Launa Valente &raquo; Blog

Nov 04 2011

life: bits and pieces of my locks lay scattered on the floor…….

…….so mama took a picture and gathered them with care.

Oh my baby is growing up! Well I put it off till the bitter end, but he finally got his hair cut! It was a bitter sweet day for mommy. Oh how I loved those sweet baby curls, but his big boy hair cut is adorable too……the end of one season and beginning of another.

Being such a serious, thoughtful, and slightly timid boy, I wondered how the whole process was going to play out……
First we sat him in the chair and up, up, up he went, not to sure about things but ok. Then came the actual cutting, the lip started to quiver, then the sobs came. Ok……quick think, a pop! That will do it, distract him with a pop! Well that lasted for about 20 seconds, then I could see that things were about to go sour again…….Now what, we weren’t even 2 minutes into the haircut!! Ahhhh….got it! I knew I needed a smart phone for a reason!! Netflix, The Backyardigans and IPhone to the rescue!! I’m telling you, the child zoned out! He sat completely still for another 10 minutes while she finished him up! The stylist said it was the best first haircut she has ever given! Gotta love technology!

Anyway, I know I’m probably the only one interested in the whole narrative, but it was a special day for us! Of course I practiced my photo journalism………enjoy!

notes about.....life, Uncategorized

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Aug 20 2011

life: world photography day

Well yesterday was world photography day, and while I’m not a world traveler, though I would like to be………….(I’ve never been out of the US) But someday I am going to travel abroad, and I hope Israel is the first place I get to travel……but as I was thinking how I wished I could post a “world” photo I had taken, I got to thinking about MY beautiful world and thought I would share a few precious moments from my day yesterday. All captured on my iphone…….perfectly imperfect!

notes about.....life

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Aug 10 2011

life: pride and prejudice

I have been wanting to blog this forever! But life happens, internet goes out…..computers crash…..taxes need to be done……yes I said taxes, and we’ll just say I’m not getting a head start on next year. Anyway……

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” ~Elizabeth Bennet

We have a slight obsession with Jane Austin and more specifically Pride and Prejudice around here! Even Steven though he would never admit it has sat through a couple hours of the movie here and there. We have a very special friend from Japan, Fusae, who gets to come visit about once a year and it just happens to be around her birthday. I think she might be the biggest P&P fan out there. Well when Kendra found out she had never seen the full 6 hour BBC version of the movie, she thought she would plan a little surprise party for sweet Fusae!

I think it is quite possible that I had more fun than the girls……of course my overachieving self went a little crazy with the details……we moved the furniture, borrowed a projector, covered all the windows, lots of candles and Kendra even made a little display of her favorite Jane Austin book (a gift from sweet Alana) some votive candles and a hand written proposal from Mr. Darcy himself……….fine china, fancy punch, cucumber & cream cheese finger sandwiches, chocolate dipped strawberries, mini muffins, well……you get the idea. But the crowing touch was Kendra’s Idea….we designed custom t shirts with her favorite quote on the back. They were adorable!!

Needless to say Fusae was completely surprised, and ecstatic! Here are a few of my favorite memories………

and a couple film images just for fun!

notes about.....film, life

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Aug 04 2011

film: worship

canon ae-1 • 50mm • ilford 3200

I thought it fitting to break in my new camera in church. The purity of worship. For 5 days during our summer conference the young people in our church, including my own children sat on the floor in the front of the church, worshiping and feasting on the word of God. It makes my heart swell with thankfulness. I am so blessed that this is their life. These images are and will remain dear to my heart.

The good, the bad, and the ugly…….that is what I promised. So here they are, at long last, my first film images. Because this was black and white film it had to be sent out…..I spent two weeks in unbearable anticipation to see these images. I ordered a set of prints along with the scans because I knew when I picked them up I wouldn’t be able to bear another second without seeing them. So the call came, they were in. Jump in the car…..speed (just kidding, I’m a good driver)I opened the envelope immediately……..tears. I wanted to cry! Every single image was horrible! How could every single one be so bad? My heart was so heavy with disappointment. My sweet husband encouraged me…..this was an experiment, a learning experience. I got home and popped in the disk…..I don’t know why I wanted to see the same sad sight again, but I did. And……….a miracle!! A different set of images emerged! properly exposed, beautiful grain….{love} not perfection by any means, but such a sigh of relief! It really is going to work, I really can do this!

I’m still trying to find the cause of the awful prints, but I’m so relieved that it all worked! I have a roll of portra 400 in now and I can’t wait to finish it up to see what beauty it will reveal.

notes about.....film

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