Daffodils and Butterflies

I noticed these flowers growing in a ditch near our house today.

Kali's First Photo Shoot

Kali and I headed downtown this afternoon to check out an area for a possible future photo shoot. I told Kali I needed a new profile shot for facebook, so she took the camera and did her first photo shoot :). I think she did a great job! and it was a lot of fun!

Can You Guess What Time of Year It Is?

Yep, it's hunting season...again. Can anyone relate? Mark has already spent two weeks in South Carolina - they start almost a month earlier there. I have camo/hunting clothes all over the bathroom, the laundry room, the living room, the bedroom, and in the dining room. Special detergent to wash said clothes in. Special ways to dry them. Special body soap so the deer can't smell you. Special liquids (they shall be un-named) so the deer can smell you. Special weapons for different parts of the season. Special scopes, special ammo, special arrows, special tips, special targets. Wow! I thought scrapbooking was expensive!

One Last Tribute to Dan the Animal Man

I found this photo on the internet - googling, of course :). When Dan Breeding was at our church this week showing us the various animals he cares for as part of Creatures of Creation, I didn't realize what an accomplishment it was that he was actually at our church. Dan has been on every television talk show imaginable. He has shown these animals he loves so much to many different celebrities including: Whoopie Goldberg, Kelly Ripa, Jack Hannah, Greta VanSusteren, Jim Carrey, Jay Leno, the cast of Narnia, and even Sponge Bob (yeah, you know he's real.)

Here he is talking with President George W. Bush, on the day of the White House Easter Egg Roll where Dan and his animals were part of the celebrations. When things were over, he realized his vehicle was blocked in and he couldn't leave. As he watched the Secret Service guys on the White House lawn, he noticed President Bush step from the mansion, out onto the lawn. Dan immediately grabbed Leeza from his car and approached the president. He was stopped by the agents, then he heard the president ask, "Sir, is that a monkey you have there?" That was Dan's foot in the door to meeting the president. There is a whole series of photos - including a couple of Leeza chewing on President Bush's speech he intended to use the next day. There are shots of Dan posing with the secret service agents and Auggie the 7 foot alligator we saw. So, not only is Dan a semi-celebrity, but so are his animals. Who would have thought? You can check out this slide-show of Dan on Patti's page at 37 Blessings.

Just Another Night At Trinity Baptist Church

No, you are not seeing wrong. The above photo was taken inside our sanctuary at church just last night. This was on the platform where the pastor's podium usually stands, I might add.

Last night, Creatures of Creation came to Trinity Baptist in the form of Dan, the Animal Man. The above photo is what it looked like as we waited for Dan to start: wall-to-wall children, teenagers, and adults, all waiting to see what Dan might have in store for us.

First up was Prickles. She is an African Crested Porcupine. She was a lot bigger than I thought porcupines were supposed to be. I was totally surprised, and, she was CUTE! She loved Dan and kept trying to stick her nose in his pockets. I am guessing he keeps fruit and treats there.

This is Eugene - Eurasian Eagle Owl. Eugene was beautiful. Yes, his eyes were really this color. He can turn his head 240 degrees. Awesome. In the shot below, you can see a bit of his wing-span. I was listening to Dan talk and almost missed this shot.

Next, we met Leeza. She is a white-handed gibbons, so named for the obvious reason. She was a little pranker. As Dan walked her down one aisle, Leeza grabbed a sandal from our pastor's daughter. You can very clearly see Leeza here chewing on the shoe. Then, she threw the sandal on floor and snagged a kiwi off the table. Leeza took a bite from the kiwi, then threw it on the floor also. We figured our custodians were probably having strokes about the animals just being in the building, let alone throwing their food on the floor :).

This is what it looks like when you're watching the screen of your camera, and through that screen, all of a sudden you realize there is a man coming at you, holding a 7 foot alligator, they are about 4 feet away from you, and your feet and legs are sticking out into the aisle they're quickly walking down.

Dan brought this alligator, His name was Auggie, up on the stage and tossed him onto a 6 foot table. His mouth was clearly not taped at this point.

Dan gave us the fine points of alligator wisdom, including an explanation of a valve in the back of its throat that allows him to float up on fish, then snap its jaws down, catching said fish. Then, Dan proceeded to show us this valve.

It was just what I needed to see - up close and personal - don't you think? Whoa! The program was excellent. Dan talked about creation being designed by God and how it is all according to God's plan - for our world - and for us.


And, this is my friend Whitney! She is taking a shot of me, taking a photo of her :). She is going to be posting photos of Dan the Animal Man on her blog. You can check her out at Proverbs 31:30.

See YOU At the Pole

All across the nation today, students are meeting at their local flag poles to pray for our schools, for our leaders, and for our country. This morning, Kali and I headed up to the local high school for See You at the Pole. Let me tell you, it's been a long time since I was awake before the sun. When we got there, students were already arriving. Christian students, who are leaders in this school, led worship and prayer and praise for about 20 minutes. There were over 150 students that came to pray for their fellow students, teachers, government officials, police and fire fighters, the president, and our country. It was an awesome, amazing thing to witness. Only in America! As a side note, the flag that we flew came from the gentleman in the first photo. He brought it home with him when he returned from a year-long tour of duty in Iraq, just for this purpose. God bless you, Charlie! And, may God continue to bless our great country and our leaders.

Broken Wing

This moth was outside my house this morning at 6 AM. Kali and I went to See You At the Pole, at our high school, and when we got home it was still there. I went out a little while ago to bring in one of the dogs and, 7 hours later, the moth is still there. Isn't it beautiful? I wish its lower, right wing wasn't broken. I wonder if it's enough to make any difference when it flies? Kind of like when I have an unconfessed sin in my life, how I don't fly like I should. At least, when I confess and God forgives me, it makes things all right and I am again complete. Makes me feel sad for the moth. Or, I could just enjoy the beauty of this guy. When the wings are opened it is about 8 inches wide. Wow!

You Want to do What??? By Choice???

During the summer, my dear friend Sharon comes to me and says she has signed her daughter up for a 4-day speech and debate conference. She wanted to know if Kali might want to go also. Being the organized, on-task homeschool mom that I am, I immediately knew I could count this towards a high school credit and said, sure, Kali would love to go. I immediately signed her up. I didn't know that Kali would actually want to do this, so I didn't tell her about it until maybe two days before it began. I was wrong to be concerned, though. Kali came home so pumped up about Communicators For Christ, that she hardly seems the same person. She spends almost every waking minute that we aren't doing devotions, Algebra, or English, working on speech and debate homework, going over ideas for interpretive speeches, impromptu ideas. We have joined a CFC chapter about an hour from here and are making the trip twice a month to meet with them and learn new things. Kali has already signed up for another conference in November and we are already shopping for new clothes :), an added plus - getting to see my daughter excited about girly clothes - lol. Here is a shot of her debate group. There is a serious photo also, but I think this one is my favorite :) I love the guys on the back row.

We were walking through Wal-Mart the other day, when a sudden idea of an excellent interpretive presentation came to mind. Kali immediately goes into character and acts out a section of what could be a new interp for her. Then she turns to her right and notices that an entire family had stopped dead in their tracks to watch her. She spits out the words "oh, look! a family!" and dashes off into the grocery section, leaving Mark and I behind, laughing ourselves silly. Gotta love it!

Flowers or People?

I like taking a good picture of a flower. I enjoy looking for them as I ride or walk around. I like thinking about where likely spots are for the flowers to be blooming. I find it relaxing, peaceful, and somewhat therapeutic. On the other hand, I also enjoy doing a "photo shoot" with the girls :). It's challenging, fun, exciting, and requires a lot more thought. So, do I prefer flowers or people? Well, let's see. Flowers don't poke their lip out when you mention shooting some pictures. They don't roll their eyes as if you are totally blind and don't see this. Flowers don't have bad hair days, scheduling conflicts, or homework to contend with. On the other hand, flowers don't ooh and ahh when they look at the photos you shot. They don't smile and say, "I never thought I was beautiful before." Flowers don't reward us with hugs and kisses. Hummm... flowers or people? I'd choose people everytime :).

Some Day My Prince Will Come - OR - You've Got To Kiss a Lot of Toads :)

We had a great time yesterday, running from place to place taking pictures. The weather was overcast and it never got too hot, so it was perfect :). She is a beautiful young lady which really makes it so easy to get good photos. I love the first shot of her kissing the frog. This was in her grandmother's beautiful flower garden in front of her house. What a great idea! Her idea, not mine, her own special twist to these photos. I can't wait till we go out again. I already have some new locations in mind.