city by the bay and pacific ocean

San Francisco is a city where people are never more abroad than when they are at home. —Benjamin F. Taylor

2011 year of the rabbit

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. —C.S. Lewis

Gung Hay Fat Choy.  My son, born in the Year of the Snake, hanging out with his bunnies.

Happy New Year! HAPPY NEW DECADE!

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this:  To rise above the little things.

~John Burroughs

And we're off to another adventurous year. Wishing you well throughout the year as you make lasting memories and imprinting values to those around you.

Year End...

Wow, another year is coming to an end.  Can you believe it?

Yes, I'll be hanging around here for a little while.  But for the meantime, I put together a 2011 Calendar...will need to repost. Posterous went down =.(

ANOTHER "HOME"

Hello there,

Thought I'd let you know I have another blog home.  I will stay here, and will invite everyone to come visit me at {excerpts}.

In the meantime, here's a portrait (of me) my son illustrated over the long weekend.

Have a great week, and enjoy the preparation for Christmas.

give thanks

Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. —Colossians 2:7

Just One of Those Days in the Life of MY BOY | Trip to the Haircutter

I want to grow my hair! Just like Lincecum (Giants' pitcher).

That was his most recent excuse for dodging the haircutter.  He absolutely abhors this quarterly trip.

But his hair grows nappy due to chlorine from swimming.  Does he care?  Of course not.Almost always, it's such a grueling experience. For ALL of us. {Just look at how miserable he gets!}Poor May.  She's been putting up with him since forever.  She's been cutting our hair even before we had kids.But he always looks so handsome after every trip, I dare say.We survived the last trip.  He actually didn't give her a hard time.  He was a bit moody in the beginning but kept his cool for the rest of the time.

These photos where taken when he was 4.  He doesn't wail like that anymore.  Thankfully!

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. ~Janet Lane

The COAD Family

One of the joys of a photographer (of any level) is to showcase her work.  In my case, families are definitely an all-time favorite.  Not necessarily always the easiest to capture because of everyone's conflicting interests but I enjoy how each personality emerges during such a session.  

My own children will no longer allow me to dress them up, and had always given me a hard time during shoots.  It can be a stressful moment.  So most of our family portraits are candid and unposed.  But the Coad family was a natural and so cooperative.  They were just ready.  Here's just a few of those precious moments.

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” 

~Theodore Hesburgh

“Where does the family start? It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl - no superior alternative has yet been found.” ~Winston Churchill

“The house does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman.” ~Mexican Proverb

“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.” ~Rosaleen Dickson

 "Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet." ~Vietnamese Proverb

 “A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” ~George Bernard Shaw

“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.” ~Alex Haley

 ...let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!  ~Henry Ward Beecher

Happy Thanksgiving 2010