samanthas 7th birthday

a few weeks ago the family gathered for my niece's 7th birthday party. the family gathered at the campground, and lots of cousins had lots of fun! here are a few pictures of the festivities.

ferreira fun day - grammy's retirement party

this is the other side of my husband's family - his mom's side. one of the best things about getting married is gaining all of the family members! this past saturday the ferreira family came together once again to celebrate grammy's retirement. this family has been through a lot in the past two weeks, and that's putting it mildly (scroll down to see post). they all deserved a day to just relax, have fun, laugh, and drink. and that they did! grammy must be so proud of her family! :) i was so happy to be there and wouldn't have missed it for the world. and there was a special surprise visitor...jim's sister jenn came all the way from canada to be there!!

soccer time!

kendra


kristian and kailey

jim getting in on the action!

samantha

kendra and kailey

nothing like playing soccer with a beer in the hand...

dini and mike

kendra and samantha

grammy

the cheese ball stealers!!

this one doesnt even need a caption

cool picture - kendal

kendal again

dance party! - zach's got the moves!

grammy and her eight children - donna, linda, al, scott, chrissy, pam, joe, val

grandchildren - dylan, josh, kailey, kendal, jenn, stan, melissa, tanya, jim, zach, jeff...and there are at least 6 people that i know of who are missing from this picture

great-grandchildren - kendra, nathan, riley, samantha, tyler, blaize...my future children will be a part of this club someday...

last but not least - the out-law club! all of us have been lucky enough to marry into the family. oh come on, you know you want in! haha :)

magill family fun

back in august my husband's dad's side had a family gathering. the family is huge, and those from iowa, new jersey, and maine joined the bunch. it was lots of fun. the kids had a baseball game against the adults, and the girls cheered them on. can't wait till next summer!

charlie

uncle tom

sara

kelly, samantha, sally, maggie, riley

cj

this is either will or henry...someone please let me know! :)

will


connor



maggie and alice

the rain that invaded our beach day

the meaning of family

this past week has been really tough for my husband's family. they lost someone near and dear who will never, ever be forgotten, to say the least. in the mix of everything that has happened, one theme has remained certain - family is more important than anything else in life. that is the reason why photography is so important to me. it is a way of recording those memories with the people who mean more to you than anything else, because you just never know...

but really, what, or rather who, defines family? it is not just limited to those biologically related to you, but anyone you love and accept into your family circle. for some, another persons family is the only family they know.

on another note, music can be therapeutic at a time like this. there is so much meaning and one can interpret it any way they wish...

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,

there will be an answer, let it be.

For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,

there will be an answer. let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,

shine until tomorrow, let it be.

I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

here is a picture of my husband and his cousins on the ferreira side. they are some of the strongest people i know, especially two special children in this photo...kailey and josh

and this is not even all of them...

rip matthew richardson

10/30/68-9/3/08

the byrnes

meet the byrnes. on a recent trip to the cape i took some snapshots of them playing some backyard soccer. i also got some nice pictures of all three kids!