Getting Ready for 4+ Months in Europe

Happiness that the day has finally arrived

I made sure I took a few photos of Edward before he left Thursday to record the excitement of the day. The photo above was taken after his one hour morning run (he's training for a marathon) and he looks very happy/relieved/excited. I didn't take a picture of his luggage, and I'm not sure why because it was a sight to behold.

Anticipation on the way to the airport. We were at the intersection right before you go into the Gerald R. Ford International Airport waiting for a red light. I took this because I wanted to remember how he was sitting there with his backpack looking ahead.

Relief after successfully checking his luggage in at just under 50 lbs. and getting his boarding pass after we had met up with the group of about 18 students (and many of their parents) headed to Amsterdam from Calvin College.

Patience while having a last photo taken with the parents.

Contemplation, expectation, and high hopes while waiting at the security gate.

Good humor as Mom takes one last photo before getting to the gate.

Friday morning, we did talk on Skype and it was actually like he was right inside my computer. They had all only slept about an hour on the plane and I could tell he was tired, but still very excited to have arrived safely in his dorm room with all his things.

Flash Back Friday 148

Cousins with John's half-sisters, 1998

I wanted to do this one today for Edward, the little Dutch boy in the red.

Love Thursday

Edward leaves on a run through the neighborhood yesterday.

I can't believe this day has arrived! Today is the day I will be bringing Ed to the airport as he begins his epic journey to the fatherland. He will be studying in Amsterdam at the Vrij University and will return home June 11. We are very excited for him!!! (and of course we will miss him.) Maybe I will have to take a million pix of him on the way to the airport so they will last for awhile. Don't worry, I'm not that insane.

Senior-itis?

No, Maria doesn't really have it yet. But maybe I do a little. It's not that I'm anxious for it to be over... I just can't believe it almost is! She is now in the last semester of her Senior year and having completed every requirement, she is enjoying 3 art classes as she finishes. The other day, I got a couple of fun pix of the little girl with the big blue eyes when I picked her up after school.

Faith

Yesterday was a big day - all of our kids made profession of faith in church!! Indeed, it was so exciting, I struggled with the photography. They started out by telling about their faith and what it means to them. Bridget talked about her favorite song, "In Christ Alone", which she had asked the band to play. Edward talked about going away to Amsterdam and taking this step before he goes. Maria showed a video which she had made of her photography & painting and talked about how she sees God in the world:

Along with our church and family and grandparents from out of state, many friends showed up to offer their support. Here is Bridget with some of her friends:

Such an incredibly awesome day!

Wonder Years

Edward, November 2009

We usually only see Edward on Sunday downtown at church and sometimes afterwards when he comes home for a quick lunch, and you know, he only lives on the Calvin campus about 25 minutes away. Yet, whenever I see him, I feel the need to get my camera out. Pictures for me are a way of holding on to memories and I feel if I have one, I will never forget. What I've had on my mind lately is that Ed will be taking off in about 5 days for Amsterdam and I won't be able to shoot these simple photos. I'm going to miss that. I expect we'll keep in pretty good touch through Facebook, Skype, e-mail, etc. but it will be the longest time in over 20 years I have ever had to go without taking his photograph. Will I make it?

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~The Wonder Years

Flash Back Friday 148

Maria, 1993

Love Thursday

"Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance"
— T.S. Eliot

I love bokeh.

January Antidote, Part 3 - Reflections, Warmth and Colour!

When our fingers had reached the freezing point, we decided to head over to Calvin College. We found a warm cozy place in the Prince Conference Center complete with 2 roaring stone fireplaces, a grand piano and some dried flower arrangements, aka the colour we sought.

It was a good, good day!

January Antidote, Part 2 - Rushing Water

After brekkie, we headed from Eastown to downtown GR after a brief stop at Deirdre's home in East Grand Rapids to pick up our camera equipment. We are amassing a fairly large arsenal though Deirdre's backpack is now bigger than mine! :)

Our first stop was near the 6th street dam across the river from the fish ladder. Above is a view from the south of the infamous Sixth Street Bridge which I usually picture from the north. We took photos of the water rushing over the dam and it did feel good to listen to it flowing by.

Looking south on the river into Grand Rapids, I saw these bridges which reminded me of the bridges over the canals in Amsterdam for a second.

As I look again at these photos of the icy cold water rushing underneath me, I am recalling with gratitude Deirdre's warning to me to be careful.

Later that afternoon in my own bedroom, I tripped over a cord and bit the dust on the soft carpeting and that was bad enough!

An Antidote for January

Liquid energy

When the deep cold and grayness of the Michigan January settles in, truly one of the best remedies is to meet a friend for a combined breakfast and photo shoot. This past weekend, my friend Deirdre and I headed out on a quest for colour after a wonderful breakfast at the cozy Brandywine Restaurant.

Deirdre ordered the Eggs Timothy, and I thought of how the Queen Mother would enjoy it because of its corned beef hash and the english muffin toast on the side.

I had the Greek god Omelette which was also very amazing. We impersonated Japanese tourists and photographed our food, while the chef looked on from the kitchen with approval.

To my astonishment, I ate the whole omelette without getting a stomach ache which was a good thing as we headed into parts 2 & 3 of our photo journey. To be continued...

Snow Kitty

Leo looking in the window, January 2010

Leo loves to think he is brave enough to face the cold, but before you know it, he's back at the window looking to get in.

Flash Back Friday 147

John & Maria, October 1992

January Thaw

I love it when we get a reprieve from the cold snowy bitter harsh winter. Today, we are thawing out a bit.



I used this opportunity as I always do to clean and hose out the garage of the oily gray slush that collects on the floor. So not worthy of a picture! I took a nice long walk instead and found this with my camera.



And when I zoom in it looks like a painting.


I feel better now!

.

The Four Sisters Pic

I just realized I forgot to blog this. Kinda toothy!
Julia, Marianna, Andrea, Paula; Christmas 2009

Weekend Rest

When the weather outside is frightful...

Go Away!

Leo was a little ticked when I woke him up from a nap in a rare January sunbeam.

Flash Back Friday 146

Maria & Bridget, Winter December 1995

Heavenly Vision

The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light. Revelation 21:23

For her senior year, Maria had to do a service project in an area of study which she would like to pursue after graduation. She did the above painting over the break for her friend Abby's 25 year old brother who lives in a group home because he has cerebral palsy. He had asked Maria for a painting of heaven. She used acrylics on a 2 ft x 4 ft. canvas and included gold paint, of course. Last evening, she told me she was going to bring it over to him and I realized I had about 20 minutes to get out the tripod and take some photos. She will do a powerpoint presentation about it for her senior project. Here are some details:

A Royal Coat

When I was at home for Christmas, Mom, AKA the Queen Mother, showed me the coat she had just made out of some left-over upholstery from her art teacher and she modeled it for me. Pretty awesome!

And she really does look like a model!

Wondering

Edward acts as a prop as I experiment with flash photography

It has been very enjoyable to have Edward home - sense of humor and all. He even gladly went to the mall with me one evening to get things in preparation for his trip to Europe (Amsterdam) at the end of January and it was fun!

I have often told Edward how I would sit and wonder about things when I was growing up because we didn't have encyclopedias, let alone Google which has been a wonder to me! So whenever I do wonder aloud about something in his life, he tells me to google it. When we were talking about where he would be staying at the VU University, we found a picture of his dorm:

Click here.

I will say this makes me feel a bit better about him being gone for sooo long.

Happy New Year!!! 2010!

Edward starts the year off right by getting a 2nd place medal in the Resolution Run (actually took place on Dec. 31)

John & I had a fairly quiet New Year's Eve because the kids were all with friends. We went downtown for awhile to check out the scene and John took my picture with his Blackberry in front of the GR version of the ball up high on a crane. I was very bundled up for the cold and had a silly hat on if you can't tell. There were zillions of people down there (someone thought 30,000 throughout the night, but I don't know about that). We went home to watch a movie and ring in the New Year by the fire.