The Stories of Autism 2013 Project Gallery is online! Please visit the website and read these children’s stories. The children, their stories, and their incredible parents will touch your heart.
Please click here to visit: Stories of Autism 2013 Project Gallery
Posted in Kids, photography, special needs
This is an incredibly special little boy, and I’m honored that his parents are sharing his story for the Stories of Autism project. I met Isaiah when he was just a few day old, in the NICU. I had never seen a baby so tiny, and it was a humbling experience. A few weeks later, I went back to the hospital with my camera. As I was taking pictures, I remember thinking that if a baby this small can survive, he must be destined for great things. With as many lives that Isaiah has touched already, he is well on his way.
From Isaiah’s parents:
Isaiah came into the world ten weeks premature on a Tuesday night just before Thanksgiving, 2006. My pregnancy was going smoothly, so his early arrival was quite a shock. He spent forty days in the NICU, and came home on New Year’s Eve.
A new baby in the house…quite an adjustment! We tried to focus on the positive. We had time to prepare for Isaiah to come home while he was being cared for in the hospital. He had a few bumps in the road, but overall he was healthy and growing. He was taking more time to develop than was typical, which was not a surprise considering his being born so early. Around the time he was two years old, though, he didn’t seem to be making the progress that he should. Isaiah was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in June 2009.
Posted in Kids, photography, special needs
I thoroughly enjoy photography, but I’ve read enough business and marketing books to know that in order to be successful with a boutique business, I was going to have to find a niche. I love weddings, but my love of unscheduled Saturdays is greater. I love spending a morning photographing a newborn, but babies are a saturated market. I went through each photography genre in my head, and eliminated them all for one reason or another. When I had nothing left, I thought of my godson, and the clouds parted and the angels sang.
I am this handsome boy’s primary (almost exclusive) photographer. He has some pretty signifigant developmental delays which have made it difficult to go to a traditional photography studio. Instead of dealing with the questions from a stranger on a strict time schedule, his mother has been able to communicate his needs with me, in a more comfortable setting. I figured if I could help him, there must be other families who would appreciate a customized photography experience as well. To serve families with special needs would combine my love of working with children as well as my preference for lifestyle photography. I figured if there was a demographic who would appreciate good customer service, it would be the under-served special needs community!
I thought I had invented the term “special needs photographer” and then I Googled it. Apparently, other photographers have thought of this idea as well, and many of them do a beautiful job. I spent at least an hour scrolling through images with tears streaming down my face. To see these portraits of children in their home, where they are most comfortable, touched my heart. My favorite images of my own children are not the posed ones we’ve had done in studios. They are the images that showcase their personality in their favorite spaces. Surely, there must be other parents who feel the same way.
One of the photographers who I particulary admired was Carrie Anciaux from the Madison, Wisconsin area. She creates beautiful portraits, and sets aside the month of April to feature families with Autism on her blog, in connection with the Stories of Autism organization. After reading the description from their website: Stories of Autism is dedicated to heightening autism awareness through the exhibition of its portraits and stories of children and adults on the autism spectrum, I knew that this organization was one I wanted to be a part of. This year, I’m proud to say that I am.
Tomorrow, I’ll feature Isaiah, a dear family friend who is on the autism spectrum. His portrait will be featured in the new Stories of Autism gallery that will be released on Monday, April 29th.
Posted in Personal, photography, special needs
The April theme for this month’s Photographer’s Circle is “life”. In the springtime, the word life brings to mind baby chicks, budding flowers, newborns, and Jesus – not necessarily in that order. I don’t have any of those available at the moment to photograph, so I’m sharing a snapshot of what life to us looks like these days.
This week we’ve been heading out to the barn daily after lunch. No animals to look after yet, but there’s an amazing hayloft. When we stopped having animals on the farm, my dad rebuilt the loft into an incredible space for my nieces and nephews to play. He died a few years ago, but all of his hard work is getting daily use again. With all of the rain, it is the perfect escape for us. We put on our boots and I shoot baskets, while my little one collects the balls for me. He’s the perfect spectator. He claps whether the ball goes in or not.
Please visit the talented photographer Erin Nisi to see how she interpreted LIFE.
A week before our move, my son reminded me that he was the student of the week, and needed a classroom snack the next day. I offered to pick up fruit snacks on the way to school in the morning. This suggestion was met with a blank stare. I offered granola bars or suckers and his expression remained the same. I leaned in and quietly asked “were you expecting something homemade?” He nodded, responding “you just make the coolest things, Mom”. Be still my heart. And then, he added the clincher: but if it’s too much trouble, we can just buy something he says as he surveys the dinner dishes, and the half-packed boxes. This boy, who has taken the news of the move so well, and has shown such maturity in the extra tasks asked of him, if he wanted something homemade, he was going to get it, by golly. We went to the computer for inspiration.
The idea of cupcakes, brownies, or cookies seemed too daunting of a project for the moment. Most of the bowls and pans were packed, and the idea of more dishes at the end of the night was unappealing. We saw these Tiny Teddy Cars online. Buying the ingredients and having the kids assemble it seemed manageable. FYI: Baking a pan of brownies would have cost 75% less and taken a fraction of the time.
And, since we were serving these to others, this was no longer a job for the kids – it was messy and tedious.
Blessed is the friend, who arrives to pack, but seeing a kitchen table filled with sorted M&Ms, broken Teddy Grahams and chocolate, does not cast judgement, just washes her hands to help.
Before the kids were sent to bed, they cut the Teddy Grahams drivers in half, and attempted to halve the M&Ms, but those were too tricky. I thought the kids would be more disappointed not to help with the project, but they were content to just eat the unneeded brown M&Ms.
We used little Milky Ways fun size bars. The store didn’t have many choices this time of year – most brands just had the mini size.
The project took hours longer than expected. I could have baked and frosted four dozen cupcakes, cleaned the kitchen, and packed at least two boxes in the time it took to make these, but they were adorable once finished. And my son was thrilled, which was the whole point.
The cars turned out much sturdier than I expected, once fully dry. I packed them in a 9×13 lidded pan with crumpled foil on the bottom, and covered them with crumpled wax paper so that they wouldn’t bump into each other. They survived the third grader taking them into school on his own.
The verdict? It was an adorable, time-consuming project. As cute as they are, I don’t recommend making these for a classroom, unless an unsuspecting friend stops by. However, they would make great favors at a birthday party or be super cute on a cake.
Everything is cuter in rainbow order.
And my daughter, who was the “Top Dog Student” the week of the move, graciously chose to take fruit snacks as her treat. Bless her heart.
This month’s theme for the photography group that I’m in is “green”.
We’re in the middle of a move at the moment, so capturing anything the color green is the furthest from my mind. I’m too busy throwing things in boxes, wondering if we’ll have enough and hoping that I don’t forget to do the change of address forms. But every few minutes I stop to concentrate on how the light streams in from the sunroom windows, highlighting the wisps of my baby’s hair as he builds his towers. You see, I’m trying to soak in every last bit of this house and our neighborhood. As I tucked the kids a few nights ago, they asked if it would be the last night in this bed, in this house. I explained that yes, it would. The beds would be disassembled tomorrow and you’ll have one last night in your room, but sleep on the floor. They nodded their heads and snuggled down deeper into the covers. I think they understand. They’re trying to soak up the memories and feelings here as well.
The truth of the matter is that we’re moving into the “dream”.
For years, we’ve wanted to move to the country – but we’ve never found anything afforable that met all of the criteria. Wanting a good school district was a given, but I wanted a two story white farmhouse with a porch. At one point, there was a beautiful tan farmhouse that my husband found online – but he was apologetic that the barn wasn’t a barn at all. It was a shed, and it was brown. I preferred red. It was silly and obnoxious, but we couldn’t afford any of these places anyway, so it didn’t hurt to be specific in the dream.
A few years ago we were part of a CSA. One of our cars was in for repairs, so the kids and I were going to pick my husband up from work. I called him and explained that I’d pick up the CSA box (he usually did), and then we’d be over to get him. He was insistent that I pick him up first, and we drive over together. I was insulted, assuming that he was making judgement of my direction-following, but agreed to pick him up first. As we pulled into the CSA site with the kids chattering in the back, I took note of the white farmhouse with the porch swing, the red barn, the overflowing gardens, the sunlight shining through the trees onto the sunflowers at the trellis, and the chickens wandering about the yard. And I began to cry. Very softly, my husband says, “this is why you couldn’t come here alone”.
You see, that theme of green mentioned earlier? Green makes me think of envy…. and it has been an issue.
I didn’t want a custom built home, I don’t care about the car I drive, or the labels on my clothes – I wanted space. I wanted space for my children to run and play and explore. I wanted Little House on the Prairie land with an Anne of Green Gables house, and I was envious of those who had it. But really, we’ve made a wonderful life here. I love that my kids had sidewalks to fill with chalk drawings, and friends across the street to play with in the snow. The post office that shares our property line? Sure – there was litter and big noisy trucks that would wake my babies, but the empty parking lot on a Sunday afternoon was the perfect place to teach our children how to ride a two-wheeler.
A phone conversation with my sister last summer and one breezy comment made me suddenly realize that the dream we’ve had was based on a place we’ve already been. The standard by which all other places were measured, our specifications of the two-story white farmhouse with a wraparound porch, the red barn, and five or more acres was really based on one place: my childhood home.
I tearfully went to my husband with this idea of buying the small farm, and his response of “this is the first you ever thought of it?” blew me away. We decided that we’d try to make a go of it, realizing that it might take six months or two years. And here we sit, eight months later – my husband secure in his new job, my mother in her new smaller home in town, and the moving truck for us will arrive in just a few hours.
I know that just a few months from now, we’ll be living the dream. The children will be playing in the forest of lilacs, the baby will be toddling in and out of the garden rows, and my husband and I will be sitting on our front porch holding hands. But right now? I’m very sad. I’m sad to leave this house where we brought home our babies, and our library and church, and our circle of dear friends. I feel a bit like Dorothy, saying goodbye to her new friends in Oz.
But as it turns out, she’s right. There’s no place like home.
Please visit photographer Erin Nisi and see how she interpreted this month’s theme of green!
Posted in Personal
Earlier this year, I came across the cutest Thanksgiving treat bags from Cookies and Cups, thanks to the wonder known as Pinterest .
These little treat bags made use of Bugle snacks as cornucopias mixed with Runts candy. It was a brilliant concept, so I decided I needed to make my own. I made a little label with the help of my best friend, Picmonkey.
I felt a little guilty having this much fun assembling without my children to help, but it went much faster. My grocery store didn’t have the regular Bugles, but the caramel ones were pretty tasty.
I gave these out to my board members at church last night. Adults need treat bags sometimes, too. I think they make long meetings more tolerable.
Posted in Food
My middle son loves birds and their feathers. He really loves feathers. So much so, that when we were at a local amusement park, he barely took any interest in the rides. He was too busy collecting the sea gull feathers on the ground.
He wanted to be a bird for Halloween, with a costume made out of his feather collection. His mother (the costume designer) quickly nixed that idea and turned to the internet for inspiration.
I loved these wings, but he didn’t like that they were made out of fabric.
I had remembered spying these wings on Pinterest, and he agreed because they looked more realistic.
We bought two large bags of mixed feathers from Joann’s and started the very long sorting process.
I started making the wings first. I had intended for it to be a fun family project, but after about ten minutes of very slow progress, it was soon just me and my glue gun.
I wish I would have actually read the tutorial on wing construction, before I began. They had a better way of attaching the elastic.
We had only planned on making wings originally, but since they turned out so beautifully, we kept on going.
I had a length of fleece in my stash that I envisioned using as a sort of tunic. I cut a hole for his head in the middle and started gluing feathers. It took a long, long time. It was a team effort: I did the work and the children entertained the baby and took full advantage of the relaxed screen time rules.
By the time I finished the back, I had no desire to “feather” an entire front – so I cut it off, turning it into a cape.
I was impressed at how easily the hot glued feathers adhered to the fleece. If I had known how well it would work, I might have tried to make an arm band/sleeve to pull on rather than using the cardboard.
I loved the ring of yellow around his neck. It was so cheerful and Big Bird-ish.
After I had finished the back, it looked incomplete without some sort of hat. My son wanted to use two party hats, cut in half to create a working beak. This idea was vetoed, much like his earlier one, when he said he wanted a bird costume that people “could pull feathers out of, and then put back on.”
I folded cardboard into a triangle and started gluing yellow knit fabric around it. I chose this fabric because it was what we had in the right color, but the knit really draped nicely.
We stuck the long feathers into the folds, glued some fluff along the top, and added a piece of elastic to keep it on.
He was thrilled with the costume and all of the color. When I put it on him, he boasted that he would have the most “colorful costume on Halloween – you know, unless we see a rainbow.” Love that kid.
That was one of the many responses I would have when folks would ask the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question.
My first response was always a mother. Here’s the proof, from the picture drawn in second grade.
I collect Mother and Child artwork. This is framed on the wall as the centerpiece of my collection.
My second response was always a teacher. Having college-aged siblings gave me the insight that I would need to have something in mind to actually study. I also wanted to be an artist or an entertainer. And if pressed further, I would say a costume designer.
I loved clothes and color and dress-up. In my early high school years, I would study the college brochures that listed fashion design as a major. The problem was that I was intent on attending Valparaiso University, which didn’t have that option. So by junior year, my focus went back to elementary education, for which I am incredibly thankful.
Feathers for a bird costume
As it turns out, I’ve become all those things I aspired to be. I was, and still am, a teacher. My current students are only the four that turn up for Mama-school each day (classes run before and after their public school hours). I am an artist, using photography as my medium most days. And every teacher and parent needs to be an entertainer at one point or another.
I’m sure that we’ll only see a couple dozen Dorothys when we’re trick or treating.
And with Halloween around the corner, I’m a costume designer as well.
I am truly blessed.
Once upon a time, two of my sisters wrote a book together…. and then a long time later, it was published.
Plank Road Summer was the result of years of writing, research, and a great deal of conversations about their writing and research. Emily and Hilda would be so excited when they got a “good” rejection letter, one that included details of why it was not a good fit for that publisher. In other words, proof that someone had actually read the manuscript.
The description from Amazon: “Welcome to the adventures of two 13-year-olds, Katie McEachron and her friend Florence Mather, who experience an exciting summer in 1852 as the plank road that runs by their homes brings mysterious strangers to their dinner tables and the plight of runaway slaves to their consciences.”
The sequel, Plank Road Winter will be released this Sunday, September 30th at a launch party not far from the original Plank Road. Our family is very proud.
From the publisher, Crickhollow Books: “Plank Road Winter is a middle-grade historical novel set in rural Wisconsin in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire and the Civil War, as young Sophie and Hans deal with issues of family, friendship, and the importance of making good choices in difficult times.”
You can read more about both books on their blog, Plank Road Stories. Love the cover artwork by Kathleen Spale.
Posted in Uncategorized
