12 months later

another day in court

i'm back in court today regarding my new alex's future. seems as though our department of human services is about the most disorganized, backwards, ludicrous organization on the planet.

the trial that was supposed to last 1/2 a day has turned into a 4 1/2 day event. each day filled with new drama..

the emotional toll its taking on everyone.. especially alex is enormous.

today the judge may make a ruling .. cross your fingers for a ruling of termination of mother's parental rights. that way alex can continue to focus on his future and eventually try to recover from his past.

in other news.. 3 more playing jobs til i'm done for christmas!!

my parents are arriving here this weekend.. although they said they are coming just for a short visit i wonder if my mother actually calculated how much time it would take to drive me insane before she left...... sorry to be to cynical during this holiday season.

bill's still traveling.... then again thats not new news.. is it?

sam loves basketball... his team is still undefeated

alex c (new alex) scored 1570/1600 on the SAT he's disappointed he didn't scored 1600 :/ and will be sitting for it again in the spring.

alex h. seems to have found his own way to make some money.. while continuing to sit on his rear end in front of a computer. a mom from the school asked him to look at her laptop computers.. neither of them were working correctly. alex was able to repair.. optimize and save her important work.... i told him he could charge her $20 she insisted on paying him 4x that amount and has started giving his name to people for computer repair... he's had several more jobs since then.. i'm flabbergasted.. i knew he understand all the ins and outs of computers.. but i had no idea he could do this. i suppose all those hours on the computer can be chalked up to training now ;)

i'm ready to put hannah in a small spaceship and shoot her to the moon. her attitude towards the world is really quite wonderful.. her attitude towards me .. well thats a different story.

thats it for now....
b

december...

i know.. its already well into december.. but a good friend reminded me that it would be a nice idea to let people know how things are going..

as a musician december is always my busiest time of year.. i'm not complaining.. i'd rather play music that do just about anything else i can think of. when december 25 arrives i will have played 23 different engagements in 30 days.

as most everyone knows i've been dealing with the department of human services a lot lately. a friend that i met thru my new son Alex is a foster mother. she works mostly with babies.. although she did take alex in as foster child when he was 14. that was alex's 3rd stay in fostercare..

anyway.. my friend marion currently has two babies in her care.. both will most likely be available for adoption in the very near future. marion asked if i would come to her house and take pictures of the children in the foster care system.. and the ones that are up for adoption.. for the department of human services.


these precious angels have had a very hard start in life.. but hopefully they will have a permanent family to love them very soon. the sweet little girl in pink is 9 months old and the adorable baby boy is just 8 weeks old. he was taken to the hospital when he was 7 days old.. bruised head to toe.. he's been in foster care for 7 weeks and is developing normally.. i'm sure he will be a blessing to someone who has room in their hearts and home.



not all foster care stories are bad.. sometimes things work out very well. when i was shooting portraits i was able to meet a young mother. she had a baby when she was 16 and was unable to care for him... he was placed in fostercare and she was given counseling, finished her education, got a job and just married her son's father. the court reunited her with her now 2 year old son a short time ago. foster care allowed her to grow up a bit and understand the responsibility of being a mother... she had regular visits with her son.. and has a very strong bond with the boy's foster mother. its going to be a tough road for her and her young new family.. but things look good. she wanted a picture of her and her son to give to her new husband as a christmas gift...

besides the portraits and music jobs i have been trying desperately to settle things down within my own family. life has not been easy....

i know this is a temporary situation.... i wish i didn't feel like i have to hold my breath until it settles down...

life or something like it

i've been quiet on here since my return from england...but it has nothing to do with my trip.

there is so much going on in my life.. that i haven't really felt comfortable sharing until now.

due to some really sad and horrible circumstances i've been blessed with a new child to my family. yes i'm a mom again :) and no.. i'm not pregnant.. good lord.. please parish the thought!

over the past year i've been aware of a situation with a friend of one my own kids. i knew the situation in his home was dismal, his biological mother is mentally ill and he has never known a father and doesn't have any relatives that he knows of.

over the past few weeks thing have come to the boiling point and without going into all the details... i decided to take the steps to stop it.

this child has fallen thru every single crack our social services has.. he has been overlooked and ignored. he has asked for help, even been removed from the home on several occasions but until now.. has been placed right back into the same unacceptable living situation.

the schools, the police, the local social services have all failed miserably at their responsibility to this child.. i'm sick over it. knowing that there are 1000s of kids that are probably falling thru the exact same cracks in the system.

anyway.. like i said...i'm not going into all the details.. i just wanted to let everyone know i'm now a mother of 4 :) looking at all our options to make sure that everything is legal....

my newest child is 16 years old and is named alex. for those of you who know my family already you're probably asking... how many children named alex that are 16 does she have??? :) the answer to that is two :P

well the actual ages are this.. hannah 16 (17 in 2 weeks) alex 16, alex 15 (soon to be 16), sam 12.

lets not forget the 3 aquariums, 3 cats and a dog...

considering ordering a sign for the door that says "enter as your own risk"

although this isn't the way i thought our lives would ever turn out... i couldn't be happier.

there will be a huge adjustment period, and i'm not sure how personal i'll get in my blogs.. but keep an eye out for some new pictures soon ... alex gets to meet his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents today at a family birthday celebration.

to anyone that reads this blog.. i beg you to be aware of the community around you. watch for things that don't look right, ask questions.. do not be afraid to say something... its ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry.

falling

its happening already, some leaves are starting to fall... they haven't even properly changed colors yet, and they are falling ...

this is by far my most favorite time of the year... cool nights, clear blue skies, no humidity, apples.. kids all settled in school... its the most wonderful time of the year (some people think that is christmas time... not me!)

things have been a bit out of hand since i returned from england..in all honesty i wish i was still there. maybe its because of how overwhelming life can be sometimes.. when you aren't on a holiday... maybe its because it was really great being with such good friends.. maybe its because of my obsession with castles and cathedrals (still wish i could play my flute in one)... maybe its just because i love fish n chips so much :P

other pictures had to get moved to the top of my priority list... but i still have my UK pictures to work on and post.

the other pictures are photo shoots i did last week.. the first is for a music group. they wanted something fun, casual, inviting... for flyers and postcards for advertising.. the problem is there are 14 people in the group and they all have ideas of what "should" be done and how it "should" be done.. and it was nearly impossible to get a shot without someone talking :|

this is one of the ones they went with.. it was taken at the last minute as they were all complaining about the heat.. and walking back inside.. they were gathered in a group.. i was above them and said.. "Everyone look up here and shut your mouths" :)

i had 3 rehearsals last week.. still working out concert orders... and deciding on call times for the upcoming christmas season.

on friday i was able to drive up and see my friend robin. she has a son who is a senior and graduating for high school this year. he isn't what i would call a very traditional kid.. he seems to blaze his own trail in this world.. which i think is very cool.. especially for a 17 year old. he was very adamant that he didn't want any "formal" clothes or shots.. he wanted lots of different locations around his town.. and a few shots with studio lights.. but all shots that would express his personality... he is an artist and likes to meditate.. and has lived in the same small town his entire life. there is one main street in his town.. and its very popular with tourists... he had an artshow in the middle of town this past spring.. so taking shots of him around the town was very important.here are a few of his proofs... he seemed very happy with the results. it was the most unusual senior photo shoot i've ever done. i did at least get him to change into a few different outfits :P even tho they were all casual.. at least he has a few looks to choose from.

since i was already up at robin's.. and she does have 3 other kids... i spent some time shooting them as well. i even put robin in a picture or two.. now she has a new family picture to put in her new home :)

i have some more traditional senior portraits to process.. and a few more picture related projects to finish up.. but i'm really hoping to design my family album again this year .. and have it printed before the holidays.

every year i take a lot of pictures.. (are you surprised?) i pretty much document my kids lives... and my own.. in pictures.. and for the past couple of years i've designed an album that is like a year in review. this year will look a little weird... the moves.. all 3 of them...and everything else i've been thru... i want to make sure it all printed for history's sake.

castles, cathedrals, the north sea and more

its been a long time.. as a friend politely reminded me .. since i've blogged.

i returned from my trip to england.. and i have to say it was one of the best holidays i can ever remember. it was great to see markus and malcolm again.. its been one full year since we've been together.

this time two new people joined us for some of the outings.. paul and jon. it was great meeting them.

malcolm made sure i saw some castles :) some in ruins and some that were nicely restored. markus documented every single second of our week.. even the parts where we weren't feeling very photogenic

paul put up with us for 3 days.. then went back to work to recover.. and met with us again on thursday night for curry night at the pub.. and friday night for an evening of touring the local pub scene in consett, and on saturday he cooked us an amazing meal in his home.

jon was able to stay the first 3 days.. and had to leave to go back to work.

i stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast called the knitsley mill. it was exactly what you'd expect from a quaint english bed and breakfast. the farmhouse i stayed in was over 100 years old and malcolm insisted that it was haunted. it may have been.. but i was so exhausted at the end of each day that even the ghosts couldn't wake me up.

the pictures in this blog were taken by markus... cuz he ALWAYS had his camera :) thanks markus. the images i took haven't even been sorted thru yet... but i will post them as i get to them

this picture was taken while driving to the lake district.... yes.. its me.. yes i'm sleeping .. apparently i didn't miss much scenery tho.. because markus found it more fun to take pictures of me sleeping than of the countryside ;)

the last time my friends saw me i looked a bit different than i do now.... but the greatest thing about good friends is that they like you no matter what you look like... thanks guys :)

i noticed a difference in the way i felt this time.. after losing some weight. the last time i went to durham (2 years ago) climbing the cathedral stairs to the top nearly killed me... approx 365 steps i think.. this time.. i was the first one up :) and never had to stop to rest. i couldn't believe how quickly i got to the top...

i still have a way to go before i'm fit enough to climb the mountains in austria.. but at least i think i will have a good chance making the summit next time :)

anyway.. just wanted everyone to know i'm alive and well.. and dreaming of england.

bye bye summer

well..here we are.. the summer is officially over for all practical purposes. today was the first day of school. my kids, and i all had a restless night. you'd think after experiencing the first day of school as many times as someone my age has... i'd handle it better. remember just a few short months ago when i was impatient for school to end?????

i guess the reason the first day of school is so stressful is due to the unknowns.... for the kids and for me.

i wanted to post a few more pictures from my trip last week to the ocean.... one night i was there a storm blew in from the mainland.. it came up so quickly.. and it was fairly violent. the storm itself only lasted about an hour.. the view you see here is from the condo.. looking out over the atlantic ocean. (its actually looking directly towards england :D )

speaking of england.... only 4 nights left until i'm on a plane flying to see my friends!

this past weekend.. i took my boys fishing a couple of times. sam turned 12 last week, and although he ONLY wanted video games for his birthday.. i decided to get him a new fishing pole and a tackle box full of everything you could possibly need to catch anything that would bite. i even got him his very first real knife.... the count down on is now to when we head to the ER for stitches :|

anyway... so far we've only done catch and release.. mostly because 1) we haven't caught anything worth eating and 2) i really really don't want to clean any fish. if sam decides he wants to eat them.. i'm going to have to teach him how to clean his own fish with his nifty new knife.

we've had the best luck so far at a local lake. the biggest he's caught so far is a 2.2lb bass. mostly he keeps catching little perch and sunfish..... i'll have to do some research to figure out the best fishing holes near here.




alex is less than excited to go fishing. i suppose being a 15 year old boy is by definition a time when the only things that excites you are girls.. and computers. i actually caught him nearly smiling.. so i quickly took a shot.

hannah thought the entire idea of fishing.. or in her words "causing undo pain to innocent creatures) was barbaric.

she is still a vegetarian... but not quite as strict as before.. she used to be vegan (no animal products at all)

at some point i suspect she will outgrow this.. but i respect that she at least has something she believes in.


i have a ton of work to do so that i can be ready to enjoy an entire week in northern england. i just got word that markus arrived safely. i will leave here saturday, arrive sunday, and probably be walked to death by wednesday.