Dear Matthew,

Last month you graduated high school and there was a feeling within me that at the end of the night things would be different.  You would no longer want to hang out  and play games, crack your funny jokes that always keeps me laughing or give me that look when things are crazy that…it will always be okay.   Here we are 13 days into our road trip that will circle us around the US, driving 4000 miles and you still ask each night if I would like to play a game, you still continue to make me laugh and your sweet smile hugs my heart every time I see it.  Last month I wrote that I was worried if I had taught you enough…could you make your way through this world?  I will always worry about you but I do believe that I have taught you well and it is such a special time for me to sit back and watch you be you.

Love, Mom xo

Please follow the circle around to my dear friend,  Katrina , to see images of her son and read her thoughtful words for him.

 

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  • July 5, 2013 - 9:07 am

    Letters to our Sons July » Kristen Ryan Photography - […] Continue on with the circle with the inspiring photography of my wonderful friend, Lisa Benemelis. […]ReplyCancel

  • July 5, 2013 - 2:11 pm

    Kristen - Reading your words and seeing your images, Lisa…makes me think into the future about the young men my 3 boys will turn into. It gives me hope for what my relationship with them will be like. It is clear through your words what an amazing mom you have been, and are to them, and I hope that I will be the same for my boys. Always inspiring images 🙂 Hope your vacation has been all you hoped for and more!ReplyCancel

  • July 6, 2013 - 12:55 am

    Katrina - Lisa, you brought tears to my eyes — beautiful post! I love to read about the precious relationship you have with your boys and the wonderful young men they are. <3 Matthew sounds like a fantastic guy, and I'm so glad you guys have this trip together as a family this summer!

    We're a boardgame family, so if you ever find yourselves in the Pittsburgh area, we'll have to get together for a game. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • July 8, 2013 - 12:08 am

    kara - i have no doubt that you and your boys will always have a special relationship and will always love to laugh and play games. you are a special family. and matthew is so darn handsome. beautiful portrait!ReplyCancel

  • July 8, 2013 - 2:26 pm

    Allison - Reading your letters is truly like taking a glimpse into the future with my own son. You are such a special person and friend, and I have no doubt that you are an amazing mom to all of your children. I can only hope to be half as good of a mom to my children. I hope you are having a wonderful trip of a lifetime with your family!ReplyCancel

  • July 9, 2013 - 2:40 pm

    Laura - What a beautiful letter, Lisa, and as usual a beautiful portrait. Hope you enjoy your time with them this summer. It is so nice to see that you have such a great relationship at this stage in their life…it gives me hope!ReplyCancel

 

I am excited about a personal project, “letters to our sons”, that i will be sharing with you.   it is a true honor to be doing this with some  seriously talented women i’ve met through Clickin Moms.  We will be writing personal letters to our sons as well as sharing pictures and linking to another participant so that you will be able to read and view our work in a full circle.  I’m excited to have a place to journal to my sons and share our story with you.  be sure to follow the circle around and enjoy all the amazing letters!!!

 

Dear Matthew and Darren…a letter to both of you on your graduation day.

It’s not an easy task knowing where to begin.  I’ve been thinking a lot about this and how much I love you….so much more than I could possibly put into words.  I’m going to give this a try and I can’t promise you it won’t get a little sappy, but you already know that about me. 😉

 

 

Today was the last day of high school for you two and I am beginning to see that my time of teaching you and influencing you is about done.  You graduate tonight and it is now your time to stand strong and forge your own place in this world.  It’s an exciting time for you two and one that I feel we have been preparing for since your arrival – since you took your first steps – read your first book on your own – and drove yourself to school.  I know it hasn’t always been easy and I know that I haven’t always let you walk on your own because it was much easier to love you and carry you…even when I knew you should do it yourself.

 

 

With graduation approaching, I can’t help but to wonder if I have taught you everything you need to know.  There is so much to this world and so much to learn.  As you begin the next chapter, I hope I’ve instilled in you these important lessons – always be kind, ethical, happy, and make everything you touch better.

 

You two have each other and  sometimes I’m sad that I won’t always be there to make things better but knowing that you guys share this incredible unconditional love that you were born with makes me confident that you will always be okay. You are strong beautiful men and this is your time.

 

 

Enjoy this journey.  I’m so excited for your dreams to come true…which you have known since you were in first grade!  I am so very proud of you both.

 

Love you always always,

 

Mom xo

 

Please continue to move through this circle of amazing women, also posting Letters to their own Sons, starting with the beautiful work of Sherri Davis.

 

 

 

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  • June 7, 2013 - 11:00 am

    letters to our sons | June » myeverydayblessings - […] to them each month. Please take some time to go through the circle starting with my talented friend Lisa and her handsome sons who are graduating this […]ReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 12:55 pm

    Kristen - Such a touching letter, Lisa. I can feel all your emotion in it 😉 And those images of your boys are truly stunning!ReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 3:20 pm

    Mike - beautiful – tears running down my faceReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 3:54 pm

    Katrina - Okay, I’m holding back the tears here, Lisa. What a tender and loving letter to your guys. What I’ve seen and heard of them tells me that you have prepared them well for the next big adventure and that they will do well. But these moments, these transitions…they can be hard on a mama’s heart. Hugs to you, friend. I love the images, and love even more the glimpse of your heart for these young men!ReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 4:57 pm

    Allison - Lisa, I’m sitting here in a pool of my own tears so I can only imagine how you are feeling today. Such a touching and heartfelt letter to the boys on this very important day in their lives. As the mom of a boy whose life’s journey has just begun, I cant’ help but think about what the future holds for him. Your letter reminds me once again how quickly time goes by. One minute you are bringing them home from the hospital the next you are watching them receive a diploma. Thinking of you today as your boys mark this milestone! xoxoReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 5:19 pm

    Dana - Lisa, this was so beautiful and touching; I cannot imagine what this milestone will feel like, but I have no doubt you have prepared your boys feel for the journey that lies ahead. I adore the pictures, especially the silhouette…. it’s as if they are looking ahead to their future…. so, so beautiful!ReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 5:37 pm

    Heidi G - This is perfect. *sniff* Congratulations to your boys and congratulations to you momma. So many blessings! xoReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 6:17 pm

    Megan Cieloha - Oh, Lisa… you and your amazing family inspire and encourage so many. Your words are incredibly heartfelt and the imagery is perfect. A beautiful set of captures of your guys as they are right now. Congratulations Matt and Darren!!ReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 6:46 pm

    Sara - Katrina’s doing better than I am; I can’t hold back the tears. Lisa, I’ve felt for a little while now that your relationship with your boys is (if I’m lucky) sort of a glimpse into my own future, so even as I’m yelling, “you can’t go outside naked!” to my three year old in the backyard, I got chills as I read you tell your boys that your “time of teaching you and influencing you is about done”; I know this time will go way too fast. Your loving and nurturing spirit is so apparent in everything from the way you write to the way you shoot. Congratulations to your handsome boys, well done to you, and thanks for being such an inspiration as a mother and photographer. <3ReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 8:55 pm

    Laura - Oh, Lisa, you must be so proud of them. Something tells me you have prepared them well for this day. It’s always nice to see your photos of them, but your letter is just as inspiring! Congrats to your sons!ReplyCancel

  • June 7, 2013 - 11:37 pm

    kara - oh lisa, i can imagine that this is a bittersweet day. i know that it will be here for me before i’m ready. from what i know about you, i suspect that you have prepared them well. i love that you want them to leave what they touch better. that is my wish for my children as well. and your images. . . gah. you capture them so beautifully. congratulations to matt and darren!ReplyCancel

  • June 8, 2013 - 2:02 am

    Sherri - Just beautifulReplyCancel

  • June 8, 2013 - 10:08 pm

    Corinne Tristram - Lisa- This is beautiful! Such wonderful words to describe perfectly a monumentos event! As always, your images are stunning.ReplyCancel

It’s time for another installment of “the way I view” with my lovely Clickin Moms friends. This month’s theme was on the way I view My Town.  European-American settlement started in the early 1850s as fortune hunters sluiced for gold in Secret Ravine, an area of oaks and dredger tailings that can be found today throughout the area.  Rocklin has certainly grown up and we have major retailers, wonderful restaurants and abundant activities to keep busy, but what I love most about our community is its quiet beauty.  Just beyond the hustle and bustle of our modern world we can find a little simplicity and perhaps a remembrance of yesteryear.

 

thank you for looking.  Now, please follow the circle to see where my very talented friend, Katrina Baker, lives.

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  • May 29, 2013 - 1:07 pm

    how i view… my island » Dani Vest - […] continue through the blog circle and visit my talented friend, Lisa Benemelis, and she how she views her […]ReplyCancel

  • May 29, 2013 - 7:01 pm

    Tracy - Lisa, what a striking set of images. I would pick a favorite (the orange tree) and then look again and find another favorite (three trees at sunset) and then look again. Really, I stayed with your images for quite a while. You live in a lovely town.ReplyCancel

  • May 29, 2013 - 11:38 pm

    Katrina - Oh Lisa, this collection is really fantastic. I love the variety of images you’ve shown us, and the bit of history, so we can really get a feel for where you live. It looks like a lovely place to live and raise a family!ReplyCancel

  • May 31, 2013 - 12:17 am

    Allison - Lisa, your town looks like such a lovely place to live. Your images have that small town America feel that I hope to return to someday. I love taking a peek into the place you call home. <3ReplyCancel

  • June 3, 2013 - 11:36 pm

    Dani - Beautiful rendition of your town Lisa! This is exactly how I picture CA in my mind and you captured it perfectly. <3ReplyCancel

  • June 6, 2013 - 1:14 pm

    Kristen - Beautiful and creative images Lisa! I love seeing what you chose to photograph and how you chose to frame your images. You really brought out the beauty of where you live in these images and it would make anyone want to move right in 🙂ReplyCancel

  • June 8, 2013 - 4:19 pm

    kara - this is a beautiful collection of images, lisa! i love the small town feel and the gorgeous landscapes. the citrus tree is so different from what we would see here. love it.ReplyCancel

  • July 5, 2013 - 7:28 pm

    Danielle - I love these Lisa. So true and so beautiful. I love Rocklin as well. We are hoping to buy there next year! 😉ReplyCancel

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