The Leaves of Fall

A couple weeks ago, I was in Powder Springs, Georgia, for a Communicators For Christ conference - the last one for this year's touring group of interns. This is the church where the conference was held. Sorry, but at this point I don't remember the name of the church.

These gorgeous trees were in their back parking lot.

I loved the colors and I've never been in a location where I could take pictures of the fall leaves. So, I was happy!

I loved the clear blue sky. Such a beautiful backdrop.


Such beautiful handiwork of God, the creator of the universe.

Thanksgiving, 2010, Have a Blessed Day!

Gotta love John and Garfield! Hahaha!

So. We got the kitchen painted this week and Kali and I are working on emptying out the stuff we never use (which would be pretty much everything but the refrigerator and the microwave) and decorating and stocking. This will include my new set of red pots! Can't wait!!

However, for those of you who know me - you are probably wondering what I need new pots for. I don't cook - much. I can make spaghetti and chili. That about sums up my domesticity in the kitchen - haha!

So I really laughed this morning when I opened my email and read my Garfield comic for the day. What a perfect post for my blog today! It really sums up how I feel in the kitchen!

Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your family! I pray God will richly bless you this coming year and that you will remember to be thankful, because that's what it's all about. Giving thanks to the one true Creator, Savior, and giver of life.

i ♥ faces Paper Challenge

This week's photo challenge at i ♥ faces is . . . paper!
You can post any photo featuring paper in some form. It also must clearly contain a face :). I thought about a different photo I had of one of the interns with a notebook full of messed up paper scripts, but then remembered this shot I took at a speech and debate conference in North Carolina. This young man was patiently waiting while his mom judged a round and his sister competed. Tournaments usually last 3-4 days, so I was pretty impressed with how well this then five year old waited! Such a patient, and sweet, young man! Doesn't he just look like a grown-up in this picture - haha!
To check out all the other paper photos, or to enter one of your own, head on over to i ♥ faces here.

Behold: He Knocks

Ask, and it shall be given you;

Seek, and ye shall find;

Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20

The Eyes Have It

Beautiful eyes!

Stunning!

Such depth.

And warmth.

Friendships built on trust.

Friendships that will endure!

Friendships built on love, trust, loyalty.

Being part of a family.

Being there for each other. All the time.

You can see it. In the eyes. Love, acceptance, faithfulness.
Always check the eyes.

Always! always! check the eyes. Because the eyes have it!

What Does it Take To Make a Great Homecoming?

It takes a bunch of friends, preferably ones that have grown up together, love each other, and are comfortable being themselves with each other!

It can be a mix of dates and singles, it really doesn't matter. The more, the merrier.


You have to have a really cool location shoot! A place with fun props, good backgrounds, and lots of space - especially when you have sixteen people in your shoot.

Lots of gorgeous ladies! . . .

. . . fun shoes . . .


. . . fancy upsweeps and lots of glitter :).

May i reiterate the "good friends" aspect of a wonderful homecoming?

We were blessed to have some awesome fellows that didn't mind waiting while we did "girly" shots. Guys who were good sports when it came to the shots I had in mind for them :).

Guys who went all out for their women :) and who were appreciated by said women!

You also need props that provide for everyone in your shoot. It helps when it is a prop that most of them played on as children :). A place with good memories making new memories!

And making, and sharing, those new memories with your best friends in the whole world!

Did I mention fun props? What could better than Ashton? hehehe

(I haven't mentioned it yet, but I love these girls! Every single one of them! They are the absolute best! Ever!)

Best friends from birth! Still going strong as adults!

And, of course, homecoming speaks of celebrations and even rivalry :). Can you guess what teams these ladies route for?

And before you know it, it's time to end our fun shoot and head on out for the dance! Cause that's what those awesome shoes are all about - dancing! and celebrating with our closest sixteen friends! Most of these students are graduating this year. Congratulations and blessings! Thanks for letting me be part of your special day. Love you!

i ♥ faces Silhouette Challenge

This week's challenge at i ♥ faces is . . . silhouettes! I immediately thought of a senior photo shoot I did recently and remembered several silhouette shots from that day. This is one of my favorites (I can only post one for the challenge). We were shooting out over the bay in Tampa, although you can't see that in this particular picture. Such a beautiful morning we had with the sun still low in the sky. To check out other silhouette shots, or to post one of your own, head on over to i heart faces here.

Homecoming at the Park

This past weekend was homecoming at the local high school. A lot of these students go to our church. I was blessed to be asked to shoot their memories. This is just a quick blip of the kind of pictures I took. It's funny, I just now noticed the three I picked to post today are all edited in sepia tones. I really am editing in color, too!

We did group shots - like the one above - and we also did a lot of individual pictures. I love this girl! She's growing into a beautiful young woman - inside and out!

And ... we did some fun stuff, too! Love you, ladies! You rock!

Stay tuned for more in the next couple days :).

ICC Interns Visit Epcot Center

The 2010 ICC Intern Team is in the last days of their fall tour. *sigh* They have been working so hard since July with literally very little down time. They are on the go from about 6 or 7:00 AM until 11:00 PM - every single day. I was trying to think what we could do for the team - to give them some fun-together-time before heading into the final stretch of tour. So, last Monday we took the entire team and the Moon family to spend a day at the Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. I took about 6 photos under the ball - this is the only one where everyone's eyes are open - hahaha! So hard when there are this many people.

Studying the map, figuring out what to do first :). So many decisions!

Mark and I followed one group until they went off and lost us. Our first stop was Innovations!. We listened to the hook-and-latch discussion and some of the team got to play a game show!

This team raced the clock against the competition to see who could stack up the most blocks before the time ran out. Each block had a couple velcro sides to attach it to the previous block. I think they had two minutes - very entertaining. At the end both stacks of blocks fell, leaving 3 or 4 still stacked up.

As you can see here, they were all Big Winners!

On to the next game!

In this game, the game show host snatched cabbage patch dolls off a conveyor belt and placed them on the two interns' tables. They had to quickly diaper the baby and stuff a bottle into its mouth. Then they attached the babies onto their aprons using - what else? - velcro!

You can see the intern laughing here. The host had just commented that it looked like he had done this before. Our intern mumbled, "I have nine siblings- hahaha!"

They are both going to be great dads one day. As long as you don't mind your baby being diapered and bottle-stuffed in about 15 seconds flat! hahaha! I think they tied, but both were Big Winners! and we laughed so hard!

Of course, we had to take a little time here and there to text message the family and girl-friends at home :). We had to let them know what we were doing and how much we wish they were here with us :).

We heard that Test Track was the fastest roller coaster in the entire Disney complex of four theme parks! Of course the team wanted to try that! Here we were trying to decide if it was worth standing in line for, or getting a fast pass and coming back later. Of course the fast pass won out!

It was at this point that the kids took off and totally abadoned Mark and me. Oh well. We're big kids. We had fun on our own!

We grabbed lunch with the Moons, then entered this ride through The Land. We learned about hydroponics, growing humungous crops in nutrients and water - instead of underground. We saw huge fruit and vegetables and learned that much of the food prepared in the Epcot food court is actually grown right there in The Land.

Check out the size of those lemons. And that is no exaggeration. They were huge!

The largest of these eggplants were up to 3 feet long! And they grew on trees. (Although I know nothing about eggplant - except I don't like the taste - so I don't know if they typically grow underground or on a tree.)

This will give you a better idea. These are tomatoes growing on these huge trees. They were a little larger than normal in size, but the fact that they grew on these huge trees with literally hundreds of tomatoes was pretty amazing! You are only seeing the underside of those branches. And, did you notice that all that grows from one trunk?

You will never guess what these are! Never. Go ahead and try.


They are



Brussel Sprouts! Can you believe the size of those things?!?

We finished this ride up back in the food court. Love these balloons - I always have. Soarin' is in this area. And I can not believe it, but my daughter actually rode Soarin' this time. It's amazing what a little peer pressure can do :).

Ever heard Brad Paisley's song "Waitin' On a Woman?" That totally explains this picture :). Love you, honey!

If you've followed this blog long, you will remember that I grew up in Newfoundland. These shots are from the Canadian exhibit in the World Showcase. They even had a new movie I hadn't seen before with Canadian Martin Short :).

There's my honey again in front of that waterfall. I was telling Mark while we stood there that I saw waterfalls in Newfoundland that were 4 and 5 times the height of this one. Just gorgeous! I'll have to dig out some photos and post some one day. Just remember I was like 10 years old when I took them :).

These lovely gardens were designed in honor of the Butchart Gardens in British Columbia. Just beautiful!


Mexico!

Outside the Norway exhibit in the World Showcase.

Hey! We found someone we knew! So, we followed this group around awhile :).

China.

Italy. Beautiful architecture!

Some of the team headed into the inner part of the Italian exhibit.

And before we knew it, it was time for Mark and me to head out. He needed to get home for work the next morning. We rode the boat back across the lagoon with some of the interns. Love you!

We waited awhile. On the crossing I was able to shoot some awesome sunset shots over the Eiffle Tower :) - (and the Swan Hotel). We had a great day at Epcot. The interns were able to relax and have a fun time.

We (not Mark who had to work - sorry, honey) spent the night at the Disney All-Star Movies Resort. It was great! Everyone got a bed - no floors - to sleep on! The next morning the team met at the Winners Circle for breakfast and plan-making for the day. What did we do that day? We spent it at Downtown Disney! What an awesome, incredible two day fun break for the hard-working interns! Love you all, team! God is using you in some incredible, wondrous ways! Finish strong (thank you, Mrs. Moon) and finish by honoring and obeying God!