becomes a true work of art. 

I know some of you out there have mad Photoshop skills and could do things like this, but my brain is still processing the ISO, shutter speed, aperture triangle with every snap.  SO for people like me (and most of you reading this), this is a cool idea for yourself or a gift.

I emailed the photo of my three nieces I took last week to Pam.  She is already hard at work on it.  Can you believe it?  She asked if she could use the photo in a post about how she “paints” her images.  Of course I said yes because I wanted to see how she did it.

So head over to Alf Photography and read about how she is manipulating the pixels to make a photo look like a painting.  I think you will really enjoy reading about the details or maybe just seeing her very neat art.  Here is a piece she did of a Schnauzer.  How cute!

I know my brother-in-law is going to love the picture of his daughters.  Now if he can get it past my mother-in-law.  I may have an idea on a present for her.  *light bulb just flashed on*

The Girly Shoot

Here are a couple of shots I took of my nieces from our photo shoot.  They teased me that I was “all legit” with my lenses, camera case, and speedlite.  I assured them that I was not and still had a lot to learn.  But we had a great time and we got some good shots (if I do say so myself) out of it.

Here are all three sisters together.  They haven’t had portraits together in years. 

Now the main reason for this excursion was for one of them to get her senior portraits taken.  Here are a couple.

 

 

We did these at 2 pm and the light was way too harsh, but it was the only time we could all get together and have someone watch the kids for me.  I thought of using a reflector to try to soften the hard shadows, but the light was so bright.  Reflecting any of it in her face just wasn’t an option.  So we made do and I made some post processing compensations.  I think they turned out well, but I am biased.  Beautiful niece and my own photographs. 

I am very proud and blessed to have these girls in my life.  Too bad they were all so little when I married their uncle.  Boo hoo.

This Week’s Sweet Shot

This past week has been draining.  I want to apologize to my friends for not joining in the photo challenges and link ups.  Little Lady caught Roseola this past week and has been miserable.  Anyone with a baby knows that if the baby is miserable, then the mommy is miserable. 

I hate the “sick” side of the doctor’s office!  My kids weren’t even sick.  Charley needed a lead screening for preschool and that side of the office is where they do the test.  ARG!!

 

Oh well.  I took my nieces out for a photo shoot on Thursday before we realized the baby was sick.  I will be showing you pictures of those later this week.  My niece (the one I took the prom pictures of) is a senior this year.  I can’t believe it!  While we were taking her pictures I brought her older and younger sister too.  They haven’t taken pictures together in years. 

After we were done, I picked up my kids from my in-laws house and Cole was actually keen to get his picture taken.  Lately he will have nothing to do with it.

I got one snap before he was up and gone.  But it was a good one!

Here is my little guy that will be going to kindergarten next week.  It just doesn’t seem possible.

Photographing Familiar Things

I haven’t shared this yet, but you might have seen the button in my side bar.  I am taking Kat Sloma’s Find Your Eye e-course.  It is a short course and designed to help train your photography eye.  The price is great, only $29.  I have to admit, Kat is stretching me intellectually with her exercises.  I have never thought of my feelings of a subject while I was photographing or even editing it.  I just don’t think that way.

Well Kat is having us look at familiar things around us.  I followed some of the guidelines for this assignment, but I didn’t take pictures of something I usually take pictures of.  I did take pictures of something I see and use multiple times a day and never paid attention to the fact it might be beautiful.

I am talking about a bottle brush.

I am serious.  I have used one of these everyday for the past 5 years.  Either to clean bottles or sippy cups.  I really kind of loathe these things by now.

I have never noticed the potential beauty in them.  Yes, I said beauty in a bottle brush.  I took shots from all sorts of angles.  There are varying textures on a bottle brush, too.  It was neat to focus on each of them.  Ultimately this one was my favorite shot. 

I think it is kind of cool.  Would I print it and hang it on my wall?  Umm, I don’t think so.  But it sure is neat.

Photography Tips for the non-photography Type

There are many of you, my dear friends, that have been reading this blog for a while.  While I have discovered my passion for photography I know that doesn’t mean you have.  You came here originally for crafts and child activities.  Yet you still continue to pop over here.  I love that. 

I am guest posting over at Life with Baby Donut today.  I am sharing some easy photography tips that I would have never known a year ago when I started my journey.  Don’t worry the words aperture, shutter speed, composition, are not in there.  Just some tips for moms that like to chase their kids around with a camera to capture the moments, or for the blogger that finds her images a tad lacking. 

So, please pop over to Rach’s site for a second and give her some love.  You know that you love it when people do that to you.