One Last Thing Today

These are some photos I took at a birthday party yesterday. Our friends have a beautiful yard with gorgeous landscaping. While the kids played games outdoors, I shot these photos. I've had my camera maybe a month now and I think I am understanding how it works a little better each time I use it. Time to get my manual out and see what else I can do with it :)

A Practice Photo Shoot

This afternoon, Kali and I did a practice photo shoot in our front yard. In a few days I am going to shoot senior pictures for a home school friend of ours and I figured I needed some practice before I actually went to do that. The first one is my favorite from the group I shot. There is a lot of shade in our yard, which helped with the photos. Out of the 40 or so shots I took, I believe these were some of the best ones. I know I have a lot to learn; I just had fun trying.

Geneva Jungle

Yesterday, my daughter and I took our cameras and headed to the local city park, which happens to be on a lake. We had fun shooting from various angles and vantage points. Neither one of us really know what we are doing, but are having fun trying out various viewpoints. I shot about 50 pictures. These are my favorites. Hopefully you can tell what they represent. I especially like the different trees. The view was incredible...but it was so hot! When we left, we went straight to McDonald's for ice cream and milk shakes :)

My Mom

This is my mom and my daughter. My mom currently lives in an assisted living facility. She has her own room and she has really turned it into a "home". When she moved in, we brought her own furniture from her house and many of the things she loved, so she would feel like this room was truly her "new home". She has filled it with dolls, crocheted pieces, and knick knacks that she loves. She likes to sit the doll on her walker and stroll through the facility, sharing her doll with the many friends she has made there. Quite a few of them are doll collectors like she is :) . The flower plaque hangs on the wall in her hallway. It is something that I really like there. I think it's beautiful.

A Few Photos

The top photo is of a strange caterpillar Jason found on our porch. I thought he was cool looking. He didn't like me though, so he rolled up into a ball. The second picture is of another one I found at a different time. I found the wing on Mark's fish-cleaning table. And, the last picture is one of our kittens - all ready for a new home ... somewhere else :)

A Rainy Afternoon

It rained today. It has been so dry and we really needed the rain. We live in the fire range and two of the last three years we had to evacuate because of the fires. So, when we need rain - we need rain. Thankfully, God has blessed us several days in the past week with an afternoon rain. Today I went out and took the pictures above. Of course, I took about 20 in order to get the 3 you see here :) My learning seems to be a slow process, but I am steadily working on it.

Lastly for today, this is a picture that Pam took with my camera - part of her birthday flowers :) . I edited the photo of the entire bouquet into these two photos. Happy birthday, Pam!

Go Tell - Toccoa Falls, Georgia

For the past week, many of the students at our church have been away for Go Tell Camp at Toccoa Falls, Georgia. They just got home last night and my daughter showed me the photographs she took. I have posted my favorite ones here. There were a lot of decisions made at camp. The first photo is of our youth pastor, sitting by the beautiful lake doing his morning devotions. The best way to start any day. The next photo is of my daughter with Rev./Dr. Jimmy Scroggins. We met him at Boyce College when we went for a family preview weekend. When he saw Kali at Go Tell, he called her out by name - recognizing her from Boyce. We really, really like him :) Then there are a couple more photos of the lake and some beautiful flowers there - I believe they are hydrangeas. And, the last is a "mom" photo - because I always take pictures of what we had to eat - random, I know, and probably crazy, oh well...

A Few Random Shots

I went out of town for the day to visit my mother who lives in an assisted living complex. As we were walking around inside her building, we noticed this dove sitting on one of the bird feeders, looking for a way to get to the bird seed. The first picture I shot through the window. Then I got brave and opened the door a few inches. The dove didn't fly away, so I shot the second photo. Then as we continued walking through the building, we came across Tobey, the bird in the cage. Tobey belongs to one of the nurses. He comes to work with her each day and enjoys the residents, then goes home with the nurse each night. He really is a bright spot for many of the residents there. There is always someone talking to Tobey. Today he tried to eat my camera as I snapped pictures of him :)

25th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday was our 25th wedding anniversary. (Yes, I know we don't look anything like the two people in the above picture, but I promise - it is Mark and me.) It doesn't seem like it's been that long since we got married in my parent's living room with just family members present. My best friend Marcia was my maid of honor and Mark's best friend John was the best man. My nephews lit the candles and my dad walked me down the hallway, into the living room. Very simple, and personal, just like I wanted. My sister made the wedding cake. It was beautiful. I remember the boys running around to all the grocery stores buying up the kind of frosting Judy wanted for the cake. She also made these little mint-type things with the frosting. Mark's dad tape recorded the ceremony. I think I still have the tape around here somewhere. Then we had a reception and a lot of friends from church showed up to wish us well. I remember we went skiing the day before and I was basically sunburnt to a crisp. In many of the photographs you can actually see burnt skin. Not good. And for some reason I bought these shoes I saw in a magazine and they had like 4" heels on them. My feet were killing me. I did the whole reception bare-footed :) Mark just went along with everything and was great about it.
Well, in those 25 years, we have moved once into the house we live in now. We have gone through 4 pregnancies and delivered two healthy babies, which are Jason and Kali. We have both retired from our law enforcement jobs and are enjoying our children while they still live with us. Family, church, homeschool and 4-H keeps our lives filled with lots of activities. Our love as a couple, and as a family, has continued to grow each year. As long as we remember to keep God at the center of our lives and the leader of our decisions, everything works well. Mark signed one of my anniversary cards "thanks for the first 25 years!" Here's praying God grants us at least 25 more.

Lincoln Brewster sings "Majestic"

Flittering Butterflies

Yesterday, I was on the deck in our backyard watching the new kitten when I noticed two butterflies flittering all around, chasing each other in a crazy looking mating-dance kind of thing. Do butterflies do that? I have no idea. I grabbed my camera and started taking shots. Most of them were too blurred due to the quickness of the butterflies - I've never seen them move that fast before. I was able to get these two decent shots. They were a lot of fun to watch. The neighbors probably think I'm nuts - standing at the edge of the yard taking shot after shot of something they can't even see from their house :)

The House That Time Forgot

Yesterday, I rode with my son to a neighborhood not far from our house to visit a kitten we had given away. Afterwards, I walked out behind their home and found this dilapidated old house, about to fall down. I saw the trees and bushes that had grown up all around it and, quite frankly, looked like they were actually holding up the structure. I started zooming in with my lens, taking shots, and I noticed a black cat sitting on part of the house. He wasn't in the first pictures I took, so I think he must have heard us and came out to see what was going on. He was a bit wary of us, but didn't leave so I took several shots of him. I was able to get one good closeup of him before he turned and slowly climbed back inside the house. Not far from the house we found a deserted old lamp post laying in the leaves and dirt. It must have been there for sometime, as there were vines already growing up over it. In a separate part of the yard, I found the pretty purple flowers. I have no idea what they are - but thought they were really pretty. The flower itself was about the size of a nickle. (Mrs. Marjena tells me these are called Moses in the Cradle - pretty fitting name, I think.) Then, near the driveway, I found the pink flower - again, no idea what it is. I took several pictures and got this one decent one. We had a good trip, good conversation, I got to visit the sweet little kitten, and got to take some awesome photos...what more could I ask for?