Happy Halloween! My daughter Kate just turned 16 last week. When she was just a week old, we dressed her up and took her trick-or-treating with everyone else so I think it's kind of in her blood - ooooh, scary! Tonite she is haunting the city as . . . a vampire! I hope she gets some good candy! Bring home the tootsie rolls, Peanut!  Well, does she scare you?  Be careful . . . she BITES!

My first flying lesson. I sat in the cockpit barely able to see the runway past the dizzying panel of instruments before me. Air speed, altimeter, attitude, aileron, flaps, rudder, fuel flow, trim...crosswinds, crabbing, thermals. So much to remember. I had weaved down the taxiway like a drunken snake, steering the Skyhawk with my feet. The radio chatter was gibberish. I turned to my instructor. "You have full control here, right?" His smile was reassuring. He'd done this a million times. We set off down the runway picking up speed and in one weightless, breathtaking moment we lifted into the wild blue. There is no room for fear when your wings are spread wide riding the invisible currents.

The sun skipped across the October skies. The tilted morning light scattered diamonds across the mirror of lake. Braided ropes of golden sand twisted through the river that cradles the city....a silent totem rising from the vast prairie.

I took my turn in the back, camera in hand, snapping away as our plane cast its shadow across the abstract land, boundaries blurred. My spirits soared with the wind as we banked towards the edge of the sky.   ~sophia

Corn dogs, carousels, candied apples and dunk tanks.....swirls of color, waves of light...blinking/flashing/racing/running, chasing the wind through tunnels of sound...throbbing/ thumping/screeching/blaring...colliding in the greasy air...rancid/ripe/sweet/sultry...

This is what I saw through my grandbabies' big, hungry eyes. An undulating mystery of color/sound/light/smell.....both frightening and fascinating, scary and scintillating. The best thing about babies is rediscovering the world.   ~sophia

On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on our country changed our lives. What happened on 9/11 in New York City was horrific. But what happened on 9/12 was nothing short of a miracle and a testament to the strength and courage of Americans from across this great nation. The outpouring of help by Americans to Americans did not go unnoticed. A small New York child, just 5 years old,  upon seeing wild fires burning in California, said he wanted to help them like others had helped New York after 9/11. His father listened, loaded a truck with toys and things and drove it to California.    New York Says Thank You, a pay it forward organization, was born.

Each year on the weekend before the anniversary of 9/11, a group of FDNY first responders, their families and friends, and countless other volunteers from across this nation come together to help communities struck by tragedy. Those they've helped, in turn, help the next year, and the next, and so on.

Jeff Parness, the founder of the New York Says Thank You organization, and father of that soulful little 5 year old, recruited Sophia and I a couple of years ago. Once there, we were hooked. We look forward to it even though it is the hardest assignment we have each year. Up at dawn, we shoot all day, play a little and fall into bed. Repeat...for four days straight. We wouldn't miss it for the world. It is a renewing and revitalizing experience which feeds our souls and our hearts each year. It gives us respite from our regular schedules and gears us up for the rest of the year. We know that anything else we will shoot will be a piece of cake. We just got back from this year's trip to Mena, Arkansas, which was struck by a devastating tornado last April. NYSTY rebuilt three homes, a community center and made repairs around town with several smaller projects.

When the twin towers came down an American flag hung nearby. It was scorched, smoke damaged, torn and tattered by the collapse of the World Trade Center. Seven years later, the flag was stitched back together by tornado survivors in Greensburg, Kansas. The National 9/11 Flag is a living testament to the resilience and compassion of the American people. The flag now tours the country. (Find out more here.) Last week, Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe put a stitch in the flag, as did many other Arkansas first responders and veterans and citizens. Sophia and I have put our stitches in it. Why don't you?

I love this image Sophia took last weekend. Here's a preview SLIDESHOW of some of the patriotic moments in Mena last weekend.

Thank you America for the opportunity to serve. Remember, it's not about what happened on 9/11, it's about what happened on 9/12. From one day of terror, ten years of kindness.

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In the early days of my business I spent a lot of time building my portrait work. This little one was my main subject since I got to have it all to myself 2 or 3 days a week while her mama went back to work for a few days. And guess what we did? We "played" in Nana's studio! She was so teeny and we had so much fun! I just never got enough of her!