Promise of More To Come

Kali and I did an awesome, impromptu photo shoot this afternoon. I only have time to post two shots for now. We are literally on our way out the door to see an early showing of Mummy 3 :) and don't want to be late. I will post more of these tomorrow.

Whitey's Fish Camp Showcases God's Creation

Inside the restaurant looking out at the canal.

My son Jason - looking out over the canal behind Whitey's Fish Camp.

I love the reflection in the water.

Mark checking out the boats :)

I like taking photos of signs :)

Thursday we went to Whitey's Fish Camp to eat supper. They have an awesome salad bar that really fills you up. And, on Thursdays their special is the soup and salad. The crab bisque is wonderful. That's what Mark and I ate - crab bisque and salad bar. While we ate, several families came and went in their boats, eating dinner at Whitey's. After we ate, we walked out on the pier...Mark checking on the boats and the prices on the gas pumps, Jason just taking in the outdoors, and me shooting pictures - lol. That's gotten to be what I do. I found the reflections on the water interesting - I always do. And, I've gotten this thing for taking pictures of signs lately. I've never seen a manatee at Whitey's but I'd sure like to. It was a good way to spend a Thursday afternoon - enjoying the water, the cattails along the edge of the canal, the fish jumping in the water, and the family time together. Kali was away at 4-H State Congress, she doesn't like Whitey's though, so I am sure she wouldn't be sorry to miss this particular outing.

Tiny Little Wonders of God

Yes, I know I post some unusual pictures. And, yes, I have a thing for macro. Yesterday, my son and I were getting into the car to head to Orange Park (to see Mamma Mia again) and I noticed this little fellow on my arm. I told my son to grab the camera and take a picture of it. Half-kidding, but Jason got the camera, set it on macro and took a couple really cloudy shots. We realized the lens had fogged up coming from the house into the hot car, so we got out and walked around to the back of the car. This little guy never even moved or tried to get away :) Jason was able to get these two really good shots. The grasshopper was literally probably less than 1/4" long. He was really small. I am amazed that God can make something so little, that is so sturdy, can jump so far, is so resilient, and is so cute :) And, I really think in the second picture it looks like the little guy is looking over his shoulder at Jason - posing for a good shot :)

A Brand New Day

Bits of a song keep running through my mind. The only words I can grasp are " it's a brand new day." I can hear the people on the radio singing it, but I can't get past that segment of the song. Anyway, that's what I think of when I look at this grouping of photos.

I've shot photos of ferns before, but always from the topside looking down. (And usually there are raindrops involved :).) A couple days ago I wondered what they look like from the underside, looking up towards the sky. Did you know the individual pieces of the fern are outlined in white on the underside? And, if one frond lays on top of another you can actually see its shadow showing through? I posted my best ones here. For most of my pictures, if you click on them a full-screen version will open. You can really see the ferns better that way :).

I have a three photo series of the white flower, but I am only posting one here. I took three shots of the white flower hoping to get one good photo. When I looked at them on the computer I found the most amazing thing! The first shot showed an ant crawling towards the middle of the photo. The second shot showed that the ant had crawled down into the middle of the flower and only its rear end and legs were sticking out. Then, the third photo (this one) showed the ant crawling away, towards the outer edges of the photo. I caught these completely unaware. I have started wearing my reading glasses now when I take photos, so I can actually see my screen better :)

Then the last shot is an old one from Walt Disney World. I took it with a much older camera. The quality could be better, but I really loved the colors and the way the left is all darker, and the bee shows up nicely as well.

Remember, it's a brand new day that God has given you. Do something really special and amazing for Him today. He's worth your effort...He gave His all for you.

Flower Field Photos From Some Time Ago

We did another photo shoot with Pam not long ago. This time we went to visit a huge field with literally hundreds and hundreds of these beautiful yellow flowers blooming. I am not a green-thumber and I couldn't begin to tell you what kind of flowers these are. What I can tell you is that Kali and I are allergic to them :0. By time we got home from this shoot we were both sneezing and congested. It was worth it though. I know Pam's photos will be spectacular. Here are five shots that I took, strictly trying to stay out of Pam's way. My favorite is the second one - the one where Kali is sneezing into the flowers :) Yep, we are allergic :).

Athena

We love kittens at our house. Seems we always have one or two of them around (or more). When she was old enough to leave her mom, this beautiful little girl went to live with Jenny. Now, Jenny has an interesting household of animals. Seems they mostly are named after the gods and goddesses. For starters, she has a Leonitis and a Xerxes. (And, I probably spelled both of those wrong.) Anyway, Jenny named this little girl Athena - and the name really seems to fit her. I understand she pretty much has run of the house. I bet she has Jenny wrapped around her little paw :)

Cowgirl Up

Several months ago, our good friend Pam took Kali and I out for a fun photo shoot. It was the first time either of us had ever done anything like it and we had a great time. While Pam shot pictures of Kali, I took pictures of Pam working. Most of the photos had both Pam and Kali in them, but I did manage to get a few of Kali by herself as Pam had her posed. For some reason, I never edited any of those. Today, while I was going through old photo CDs, I came across these shots. I thought these four were the best ones I took of Kali that day, so I edited them and here they are. This was probably three cameras ago for me. I wish I'd had my current camera back then :). Maybe Pam will let us tag along on another shoot soon :).

Buggy Time

I walked out to the edge of our yard this morning - the part that's up on the highway. All these flowers have just popped up in the last few days. I love taking shots of the little puff balls that you can blow on - the first shot. They are fun to shoot because they turn out looking so cool. Bees and spiders seemed to be the "bugs of the day". I edited the color out of the next to last shot because I liked this better :). Can you see the bug at the top of the flower? I like taking pictures of flowers, can you tell?

They Are Heroes

Recently we spent time with these friends celebrating the young man's birthday. They are a great family - they have a loving, devoted mom, and their dad is a hero in my eyes. He fought in the middle east war and currently goes back and forth to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor. If I remember right he does repairs and maintenance on the military aircraft. It seems to me he spends most of the year in Afghanistan, and part of the year here with his family. He is gone for months at a time. The dishes for the birthday party were red, white and blue, stars and stripes. This is one patriotic family. Thanks to your whole family - for the sacrifices you make to keep us safe. I know it isn't easy being left behind here while your dad and husband travels half way around the world. Thank you for being willing to make that sacrifice for me and my family. We love you - each of you :)

It's a Stick Bug

My dad used to call this insect a Walking Stick. I've also heard it called a Stick Bug. Wasn't there even one in Bug's Life? Anyway, I saw this one on a fence post this morning and wondered if I could get a picture that you could see. He was so thin, I didn't know if my camera would capture him. He didn't like the clicking noise of my camera. Everytime I snapped a shot, he moved around the post away from me. When I came inside for the last time tonight, he was still on the post - keeping watch.

Student Leadership University, Washington D.C., 2008

A group of eight students and two chaperones from our church recently traveled to Washington D.C. where they attended Student Leadership University 201 with approximately 500 other students from around the United States of America and the country of Jordan. Our students spent six days learning about the history of our country, learning about the spiritual leaders that founded our country, visiting monuments, and learning how to be Godly leaders themselves. Here you see the two young ladies from our group standing in front of the White House.

Here are the eight students from our church - all wonderful, Godly young men and women. They had a lot of fun on the trip. They learned a lot of things about our country - some of them things they had never heard before, including specifics about the Christians that built our government from the ground up. Here they are standing in front of the Washington Monument.

I thought this was a really clever idea :) Thought I would share it here. This is my daughter's hand and her photo. In the background is the Washington Monument :)

Here you see the triumphant men at Iwo Jima, staking our flag for all to see. This reminds me of my dad who passed away a couple years ago. This was his favorite picture from the war. Whenever we talked about the wars he fought in, he would always tell me the story behind this picture. I can still hear it :) miss you, Daddy.

This is a nice closeup of John Bradley. I like the facial expression.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetary.

The Changing of the Guard ceremony in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This is probably my favorite picture that Kali brought home from her trip. She and her friend are on the backside of the Capital Building. I love the fountain and the potted plants along the upper rail.

Kali's friend - the other young lady in the above shot - took these next three photos. I thought they would be a perfect addition to this post. They were taken during a boring bus ride back to the motel :) after they attended a Congressional Dinner.

Their pose? The thinkers :)

Surprised!!!!!

And, bored . . . . . . you guys crack me up !

God's Beautiful Sunset

As we drove home tonight, we noticed lots of heavy clouds swiftly moving across the sky. I was rushing to get home and get to my camera. By the time I got to where I was able to shoot some photos, the sun was already setting. These shots were taken from our front yard at about 8:00 PM tonight.

God Bless the Rain

God has blessed us with much rain lately. I am so grateful for it because we live in a fire zone. The rains keep coming and coming and coming. My son went outside during a dry moment and pointed out this little fellow to me. This tiny little frog was perched on a tarp covering my son's punching bag. The frog kept hopping away from me, but I was able to get this one good shot. He kept croaking happily - I think he loved the rain :)

Finally

I've been watching this guy outside my den window for a couple weeks. Everytime I see him, I grab my camera and run outside. Today is the first day I've been able to get any photos - isn't he beautiful? As I turned to go back to the house I startled a blue jay, who promptly flew away. I guess I'll start watching for him to return now :)

These small flowers are growing at the end of our driveway. The blooms are maybe 1/2 inch across. We have them popping up along the end of the yard. I wish they would grow all over the yard, then Mark wouldn't have to mow the grass :)