I heart Faces:Beautiful Eyes

Her eyes light up my days. 

                                                               

Taught by my Daughter

One day, I spoke to Aaliyah.  'do you know how beautiful you are?" 

She looked at me with her big innocent eyes. Full of youth, yet also wisdom. 

"No Mummy, You are beautiful"

"No Aaliyah, you are beautiful" 

"No Mum, you are beautiful. Say it or I won't be your best friend" 

"Ok Aaliyah, I AM beautiful, just like you" 

"and I'm beautiful, just like you Mummy"

Dreams do come true

dream

  
noun, verb, dreamed or dreamt, dream·ing, adjective

–noun

1.

a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passingthrough the mind during sleep.

2.

the sleeping state in which this occurs.

3.

an object seen in a dream.

It was 2005, early March. I awoke remembering the most vivid and wonderful dream. Today 6 years later, I still recall every detail like it was yesterday. 

"Mummy, Mummy, Mummy" the little girl said with her soft, sandy coloured hair bouncing around her shoulders. I looked down at her and explained that I wasn't her Mummy. "I only have little boys, I can't be your Mummy."  Jumping into my arms, from the boxes she had climbed onto, she hugged me so tight and smiled so bright it shined more then the sun on a Summers Day. In my ear she whispered a thousand words, that I remember hearing, but can't remember what was said. The words she whispered made me so happy and calm. We walked off together holding hands through the market place. Swinging our hands and just enjoying being together, after some time our hands let go and she disappeared into a stall with some people that I didn't know. It didn't worry me that this small 3yr old girl was leaving me. I felt that we would meet again, some day.  

You know the feeling of awakening and realising that you had the best dream? Thats how I felt. It was an amazing, calm feeling that overcome me. Then it occured to me. Could I be pregnant? This would be my fifth pregnancy. It could be my fifth son, or my first daughter. I tested that same day.  Positive.

To make life more exciting, the baby was due in November. 1 day before my birthday. My husband and I were getting married that May. I would be 3mths pregnant for our wedding. My parents were married in May. My Mum was 3mths pregnant with me the year they got married. Pregnant with me. A girl!! 


Of course my imagination got the better of me. I was certain the baby was a daughter. I loved my boys. But I would be lying if i didn't admit that a daughter would be lovely. All the signs. I'm a big believer in signs. The dream. Baby being due so close to my birthday. Me getting married while 3mths pregnant...my parents doing exactly the same thing 30 years prior. So when the sonographer gave us the news we had a very healthy son on the way I was shocked. Quickly adjusting to the news, I gave up my dreams of having a daughter and being a Mum of all boys. Five boys in fact. :) 


Bodhi Malcolm was born 13th November. Bodhi meaning :  Wise, enlightening, knowledge.  His name came to me while I was in labour. It had to be that name. 


He is a dream come true. Not the little girl in my dream..but one of my six dreams. 


Six? Yes six. In 2007 I awoke in the middle of the night to another dream. I was asking my husband where the baby was. There was no baby he told me. He counted all the boys and showed me they were safe. No I told him. There was a baby. No he told me there is no baby. 
The next day I asked if I had dreamt of a baby. Yes he told me. I tested. Positive 


I gave birth to Little Miss Aaliyah Angel Rose on January 2nd 2008. Nearly 3yrs to the date of my dream of the little girl. Now Aaliyah is 3 1/2yrs old. I look at her and although her hair is not the Sandy colour that I dreamt of. Her face is the same. She is the little girl that came to me in the markets that day. I believe that she whispered about Bodhi being born first,  she assured me that she would be next. I have dreamt of all my children before I even knew I was pregnant with them. It is my special connection with them. 

Photo Challenge: A Touch of Whimsy

It was a gorgeous afternoon. My family and I were out the back watering the garden and tottering around with the horse. I noticed this gorgeous light shining down and my daughter Aaliyah was playing around it. So I grabbed my camera and was able to capture this beautiful moment in her life. A Whimsical moment, where she was building faerie rings and playing with the light. 

This is my entry for the I Heart Faces Photography Contest. Good luck to all the entries :) 

http://www.iheartfaces.com/

Peaceful Bubba Boy

The morning of Australia Day, I had the pleasure of  working on this photo session with Precious little Baby boy "H". Only 9 days old in these images. I had so much fun working with this little man, who was so well behaved and let me take some gorgeous images of him and his Sister and Brother. M and J were the proudest big sister and brother and really do cherish their new little baby brother. In these images you can see the love between the three of them, and how much baby H will be looked after and loved.  I feel so blessed and lucky to have been able to capture the emotion and love like I did in these Photos. xx 

Australia Day

With all the floods down in Brisbane this year, reading all the amazing stories of survival and humanity...I'd made a promise to myself that I would take the kids to the Australia Day celebrations this year. It worked out well, because I had entered a photo of my Dad plus some others into the Australia Day Faces and Places of the tablelands Competition, and I wanted to see the entries. The activities were all free for the kids, and they had the best time. Jumping castles, face painting, sand art. It was loads of fun :) 

I'm happy to announce that I did get a place in this years competition. I won 2nd place for the Digital Faces Comp. Very happy with my achievement :) 

This photo is a perfect example of being in the right place at the right time. This wasn't posed, or set up in any way. I didn't even enhance it that much, I just did one of my black and white conversions. I was just mucking around with my camera, and kinda took Dad by surprise. This is probably one of the best photo's of my dad that I've ever seen. It will be one that gets handed down to generation after generation :) It proves to me, that photography is about capturing the emotion and that the lens can actually see beyond what the eye see's. This image, shows my 'true' Dad, the person that he is inside. 

xx 

Reaching Milestones

Having my own children really instilled in me how quickly time flies. Having six babies of my own, I do feel a bit selfish sometimes, because I get to experience each special age six times over. So I feel lucky in the fact. In saying that it doesn't make it easier when each of my gorgeous kids reach a milestone birthday. Yesterday was one of those days. My second son Dallas turned 13. The big year that now means he's a 'teenager'. I remember turning 13. For me it meant I was able to get my ears pierced for a second time and start shaving my legs. :) For Dallas it meant entering High School (his first day was the day was his actual Birthday). Second stage of his education has now begun. Very exciting day in our household yesterday. 


The great thing about being a photographer, is capturing the memories and the special milestone events that take part in ones life. Being the photographer's son, I didn't think he would be up for what I had planned. Luckily for me, Dallas jumped at the chance to spend some one on one time together and get in print this special day. Dallas and I had heaps of fun taking the following pictures. I hope you enjoy them as well. I'm so happy that I have captured this milestone in his life, and he will have these photos to keep forever. 


Here is a preview of what we got up to :) xx