Layla at Six Days

Meet Layla Grace. Isn't she wonderful?

She is six days old here. I met her mom Bri at a wedding Kali and I shot last year.

Layla was so tiny and precious. Such a sweet little angel.

Of course, as it happens with so many babies, Layla got done with our photo shoot . . .

. . . before we did. Hahaha! Seriously, this is one sweet, beautiful little angel and her mommy and daddy are blessed to have her.

I Had a Birthday This Week

My birthday was this week. Another year older. Seems like just yesterday I had a birthday, too. Strange how they seem to be coming faster.

As you already know, Garfield is my favorite comic strip. It has been since June, 1978, when Jim Davis started publishing the strip. I moved away from my parents' hometown in October,1982. Every day from then until my dad died in December, 2005, Dad would cut the Garfield comic out of the newspaper and either save them for me, or occasionally I would receive a card in the mail filled with Garfield strips cut from mom and dad's newspaper. For years I kept them stashed in a huge box.

Well, that was more than I planned to tell you when I started this - haha!. I guess that kind of proves the point of this strip :). Wait. Was there a point? Oh yeah, I had a birthday and can totally relate to this comic today, having grown old with Garfield, I thought it was fitting.

Love It!

An old picture from the Lowry Park Zoo. I was there with my son Jason a couple years ago.
We went up the ramp to feed the giraffes crackers. After Jason fed this one, he turned to me.
I threw my camera up and clicked off a shot. No aiming, just click. This is what I got.
It remains probably my favorite zoo shot.

Meet Jordan - Our New Granddaughter

Meet Jordan Nicole. She's our new granddaughter. Jordan was curious about what we were doing.

Isn't she beautiful!

This is her mama, Nicole . . .

. . . her daddy, Dale, and . . .

her big brother, Wyatt.

Jordan is well loved!



Tiny little hands.

Tiny little feet, kept safe in daddy's hands.

All this modeling is tiring work!


This lovely christening gown was handmade by great-grandmother Bea.
Beautiful detail, lovingly made for a special day for this special little girl.

You can never kiss them enough. Babies are a gift straight from God. Lovingly placed into the hands of the parents.
To love, to cherish, to nurture, to safeguard, to point to God. Be thankful every day that God has entrusted
His children into our care. We love you, Jordan!

For Our Homeschool Friends

Homeschoolers know how to make "school"work fun!

Never Forget 9/11

Ten years ago today, these United States of America came under attack.

Thousands were killed. Senselessly. Violently. Lives were changed forever.

Homes and families were changed forever.

Our safety, our security, became challenged. We came together as a country, like never before.

Stronger. Sterner. Bolder. Empowered.

God became real to many who had never really seeked His face before.

God became tangible, and we became stronger.


Ten years. Looking forward. Today we look back and remember.

Never forget.

(I took this photo today, September 11, 2011, at Hope Baptist Church, in Theressa, Florida.)

Asian Gardens Tutorial

I may have mentioned how much I love the Asian Gardens at the Lowry Park Zoo.
The gardens are superbly landscaped. They have these incredible statues everywhere.

I really like the way they look and appreciate the atmosphere they bring to the gardens,
but I really thought the photos should look more 'ancient', so to speak.
So, I played around with editing and came up with these.


I always edit in photoshop, results as seen in the first photo. Then, I ran the Pioneer Woman's Action Set #2
Heartland action, followed by MCPActions' Frosted Memories - Faded Edges, Low Res action. These are the results.


I really love the way these turned out!




I think the statues look ancient. Like something you'd see in a history book!


That is totally the look I was going for. Super easy!

Lowry Park Zoo

The Lowry Park Zoo is my favorite place to go take photos. Normally there are a lot of babies.
Not true on this particular trip. This beautiful primate, known as a mandrill, was located in the Asian Gardens.

My favorite primate is the Wolf's Guenon, also in the Asian Gardens.

Yesterday, I talked with a blog friend living in Malaysia. She has wolf's guenons living in her neighborhood.
These little guys always want their picture taken. They pose for the cameras :).

Normally the black and white colobuses are good for a couple babies, but not on this trip.

Also in the Asian Gardens (can you tell that was my favorite part of the zoo?) are the nicobar pigeons.
They aren't so excited about my camera. I love their rich colors!

A cownose stingray. What a name - haha! but it fits.

Lionfish. Isn't he pretty?

Here you have an American Bald Eagle. This particular one is at the Lowry Park Zoo because it only has one wing.

I did not look up the official name for this guy. We have an abundance of these where I live. Our very own alligator.
I'd just as soon see them at the zoo instead of out on our lakes and waterways. Sorry, guys, nothing personal.
Well, maybe it is personal. I just don't care for the alligators. At all.

This is a gopher tortoise. We have a bunch of these, too. Sometimes in our yard. We used to have a dog who would
literally go find these and bring them to our porch. What a hoot! We'd put the turtle back in it's hole, and the dog
would go get it and bring it back to the porch. I guess he just liked them :).

Well, I learned something. I thought these were just 'flamingo's, but apparenty they are a special kind. They are Caribbean Flamingos. Who knew?

And there you have just a few of the pictures I brought home from the Lowry Park Zoo. If you ever get the chance to go there, be sure to take a camera.

You can see some of my earlier posts on the Lowry Park Zoo here, here, here, here, here, and here. This last one was a good day for babies :).

The Boys

Never let it be doubted. Gus is in charge. All the time.

He keeps watch over everything . . .

. . . and sticks his nose into everything. I say that in love, and it's true.

Rascal is a mite nosey, too. Usually it has to do with treats, food, or the girls.
No one gets near the mini donkeys without Rascal checking it out.


Rascal belongs to Kali :).

If I had a favorite, Sawyer would be it.
But, you know, we're not supposed to play favorites as parents.

Sawyer is always up for a ride. He's probably the easiest of the three to give you a good ride.
Someone pointed out recently (a couple someones, actually) that I hadn't posted any shots of the ranch animals in a long time.
Hopefully today's post will make up for that :).