Wonder, Hope, a dream of possibilities

Today I received an email from Things Remembered telling me about a contest they are having. They are giving away 5 photo canvas art pieces and all you have to do is submit a photo and story explaining why you want that specific photo to live on forever. They have 5 categories so I submitted an essay and picture in the New Baby category. Head over there and check it out, the other categories are Holiday Memories, Birthdays, Weddings, and Favorite Pet. I should also give credit to BRYAN MYHR PHOTOGRAPHY for the amazing photo. For any of you ladies in Hampton Roads, you should check him out. He is easy to work with and his work speaks for itself. Its been a pretty hectic day so I decided this would be a good story to put on my blog :)

     Eda J. La Shan is quoted for saying, "A new baby is like the beginning of all things - Wonder, Hope, a dream of possibilities." This quote describes my life ever since my daughter, Kailyn Eileen, came into this world. I never thought that someone so small and so new could teach me more than I ever learned from textbooks or professors.

    Kailyn has taught me how amazing discovering the world really can be. While taking our first family pictures, we set Kailyn down in the sand while my husband and I took our photo shots. We were soon distracted by watching Kailyn's reaction to the sand. Even though we had taken her to the beach several times, it was like she was feeling the sand for the first time. The photographer took the opportunity to snap some shots of her discovering the sand.  Kailyn patted the sand to hear the sounds, she felt the sand between her fingers, she held the sand up to her face to see its tiny grains, and she even tasted is. This is the first time I clearly remember how astonishing it felt to be there when my daughter used the basic tools she was born with to discover something about her world. How many times had I been to the beach this summer and complained about the sand: How it seems to get everywhere, how it gets too hot to walk on? I acted as if it was something that just got in the way, nothing wonderful or special about it. But looking at it through Kailyn's eyes, it was like I was seeing the sand for the first time too.

    This photo reminds me how simple yet impressive the world around us can be. If we all just take the time to see things in a different light, like through a child's eyes, we all my learn to appreciate the wonder and beauty around us.