A little "me" time

After  25 years of working in the public school system of Kokomo, Indiana, my mom retired in the Spring of last year. A middle school Science teacher, she was one of those teachers whose energy and enthusiasm turns so-so students into engaged and attentive students. She never merely taught from the book - and 25 years later her former students still seek her out to say "thanks". Yes, she was one of THOSE teachers. And she is one of those amazing moms, too. She finished her career as a guidance counselor at Kokomo High School - a job that requires and endless supply of patience, a spirit of service (because face it, it's a tough job to do), and a love of learning and helping kids pick and get into college. She was phenomenal at her job! But now, she's retired and loving it.

So when Don and Colin went to Camp Seagull in September for a Father-Son weekend of fun, Mom and I went on a retreat of our own... to Westglow Spa & Resort in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. For 3 days, we lounged around in big fluffy white robes and slippers, sipping on ginger tea and getting pampered. We ate the most amazing meals and enjoyed great conversation. We talked about our dreams and our hopes - and we spent plenty of time wishing we could stay there forever. Ever since returning from this trip, I've been swamped with the usual pre-holiday rush that comes with my photography business. And Mom has been spending most of her time visiting my 99 year old grandmother who had a severe stroke at the end of October.

Better late than never - I wanted to share with you a few pictures of our weekend at Westglow. Perhaps we will have to make this an annual trek!

Just a few fun pics

We just got back from a trip to the beach in October, and I had to share a few favorite shots we took of the dogs. Murphy has been feeling pretty icky lately due to some health problems, but as you can see she's still bright eyed, smiling and beautiful. She's doing much better this week, despite the 20+ pills a day I have to force into her mouth. But she gets lots of treats afterward, as you can only imagine.

More beach pics coming, but for now... please enjoy. :-)

XO, Dawn

A cup of holiday cheer

It's a busy time of year for me with work, Colin's soccer schedule and a plethora of other activities. Which is why I just LOVE doing Mugshots for my photography customers. I like to think of it as my little cup of holiday cheer, giving busy parents like me a break - affordable photo session, beautiful fall portraits and getting those holiday cards checked off the list early. Anyway, I'm about to dive into holiday season mayhem so I may not be posting that much, but until then, please enjoy this little cup 'o cheer.

Oops! Almost forgot to mention...

Colin earned his green belt right before the start of school. He is really LOVING his martial arts program.

Photos, photos and more photos

I just love all the options we have to share photos online these days! Check out this fun website I set up for Colin's class, a fun place to share photos and more on Shutterfly.

http://basclions.shutterfly.com/

Cheers,
DKF

First Week of School 2009 | First Grade, Field Trip, The re-appearance of Snaggle Tooth

This is a message to ALL those wise mommies out there who warned me (much to my disbelieve) that the grade school years would FLY BY. You were right!!! I can't believe Colin has started First Grade.

First week of school was a fantastic success for our young man. Returning to the British American School of Charlotte this year, he fell right back into a familiar routine. This year, we have a delightful teacher by the name of Ms. Ross.

I've volunteered my services to serve as a Community Parent for the class this year - this means I'll be working with a team of other parents to plan "community building" activities for the schools' families. Should be fun! 

Colin's class took a field trip on Friday of this week to explore the "senses" in an outdoor setting. We took the children to Beatty Park, where the kids wore "Senses Detectives" badges and gathered sensory stimulating items like pine cones, trees and rocks. We also found a lot of bugs along the way, and an especially friendly tiny frog.

We were blessed to have Colin's "Mum Mum" here this week to participate in all the fun. My mom, recently retired, has come to spend 2 weeks visiting with us (she's been a tremendous help, as always). Colin just LOVES his Mum Mum!!!

A successful first week of school delivered us happily into the arms of a 3-day (Labor Day) weekend. And during the course of the weekend, Colin's third tooth fell out, beckoning the Tooth Fairy to make another visit to Swancroft Lane. In case you're wondering if the "down" economy has affected the Tooth Fairy's business, the answer is an overwhelming "NO". She left Colin a crisp $20 bill. Colin woke me at 5am on Sunday morning to show me his reward. Then he proceeded to snuggle up with me (and his $20 bill) for a little more snooze time.

All in all, a great first week of school. Highlighted by the always-welcome presence of Mum Mum, fun times with Colin's school buddies, and a visit from the tooth fairy. Can't wait to see what week #2 brings!

Keep Smiling,
Dawn

liveBooks

You may have noticed I've been laying "low" this summer. Colin, my son, only has 2 months off during the summer, so I have been trying to spend a lot of quality time with him, as well as visiting with family and digging into some projects around the photo studio and the house. But I've also been working on some fun new things for d k f photography that I just cannot WAIT to share with you.

One of my exciting announcements is the development of a new portfolio website by liveBooks. It's going to be a very clean and easy-to-navigate site that really shows off the beautiful subjects of my professional portrait work. It will be a few weeks before the new website is up and running, and until then I will have my old site up. So, if you are fan of the current www.dkfphoto.com, visit soon because it will be coming down in a couple weeks.

Happy summer and keep smiling!

:: dkf ::

Colin Earns High Yellow Belt in Martial Arts

Colin's Summer of Martial Arts

Colin has been studying martial arts with a really excellent instructor here in Charlotte. We were introuduced to Sensai Louis Grady by the British American School of Charlotte, where Colin attends school. Sensai Grady gives martial arts classes once a week at BASC, and Colin started at the beginning of last school year.

It was a tough start - our young man just loves to goof around with his friends, and had trouble staying focused (and out of trouble) during class. Probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do as a parent is watch my little boy sit out of class, and subsequently, miss a belt promotion test, because he got himself kicked out of class for misbehaving (Sensai Grady's tough love is exactly the approach he needs).

Well, that was the beginning of the school year, and by the end of the year, Colin had worked his way up to a high white belt. This summer, he asked to do martial arts camp so he could keep up with his "training" and we obliged, happily. After his first week of camp, he earned his yellow belt AND a special award for bravery (and the "Student of the Day" recognition"). During his second week, he again earned a "Student of the Day" recognition AND successfully tested to receive his high yellow belt. There's one more week of camp, and he can't wait to get started!

Please enjoy a few photos from Colin's high yellow belt promotion ceremony. We are happy and blessed parents. :-)

:: dkf ::

Thank you teachers!

The parents of Colin's class put together a video presentation of photos from this year at BASC. Please enjoy!

Join me for Brunch and Shopping featuring fashions by CAbi

Please join me for Brunch and Shopping

When: Wednesday, May 6th 10am-noon
What: Brunch and CAbi party
Where: My house (email ddf4800@yahoo.com to RSVP and for directions/address).

Hope you can come!

Fun Times

Colin dressed like a "Jet" to go see our babysitter, Diana, sing in West Side Story (she was Maria, and she was amazing!) So, while he was looking sooooo handsome we took some fun photos. And, MAN, they turned out so cute! Here's my young lad, at a month shy of 6 years old. XO, Dawn

Another Snow Day

Unbelievable! This year we have been fortunate to have a lot more snow than we normally see during a Charlotte winter. Last night, we had about 5 inches fall in the form of HUGE white, fluffy flakes. Here are a few highlights from today's snow day.

baby + child portraiture by dkf - see my new video!

Please enjoy this collection of baby + child photos I have captured. Contact Dawn, 704-800-7411 for more information on our Newborn, Baby and Children's portraiture packages.

Homework!

Homework was sent home this week for ME! Don and I had to write about a family celebration and describe how we celebrate. Their learning unit this term is "Celebrations", so all their lessons stem from this basic concept. I decided to take this opportunity to create a scrapbook page (multi-tasking is GOOD) for Colin's scrapbook... He will present his mom and dad's homework at school, then we'll put it in the scrapbook... at least that's the plan.

Here 'tis!

India Week at BASC

I think I've got British School fever, this school does such fun things! This week, they are celebrating India Week. Some of the middle school students created a blog to highlight the activites of the week. They made Indian Rangoli, have sampled Indian Foods, and tomorrow will be receiving a henna tattoo! Such fun!

http://indiaweekbasc.wordpress.com/

http://indiaweekbasc.wordpress.com/

Reading Award

Don and I started out this school year with the thought that, if Colin was reading fluently by the end of the year, we would be happy. You see, he really wasn't reading yet! By October, he was definitely reading, and by Christmas he was reading EVERYTHING in sight. We are delighted with his progress in reading, and even more happy that he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence at school for his wonderful progress.  Great job, Little Man!