Standing Up

It's been busy here for these two since last Friday. They had to be up at 7:00 a.m  to get to our Friday home school class an hour away.  They work and study all day to get home by 8 p.m..  There is reading, writing,  studying and very little play that happens on Fridays for us. Saturday morning was an other early start. We had to be up before 6 a.m. to get to a debate tournament. That day there were four rounds of debating with this years reform (( should the federal government significantly reform the criminal justice system. )) that lasted all day until 7:00 p.m. that night.  

Sunday morning it was finally time to get ready for the important part of the weekend. The part of the weekend that they had been looking forward to for months. They had to be up at a very early 4:15 a.m. to catch a bus traveling to Washington D.C. to stand up for life. 

I am told there was a sea of young and old people alike of over 45,000 from all over the world Marching for Life. They told me this was the most awesome thing they have ever been part of. They just couldn't believe how amazing it all was. 

   When I picked these two up at 2 this morning after a 10 hour bus ride home, one night in a hotel and two days marching in the freezing rain standing up for a cause they believe in these kids were full of energy, excitement and life.  


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Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it.Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. 

~ Mother Teresa ~ 

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                               Black and White Wednesday with like Christmas every day:: 

    THIS OR THAT THURSDAY ::

just Smile darn it!

I'm beginning to wonder if my obsession desire to learn as much as I can about photography and taking a decent photograph is over whelming slightly bothering one of my favorite models. 

It has come to my attention ~ when I ask her to simply act natural and smile I'm getting a lot of strange faces.  

 I may be over thinking this thing, but lately I've been getting a lot of poses like these. 

A few weeks ago, when I asked her to smile like she always does. . . she did this

and said, "I don't remember how."

In my frustration, I want to say "Just smile DARN IT! and Be Happy while your at it!" but, that never seems to work. 


 All this got me thinking. . . Could it be ME???  Could I be the problem???  So, I put my camera away for a few days. . .  I thought of how I really had to change the way I'm approaching this photography thing and just relax a little. Because maybe it's me and not my subjects.      So I took a good look and wondered . . .

Could I possibly be making her nerves??? 

When I pulled my camera back out . . .  I came up with this photo.  I  realized we were having fun and I wasn't making a big deal out her perfect smile, she was just doing it. 

Now if I can just remember this,  maybe, just maybe,  I won't have to find a good therapist to reverse all the damage I have caused by saying "SMILE" ~ "No! not like that!" 
"Be Normal ~ Just smile darn it!"

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ABC Wednesday

Black and White Wednesday with like Christmas every day
Me as a mother 

♥ The Paper Mama ~ Photo Challenge