I had a good time at the Mileys’ home today. Keep checking back for more soon!

I had such a fun time photographing the Springer Family last weekend in Avila Beach. It was a beautiful afternoon, I love that you can go to the beach at the end of November and still see people splashing around in the water.

That beautiful family pictured above is my last official session before my baby girl gets here.  Besides two newborns that arrived I’m done working for the rest of 2009!  I’m having a scheduled c-section on Dec 7th!  Anyways, back to this lovely family:

They were so much fun.  We rescheduled our session because of weather but it turned out to be a GORGEOUS day on Green Mountain.  One of the sweetest things about this family was the relationship between brother and sister:

There were so many tiny signs pointing to their love.  Like this next shot where she is holding his hand (SO CUTE):

Big brother is very handsome, Although I’m not ready for my big boy to look this big yet!

He had a very sweet demeanor too:

And one more of big brother for good measure!

Little sister was alot of fun herself.  Full of personality!

She has the prettiest brown eyes too.  So soulful:

Last but not least one more of the pretty girl!  I love the smile, so adorable:

S family, thank you SO much for a wonderful afternoon.  It was awesome to meet you and I can’t wait to show you the rest!

Check back Saturday for a sweet baby girl, my tiniest newborn so far!  And a 2010 Schedule announcement!

Absolutely the most hilarious thing I have read since I began following the U.K. government’s persecution of home educators last June is the Impact Assessment put out a few days ago by the Department of Children, Schools and Families. Essentially, this document estimates how much the proposed Children Schools and Families bill would cost. The cost figures for the proposed legislation regarding the registration and monitoring of elective home education are a bit wooly. The DCSF estimates that somewhere between £12 and £191 million will be spent to implement their scheme.

Well, that’s a useful estimate, I must say.

But even if the costs come in at the high end, don’t worry, U.K. taxpayer, because the benefits to this registration and monitoring scheme are immense! Let me explain.

You see, at least 25 local authorities (out of 150, I believe) are claiming that eight percent of home educated children are not receiving any education at all! And, they say, a further 20 percent are receiving an education that is known not to be  suitable. Or wait, is it that, for twenty percent of the home educated children that they know about, the suitability of the educational provision is not known? Well, the survey questions for the LA’s were a little unclear, so the DCSF has been very vague on that point.

But who cares? This is the point: according to this all-knowing minority of local authorities, the 28 percent of home-educated children whose education may or may not be “suitable” aren’t going to have any GCSEs. Nope. None. Nada. None at all. And that’s bad. Oh, so very bad. Because, well, then, they won’t make any money. Or not very much anyway. That’s what happens to people who don’t get GCSEs. They don’t make money.

So, here’s the thing. Once the registration and monitoring scheme begins, those kids will be forced to go to regular schools! They will get GCSEs! They will make money! Lots and lots of money! What a beautiful benefit! Money! Guess how much? No, really, guess. You’ll never guess. Unless you’ve already read it.

Somewhere between £400 and 800 million! That’s right! All because these poor benighted children will get their GCSEs! That’s how much more money they will all make, and be taxed on. Isn’t that great? And what if there are even more of them out there than the local authorities think? This fantastic registration scheme will flush them out! And that will produce…even more money!

Seriously. That’s pretty much what it says. These are ridiculous made-up numbers, based on even more ridiculous assumptions, such as the assumption that children forced into school against their will are going to get more credentials, and make more money, and therefore be more valuable to society, than they would have been if they had been allowed to continue their chosen educational course. Even though all the research ever conducted on home-based and forced school-based education (U.K. truanting and bullying studies, anyone?) says exactly the opposite. And I’m sorry. What do they mean by “receiving no education at all?” How is that possible? Are the children being raised by wolves? And if so, why has social services not stepped in? Why are School Attendance Orders not in place?

But we are talking about real impact today. Does this Impact Assessment document, you may ask, address any of the other possible effects of this legislation? The impact on family life? Parent/child relationships? On children who have left school because it wasn’t meeting their needs, or they were bullied there, or they just hated it?

No. It doesn’t. And that’s what I really want to talk about. But I don’t feel that I can address that topic adequately on my own, so I decided I would interview my friend Rebecca, who is a certified counsellor with a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology, as well as a special education consultant with many years of experience in both public schools and home-based distance learning programs.

Me: Rebecca, you know about the proposed legislation for elective home education in the U.K. As an education professional who has worked with home educating families for many years, what impact do you think such a program would have on families?

Rebecca: A program like this will have a profound social and emotional impact on families and family systems. This is much more than a civil liberties issue; this is also a societal issue that impacts (and possibly detracts from) the role of the parent and family in the raising of a child.
If you were to interview a group of home educating families and ask them what influenced them to have their children learn at home, many would list factors such as the desire to provide a more positive atmosphere for their children in which to learn, wanting to reduce a child’s stress levels or unhappiness, feeling that their child needed an educational program bettered tailored to his or her strengths and needs, and simply being unable to bear being apart from their child for many hours each day.
That last reason, the desire to be with your child during their days and to facilitate your child’s growth and development, is instinctual and biological. It helps to create the positive, secure attachment a child needs with a significant adult in her life so that she can grow, thrive, and survive as an organism. Many parents who eventually choose to home educate their children do so because they have followed some variation of the parenting philosophy and practice known as “Attachment Parenting.” There is a lot of interest in attachment parenting right now in the social sciences, because it is a fairly radical departure from a lot of Western parenting norms. Attachment parenting, as it is practiced in many cultures, creates very close and connecting social bonds, not just between parent and child, but in society at large. It also provides an ideal learning environment for young human beings.

British psychiatrist John Bowlby, the child developmentalist who formulated attachment theory, studied the way human beings need the interplay between familiarity and new, challenging experiences. The “secure base” (the child-parent bond) provides the child with the safety net they need in order to move confidently into novel situations. Attachment parenting ensures that children are very connected to their parents in a positive, trusting relationship. Children may choose to interact with other adults than their parents (and often do), but they absolutely trust that their parent will be available to them when and if they need them.
Children who have always learned at home may never have had to face forced separation from their parents and will experience that separation, regardless of how brief and temporary it may be, as loss.
A government scheme that proposes that an unknown adult can enter the home of a family practicing attachment parenting and insist on separating a child from a parent, when the child is unwilling or not yet ready to separate, is putting the parent-child relationship, thus the stability and happiness of the family, at risk.

Me: So, let’s talk for a minute about child abuse. One home education group in Britain has alleged that these forced “visits” will actually be grooming children to accept abuse from adults.

Rebecca: Yes, I can certainly see a potential danger in forcing a child to  If a child is forced to interact with unknown adults. In a situation like this, the child loses her right to choose and is no longer in charge of herself or her body. She is forced to be somewhere that may not feel safe to her and she will certainly feel nervous and uncertain. The stranger adult would need to be very skilled at creating rapport with that child in a very short period of time in order for the interview to have any validity, a skill which often requires training and experience to develop. In the home situation, with a child who knows her parent is distressed by this visit, it will be almost impossible for the adult to achieve this. The child will sense the parent’s discomfort and yet will be confused that she is still required to remain with this person against her (and the parent’s) will.
Children who are being abused (usually by adults they know) are also in a similar state of confusion. In the Personal Safety curriculums for schools, which are designed to help children recognize and resist abuse, children are taught to say a clear “no” to any situation where they feel uncomfortable and unsafe. They are taught to share this discomfort with a trusted adult as soon as possible. Forcing a child to stay in a situation like this, even for an interview with a representative of the local authority, sends the child the message that they must accept feeling unsafe and uncomfortable with an adult. That’s where the danger lies as it then becomes possible that a child may generalize this situation of forced acceptance to a situation of abuse.

I would never dream of attempting to interview a child alone against the parent’s or child’s will, and I would never speak to a child alone unless we had established a relationship of rapport and trust. To establish that trust, the parent’s willing participation is essential.  (I have talked to kids without parents and without parent consent… so this wouldn’t be truthful).

Me: So, what if you do force that interview? What happens?

Rebecca: You certainly don’t get a true or clear picture of the child or their abilities. You get nothing but panic, fear and self-protection response. Stressed children communicate clearly and will likely be reluctant to participate in a conversation with someone who is completely unfamiliar to them and a child may outright refuse to participate, which would be a reasonable response. Children may also experience that “deer in the headlights” feeling that many of us experience when we are being grilled or quizzed without being allowed to prepare. We are caught off-guard and we are unable to gather our thoughts so we can clearly express what we know or understand. That is why so many of us have that “Oh, I should have said that!” feeling after situations that require us to think on our feet.
Factor in the stress the child may be feeling as a result of the circumstances, it is very clear that any assessment, even informal, cannot be used as a valid indicator of a child’s current academic performance. Add to this that many home-educated children may not have had to endure formalized assessment practices (as the observant parent already has a clear indication of a child’s level of functioning at any point in time unlike a busy classroom teacher) and may not yet have the skills needed to demonstrate their abilities and knowledge under these circumstances. If the local authorities will be using any sort of standardized materials to conduct their review of a child’s learning, then the parents must be able to request and receive access to these materials so that they can, if they choose to, help their child learn to manage this type of assessment situation.
Another concern I have is about how these proposed interviews will be conducted. It is very important, from a professional point of view, to not ask a child leading or biased questions. I wonder if the interviewers will have adequate training in how to conduct appropriate interviews with children. I’m also concerned that these education officers, unfamiliar as they are with the practice of home education or attachment parenting, would ask questions which are inappropriate for a child being raised in an attachment environment. It’s like speaking two completely different languages or comparing apples to oranges!
I’m also bewildered by the length of time that is being allotted for these visits. When I see the possible numbers of hours listed (to a total of 16 hours per child), I wonder how much time a child will be required to spend in these one-to-one conversations. A half hour or 45 minute interview will likely be sufficient time to obtain a clear picture of where any child is at in terms of education and development. I do not believe that most children will tolerate or accept interviews that exceed 45 to 60 minutes.
And finally, how does the government intend to ensure the reliability of the monitoring visits? An authority representative in one area may understand his mandate differently than someone in a different area. This may mean that some areas of the U.K. are more friendly toward and supportive of home education, and in other areas, home educators may be hounded and vilified. We cannot overlook the importance of the unspoken, subjective viewpoint of the interviewer and how this will affect the lives of children and their families. Will the government impose any standards on these officials that will at least attempt to provide objective and consistent assessment? On the one hand, they are being given this enormous power over families. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be any mechanism in place at this point to ensure that appropriate standards will be enforced, or that the methods and materials used will be consistent throughout the country.

Me: If you had one thing you could say to the U.K. government right now, what would it be?

Rebecca: Home education is a natural extension of positive parenting practices. Does the government truly plan to interfere with a powerful and effective parenting approach, which has been used to raise physically and emotionally healthy children for millennia, and undermine the familial authority of the parents in their society?

British sociologist and researcher Peter Marris said that a good society would be one which, as far as is humanly possible, minimizes disruptive events, protects each child’s experience of attachment from harm, and supports family coping. This legislative agenda seems to be doing exactly the opposite for home-educated children. It is violating their deepest relationship, that relationship of trust with their parents.
As John Bowlby said, “If a community values its children it must cherish their parents.”

Me: Thank you Rebecca.

And I really don’t have anything to add to that.

I did a quick session last Sunday with our friends, the Eames.  We went to Lake Mission Viejo to catch some sunset action.  The kids were loving running around in the sand, grass and playground area.  What a wonderful afternoon.  Enjoy!

How about this for a precious face?!

A beautiful father/daughter moment.

There's no mischief behind those eyes...is there?

Beautiful light for a beautiful mom & daughter.

The handsome older brother.

This is the sweet family that got to witness my panic attack when my camera broke toward the end of their session!  Don’t worry future clients…I am ordering another camera so I will have a back-up and this will not be a problem again.  Live and learn.  Anyway, they were so understanding and they made for great subjects too!

Finding a job is tough… in any economy. So if you’re looking now, it is NOT pretty. YWM however encourages job-seeking women (and men) to use this time to re-evaluate the type of environment that you need for your next career step.

Things to consider:

1. Do you volunteer?
2. Are you married?
3. Do you have children?
4. Are you a student or plan to be?
5. Do you provide caregiving for relatives?
6. Do you travel?
7. Do you exercise? 

 Answer these questions and do your research. Make your next workplace one that is supportive of your life commitments.  Take great care to target companies that boast innovative workplace policies and pratices- those are the ones that support women, families, veterans.

A happy employee is a great one- employers recognize this even if they are slow to act.

Other things to consider

Quick update: Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoP) will not be published until late spring or early summer of 2010. We had originally been told that they would be published in December. Moving on…

The Minnesota Home Care Association recently hosted a consumer event, designed to educate consumers on the different options for long term care. The MHCA Private Duty team had this message to pass along:

The Minnesota HomeCare Association’s Private Duty Team is thrilled to report a very successful, first-time-ever conference geared towards educating consumers on Home Care services. The content was created to assist the consumer in learning about, planning for and accessing Private Duty Home Care, Medicare Home Care and a wide variety of adjunct services for their loved ones.

It is our hope that by offering educational opportunities such as this to families, they will consider accessing HomeCare and other support services which may enhance the quality of life for a loved one and prevent future crisis.

I am so excited that this event went so well, and am looking forward to more events like these in the future.

My most recent client was interested in capturing some images for a gift for her husband this year.  Thinking about the holidays and the time of year, I thought that was a great idea on her part since they have been married for more than 15 years.

She had already scoped out a beautiful park in Perryville where she also likes to spend time with her own fitness routine. The park was nothing less than beautiful with park benches, areas for picnics, ample parking, wonderfully  shaded areas and even the Susquehanna River to drop in your kayak.

We spent about an hour working in a few locations that she had already selected (which is a blessing for any photographer when their client scopes the location!) and I was really happy with the results.  She was most pleased with the project and I am sure her husband will be as excited as we were to see the finished imagery.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Remember….every day you wake up and your feet hit the floor, think of at least 5 things to be thankful for and you will find the rest of your day to be much more fulfilling.

Warmest regards to all….

A day late!! As I was going to sleep last night I realized I never updated my blog yesterday. These things happen sometimes. My apologies if you were looking for it. Life has been full and busy lately.

Last Sunday, Krista Tippet interviewed Adele Diamond on Speaking of Faith (www.speakingoffaith.org). Dr. Diamond is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and she made a comment that “joy nurtures the brain”.

This phrase caught my ear and I wondered how it might be helpful during this Thanksgiving week.

People have a variety of feelings about the holidays and about Thanksgiving in particular. While there may be some joyful anticipation and excitement about getting together with family and friends, there are also lots of demands, our expectations may be unreasonable, and we frequently experience at least some disappointment and irritation.

How would it help us to find joy amidst all of this?

Our thoughts and feelings initiate physiological reactions that bathe our bodies and brains in biochemicals that lead to stress (urge to act to get what we need or repel what we don’t) or well-being (awareness of safety, feeling secure, knowing we are loved, feeling loving).

Given life as it is with its many challenges and dilemmas, we’re often in a stress response. It takes concerted effort to train our brain to notice positive experiences and to give ourselves permission to linger on and rest in them.

How can you do that this week?

Perhaps, even if the “to do” list is long, you can risk taking a moment to notice what you enjoy, to savor what attracts you.

Or, maybe when you’re feeling irritated by someone or something, you can step back and think about positive experiences you may have had with them . . . or you can think about someone whom you know loves you and/or whom you love.

And, given that it is Thanksgiving”, you can open your heart and mind to being grateful and let yourself experience that grace of benefiting from something outside your control.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy finding things to enjoy.

Matt & Hillary Leonard had Laura shoot Cosette’s newborn pictures almost exactly a year ago. To now look at their family pictures a year later is CRAZY. Kids grow so fast and their little family is such a joy! Click HERE for more!

Hillary & Matt brought their little girl Cossette to Oak Glen during our Holida Portrait shoot day and walked around the cozy little ranch with Lawson & I while we shot our hearts delight of the cute family. It is weird to think that 11 months earlier, I had just shot Cossette’s newborn pictures in their home in Riverside. Here are a few highlights but there are a lot more so stay tuned!

probably one of my favorite father-daughter pictures ever

AHHHH!  Newborn!  Squishy little feet, teensy little fingers, big bright eyes!    Here are a few of our best shots of this little Light!

This makes me smile.  Sometimes, the best things just aren’t planned.  The best Grandpa/Grandson shot thus far.

Yes, yes, we had the WHOLE family!  — and what a great family they are!

I was privilaged to photograph this beautiful family a few weekends ago.  Here are a few of our best shots!

Every summer, bivouacking commonly draws close to mind. It definite is one of the best ways families or acquaintances can get concurrently after long and getting tired months of school or work. While there are many of pursuits that you can do when bivouacking, barbecue preparing food servings can add to camping’s pleasure and excitement. However, as protection should perpetually be a main concern where you may to depart for your bivouacking visit, here is small number much needed tips for you to consider when you make a determination to barbecue while camping:

• Make definite your bivouacking barbecue grill is in good condition. It is greatly valued that you review your grill first before carrying it with you. Be surplus guarded and check for leaking gas or propane if you are employing this sort of grill. A speedy lean over for identifying leaks is to polish soapy water throughout all connections and view for bubbles. If there are any, then you should compress and fasten the joints.
• Have a pail of water or a pail of sand obtainable close to your bivouacking barbecue site. This is in order that you will be organized for emergencies. If you have these protection furnishes close to your bivouacking barbecue place, it will be much safer for you to barbecue.
• Look for a secure site to position your grill. Suppose that you chose a forested place for camping; barbecue grills ought to be kept away from trees, shrubs, and sheds. This will stop the surrounding trees and bushes from catching fire. Keep offspring away from the grill. Kids commonly don’t recognize if a thing is sultry until they are competent to contact it. So, it is best to retain them away to avert episodes of burns. Make definite that you in addition view for a flat covering to position your grill.
• If you have a favorite to use charcoal for your bivouacking barbecue grill – do not put too much on. Place about 5 centimeters or 2 inches of charcoal – adequate to cover the foundation of the barbecue. This will do the work. You can use acknowledged lighters to start your barbecue, but do not use fuel or paraffin as these are greatly hazardous and can get out of control.
• After preparing food servings, empty ashes in an empty site away from green grass or twigs. When you analyze bivouacking barbecue protection, you have to analyze the surroundings as well. Emptying ashes on a site with grasses or bushes is not environment-friendly. Also, ashes are still sultry, so disposing of them on dry bushes or grasses can in addition begin a blast – matching with disposing them in your refuse bins. For gas or propane sorts of grills, be definite to turn off your gas cylinder first before spinning the barbecue controls off. This will assure that the outstanding gas in the pipeline is all employed up.
• Let the grill chilly down before you move or clean it. When you straight away clean or move your grill after preparing food servings, you could absolutely get burned. So, sanction a bit of time to go beyond before emotive your grill.

Camping is absolutely not whole without a barbecue, and so, to make your bivouacking barbecue surplus pleasure, do chase these protection tips.

Today is mah Thanksgiving!!!

No, I’m not calendar-challenged. But we do have three nurses and a police officer in the family – read: people who work holidays and weekends. So this was the one day when I could get most of us together minus the Florida contingent.

So I am all aflutter today. My son and daughter-in-love arrived last night, Terra and Troupe will arrive later today and the chaos will be on!

Will I eat turkey? No. I will not. I don’t want to subject myself – or my family – to the hormonal chaos that would result. Seriously, the hormones especially in poultry and dairy make me insane.

But they will eat turkey. And I am making stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, my signature homemade baguettes, and Terra is bringing yumscullion desserts.

In addition, I have cookies (no problem there – I’m not much of a cookie person), and I will have fresh fruits and veggies and dips around.

I will make the best choices I can of the cooked veggie stuff, and chow down on the fresh stuff (I have romaine, Roma tomatoes, onions and guacamole for make-your-own-wraps) and enjoy the heck out of the family time. And I will not beat myself up over it.

I am very new to this raw stuff. And the difference in how I feel is amazing. And I’m losing weight – which is not really why I started this but a welcome side effect.

Next year I’ll be more proficient at making things like this crazy raw vegan cheesecake for dessert – I even saw something for green bean casserole – the raw version.

But it’s a journey. It’s not a religion for me. I definitely do feel better when I eat raw – and I definitely feel a little bit crappy if I eat less than raw.

But I have to do the best I can do. And it’s more important to me to enjoy the day with my crazy kids and grandkids.

There are a lot of people in this world with dietary restrictions for whom a real Foodie Holiday like Thanksgiving means modifications: diabetics, people who can’t eat gluten, renal patients who have to watch a ton of stuff. Even Adam has some restictions after his surgery.

My best advice is to enjoy the turkeys around the table at least as much as the one on the table.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

43rd Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at Saratoga Federated Church

44th Annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Service

Join us on Thanksgiving Day as we worship together as a community.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2009, at 10 am, we will join together at Congregation Beth David (19700 Prospect Road, Saratoga, Ca) for an
hour of music, prayer and devotion as we give thanks for our many blessings.

We welcome all members of all faiths in our community to join together in our 44th annual Thanksgiving Day
worship service. Following the service we will hold an informal reception of mingling and food.