Hello, Summer

If any of you have been following my blog for the last year and a half, you know how my sister's dear friend Gina has been battling breast cancer.  I last blogged about her struggles here.  Unfortunately this week, Gina has been moved to the palliative care unit at MD Anderson.  Folks, she knows her time left here on earth is limited.  She is fortunate to be surrounded by the love of her husband, mother, cousin, and now, children.  She is a brave, courageous, inspiring woman who has fought so hard during her entire battle and has never lost faith in her Creator.

Please continue to pray for her...that the time she has remaining with family will be filled with wonderful memories.  Yes, you read that right.  Even in the midst of watching your loved one battle cancer, wonderful memories can still be made.  I know that well, watching my mother battle before me.  Pray this time would be special.

These photos I'm sharing today are about the only thing I've been able to smile about all week.  I took the kids to one of our local parks for some fun.  It was an unseasonably cool start to summer- like 83 degrees and breezy this day! Say what?  In Florida?!  I kid you not.

I don't think I've ever photographed Madeline at this park.  How pathetic is that?  And that's because we actually have to get in the car and drive there instead of hop on our bikes.  That and the yucky black mulch that gets all over you...ick, it makes a mess.  Anyway, it was great to see both Caleb and Madeline enjoy themselves there.

Before we headed out, I did take some photos at home.

If you look closely here, by Caleb's head, you can see that it was sprinkling out.

I guess the threat of rain kept everybody else at home, as the kids had the run of the place.

This week wraps up my Snapshops photography class with Ashley Ann.  I'm so glad I took the class.  I've learned a lot about the art of photography and spent time reflecting on what drives me to create my images.  It has been refreshing and inspiring.

There is no doubt that Gina's battle with breast cancer and her fight to stay alive has greatly impacted WHY I want to put myself behind and in front of my camera.  I'm grateful for all that Gina has taught me about life, and I'm grateful to Ashley Ann for helping me to capture this in my images.

I shot the images above with my Nikon D700 using my 50mm 1.4 lens. 

Aperature was f/1.8 and SS and ISO were all over the place.

Linking up to:

Simple as That  Sunday Snapshot