Beautiful People, One Beautiful Horse, One Gorgeous February Day

After a rough start to my February, I had an unexpected opportunity to photograph some beautiful young women and a sweet horse on a quaint farm in surprising February warmth.

There is something about a rustic barn and farming equipment that makes me long for the quiet of the country.

The sixty degree weather in the middle of this Chicago winter brought more than a few breaths of fresh air my way. As I headed into the brown fields, the country muck and dirt gave me the opportunity to clear my head and the sun shining brilliantly over the fields of dormant grass waiting patiently for the spring stirred my soul and inspired some beautiful images.

It was tough to decide whether to put this in monochrome or brilliant color, but, in the end, I liked the beautiful intensity of this black-and-white version.

Horses are gifts from God. Horses can look you in the eye and tell a story. Horses can read emotions and reflect them as a mirror ~ and beg you to release anxiety and merely live in the moment.

Time for a Buddy close-up!

Horses are a mirror to the soul. They see us for who we truly are.

Horses can make you laugh, force a smile and show you the way.

The smile on her face is all from her Buddy!

Horses bond with us.

Horses heal.

Horses stir the soul.

Horses pave the way for our journey.

Horses do not care about yesterday or tomorrow. Horses care only about today – this moment. This journey.

Horses can know our hearts even when we do not speak.

They long for reciprocal love and compassion.

They bring us to the edge of the sunset and beyond.

Horses take advantage of the indescribable sun and balmy February weather in Chicago (without thinking about the inevitable brutal return of winter), and begged me to do the same.

Horses are innately beautiful, inspire big dreams of little girls and help to make the journeys of those now-women just a little clearer. 

Valentine's Day

My husband and I have been married for 13.5 years. We have two children. Our Valentine's Day probably looks a lot like other parents who have young(ish) children.

The cute hearts and the home-made cards and the pink and the red and the heart-shaped pancakes really are for the kids. The rosemary chicken stew and freshly baked rosemary bread is for my husband. 

While we don't get to go out for the evening, my husband did send me a text with a heart emoji included and we enjoyed a romantic dinner for four;)

Valentine's Day is as much for the young and in-love as it is for the families, the ones who have been together for years, and the ones whose love is spent on friends and strangers ~ Happy Valentine's Day!

We talked about how the five seeds represent the five wounds of Christ ~ and how He is love outpoured. And we discussed how Valentine's Day celebrates love ~ love of spouse, love of parents, love of children, love between and among friends, love of stranger.

We made heart-shaped biscuits...

... and watched them as they baked.

We enjoyed heart-themed biscuits and gravy.

The girls received heart pillows this morning as their Valentine's Day surprise.

And I got this beautiful rose picture and note.

There was some horse-play...

And heart-shaped pancakes...

~ that turned out looking like this...

... and were eaten like this.

And we also did roll-the-dice-coloring for math today ~ this girl loves a good game and some Mr. Sketch markers!



I hope you celebrated love ~ wherever you were today. Love beyond measure, for it is love that carries you through and it is love that sustains.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lake Geneva Winterfest 2017

Last Monday morning, we went to the ice rink so that my oldest figure skater could work on her competition piece with her coach. We spent a little over two hours at the rink – all of us girls skating, practicing and working on different skills.

What do we do next, you ask? Well, we go to what was left of the Lake GenevaWinterfest to warm up, of course!

The view looking out onto Lake Geneva from the park.

View from behind one of the sculptures.

Our winter has been unseasonably warm and, yet, unbearably dreary. My girls haven’t seen snow (or sun for that matter) since December. So, when the weekend brought snow sculptors from all over the nation, we took advantage of being able to see the artwork the next day ~ and play in the snow!

We spent much of the weekend enjoying Groundhog Days, so we didn’t make it up for the actual snow sculpting, but knowing that our temps were approaching the 50s and that rain was expected, we took a trip up to the lake and walked around in pleasantly warm conditions viewing the ephemeral art.

In a case of unfortunate timing, just as we walked toward the Riviera, the first-place ice sculpture – the one with the ballerina inside of it, fell down under the warmth of the sun. That was disappointing for my youngest -- the ballerina. 

While I wish we would have been able to see all of the intricacies and details of all of the magnificent sculptures, the magnitude of its beauty and dedication of the artists still was evident. 

It was fun to just walk around the lakefront, feeling comfortable in a jacket and mittens, and talk about snow as art and discuss the titles of the works or merely look at all of the many details that were visible. 

Snow chair and snow hat.

Even after some warmer temperatures, the details here were visible.

I'm not sure what the intent was here, but it is so beautiful ~ whether it was Jesus reaching out to help someone on the floor or someone else, the message is clear: be lavishly kind.

I think this was titled something like Endless Love. 

The detail must have been incredible before the warm temperatures!

I am pretty sure this is Curious George planting the United States flag on the moon.

We had a visitation to attend this week for a small child and this particular sculpture spoke to my children. We talked about the hope of the Resurrection, but that hope was personified in the perfectly positioned light hole for the sun to pour out through this stained-glass-like design in the back of the Bible.

This is Matthew 28:2 depicted in snow ~ the angel rolling away the stone. 

The stained glass-like medallion on the back of the snow-sculpted Bible seems strategically placed to allow the Light to shine through ~ adding another layer to the beautiful Resurrection message. 

Of course, another fun aspect of going up to the lake was that there were huge piles of -- albeit quickly melting -- snow, presumably left by the snow carving teams. I noticed that a lot of children were taking advantage of the white stuff that seems to be a novelty this winter.

What is this incredible white stuff!

A chair made of snow.

My daughter captured my smile as we explored the snow chairs.

The dichotomy is palpable: warm weather and artificial snow.

I captured this genuine ice on the shore ~ ice on the top and flowing water underneath.

So, here’s to temporary art, evanescent beauty and the valiant sculptors who give spectators an incredible look into the hearts and minds of an artist whose work will perish under the warmth of the winter sun, yet who persevere in their effort to turn a mere block of imported snow into the stuff of dreams. Thank you for the best little outdoor field trip of the winter, Lake Geneva! #winterfest2017

Groundhog Days 2017

Woodstock Willie famously traverses the Square in the dead of winter, paying visits to businesses, landmarks and special events much to the delight of both children and grown-ups alike.

Our town celebrates Groundhog Day like no other. Twenty-five years ago Bill Murray famously filmed the movie Groundhog Day here. Every year Woodstock cherishes the ability to gather the community together in the dead of winter ~ and it has evolved into a weeklong celebration of sorts.

Woodstock Willie makes his grand appearance on February 1 amidst fireworks and applause. On February 2, there is a big congregation on the square to watch Woodstock Willie emerge from his tree stump and make a declaration about the status of winter. The mayor proudly declares the results after interpreting what Willie says. (For the first time in a while, we didn’t go ~ we were too busy recovering from skating for five hours on synthetic ice the night before. You can read about it here.)

One thing I do love about Groundhog Days is that you get to see neighbors and friends who may have been hibernating over the winter. Everyone is in a good mood because, unlike other holidays, Groundhog Days requires no gifts, no preparation and no added stress. It is about spending the week with Woodstock Willie, a chili cook-off, a walking tour of movie sites, storytelling, a talking banana and a community that embraces the wisdom of a furry rodent.

It is tradition to get your picture with Woodstock Willie -- you just have to do it!

The weekend always brings a session of storytelling by Jim May. May is an entertainer, educator and creative writer. He is fun for the kids as well as for adults.

Storyteller Jim May engages with the audience at Home State Bank.

A special instrument usually finds its way into one of May's stories.

May is always willing to personally autograph his books.

One of the most memorable portions of his storytelling is when he makes the infamous talking banana. The girls were able to assist in the creation of said talking banana.

Jim May creating his famous talking banana.

Final product: talking.

Home State Bank also lets the kids play a post office box game where they choose a P.O. Box number, find the box and then have the manager open the boxes with a special key. Inside are special Groundhog Day treasures!

My girls love to play the Post Office Box game at Home State Bank. It is such a fun experience for the kids who stop in!

We were too cold to go on the walking tour, but we did stop by Starbucks to grab a cake pop or two (Valentine’s Day, I know … I guess Starbucks isn’t into celebrating Woodstock Willie), and, of course, we visited our favorite bookstore, Read Between the Lynes to grab some reading material for the week!

A quick Valentine's ... er, Groundhog Day, treat!

Happy belated Groundhog Day, campers;)