Ready!

Set!

LIKE!!!

Head over to my studio Facebook page (Laurie Heath Studio / Wonderfully Made) and LIKE it, if you haven't already. Then choose your favorite from the Family Photo Contest album and LIKE that too. With just a couple of simple clicks you can help give a family a free portrait session and set of custom Christmas cards. What a nice person you are!

Voting ends Wednesday 9/1 at 6:00 pm, so you'd best get after that clickin'!

Here's how it works:

1. Email a snapshot of your family to laurieheath@sbcglobal.net by 4:00 pm on Sunday, August 29. Your snapshot will be included in an album titled Family Photo Contest to be posted on my studio Facebook page. Photos taken by professional photographers will not be accepted.

2. "LIKE" my Laurie Heath Studio / Wonderfully Made Facebook page if you haven't already.

3. Send your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, classmates (you get the picture) to my Facebook page and ask them to do two things:
- "LIKE" my page (so they can vote)
AND
- "LIKE" your family photo (to record their vote).

4. Voting begins Sunday, August 29 at 6:00 pm and ends Wednesday, September 1 at 6:00 pm. The photo with the most recorded "LIKES" wins the contest, and the winner will be announced by 8:00 pm on September 1!

5. ONE entry per immediate family. ONE vote per person.

Here's what all this "LIKING" will get the winner:

1. 1 family portrait session (to be completed by November 6, 2010)

2. 50 custom-designed Christmas cards featuring your portraits

Do you LIKE it?

Then go for it!

Can't wait to see your family's wonderfully made faces!

How did they go from this ...


... to this ...


... faster than I could catch my breath?

One minute the Oldest was starting fourth grade and the Youngest began Kindergarten. Three days ago we drove the Youngest to college. Literally three weeks passed between those two milestones. Well, maybe a tiny bit more than three weeks, but not nearly long enough!

My heart goes out to all Mamas struggling to celebrate exciting new beginnings while flooded with sadness over having to turn loose of little hands. No matter how old our children are, no matter how wrinkled we may be, I still believe God speaks these words as a salve to each of our hearts:
He tends His flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart;
He gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:11

These lovely ladies met me in downtown Lake Jackson a few days ago for an end-of-summer, off-to-college session. Gaze upon the beauties known as Cassie, Jamie, Cat and Amanda:


Jamie's mom wanted to have these photos taken before Cassie heads to Huntsville, Amanda returns to San Marcos, and Cat flies off to Vancouver, British Columbia. Their bonds of friendship are certainly strong enough to endure even this much distance.

We probably should have warned The Local that we were headed for their front porch since we sort of stopped traffic for a few minutes.

It was quieter over at the old Lake Theater, which gave us ample opportunity to kick up our heels.

Doesn't this look like the most epic group jump ever?

From the front it looked a bit more like this. Hey, I was impressed they were even willing to jump at all in the heat!

We were working our way down to Cafe Annice when this fellow caught my eye. He made a splendid addition to the group!

After resting and giggling and singing on the bench in front of the Uncommon Market ...

... it was time to head out into the wild blue yonder, courtesy of Cassie's convertible. I wonder whether all of the downtown business folks enjoyed listening to Boston as much as we did?

Anyone who spends time with Jamie falls in love with her, but Cat, Amanda and Cassie are especially fond of her. I'd say that four lives have been changed by the time they've spent together. May you continue to inspire and encourage one another, ladies, no matter how far apart your paths may lead!

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,

for He who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on

toward love and good deeds.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrew 10:23-25

How do I love thee, Lesh Girls and JoAnna? Let me count the ways.


I love thee for thy distinct personalities.

I love thee for thy dorkiness (well, mainly Diane's).

I love thee for thine ability to find and adore animals wherever thou goest.

I love thee for thy budding beauty.

I love thee for thy fabulous hair and radiant smiles, even on a sweltering July afternoon.

I love thee for thy willingness to follow my posing directions, thus making thineselves look like complete idiots.

I love thee for finding thine own even better ways to display thy ridiculousness.

I love thee for thine adoration of one another.

I love thee.

China may borrow thee for a while longer, but thou art always in my heart.

What doth the LORD thy God require of thee,

but to fear the LORD thy God,

to walk in all His ways,

and to love Him,

and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Deuteronomy 10:12 KJV

Caitlin and Raul got married!


Their wedding ceremony was actually in Maui, but their families held a reception for them a couple of weeks ago at the new Stahlman Park Pavilion at Surfside. Gorgeous light streaming in through the windows, a sand-colored dance floor, plus turquoise and white decorations created the illusion that we had all traveled to Maui for the event.

So many pretty details!

Such considerate and careful feeding!

Raul says he's really not a dancer. I don't think Caitlin minds, do you?

When Dad whirled Caitlin around the dance floor, not too many eyes remained dry ... especially Mom's.

These faces tell a marvelous story: Love. Peace. Joy.

And the best is yet to come!

Thanks for asking me to record a bit of your special day, Raul and Caitlin. Blessings upon blessings to you both!

You shall go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12

I suspect I've been putting off this final Ireland post because I want to continue to pretend that I'm on vacation. In Ireland.

Or maybe I've just been too busy running around doing non-photography things to be able to sit down and focus on blogging. For a month.

Either way, today seems to be a good day to wrap up Ireland and begin to move on to new adventures. So here we go!

Our final sightseeing stop was Kilfenora. I had hoped to join in on a ceili for some Irish set-dancing, but I gave up on persuading my traveling companions to hang around long enough for that. Instead we visited the town's tiny ruined church and graveyard, all of which sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.

If you look closely, you'll see Love on this cross-shaped headstone:

The Great Potato Famine nearly wiped out this church parish, so Pope Pius IX declared himself its bishop in order to keep the doors open.

Given my Quaker preferences for simple worship services and humble church buildings, I was surprised to feel such a connection with Ireland's once-ornate churches. Now I better grasp that adoration truly is adoration, no matter what form it takes.

Here are some fine examples of Celtic high crosses inside and outside of the church. When Christianity was brought to Ireland in the 5th century, early pagan Celts used cross shapes to represent the trees they worshiped, along with circles to represent the sun, one of their most important symbols of life. Legend has it that Saint Patrick merged the two symbols into what is now known as the Celtic cross as a way to help the Celts understand that Christ is Lord of all.

One of the reasons we decided not to hang around Kilfenora for dinner and dancing was that we wanted to have dinner at Ballinalacken, the castle near our cottage. This was a much different castle dining experience than Dunguaire had been. For starters, the restaurant is in the O'Brien home next to the castle, and it was a peaceful meal instead of a medieval experience.

We each sampled a different delectable entree, but we all shared the staples of every fine Irish meal: steamed vegetables and three kinds of potatoes.

And why did we not think of this before? Finally, a shot of all four of us taken by our friendly waiter.

The next morning we said goodbye to our cottage on the hill and headed back to Dublin for one last night. It was strange to drive on a major highway for most of the way! We stayed at our cozy Georgian townhome again, where Tyler and I settled in for a brief rest while Curtis and Maggie set out on a final shopping spree.

Here are some views of our Fitzwilliam neighborhood. First a look out of our third story window. Can't you just imagine horsedrawn carriages filling the tree-lined avenue?

And here's a view of our corner. Even though the traffic was pretty well non-stop and we kept our windows open at night, the noise didn't keep us from sleeping.

By the time Maggie and Curtis returned from shopping, we were all starving. As we went out in search of dinner I couldn't help shooting a few more of the architectural features in the neighborhood.

We took some time to stroll through St. Stephen's Green. I wish we'd done this earlier and had more time to loiter.

Now-intense hunger and homesickness for "normal" food made us cheer when we saw this sign:

Dublin is just a lovely city. Not too big, and packed with charming details. It's one of the few cities I've visited that I think I could call home.

And how cool would it have been to live in a Georgian townhouse like this?!

I'll close this final Ireland post with the face that greeted us at the airport and picked us up at 6:00 a.m. for our flight back home. This is Niall, the friendliest, most delightful driver on the planet and someone we all regretted not getting to spend more time with. We hope all is well with your new baby, Niall! Maybe on our next trip we'll get to see pictures!

I have no more words for what this trip meant to me. These seem fitting:
Brigid that is in Faughart,

Blinne that is in Killeavey,

Bronagh that is in Ballinakill,

May you bring me back to Ireland.

The Emigrant's Prayer