Saturday, July 31, 2010

Master Gabe

Busier than a one armed paper hanger, I have been. Wow.
After being in Minnesota for 3 weeks I am desperately trying to get caught up on all that went to hell in a hand basket while I was gone. The weeds in my flower beds were literally up to my waist.
I spent time with my girlfriend Connie while I was home and after being in her new home I could not wait to get home and start painting and ripping down wallpaper.
 Have I ever told you that there is a special place in hell for people who hang wallpaper up without prepping the walls?
Every room in my home had hideous wallpaper in it and down it must go! I repainted the hallway and dining room. I had painted it a year and a half ago but had the misfortune of painting it an awful green. I kind of looked like a granny smith apple had thrown up. It is now a pretty beige.
  Our bedroom was next. It had never been painted. Twenty years of builders primer with a horrible border.  We have been living with it for 3 years. It was very depressing to go into your bedroom. The yellowed cheap blinds with years of dirt.  It was really made you look forward to a romantic evening with your husband...NOT! It is all gone. Out of here. Replaced my cocoa brown, new hardwood floors (throughout the entire home), beautiful curtains. I love going into my bedroom now. It is so comfortable and cozy.
 I then moved onto the master bath. The brilliant builder hung wallpaper right on top of the Sheetrock so every time I removed a piece of the Laura Ashley meets Holly Hobby wallpaper it pulled the top layer off of the Sheetrock. Cuss like a long shore man I did. Mind you it is not a small bath. It is larger than my bedroom which meant lots of Sheetrock repair. Thin coat, primer, paint, more paint. You get the picture.  Painted it the same cocoa brown and it looks so much better. Need to get the curtains up though, lots of windows with NO privacy right now.
I have been pressed to get this done because I in-laws are coming on Monday to watch the kids for 6 day. My husband and I are going away on the bikes and I cannot wait. I dont' know why I felt that I needed to get this all done before they get here. They hadn't seen the new floors we had put in and I guess I want it all to "come together".
So anyway...back to Minnesota. The above is my lame excuse  to justify why I haven't done what I really needed to be doing.
While I was there I did a photo session with my girlfriend Connie and her family. Her son Gabe is very sick and I really wanted her to have some special photos of their family. I must have taken 400 photos. I have looked through them many times and every time I try and start to edit them I have the hardest time. I want them to be perfect. She had been very patient and has not asked about them until tonight. She is way more patient than I would have been. It has been almost 4 weeks since I took the photos. I need to get them done,to get pass the "fear" of them.
We did family photos but the main shoot was of their day with Gabe.
Carey and Connie do have a nurse that comes to the home but they are the main caregiver. Gabe's room is right off the living room, surrounded by windows so that he can see the outdoors. These photos are of Connie, Carey and Gabe after they have given him a vest treatment and are suctioning the gunk. Connie climbs in to bed with Gabe and straddles him to support his weight. They have to do this several times a day. The frequency depends on how he is feeling and how clear he is breathing. When you first see Connie holding Gabe you wonder what she is doing? She has to do this so he is able to hold still so Carey can do the suctioning and hopefully get him to cough. Unfortunately as they were doing this Gabe had a seizure. You can see it in his eyes.
Please check out Gabe's Story on CaringBridge
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gabejohnson/journal?jid=5865570


From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Knife River, Minnesota Solstice Run

The Knife River Rec. Council held thier annual summer solstice run again this year and no I did not run. Sophia, my daughter decided that she would give it a try so with no training and my shoes she ran the 5k.
Got to give her credit, it was a tough course and she got her t-shirt.
This is her coming across the finish line. I half expected her to throw her brother off his bike half way and ride that across. Way to go girl!

From Each Day....

My cousin Christen ran the race also. This is her.....
From Each Day....

Her daughter Sophia and husband Brad cheering her on.
From Each Day....

Kenny Kendall ran it also. If you look closely his hand is cupped just like it would be if he was holding a beer. I personally like the glasses and swim trunks. Run, Kenny, Run!

From Each Day....

And my Sophia and I at the finish line. Tried to photoshop out those lines...didn't work. Oh, well.
From Each Day....

Weston and his Daddy { Culpeper Photographer }

Dad's and their sons are so special.
From Each Day....

Chris and I went to school together, from Kindergarten through our Senior  year. I wonder how many people can say that the majority of people they started school with they graduated with. We had a handful of people that would come and go but the majority stayed.
We had not seen each other since graduation but had reconnected on Facebook, Facebook is great for stuff like that. I was lucky to photograph Chris and Weston together at the Lighthouse in Two Harbors, Minnesota where we grew up.

From Each Day....

From Each Day....


Thank you Chris for sharing the day with me. Weston is a very sweet, inquisitive little boy, I really enjoyed the day!