The Shadow of the Cross

God is All Around Us

2012-01-20T11:07:00.000-05:00

Photo taken last week at Cedine Bible Camp in Spring City, Tennessee.

Rachel and Justin Are Engaged

2012-01-05T13:33:00.000-05:00

Great news for the New Year - Justin asked Rachel to marry him - and she said Yes!

Justin did a great job picking out a ring :) it's beautiful!

We headed to the Ravine Gardens for our shoot. It was a beautiful location, with plenty of locations for awesome pictures!

I loved the rocks that were literally everywhere!

We had a lot of fun!

The thing I enjoyed most about this shoot was that Justin and Rachel were both willing to try anything I asked of them!

As you can tell from this series :).

I talked with them a little about building their marriage around their relationship with Christ.
This is the verse they chose together, to establish their marriage on.

Such a loving couple! But, don't worry, June will be here before you know it!

Rachel literally smiled the entire time we were together. The photos you see where she isn't smiling?
Those were the times I asked her to not smile :).
(I just proofread this post and there AREN'T any pictures of Rachel not smiling :).)

Isn't she gorgeous? The light and colors behind this gazebo was perfect!

And, as my photography students all know, this isn't a true Alice Hendon Photography shoot - unless there are shoe shots and . . .

. . . someone ends up in a tree! hahahaha!

It was sooooooooo much fun!

Rachel ... Justin ... thanks for letting me document this marvelous time in your lives!
God's blessings on your upcoming marriage! Always put Him first in your relationship, and in your decisions.
He will be faithful to both of you!

Happy New Year, 2012

2012-01-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

From one of the most magical places I know,
May God richly bless you and your family this year!
Thank you for a great year at the Shadow of the Cross!

(And, no, I'm not really at the Magic Kingdom - I wish I was there - still home being sick with this awful cold.
I pulled this picture out from earlier in the year.)

Daniel, Lyndsey, and Bear

2011-12-18T00:02:00.002-05:00

Meet Bear. Isn't she precious? She's stylin' those shades!

This was a really fun shoot with Bear and her family

I met Daniel at a wedding I second-shot with a friend. You can see some of those pictures three posts down from this one.
I was really happy when he contacted me about doing family photos.

A relatively new family. And they are crazy about each other!

Of course, we had to have a shoe shot! It's a requirement for one of my photo shoots!

We started on this beautiful bridge! I loved the bright fall colors!
At least as fall-ish as they get in our state.

We were able to slide in a few shots of Daniel and Lyndsey together :).

Lyndsey's just so beautiful!

Thanks for letting me shoot your family pictures!
And i love the one of Bear asleep in my red bucket!
You can scroll down in the blog and find it - it's a Christmas photo :).
Thanks, Daniel! Thanks, Lyndsey!

I Heart Faces Furry Faces Challenge

2011-12-12T12:40:00.006-05:00

This week's photo challenge at i heart faces is Furry Faces. My first choice was this shot of my son with his ferret Avery. Jason and Bobbie raise ferrets and love them like children. The ferrets even have their very own room in the house. To check out more furry face shots, head on over to I Heart Faces here.

To edit this photo, I used photoshop and added some film grain, followed by MCP Actions' Finish It action, then added a burn edge in MCP Actions Frosted Memories action.

www.iheartfaces.com

Sneak Peek for Christmas

2011-12-04T18:54:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas! I want Santa to bring me one of these!!!

Just the Guys

2011-11-23T16:49:00.001-05:00

The groom, the groomsmen, and the ring-bearer were awesome at this wedding!
Loved to get their photos taken!

The ring-bearer was my favorite!

He was all like, "get your act together, guys!"

And his jacket was so hard to unbutton! He needed help!

So, we went with the unbuttoned GQ style.

There was a whole lot of laughing going on!

The perfect place for photos!

Probably my favorite picture from the entire wedding!

Mobile Shots at the Ranch

2011-11-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

We were at the ranch just before sunset tonight. I wish I had my camera there because the light shining through the trees was wonderful. Oh well. Cell phone photography, here we go! The above picture is of Sawyer - with his face in a feed bucket, as usual.

This is Gus, Mark's bad boy. He's actually behaving better lately, so I can't complain.

Rascal. Kali's horse. Kali is coming home in a couple days. I imagine seeing Rascal is going to be one of our first stops!

This or That Thursday, 11-17-2011

2011-11-17T11:03:00.003-05:00

I'm trying something new this week. It's This or That Thursday, which you can find here, or by clicking on the box above.
You post photos of this or that, I am guessing from your week. So, this is what I did earlier in the week.

For the past couple months, I have been teaching a photography class for a group of local homeschoolers.
I teach a lesson, then we do some hands-on shooting to apply what we (hopefully) learned in class that day.

This week we worked on animal/pet photography and we had some special guests with us for the day to be our models.

There were two beautiful little pygmy goats that belong to one of the students.
They were so sweet, and were happy as long as they were getting treats.

"All this posing is hard work! Hey! How about a treat for me???"

We had some beautiful little dogs visit with us to have their portraits shot.

We also had a chicken, a fancy foo-foo black and white chicken with awesome feathers, BUT I neglected to get a photo of him. So sad. :( Sorry. I love my students! They are becoming awesome photographers! You can check out some of their work on Facebook, by liking the page "Photography Rocks".

To check out more This or That, or to post your own shots, please visit here.

Pet Edit

2011-11-16T11:02:00.001-05:00

Original photo. I took this picture a couple days ago during a hands-on portion of a class I taught on pet photography. I've been working with a group of wonderful homeschool students this fall. We've been studying the basics of photography. On this particular Monday we studied pets and animals in general. Several of the students brought pets to be our models. This sweet little puppy belongs to one of the students.

All the students know to watch for background distractions, but due to the circumstances of our shoot, some distractions were necessary. I used photoshop for my edits. I brightened, I sharpened, and I used brushes to take out the owner's legs and shoes in the background. This is a relatively new technique that I am trying to perfect and I am happy with the way it really makes the animal stand out. What do you think?

Hope Haven, Gonzales, Louisiana

2011-11-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

Recently I was in Louisiana and came across this memorial garden.

Located in Gonzales, Louisiana, I absolutely loved the statues located around the gardens.

Hope Haven Memorial Garden. Primarily a mausoleum.

I found the gardens as I arrived in Gonzales. I went looking for it the next day, so I could take photographs.

It was beautiful!

They have one thing we don't have in my home state - above ground burials. Much of Louisiana is covered with water or close to sea level, hence the above ground burials. I had a fairly interesting visit at Hope Haven.

And Baby Makes Three

2011-11-07T14:58:00.001-05:00

This was a really fun photo shoot! Ginny works at the office that I retired from twelve years ago.
Well, Ginny's all grown up now and has a family!

Meet Will. He was nine weeks old when we shot these pictures.

And Will is definitely his daddy's boy :).

Daddy's hands.

Ginny and Paul are crazy about this little guy!

What a sweetie! This is one of my favorite shots from the day.
That one and this one.

Daylight Savings

2011-11-05T21:18:00.000-04:00

The Palm Project - Embracing True Beauty

2011-11-04T18:44:00.000-04:00

Have you ever struggled with self-esteem?
Regardless of the age, most women struggle with self-esteem at some point in their lives.

Meet Madeleine and Emily. They are from Texas. Madeleine struggled with bulimia and with the "need" to be perfect, because that's what the world tends to expect of us.

Emily struggled with a speech defect and sat on the edge of anorexia.

Then both girls learned that they were treasured, that they were sacred, that they were loved.
They believe the ONLY standard women should hold themselves up to is the Word of God. We are made in the image of the creator and He deems each of us beautiful! As Christians we are being perfected daily into His image.

This past Sunday, just 5 short days ago, Madeleine and Emily started The Palm Project on facebook. They seek to inspire girls/women to embrace the fact that they are beautiful - because they are God's creation!!! It isn't the things of this world that make us beautiful. It's true inward beauty. Madeleine and Emily are using the Palm Project page to be an encouragement, and to be an encourager. They ask you to share your testimony, post links of encouraging blogs or videos, post your own "palm picture", or share scripture!

Even us older women need encouragement. I have struggled for years with weight and low self esteem. It's important for even me to remember that I am beautiful because I am God's.

It's been 5 days. The Palm Project page already has 450 people watching, sharing photos, and sharing encouraging stories of self worth and beauty. Please take a minute right now to go to www.facebook.com and look up The Palm Project. Be prepared to be encouraged, inspired, loved, and understood.

Tribute and Thanks

2011-10-19T14:50:00.000-04:00

I've been working on pictures from Alma, Georgia, lately. I received an email from a cousin telling me about a monument
I missed when I was in Georgia. Mark went back up to the hunting camp yesterday and took these pictures for me.

The people of Alma, and Bacon County, established this monument to honor the soldiers who fought in World War I, World War II,
the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and those who were prisoners of war - from the Bacon County area.

Honor and thanks to each person listed: those killed in action, those taken prisoner of war, and one medal of honor recipient.
The reverse side shows those who fought and returned home.

Those serving in the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War, including my cousin, Danny P. Conrad, who was in Vietnam.
Thanks for your service, Danny. I didn't know you fought in Vietnam, I guess I was too young at the time.
I'm proud of you and thank you for your sacrifice.

The back side of the monument - where many of the names are listed. All from this one county.

With our busy lifestyles, we forget to stop and remember those who fought to allow us to maintain the freedoms we have here in the United States. Thanks, Danny, for telling me about this monument. It's proper that we remember and say thanks. And it's proper for us to pray for our soldiers out there fighting right now, and for their families, and for their safety. We should say "thank you" every chance we get - so, thanks, Danny! You made a difference!

I Feel My Allegiances Slipping

2011-10-14T15:42:00.002-04:00

Several months ago I made a promise on facebook that I was going to do whatever I could to ensure that we have a new president sitting in the White House after the election. I was leaning towards supporting Rick Perry, and may still do that, but I haven't really been impressed with him of late.

I have begun to follow Herman Cain and really like what I'm hearing - so far. I was happy to see this comic in my inbox today. Lisa Benson is probably my favorite political cartoonist. She's pretty spot-on most of the time. I'm continuing to listen and research and read, as I work towards a decision of who I will campaign for. As the time is working its way towards us, please keep this in mind :)

Love His Face!

2011-10-06T23:52:00.001-04:00

Nine weeks old. Is he not precious!

Sunshine's Wedding Day

2011-10-03T22:10:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful bride!

We actually met Sunshine when she was about 8 or 9 years old. My daughter and Sunshine were in the same 4-H club.

Hard to believe she's all grown up and married.

So gorgeous!

Looking towards her future?

This marriage is built on the relationship they have with God. Blessings, Sunshine!

Layla at Six Days

2011-09-28T10:09:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-25T10:29:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-09-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-15T22:19:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-14T09:47:00.000-04:00

Homeschoolers know how to make "school"work fun!

Never Forget 9/11

2011-09-11T15:13:00.001-04:00

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

2011-09-09T23:39:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-05T15:01:00.000-04:00

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

2011-09-04T15:21:00.001-04:00

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 :).

My Girls

2011-09-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

These are my girls. I love them! I'll be glad when it gets cooler outside so I can spend more time playing with them.

This is Mona. She's the boss. Pretty much - haha!

Luna. She was just 15 weeks old when we got her. So tiny and cute! She still had her baby fur.

The only downside to Luna was this - she taught the other two how to bray! Loud braying, too!
Before, Hershey and Mona just made little noises like they had asthma, wheezing noises.
Not anymore! Now all three can bray and make a loud ruckus! So cute!

And they like to eat! This is actually Rascal's food bucket inside a different field.
That certainly doesn't stop the little ones from trying to get to it, though.

Many of you have asked me about the donkeys. Here you see Kali with Hershey, Mona, and Luna.
They are miniature donkeys. In this picture Hershey and Mona - the two on the left - are full grown.
Last time we measured Hershey she was about 29 inches tall - to the top of her back.
Luna has grown a bit since this picture and is now just a bit taller than Hershey and is the same color.
I have trouble telling them apart sometimes, unless they are side by side.
They are a lot of fun! Lately we've been feeding them animal crackers for snacks.
I saw it recommended in my donkey handbook. At least there aren't any donkeys in the animal crackers,
just lots of horses - hahaha!

Pansies Are Her Favorites

2011-09-03T22:26:00.000-04:00

My mom's favorite flower is the pansy. She used to grow them in her yard, in every color.
These particular pansies were at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
I began by sizing the photo in photoshop and reducing any noise. Voila! You have the first photo.
Then I used the Pioneer Woman's free action set #2, ran the Strawberry Fields action, and ran the faded edges action.
This is what you see in the second photo.

My mom would love to see these pansies first hand, but she's going to have to be happy with just my photos.
I think she will like these, almost as well :).

The Castle Ablaze!

2011-09-02T19:22:00.000-04:00

This is my all-time favorite shot of Cinderella's Castle. I took it a couple years ago.
I posted about it here.

Over the past couple years I have taken a number of photos of the castle.
Mostly at night, and with my point and shoot.

Here are some of the ones I like the best!

I love the sparkly look!

I like the way the colors change from season to season.

Kali took this one.

I think she took this one, too. It reminds me of the very first in this post!

And the last one. I took this at a Pirates and Princesses event back in 2008. So it's old. I love the way it looks like the castle is on fire. The "pirates" were attacking the castle. Lots and lots of great memories from Disney World! Perhaps you have some memories of your own?

All the Toys Are Hers

2011-09-01T21:01:00.000-04:00

"Come on in! We're getting ready for a wedding!"
(I bid on a photography package at a recent auction on a session with professional photographer Brenda Thornton.
One of the things I got do during this session was to shadow Brenda on a pre-wedding shoot. These are some of the photos I took that day.)

This is Smokey Joe, the bride's beautiful dog. And that is her gorgeous wedding gown that he is posing so perfectly on.

Of course we might need a little encouragement - hahaha! Actually not, although this was a cool idea of the bride's.
You will notice several toys in these photos - for the most part they all belong to the bride. I think this shotgun was actually her father's.

Once you are to this point, you need a gorgeous wedding gown, . . .

. . . a really elegant pair of shoes, . . .

. . . and a beautiful bouquet.

Smokey Joe seems to have given his seal of approval on this match :).

I mentioned toys. This particular toy belongs to the bride. She is a captain with the state highway patrol.

These are far and away the best props for any wedding shoot I've been involved in!

I don't think the groom is intimidated one little bit - hehehe!

Also the bride's. And Smokey Joe is right at home in that little basket!

This awesome ride belongs to the bride's parents. Beautiful!
Brenda was recreating a photograph they took of the bride standing beside this car when she was a little girl.

Not sure who the harvester belonged to, but it was spectacular. Shiny and brand new looking - pristine condition. A perfect ride!

These were taken in the bride's back yard. Just gorgeous!

Then we were off to the chapel. And it was beautiful!
What a wonderful location for a wedding!

I loved the architecture! So beautiful.

I know that any shot Brenda took in front of these windows will look totally different from this one.
She knows what she's doing, whereas I had no idea how to shoot like this,
but I still like the way it turned out.

Another one of her parents' cars.

Our old courthouse, of great significance to her family.

This as an incredible pre-wedding shoot. Brenda, thanks so much for letting me shadow you on this trip. And thanks to the bride and groom for allowing me to tag along. You are such a wonderful couple! I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the actual wedding. May God richly bless your marriage and bring you much joy!

Keegan Proposed

2011-08-28T13:10:00.000-04:00

Keegan invited me to come along on a surprise photo shoot. Lindsay had been wanting pictures for some time.
This was a compete surprise for her. And it was great fun for me!
Here is what happened :).

We met at Lake Alice.

As we walked down a sidewalk alongside the wedding chapel, Keegan dropped to one knee and took Lindsay's hand.

I totally almost missed it. I should have realized Keegan wouldn't be able to wait very long before he asked Linday to marry him.

Well, of course she said yes!

I loved sharing this moment with the two of them! Incredible!

I'd say Lindsay was excited and happy!

And Keegan was like, "Yes!"
Thanks for inviting me to share in your proposal. What an awesome way to spend my morning!

Hydrangeas at Regent

2011-08-27T17:43:00.000-04:00

These were growing along the wall outside the library at Regent.
Huge! Almost the size of basketballs!

And simply gorgeous! My mom always loved hydrangeas.

And I always love a good flower picture. Crosses, solar flare, and flowers.
Those are my favorites :).

The Beauty of Regent University

2011-08-26T19:25:00.002-04:00

Kali and I recently spent some time on the campus of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

We've been there before, but the beauty of the campus always amazes me.
It's such a fun place to take photos!

You are just getting a glimpse of the lovely fountain they have.
I posted about it earlier - here.

Couldn't resist a little solar popping through the water.

So beautiful!

I found this next to the fountain. Got a picture of one last year, too.

Beautiful in bloom!

And you know how I am about cross photos :). This is a beautiful one and I know I took pictures of it last year also.
Posting more tomorrow.

A Different Take

2011-08-15T17:39:00.005-04:00

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time at Regent University in Virginia. On one of the porches I noticed these amazing columns. I shot straight down the line, once in front, and once on the back side. I didn't expect to do anything special with the photos, I just liked the way the lines looked.

This was the front side, facing the building.

This was the back side, facing the courtyard.

I went in to photoshop and worked with the sizing a little bit and was able to position the two photos together in a side-by-side collage. There is just one set of columns, framing the edge of the porch. I just shot it from two different perspectives. I thought it turned out pretty cool.

ICC 2011 The Future Is Now Evening Program

2011-08-14T18:22:00.000-04:00

The 2011 Institute For Cultural Communicators Intern Team with the author and director of the 2011 The Future is Now Evening Program.

Yes, they are quite a serious, professional bunch :).
Their mission is to reach as many students across the United States as they can,
and equip them to get out the message of Jesus Christ through communications skills.

At the parents' commissioning weekend, we got to attend the national debut of the Evening Program.

One of the literary pieces they presented was Cindermaid - the original version of Cinderella.

(A birdie in the tree.)

The children's story this year is Barrie's Peter Pan.

Wendy, with Smee and Captain Hook. In the background, lost boys and a really cute pirate - who happens to be my daughter Kali :).

The last piece they presented was called Hope and Despair.

It was a great program and the interns did a marvelous job!

God has much in store for this group this year. Praying for the team as they are touring across the country, teaching classes and presenting this program. For more information on a conference in your area, you can contact me or you can see the ICC website here.

It Was Our Honor

2011-08-13T11:34:00.000-04:00

Kali and I recently traveled to Denver, Colorado, where we had the great honor to photograph the wedding of these two people that we love so much!

The bride was absolutely gorgeous! She always is, but so spectacular this day.

We started with pictures in the park. This is her sister, who was also the maid of honor.

More sisters :).

Her wonderful friends who stood with her as she got married . . .

. . . and prayed with her for a wonderful marriage with her best friend.

I love this picture. Looks like the groom is on a mission. On facebook, one of his friends said he was "on a mission to get married."

I had such a good time taking pictures of the groom with his groomsmen. It helped that I knew every single of them.
Such fun. And such a privilege to be included in this day.

Getting a few words of advice from his best man - haha! Actually, knowing these two, they were probably plotting something :).

It was a beautiful, fun wedding. (Can't believe they are all grown up and getting married already!)

This was by far, the absolute favorite shot when I posted on facebook! Love it!

Something nice to see in today's society - parents that are still married, and that actually love each other.
What a legacy they are passing down to their children.

A long day, a beautiful ceremony, and a new start in a new life together.

Then, on to the reception where they started with the father-daughter dance.
(There are a load of dancing shots posted on facebook.)

Which eventually broke into full-scale dancing. So.much.fun!

And when the day was done, these two got to go home together - best friends, now finally husband and wife.
And Kali and I were so honored to be able to share in your special day.
We love you both so much and pray God's blessings over your lives together.

American Soldier by Toby Keith

2011-08-06T17:22:00.000-04:00

In honor of the 31 troops killed in Afghanistan this morning when their chopped was shot down during a rescue mission.
More than twenty of the troops were Navy Seals, from the same unit that carried out the raid that killed Bin Laden back in May.
Laying their lives on the the line every day - for you and for me - the American soldier should be heroes to us all.
Lift a prayer for them as you watch this video.

Beloved

2011-07-27T17:11:00.001-04:00

I love this picture of Maresa, all smiles, thinking about marrying Phil in just a few moments. I heard her say more than once that day, "I just want to marry Phil." She didn't really concern herself with how things were done, there were other people to do that - friends. Maresa just wanted to marry the man of her dreams. And I was able to catch this dreamy picture of her thinking about Phil. Awesome day!

Southern Charm

2011-07-21T10:29:00.001-04:00

A couple posts down, I featured The Perfect Poppy in Newnan, Georgia. They provided the gorgeous flowers for my niece's wedding. The ceremony took place among these beautiful grounds, known as Something Special.

A lovely garden, exuding antebellum southern charm. What a beautiful venue for a wedding!

A lovely fountain, a victorian gazebo, an antique brick patio, and a glorious array of literally hundreds of different flowering plants and bushes place you in a charming southern garden.

Absolutely beautiful!

If you are in the Newnan, Georgia/Atlanta area and need a venue for an event, you should seriously consider contacting Something Special. You can visit their website here to learn more. All I know is that Kelly and Tyler got married at Something Special and it was indeed something special to behold and be a part of!

i ♥ faces Prop Photo Challenge

2011-07-19T22:43:00.000-04:00

This week's photo challenge at I Heart Faces is props. I haven't photographed a lot of weddings, but with the ones I've done so far this is one of my signature shots. The kiss behind the bridal bouquet. And I always love the way it turns out! When I took this particular picture, the bride told me she liked this type of picture and would do this for as long as I needed her to :). To check out all the prop pix, or to add one of your own, head on over to i ♥ faces here.

Expecto Defaultum

2011-07-18T22:28:00.001-04:00

What a timely cartoon!
Forwarded to me by my husband Mark :), thank you, honey!

Kelly and Tyler Wed

2011-07-17T22:25:00.000-04:00

What a gorgeous venue for a wedding! The place is called Something Special and it's located in Newnan, Georgia. Beautiful home, beautiful garden, and it comes with the wedding planner, catered banquets, photographers, preachers, musicians, the works. All you have to do is show up :). You can check out Something Special here.

Kelly was an absolutely beautiful bride!

I loved her dress, and veil, and tiara, and her white beaded flip flops. Perfection!

The flowers were wonderful! The colors rich and vibrant! They were provided by The Perfect Poppy, also of Newnan. You can check them out here.

Kelly and Tyler were made for each other. They complement each other's personality perfectly.

And, isn't that part of what it's all about?

Tyler's six year old son was the best man. He did a great job, too!
I can just imagine him asking here, "Dad, do we get to keep her?"

From Tyler's first look at his bride, to her floating down the aisle with her dad, to the ceremony, the first kiss as husband and wife, and being pronounced as Mr. and Mrs. - it was wonderful!

And I just had to add this great photo - one of my favorites -
"So. Does my tie look straight to you? Cause this Best Man business is pretty serious!"

Congratulations, Kelly and Tyler! Love you!

The End of an Era

2011-07-16T14:16:00.000-04:00

My friend Lisa sent me this cartoon and I can't even tell you how true it is - hahaha! I have been anticipating this last Harry Potter movie since the book was released. I had no idea how they would ever be able to include all the important parts and tie up all the story lines. Just let me tell you I was wrong. They did all that and so much more. What an excellent send-off for Harry and the rest of the Hogwarts community. Thank you, J. K. Rowling, for an incredible journey!

Getting Ready Takes .. a Moment? or a Lifetime?

2011-07-15T09:03:00.000-04:00

"A mother's children are portraits of herself."

"A mother holds her children's hands for a while, their hearts forever."

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." Marion C. Garretty.

The Perfect Poppy, Newnan, Georgia

2011-07-13T18:06:00.001-04:00

Kali has really outdone herself here. My beautiful niece Kelly got married a couple weeks ago. The flowers were presented by The Perfect Poppy, in Newnan, Georgia. Kali got some outstanding shots of the flowers. Most of the pictures in this post are hers.

The colors were absolutely stunning!

Aren't these balls cute? They were hanging at the end of some of the rows. I'm sure they have a technical name, but I don't know what it is.

I love the reflection Kali caught in the mirror.

These were at the rehearsal dinner.

Great job by The Perfect Poppy. You can check out their website here. Wedding pictures to follow ... soon.

Walk in the Light, as He is in the Light

2011-07-03T17:53:00.000-04:00

Twins who have built their lives around the word of God. Out-spoken Christians, what a blessing it was to me to be able to document this big step for them - graduation from high school. As I listened to them talk to each other, and I listened to what they said to me (and what they left unsaid), and I was happy with what it portrayed to me. You don't see that God-likeness in many of our students these days. Kali and I have been blessed to meet some very strong Christian young people in our travels. These twins? They were made for a purpose. A purpose that God calls them to. Love you, girls! Thanks for asking me to document your accomplishments in graduating. Go be awesome, for God!

One Beautiful Spring Day

2011-07-03T17:29:00.002-04:00

I've gotten so far behind with my posts. Kali and I have been on the road for almost a solid month. Got back home last night. Slept till almost 11:30 this morning and have been alseep over the keyboard pretty much the whole time since.

Anyway. I've been wanting to post these pictures for a long time. This was my third time shooting pictures of this family. So precious.

The first thing I always notice when I see them together - they are always smiling or laughing.

Their marriage has been blessed - you can see how in this photo :). Beautiful boys!

Not one to sit still for long, he's off like a shot with big brother on his heels, trying to catch him.

I think this was my favorite shot of the day! Such innocence, yet clearly up for a little bit of mischief - hahahaha!

One precious little fellow. Full of curiousness. Full of delight and spirit and happiness and joy.

What a great little wagon he brought with him! I tried to get big brother to pull me around the park for a change of scenery. Oh well.

The absolute joy and delight of being a mother. Thanks for asking me to document your family, Krissy! It was my pleasure!

Built on the Rock

2011-06-29T21:53:00.001-04:00

A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel, located at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusettes.

Kali, along with 432 other competitors, just finished the NCFCA National Championship which was located just outside Boston. This beautiful chapel was the site of some of our events.

Totally beautiful, no matter the weather, no matter the time of day. A blessed reminder that God is near, no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing. And we are to honor Him in all that we do. No questions asked. Complete obedience and honor. All the time. For we are in the shadow of the cross.

Seniors and Horses

2011-06-10T19:59:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I posted a sneak peek from this shoot.

The horse's name is Jessie. A beautiful, wonderful horse!

This one is Magic. Both horses were gorgeous! And so well behaved.

I loved Jessie's eyes. Such a cool, ice blue. Thanks for sharing your beautiful horses with me!

Regent University - A Surprise Find

2011-06-08T22:37:00.001-04:00

Tonight as I was driving through the heart of Regent University, here in Virginia, I was astonished to see two beautiful animals walk across the lawn alongside my car. At first I thought they were huge cats, but noticed their noses were long and pointy. Too much so for a cat. Once I drove past and the sun was no longer glaring into my eyes, I noticed they were foxes. I pulled off the side of the road and let down the passenger window. One of the foxes slipped through the opening in the gate and took off. This one just stood and watched me for awhile. He was about 25 yards away, I zoomed in as far as I could to get this shot, then enlarged it. That explains the graininess of the shot. He finally turned, stepped through the side of the gate, and sauntered off to find his friend. A faculty member told me it was not unheard of to see a fox on campus. I heard from someone else that there were a group of 6 of them walking through campus early this morning. Really just very beautiful!

ICC 2011 Fall Tour Coming to Your Location

2011-06-07T22:20:00.000-04:00

The Institute For Cultural Communicators 2011 Fall Tour may be coming to your location. Kali is once again touring with ICC, as they teach their way across the United States. Their mission is to train young people to be able to command the platform - at any time, in any situation, and to be able to explain what they believe and why they believe it.

Kali and ten other teens from around the country are currently in preparation for the fall tour. This week they are hosting the ICC National Convention in Virginia. Tour prep itself will begin in a couple weeks. You can learn more about their mission and about their schedule at www.instituteforculturalcommunicators.org.

It's going to be an exciting tour as the team proclaims, The Future is Now. Get Ready! and as they teach and empower students across the nation to take a stand for Christ! Check out a conference near you!

Congratulations, Kali! Graduate 2011

2011-06-06T22:08:00.000-04:00

Kali graduated from high school last weekend! Here she is receiving her diploma from Florida Governor Rick Scott at the statewide homeschool graduation.

Pretty exciting! She graduated with the statewide homeschool group in Orlando. There were a total of ten, counting Kali, of our speech and debate students graduating, a total of 258 graduates in all.

Jason and Bobbie joined us for the graduation . . .

. . . and other awesome speech friends showed up to cheer on our graduates!

Prior to the graduates entering the hall, there was a slide show introducing all 258 graduates.

Then, the graduates entered. I got great pictures of our friends graduating. Kali's was the only blurred one. Yeah, I was so excited to see her walking down the aisle!

The Honor Guard was awesome, then one of our friends sang The Star Spangled Banner.

The ceremony was wonderful! Then we had time to visit with friends :).

Congratulations, Kali! Dad and I are so proud of you! You are a beautiful young lady, a woman after God's own heart, and we love you so much!

ICC National Convention

2011-06-06T15:56:00.001-04:00

Kali and I are in Virginia at the Institute For Cultural Communicators' National Convention. If you have ever attended an ICC, or Communicators For Christ, event you will immediately understand the previous cartoon :). Kali brought a special pair of apple shaped sunglasses that Mark got for her in Cedar Key at the bait shop - just for ICC.

This year's theme is: The Future is Now. Get ready! New to the convention this year is the addition of laptops, ipads, cell phones, ipods, any type of communications device that the students can use to more effectively communicate with other people.

They were instructed to bring said electronics to the sessions with them. I am curious to see how the interns and convention staff work the use of these electronics into the conference teaching schedule.

Millenials. I can see our students in these cartoons. And I can't wait to see how the week goes! Tournament today and tomorrow. Students are using laptops in the debate rounds to prepare their speeches on and to flow the other debaters' speeches. So far it has worked well, only had one student almost drop his laptop as he got up for the cross-fire :).

I ♥ Faces: Best Face Photo

2011-05-31T11:14:00.000-04:00

The i ♥ faces challenge this week is Best Face Photo taken during the month of May. I was blessed to have been able to shoot senior photos for a set of twins - friends of my daughter, and now friends of mine - and I immediately thought of this capture. I lightened it up in photoshop and gave it a gauzy, misty look. I love the expression on her face! So dreamy and thoughtful! To check out other Best Face Photos, head on over to i heart faces here.

Thanks To Our American Heroes!

2011-05-30T13:22:00.000-04:00

It's Memorial Day again. Every year at this time, I take a few minutes to think about the sacrifices so many are making, and have made, so that I can live my life the way I want to. Free to make my own decisions. Free to come and go as I please. Free to follow my God. Free to follow His will. Free to have the lifestyle we have, to have the 'things' we have, free to have the liberties we have. Free to be. I think about my dad and his buddies, my father-in-law and his buddies, and the fellows and ladies we know today that serve so I, my husband, and children can be FREE. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

TOMS: One For One Campaign

2011-05-28T15:15:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you've most likely heard of Toms. If not, let me enlighten you. Kali and I are currently in Orlando, enjoying festivities leading up to her high school graduation tomorrow. Last night, we went to Downtown Disney to walk around (and buy jelly bellies for me and yellow bananas for Mark.) At the surf shop, we noticed a rack of Toms shoes and went over to check them out.

There was this really nice lady named Sasha hand-painting designs on some Toms at a side table. Kali found a pair of jade Toms that she wanted. They had a denim pair that I wanted but the only pair they had was a size 5. I don't remember ever wearing a size 5 shoe, although I probably did when I was like ten or something. Anyway, I started talking with Sasha, she complimented the feather shirt I was wearing, one thing led to another, and a short while later I left with the peacock feathered shoes on the right.

I posted this same picture on my facebook page and left this comment with the question, which pair do you believe belong to the teenager. Got some great comments on that post! Such fun! I'm wearing my new shoes now, and they are sooooooo comfortable.

For those of you who don't know what Toms are, they are a company that donate one pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair you buy. They match it - one for one. I've been wanting a pair of Toms for a long time, so glad that I finally have a pair. A really cool pair! And the best part? Sasha sold another pair because a customer saw mine and loved them! You can check out Toms and sign up for their newsletter at www. toms.com.

i ♥ faces Yellow Challenge

2011-05-23T11:01:00.001-04:00

The i ♥ faces' challenge this week is yellow. My first thought was that everyone will be sharing flower field shots, which I love!, but I wanted to post something different. I've started making scripture photos for the students - it's something I love to do and hopefully they are a meaningful addition to the family portraits. This is one of my favorites, because I love this young lady! If you'd like to see any of my other scripture photos, here is a link to my facebook album. Hopefully it will work for you.

To view all the other Yellow photos, or to post one of your own, head on over to I Heart Faces!

Dive Bombing. Who Knew?!

2011-05-22T17:57:00.001-04:00

So, we spent a few days at Cedar Key last week. It had been miserably hot here at home, so we thought a few days in the water would be awesome! Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the weather man. The highs were in the low to mid 70's the entire time we were there. So we had to content ourselves with looking at the water.

There were a load of pelicans - down by the pier. Pelicans and seagulls.

The pelicans just kind of took on a life of their own.

They would swim around in the water.

Watching and waiting . . .

. . . then all of a sudden they would lift their wings . . .

. . . lift out of the water . . .

. . . take off like a shot . . .

. . . circle around and ...

. . . nose dive straight into the water. (It looks like the bird to the far left is laughing at the other one - haha!)

Over and over and over again.

We watched as bird after bird did this, then rose straight out of the water to circle around and do it again. Many times they had small fish in their bills.

Then they'd fly straight under the pier, and do it all over again. What a show they put on! And I love this last shot I got with the new lens Mark got me awhile back! Lots of fun, even though it wasn't spent swimming as we had planned. Kali and I did get in the pool a couple times, but after our lips turned blue we got back out again - haha!

Rise on Wings

2011-05-22T14:01:00.000-04:00

Photo taken at Cedar Key, Florida, this past week on our cold-in-the-middle-of-May vacation.

Getting Married In Style

2011-05-20T23:16:00.000-04:00

Awhile back I posted about the In His Wakes banquet and auction. At the silent auction, I won a day with local photographer Brenda Thornton. Part of my day with Brenda was to accompany her on an extended bridal shoot for an upcoming wedding. Mostly I watched and learned, but I was also able to take some shots of my own. The bride, and her family, own some pretty legit vehicles that Brenda incorporated into the shoot. This car was one of two cars - owned by the bride's parents - that were part of the shoot.

Pretty awesome car, immaculate condition! Hopefully before long you will see photos of the bride and groom in front of the church with this car, and also in front of the old county courthouse building - which required the city police shutting down traffic on one block for Brenda's photo shoot to happen.

Dad's tractor. Lots of good pictures with the bride, sitting in the driver's seat. We also used a bicycle, another car (not good with cars, I think it was a ford something, sorry,) and a motorcycle - that belongs to the bride! What a fun shoot! Thanks, Brenda, for letting me tag along, it was a great afternoon!

i ♥ faces Flowers

2011-05-15T16:01:00.001-04:00

The i ♥ faces' challenge this week is flowers! Amy and Angie are on vacation, enjoying a little relaxation, so there is no competition this week. Just plenty of gorgeous flower shots for us to enjoy! This one above being my favorite flower shot to date!

Closely followed by this one because it is one of the very first ones I ever took. Successfully. With a little point and shoot camera that I eventually wore out.

This would be my next favorite. I shot this at a friend's house in Florida, during the summer, my first insect shot (or whatever a grasshopper is.)

Recently I visited a botanical garden in Florida where I took the above shots.

The above shots of roses were taken in Columbia, South Carolina, not long ago. Kali and I were at CIU for an NCFCA Qualifying Speech and Debate tournament - the story of our lives of late.

From Regent University near Virgina Beach, Virginia.

The flower field near our home. I love to go there in the spring and shoot pictures. There doesn't even need to be people in the shots for me to be happy - haha! That chair belonged to my grandparents, it came over on a ship from England, many years ago. The quilt top is one I made.

Back down to the swamps of Florida. Taken at sunset from the porch of a restaurant we loved. It has since closed to business, as have so many other wonderful places.

From a friend's wedding. The bride and groom are serious Florida Gator fans. The wedding colors? Orange and blue!

Not a great photo, but one I love a lot!

Random shots near home.

More flowers from Columbia, South Carolina.

Olney, Maryland, the location of Kali's national commissioning with the Institute For Cultural Communicators, this past year.

A very recent wedding :). . .

. . . and one of my favorite pictures ever! It's the wallpaper on my ipad and my laptop! Also from the botanical gardens.

To check out a load of other flower shots, or to post some of your favorites, head on over to I Heart Faces here!

Sneak Peek Senior Shoot

2011-05-13T23:53:00.001-04:00

What fun! These beautiful ladies asked me, through my daughter, to shoot their senior pictures. Of course, I said yes! We headed out to the flower field, which didn't really yield all that many flowers this year, then we headed to the nearby barns where their horses live. Those were my favorite shots of the day. It's going to take awhile to edit everything and have it ready, but here is an excellent sneak peek of what's to come. Thanks for asking me to help document your senior year! I had a blast!

Senior Prom, 2011

2011-05-08T22:30:00.001-04:00

A group of students asked me to come take pictures of them as they prepared to leave for prom. I took 294 pictures of this group of fifteen. I picked out the best ones and edited them in a variety of formats. Then I decided to pick the 5 that I liked best, and post those here. Trying out a new brush with my blog name. I think I like the way it looks. Anyway, here are my 5 top picks.

This last photo is one of my all-time favorite shots. They had no idea I was clicking this shot - so it was a truly natural, unposed shot. I can't believe I trimmed 294 pictures down to this five! And, yes, I did notice that three of the pictures are of the same young lady. What can I say - she's photogenic :). And beautiful!

Tara and Keith Get Married

2011-05-05T10:38:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful bride! And what a happy groom!

Tara works with Kali. We were so excited when she asked us to shoot her wedding! This was the first wedding we've done where the bride wanted to do photos before the wedding. That worked out great!

Tara's father is affiliated with the fire department, so the wedding was held at the fire training facility.

She looks so much like her beautiful mom!

Tara and Keith have a very loving family - they all seem to really "like" each other, so the family shots were a piece of cake!

One of my favorite shots from the day.

Tara is blessed to have two incredible sisters! . . .

. . . and what a hoot they are when you get them together!

Only to be surpassed by this little lady asking Tara if it was time for "the birds and the bees" talk.

Then she burst out laughing at the look on Tara's face. What a great lady!

Did I mention Tara's great sense of humour? Keith better stay on his toes.

Just beautiful!

And Tara and Keith are married!

Mardi Gras celebration!

And as the celebration wound down, this is what was going on outside . . .

Have a wonderful marriage! And thanks for inviting us to share the day with you! Love you so much!

i ♥ faces Soft and Sweet

2011-05-01T20:57:00.001-04:00

The theme this week at i ♥ faces is Soft and Sweet! I immediately thought of this photo I shot in the local flower field. Such a beautiful little lady. I love this sweet shot of her and her precious teddy! To see other Soft and Sweet shots, or to add one of your own, head on over to i ♥ faces!

In His Wakes Ministries

2011-04-17T16:37:00.001-04:00

In His Wakes is a unique, exciting and impacting non-profit ministry that uses water sports to share the love of Christ in a most powerful and interactive way. In His Wakes is fueled by three passions ... people, water sports and Jesus Christ. If you share any of these passions, you are sure to be blessed by this ministry! (Copied from the In His Wakes website.)

The mission of In His Wakes is to introduce people to the life changing power of Jesus Christ through the avenue of water sports. A Day to Remember provides an opportunity of a lifetime for predominately at-risk youth by giving them an unforgettable day on the water. This is just one small way In His Wakes reaches out to impact today's youth.

Their motto? Victory comes when you get off the dock! Get off the dock to experience His victory, His hope, and His purpose.

I was invited to attend In His Wakes' annual fundraiser/banquet/auction a couple days ago. They were having a silent auction, a live auction, a banquet, and some inspirational speakers.

The tables were decorated to represent various locations around the world. Each table was unique and lovely.

A lot of thought and work went into these tables. They were beautiful!

As people arrived, they were able to peruse the silent auction items and begin placing bids.

Items were donated by locals businesses, and individuals wanting to do something to help raise money for the IHW Ministries.

Many, many items were donated. Gift baskets, dremel tools, ski equipment, photography packages, Disney World and Sea World tickets, restaurant packages, vacation deals, and much, much more.

In His Wakes was founded by Slalom World Record Holder Kristi Overton Johnson, who holds over 80 professional water ski titles.

Special memories in the making.

Founder Kristi Overton Johnson welcomed everyone and . . .

. . . her husband Tim prayed a blessing over the banquet.

The meal was catered by Blue Water Bay, and it was excellent!

This is a shot of Kristi's dad. (Her mom was in the picture just above - the first lady in the serving line with the dark jacket on.)

After we ate, the Day to Remember Coordinator Nate Miller opened the program by telling us a bit about his duties and the Day to Remember program.

We were blessed to have four participants of the program attend the banquet. They were each given an opportunity to tell us what their time in the program meant to them.

If you visit the website, you will see this young man having the time of his life in the water!

Then we moved on to the live auction. Cookies, pie, birdhouses, squirrel feeders, Disney tickets, an awesome painting, and a Myrtle Beach vacation were auctioned.

It was a great night for everyone there! Great food, great fellowship, a good time of learning, and being able to actually do something to help further the ministry. Thanks for asking me to come along and document the night! I really enjoyed the silent auction where I bought an Italian Cream Cake (delicious doesn't even begin to describe it!), a day with a local photographer, and two annual passes to Sea World!

If you would like more information about In His Wakes Ministries, please visit them at www.inhiswakes.com. If you would like to know how you can support their ministry, please visit their Partners page on the site for more information.

Tornadoes and Storms

2011-04-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

It seems that storms are all the rage now. Literally. All up and down the coast, and across the country, I keep hearing that storms and tornadoes are doing damage, causing injuries and deaths. About a week ago, we had a bad storm of our own. Tornadoes touched down within about a mile of our house. Our area was fortunate, we had some damage to homes, mostly caused by downed trees, and a lot of tree damage and fields torn up. No deaths that I heard about. Like I said we were more fortunate than many others across the country.

Mark and I drove out to check on the horses and donkeys. The first thing we saw were some seriously dirty horses!

The front field was covered in standing water and mud . . .

. . . and I think all three horses must have been rolling around in it. Filthy!

This was the next thing we noticed. No. Not the chickens. (They belong to the neighbors, but live in our field with our animals. They are always there.) We noticed the hay ring - the top half had been mangled up, stanchions were twisted, and the whole thing was basically coming apart. We ended up breaking the top half off the rest of the way so the horses wouldn't get hurt on it.

I mentioned chickens. They live with our animals and eat the feed they drop on the ground. But that doesn't mean that Gus has to like them. Notice the way Gus has his ears penned back. He is not happy.

But seriously. What's not to like about this beautiful little guy? Gus just doesn't want to share his food! Hahaha! Maybe with all the rain from the storm our grass will start growing again.

One Great Wedding Shot

2011-04-09T12:06:00.000-04:00

So. I am in the middle of editing literally hundreds of photos. Kali and I shot a friend's wedding recently and those are the shots I'm working on right now. I just had to stop and post this one picture that Kali got. When we do a wedding, she focuses on detail work like shoes, rings, dresses, and decorations, while I work with the bride and the wedding party. I love this photo Kali got of Tara and Keith's rings! I love everything about it! The tight focus on the rings and some of the beads, and the fading out/blurring of everything else. The colors and bokeh are perfect - way to go, Kali! Lots more to come soon!

Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Georgia

2011-03-23T10:55:00.001-04:00

In the last five weeks, Kali and I have traveled to, and she has competed in, four speech and debate tournaments basically in four different states.

These photos were taken at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Part of the mountain is in Georgia, the other part in Tennessee. Our hotel was in Tennessee, the tournament was in Georgia. Six miles straight up the side of this mountain ... all the way to the top.

In those five weeks, Kali has competed in the Florida Qualifier, one Georgia Qualifier, a National Open, and a South Carolina Qualifier. Next week, we head back to Georgia for the last qualifier for this competition season. We have made some incredible friends in all these states. Christian brothers and sisters who pray for us, love us, communicate with us, and are there for us. Anytime, any day, and for any reason. Awesome men and women of all ages that love God. The cross? It reminds me of all that God has done for me. It's a reminder. It's a blessing. It's the tie that holds us all together - all the students, the competitors, the moms, the dads, the tournament officials, the judges, the siblings, the hosts. We are all one huge family in God. And we love you! More than mere words could ever say. To God be all the glory and honor! ♥

NCFCA Speech and Debate Qualifying Tournament Success

2011-02-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

Kali and I just returned home from the Georgia NCFCA Qualifying Tournament. The NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communications Association) is a Christian homeschool speech and debate league. This is Kali's third year competing. Above you see my beautiful daughter's look of pure joy shortly after it was announced that she had taken first place in the Lincoln Douglas Value Debate Speakers category. This is based on speaker points given by each individual judge during the debaters six debate rounds. There were so many talented speakers at the tournament, Kali was blessed, and honored, to receive this recognition.

The top eight speakers, you have to look at them from right to left because we loaded the platform backwards. Sorry.

During the actual debating, Kali took third place.

Kali also competed in Impromptu and took sixth place. Impromptu is a limited prep category. The speakers draws three slips from a spread of face-down papers, which have a variety of random topics printed on them. The topics might be random words like: lampshade, ears, watermelon, machinery, basically anything, or it might be a compilation of quotes. The timepiece begins when the student touches the first paper. They get two minutes to decide which topic to use, and to prepare a five minute speech on that topic, which they then give on the spot. They are not allowed to use any notes when giving their speech. Kali has been getting better with this speech category and placed 6th, the highest she's ever gotten with it. She made it all the way in to the finals round.

At this tournament she qualified in debate and impromptu to compete at the regional competition, which will include three states. She also qualified in Humorous Interpretation at an earlier qualifier. Way to go, Kali! Great job!

Ice, Ice, and More Ice

2011-02-15T22:11:00.000-05:00

Over Christmas vacation, we were driving around the Cashiers, North Carolina area, checking out the scenery when we came across this beautiful waterfall.

We saw a sign on the highway, so we stopped and hiked into the woods a short distance to find this site.

You wouldn't even believe the steps Mark had to take to get out on the rock in the middle of the water. Good thing he didn't fall in, or slip, because the temperature was in the twenties that day, as you can very clearly see in these next photos.

I've never seen anything quite like this and I grew up in Canada. It was a solid wall of ice, right along the roadside.

I shot this from across the street so you could see how close we were to the roadway.

We were pretty impressed with the massive amount of ice.

I like the angle in this shot. Kali was catching some closeup shots of the ice.

Wow!

Then, Kali took some pictures of me in front of the ice wall.

Cars coming around the corner would pass by so close to us. You could feel the wind from the cars as they passed.

It was so beautiful in North Carolina. I still have other pictures to post. Sometime soon :).

American Soldier

2011-02-13T10:18:00.001-05:00

Since September 11, 2001, my email signature has had an added line requesting prayer for our great military. I grew up in the military, my dad was career U. S. Navy. I know first-hand what it means to be the ones left-behind when my dad left for yet another sea-duty assignment. We were blessed to have had one wonderful tour of duty in Newfoundland, Canada, that lasted many years and we were able to live - together - as a family for quite some time.

That's not always the case when you are a military family. This morning as I checked my facebook page, I saw that a friend had posted the above video with a "happy Valentine's Day" message for her husband. No doubt Mike is overseas - again. I've watched this family for several years, as Mike goes, and comes home, and goes again. I can't even tell you how much time I've spent in prayer for this family. They are such a blessing to me. Not that we spend any real time together, for truly we mostly speak online, but I appreciate so much the sacrifice Celeste and her children have made, do make, on a daily basis so that my family and I can live, and excell, in freedom.

So. Today. Please lift a prayer for our service men and women overseas. Please lift a prayer for our civilian men and women who are overseas working alongside our military so that you and I can live where we do, and live as we do.

Please enjoy Toby Keith's American Soldier. (And if you're anything like me - get your tissues ready before you watch.) May God truly bless and protect our great military!

Shout For Joy

2011-02-12T17:40:00.001-05:00

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”

Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
Come, let us rejoice in him.

He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.

Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
He has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.

For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.

Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66:1-12, 16-20 (NIV)

All photos were taken at the Episcopal Church of the
Incarnation in Highlands, North Carolina, in December, 2010.

Shooting at Cedine

2011-02-11T18:48:00.001-05:00

This young man lives a little over 800 miles from where I live. Recently, his mom and I were trying to figure out how I could shoot his senior pictures when we live so far apart from each other.

I was looking into traveling to them, when it dawned on us that the Institute For Cultural Communicators' winter retreat might be a convenient time, since we'd all be in one place at the same time!

The retreat was held at Cedine Bible Camp in eastern Tennessee. We got there shortly after a huge snow and ice storm, and the grounds were so beautiful covered in snow. I could have done without all the ice, though.

He was there to work - as a potential intern. They got to do all the behind-the-scenes grunt work of facilitating the retreat. And, he was a blessing to many.

His sense of humor brightened the day for many of us that week!

When I asked him what his favorite scripture was, he assured me he never ran out of scripture, that he had many favorites. A tell-tell sign of what this young man is, of WHO he is.

Of whom he belongs to.

For this young man is a man after God's own heart.

This is evidenced in his actions, in his mannerisms, in his character, in his words, in the way he treats others.

He is a blessing to many. He is an example for the younger students. He is an example for his peers.

He's a caring and loving son. He's one awesome big brother!

He's someone you can depend on, and count on.

A man of God.

A man of God who memorizes and lives by the Word.

He is a man who isn't afraid to take a stand for God, to take a stand for his beliefs, to take a stand for eternity and for making a difference. And right now, he is a Senior! And I got to shoot his senior pictures! Whoot! Whoot! Congratulations! Remember your roots and grounding in your faith, and go out and Be Awesome for God!

Salvaging a Bad Photo

2011-02-09T23:20:00.000-05:00

Above is a photo I took on a day when the sun was really bright, reflecting off the snow. It pretty much rendered this photo unusable. In photoshop, I have several actions I could run to improve the photo, but even when I did that, I didn't get the quality I wanted. So, I decided to play with it and salvage a cool picture in a different way.

In photoshop, I boosted the contrast all the way up, then took the brightness up a small amount. What I got was a mostly white background with an awesome silhouette of this young man. I really like the way you can see the white line of his shirt collar.

Then I took that photo,ran the saturation up all the way and sharpened the picture. That really brought the edges of the silhouette into focus.

Lastly, I ran the Burnt Edges I action from mcpactions.com, the low res step, which resulted in this last photo. This popped some color in a framework around the photo and salvaged my bad photo.

i ♥ faces Challenge of the Week - Hearts ♥

2011-02-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge at i ♥ faces is hearts ♥. I immediately thought of this photo I took at a debate tournament. I have the honor of being the regional photographer for these events. As we entered the hall for the finals round of debate - the round that would determine the winning team - this group of students called out to me to take their picture - sweet! These are my "kids" - every single one of them! To check out the other Heart photos, go to i ♥ faces here.

Boughs and Boughs of Snow

2011-02-03T20:04:00.000-05:00

Some wonderful friends invited us to spend Christmas in North Carolina. When we went to bed on Christmas Eve, the ground was clear. When we woke up on Christmas Day, it was snowing.

As the day went on, the snow got deeper and deeper. What a great and awesome Christmas gift - - - nine inches of snow!

I loved the way it sat on the limbs.

The limbs got so heavy with snow. You could pull down on the limb, let it go, and it would bounce up throwing snow everywhere. Fun!

I loved this bird feeder. So beautiful in the snow!

This gazebo was in front of our room. The Christmas lights looked really pretty in the snow!

It got a little buried in the snow - haha!

And it became the site of snowballs being thrown at the photographer.

Which made for some pretty awesome pictures!

No photographers or cameras were hurt in the making of these photographs!

Regular snowballs . . .

. . . and specialty snowballs!

A special snowball that we kept safe in our hollow tree trunk.

Then we had an awesome day of playing in the snow!

It was a great day in the snow!

And still the snow came down!

What a great way to spend Christmas Day!

These photos were taken at the Laurelwood Mountain Inn in Cashiers, North Carolina. You can visit their website here. So beautiful! We had a wonderful visit. There are more pictures further down in my blog, if you want to look.

i ♥ faces ~ Best Face Photo in January

2011-01-31T16:35:00.003-05:00

The i ♥ faces challenge this week is your Best Face Photo in January. I scanned through my shots from this past month and this one really stood out to me. I love the way it follows the rule of thirds - on an angle! Fence on the left side, the young man in the center, and the stairs to the right - perfect thirds :). And the lines of the gate and the stairs draw your eyes right to the subject of the photo. This was a totally impromptu shot, taken when the young man said to me in passing, "Mrs. Hendon, take my picture!" and I did - haha! This is the best kind of picture, totally spur of the moment!

Check out all the postings at i ♥ faces here, or enter your best photo from January!

Hoggetown Medieval Faire, 2011

2011-01-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

My children and I have always loved going to the medieval faire as it rolls through town each year. Personally, I love all the costumes and pageantry, but I really enjoy seeing all the people that come to the faire in costume. For some, it's a magical day.

Once we got inside, we were drawn to the beat of the music, four men and one woman beating away on drums and playing a bagpipe, as if their lives depended on it. They had drawn a large crowd - the pounding of the drums was almost hypnotic as it pulled us in.

There were a lot of interesting characters throughout the park. I found it funny that even though they were dressed in period costumes, many of them also wore sunglasses - haha!

I was also amazed at how many of them didn't have all their teeth!

There were also beautiful ladies on horseback. Isn't the horse beautiful as well? Just needs a slight trim on those bangs. Poor baby!

Wandering minstrels . . .

. . . including this one. Her music was beautiful!

And she very kindly posed for me :) so I was happy! There were only about a couple hundred photographers there, so I was pleased!

I totally took this photo for Phil and Devin - the two best jugglers I know! Actually, I took about 6 pictures, but people kept walking in front of my camera, so I just gave up. Sorry, guys!

This was your basic gypsy lady. One who didn't want her face in the picture.

And then a couple peddlar/gypsies that didn't mind having their picture taken. (Actually, I loved her horse! Where can I get one? No feeding, no mucking, no brushing, no worming, you get the idea.)

I love me a good dragon story! So of course I was drawn to these wonderful dragons!

I liked the way they were holding things in their hands.

And there were lots of beautiful things to look at, enjoy, and buy if you wanted to.

I loved these little oil bottles. Just didn't have a need for one. Too bad.

And let me just tell you, Kali has had a few of these over the years!

The Hoggetown Medieval Faire will be held again next weekend. So, if you haven't been yet, you should go! It's definitely worth the trip and the time!

What a Great Idea!

2011-01-28T15:27:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to get some shots of these two for a long time!
Recently, we were all in Tennessee and I got my chance.

Such a wonderful, sweet couple! If you've followed my blog long, you will have read all about the Institute For Cultural Communicators which Kali has just finished touring with. This lovely lady is the vice-president of ICC.

Her husband doesn't make it to every single event, but he does show up very often.
The students love him! He's one of the guys!
In between sessions, we ran outside to snap off a few shots overlooking the river and the snow-capped mountains. And - I'm so glad we did! What shining examples of a Godly man and woman - in a marriage based on that same love.
Just a side note - don't ask their youngest son what the dad does for living. You just may get more than you bargained for, hahaha!

Ladies Luncheon, 2011

2011-01-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

The theme of the 2011 ICC Ladies Luncheon was Radiance. The decorations were beautiful, the games were fun and exciting, the food was delicious, and the speaker was - what else but radiant! These verses are the ones I think of whenever I ponder on a radiant woman . . . a radiant woman of God. (The photo is of some of the table decorations.)

Impromptu Shoot

2011-01-23T11:43:00.002-05:00

Last week, Kali and I were on the road again.
This time for the Institute For Cultural Communicators' Winter Retreat.
This young man is a friend of ours - he was attending the conference as well.

Totally on the spur of the moment, he asked me to take his picture . . .

. . . and in the space of about one minute, we got several shots, with these being the best ones.

A wonderful young man with a heart for God.

He was one of our worship leaders for the week. He has some serious guitar skills.
I think someone told me he plays piano as well.

A leader among the students, this young man feels God's hand on his life and is willing to take a stand and reach out to those around him. And, he is making a difference.

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
~ I Timothy 4:12 ~

Flowers in the Snow

2011-01-10T22:12:00.001-05:00

Many of you know that we spent Christmas in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Some friends of ours own a lodge there and were gracious enough to invite us up for the holidays.

We stayed at the Laurelwood Mountain Inn in Cashiers, North Carolina.

It snowed on Christmas Day, nine inches worth of snow. It was beautiful!

We spent the better part of the day outdoors - making snowmen, snow angels, walking, taking loads of pictures, my daughter and I even ganged up on my husband and pummeled him with snowballs. It was awesome!

As I shot pictures, I was surprised to notice all these flowers on the trees. I am guessing that these are a type of laurel flower. I found dozens of different laurel flowers online, just not this specific one. It is my guess that the lodge is named after these trees that were growing all around the grounds. We had a wonderful time! If you ever need a beautiful place to stay in the mountains - wonderful accomodations, and super-friendly people, check out Laurelwood Mountain Inn. You can find their website here.

Blue Ridge Mountains Senior Photo Shoot

2011-01-06T19:31:00.007-05:00

We met this young man a couple years ago through debate. And let me tell you - he is an excellent debater! It's been interesting watching him grow in intellect, logic, and abstractness, and also as a young man of God. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! And thank you for switching over to Team Policy this year! :)

My daughter and this young lady tell everyone they are twins :). Actually, she is a twin - just not with my daughter. A talented debater, a sweet young lady of God, a good friend, a loving sister, and I expect one pretty terrific daughter! Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

This is the real twin :). She just returned home from an overseas mission trip. She enjoys spending time with children, loving them, and being God's servant to them. A devoted sister and daughter - she has a real knack for drama and went all the way to national competition last year with her partner (the guy you see in the pictures just below) where they presented their dramatic performance of Finding Nemo. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

So, technically he doesn't graduate until next year. We were planning on doing senior pictures for his sister - who graduated last year - and he asked if we could do junior pictures, so that's what we did! Hahaha! He was so much fun! Willing to try anything - including climbing trees - which you can see in my previous post. A super sweet spirit, everyone loves him! Congratulations on being one year closer to graduation - hehehe!

Isn't she gorgeous? She is the only sister to the fellow just above. She graduated last year, so we were just catching up her pictures :). My daughter loves her! We met through speech and debate - of course - we met all our friends that way, pretty much! Congratulations on college - I understand you are doing a great job there!

From my comments I am sure you can tell each of these students participate in speech and debate activities. They are all competitors, as well. And they represent Christ every time they compete. We are members of a Christian speech and debate league. Knowing that God is a huge part of who each of these students are - I asked them to give me their favorite Bible verse. This is what I did with them:

I did not plan the order to post these verses in. I posted them in the order of the photos of the students above. Do this for me: read the verses in the order you see them in. I dare you to tell me that God didn't orchestrate this post and put these together in exactly this order.

Congratulations, Seniors! You rock! I love you! Go be awesome!

Shooting in the Mountains

2011-01-05T12:26:00.003-05:00

When you get a bunch of friends together to do a senior photo shoot in the mountains, three days before Christmas, this is what it looks like. And, yes, that is real snow :).

Disregard how the students are dressed - the temps were in the twenties during this shoot! So cold! I love this bridge. The father of the two girls on the far right side built this water feature and it was gorgeous!

The camp grounds were the perfect location for this shoot. Even though this post is primarily group shots, we were actually there to do senior photos for most of the group. They had no concerns with climbing trees - - - or anything else I asked them to do - haha! it was a great time!

The students are friends of ours through our huge family of speech and debate - from all over the country. These particular ones happen to live in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We were blessed to be able to spend Christmas with them!

The young lady on the right is already in college. We were getting caught up with her senior pictures :).

What a great group! They are such close friends, even though they live spread out over three states between the six of them.

This is a working horse camp during the summer. Children come here to develop their horse-riding skills. I loved the barn area and this "fake" horse was a lot of fun!

What a hoot!

I mentioned the temps were in the twenties. It was realllllly cold! My hands were freezing! I borrowed some of Mark's hunting gloves that had the fingertips cut out, so I could use my fingers on the camera. But, man! My hands were like ice! While I would be taking individual shots, the students bundled up with each other to stay warm - haha! (And three days later on Christmas - we got nine inches of snow!)

It isn't an official 'Alice Hendon' photo shoot until someone climbs a tree (evidence located in the third photo of this post) and someone gets pictures taken of their shoes. Hahaha! In this case - everyone got shoe shots!

And let me tell you - they are one awesome group of people!

Those would be the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. Such a beautiful, lovely location!

Did I mention what a fun shoot this was?

The tall fellow? The one with his head resting on the ground? This shot was his idea. He was all like "let's hang from our knees!" and everyone did. I didn't realize his head was on the ground until he commented on this shot on facebook. hahaha! Seriously, I had a wonderful time on this photo shoot. Such good kids, such close friendships, such wonderful memories and history with each of the people you see here. I just love them all! Congratulations, seniors! Way to go!

i ♥ faces Best Face Photo of 2010

2011-01-03T22:34:00.004-05:00

The week's I Heart Faces challenge is your best face photo from 2010. I had no idea which is my best, so I just pulled my favorite from my most recent shoot. I love the contrast of the beautiful young lady among all the dead branches in the heart of winter. And, of course, that solar pop through the branches always wins a favorite spot for me! I love solar flare! To check out other Best Face Photos, or to enter one of your own, head on over to i heart faces here.

CFC Fall Tour, 2010

2011-01-02T13:03:00.004-05:00

The tour is a done deal and Winter Retreat (Ignite!) is coming up on the 13th. The Interns have done an excellent job! What better way to pull it all together than with a video highlighting their activities on tour. And you get to hear Toby Mac's Tonight because that was the intern's behind-the-scenes-theme song for the Awakening Program. Thanks for a great tour, great labs, great memories, - friendships to build a lifetime of memories with. God bless you on your way! I love every one of you - as if you were my own! (And, Kali, I love you with all my heart and am so proud of you! I thank God every day for putting you (and your brother) in my life!) So. Crank you up some Toby Mac, and enjoy :).

Christmas in the Mountains, 2010

2010-12-27T21:44:00.002-05:00

Thanks to some wonderful friends of ours, we were blessed to be able to spend Christmas this year in the mountains of North Carolina. It snowed nine inches on Christmas Day. What a great way to spend Christmas - we played in the snow for hours! We just got back home a couple hours ago, and I wanted to get this photo of Kali posted. If you are looking for a great place to spend some time in the Blue Ridge Mountains, check out the Laurelwood Mountain Inn at their website here. There will be many more photos to come in the next few days! Continue to enjoy your holidays :).

Follow the Star

2010-12-24T23:44:00.003-05:00

While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel. Luke 2:6-7

There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-12

Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, "Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I'll join you at once in your worship." Matthew 2:7-8
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:9-12.

Merry Christmas to you and your family this wonderful, holiday season! May you hold Christ dear and near in your heart. May you remember all that God has blessed us with through the birth of His son - Jesus. May the God of the universe bless you in this coming new year. From The Shadow of the Cross - Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

(Photos of the life-size nativity were taken at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando while visiting the Osborne Family Lights. Scripture is from the Message and from the New International Versions of the Holy Bible.)

Christmas Doodles With Friends

2010-12-22T10:50:00.008-05:00

When we found out we were going to be spending Christmas in the mountains with some of our speech and debate families, I knew I wanted to do something special for our host family's daughters. Kali and their two are great friends! so I wanted to make it special.

I contacted Rick over at Organized Doodles and requested name doodles. What a fun idea! I told Rick a little bit about each girl - what they were like, what their interests were, basically why all three are special individuals. And, Rick took that information and made these awesome doodles.

I couldn't wait. As soon as we got to the mountains, we broke out the packages and let the girls have them. What fun! They loved seeing their names drawn up by a professional. They looked for special elements in their own, then looked for elements that were in all three, and finally they had to be introduced to Eggy :) - my favorite part of any of Rick's doodles.

So, thanks, Rick! for making our Christmas visit special! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

(Please check out Rick's blog here.

Purple Streaks - You Capture

2010-12-17T16:00:00.004-05:00

I started out wanting blue streaks - months ago. Problem being - blue bleeds and turns your whole head of hair blue. Not good.

Brittany finally found a purple that is permanent - it won't bleed and turn all my hair purple - and that's definitely a good thing! Subtle. Not too over the top. Just wait till after the holidays and I go back to get more purple added in :). There WILL be more pictures at that time :).

Kali wanted her hair cut and styled, too. What do you think? I think she's beautiful!

And she actually let me take a couple pictures of her.

Beautiful! Now we are both ready to celebrate the holidays!

This is also my You Capture post for this week! The challenge was "outdoors" - as you can see in Kali's pictures, we are living in the south and the weather is gorgeous! Head on over to I Should Be Folding Laundry and check out all the photos!

Seuss Landing

2010-12-14T22:05:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Kali and I went to Islands of Adventure where we spent a bit of time in Seuss Landing. When both our children were little, we spent many nights reading the numerous books of Dr. Seuss. Kali was even born on Theodore Geisel's birthday! In elementary grades, we even did a unit study on Dr. Seuss. Needless to say - Kali and I loved our time in Seuss Landing!

Christmas decorations were everywhere - in typical Seussical/nonsensical fashion - what fun!

The top of the Caro-Seuss-el, where Horton the elephant sits perched.

The Cat in the Hat was probably Dr. Seuss' most popular book. In 1954, Life Magazine ran a story about illiteracy in the public school system, declaring students couldn't read because the books were boring. Dr. Seuss' publicist made a list of 400 important words and asked Seuss to write a book using just 250 of those words. This culminated in six months worth of work, during which Seuss used 220 of the words and wrote The Cat in the Hat. A bet ensued and Seuss followed up with Green Eggs and Ham, which contains a mere 50 different words.

Next, we entered the Street of the Lifted Lorax - a place near and dear to our hearts! This past year, Kali and her duo partner competed with their interpretation of Seuss' The Lorax! They qualified to regional competition with this piece, as well as performed it on many local platforms.

The Lorax.

Part of what they are judged on includes synchronization, how they work in tandem. To make the character of the Lorax - they doubled up - Kali was the head, her partner was the body of the Lorax. They spoke all the lines in unison - it was awesome!

The Onceler's House.

Kali's partner was the Onceler. Here 'he' sits and looks out of his lerkim, and sometimes ... he speaks. And she would clear her throat. In the Onceler's house above, you can see the lerkim. It is the pink window, at the top, on the left. You can see the hole the Onceler looked out of.

In case you aren't familiar with the storyline, it is environment-based, teaching us to protect and preserve what we have. And the truffula trees? They are what everyone, everyone, everyone needs.

Kali in front of the Onceler's House, surrounded by truffula trees - haha! It really is - you just can't see them in this shot. This would be before they got greedy and chopped down all the truffula trees.

Kali listening to the whisper-ma-phone.

In the story, the whisper-ma-phone drops down and the Onceler tells how the Lorax was lifted, and taken away.

Kali re-enacted part of the duo - the humming-fish who hummed while splashing around in the rippulous pond.

The same thing from their duo.

Here's a shot of them at the Florida Qualifier - the first time they presented The Lorax in competition - waiting to see if they broke. This would mean they had qualified for regionals.

And --- they did! I had stuffed Loraxes stashed under a table. I knew they would qualify. They worked so hard! And the Loraxes were the perfect way to congratulate them!

And there was even more Dr. Seuss stuff - like this cool shop! And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street was Seuss' first book. In came out in 1937, as a poem.

So many cool things to see. Great Seuss shapes! Great Seuss characters! Great Seuss colors!

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

Do I even need to tell you? :) This was such an incredible amount of fun! Dr. Seuss is the best. You should definitely check out Seuss Landing at Islands of Adventure if you get the opportunity! McElligot's Pool, Oh, the Thinks You Can Think, Green Eggs and Ham, The Sneetches, Horton Hears a Who, If I Ran the Zoo, Hop on Pop, it's all there for you to see and experience!

i ♥ faces Pet Challenge

2010-12-13T21:50:00.002-05:00

This week's challenge at i heart faces is pets. This is a picture I took of Gus and turned into an email Christmas card. I love the textured look. And Gus is always up for getting his picture taken - he's such a ham! To check out all the other pet shots, head on over to i ♥ faces here.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2010-12-07T21:12:00.001-05:00

Last week, Kali and I headed to Orlando where we spent the afternoon in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I had been waiting for a long time to visit the park. This was our first glimpse - the Hogwart's Express at platform nine and three quarters.

This was an interesting sign in the station. Check out the last two lines.

From there you step straight into Hogsmeade. To the left you see Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeydukes. There is also a butterbeer cart straight ahead. They were actually selling pumpkin juice on this particular day.

The shops were most interesting. This one was Dervish and Banges, a shop that services and repairs magical equipment. In this case, they also carried quidditch supplies and uniforms.

We found this lady from Flourish and Blotts walking around with the Monster Book of Monsters. It really snapped at our hands!

This was outside Dervish and Banges. I am wondering if the keeper's vest in the window is the actual one Rupert Grint wore as Ron in the 5th movie (I think it was the 5th) when he was Gryffindor's keeper.

Kali is checking out the Owl Post. It wasn't an open store for us to look in, but the windows were filled with all kinds of interesting things to look at!

Including a howler!

The rest of the street.

Then we came to the crossroads. Hogsmeade behind us and the Hogwarts Castle in front of us. That tiny triple tower you see in the middle, attached to the largest spire, is the Divination Tower where Professor Trelawney taught her classes.

Hagrid's house is tucked in behind The Flight of the Hippogriff ride. The employees were kind enough to let me walk back there and take pictures. Mostly you only see this from the ride, but I don't do rides well, so they let me wander on back there.

A side view with one of Hagrid's huge pumpkins.

Out in front of Hagrid's house is this huge nest with Buckbeak seated in it. He is animated and moves. You can also hear Fang barking from inside the house.

The Flight of the Hippogriff was Kali's favorite thing there.

First good glimpse of the castle.

The entrance to Hogwarts.

These huge winged hogs were on either side of the entrance. I don't remember them from the books, or the movies, but I'm sure they must be there. I just don't have any idea what they are called. (Brings to mind the saying: when pigs fly - haha!)

Could we interest you in a tour of the castle? There is a simulator inside, and those just make me sick. So, we did the castle tour instead.

Professor Dumbledore's office. All the photos of past headmasters would be along the stairs to the left and right of this photo. Climbing the stairs to get to this location gave us a view of many of the moving portraits, including ones of Godrick Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin - who were all having a heated discussion.

The pensieve where Dumbledore and Harry so many times reviewed collected memories.

Back on the street, we found a pumpkin juice cart with assorted enchanted drinks.

I wish I had gotten one of these.

Potage's Cauldron Shop.

The Hog's Head Pub - Professor Dumbledore's brother Aberforth is the proprietor. This is where Professor Trelawney revealed the prophecy to Professor Dumbledore; where Hagrid wins Norbert in a gambling match; where Dumbledore's Army had its first meeting; and behind this door over the bar is where the students were evacuated in book 7, and where the Order of the Phoenix and other fighters gained access to the castle. Technically it should have a portrait of Adriana on it, but it doesn't.

Skyline shot.

Welcome to Zonko's Joke Shop. See if you recognize any of the toys in the window.

The Honeydukes' staff. Doesn't the fellow on the left look like a Weasley?

The pink, fluffy cotton candy is called Candyfloss. Hermione sent some to her parents - the dentists :). The boxes hold Salt Water Taffy.

Chocolate Cauldrons are located top right. Treacle Tarts are to the far left, next to Hagrid's Rock Cakes.

Front left you have Crystallized Pineapple - Slughorn's favorite.

Top row - Exploding Bon Bons; middle row - Professor Dumbledore's Lemon Drops; and bottom right - Peppermint Straws. I bought the peppermint straws and they were delicious!

Kali's favorite - Chocolate Frogs! And they came with a card inside - just like in the book :).

Awesome Honeydukes' ladies :).

Remember when Harry used the marauder's map and his invisibility cloak to sneak into Hogsmeade? He used the tunnels and entered through the basement of Honeydukes. This is the staircase he climbed to enter the store.

Cool, cool shop! I spent $68.00 on candy so I could bring home stuff for everybody - haha! And it's all been delivered and handed out already.

I think this sign was outside the Three Broomsticks. Sirius Black really moved and looked around - just like in the movie.

We kept hearing crying noises as we walked through Hogsmeade. We finally came across Slugg and Jiggers Apothecary, which carried potions and potions ingredients. This baby mandrake was being pulled from its pot - and you could hear it crying throughout the park.

Employees from the Owl Post. What a cool and fun job they have!

The Frog Choir. They walked through the park, carrying their frogs. Pretty nifty!

A wand cart on the street. Anyone could try out the wands and purchase whichever wand chose you. Here are some I found interesting:

Dumbledore's wand.

Voldemort's wand.

Harry Potter's wand.

Ron Weasley's wand.

Hermione Granger's wand.

Located in one of the stores, this is Bellatrix Lestrange's death eaters' mask.

Just a couple last shots of the town.

And the castle.

I think the designers and builders did an incredible job reproducing the wizarding world of Harry and his friends. I had a great visit there, just wandering around shooting loads of pictures. I can't wait to go back. I just have to save up some more money for Honeydukes - hahaha!

North Point's IBand - Check out this awesome and talented group!

2010-12-07T16:15:00.004-05:00

It is all good!
My favorite section comes about 5:30 minutes into the video,
but you really need to watch it all!
North Point Ministries and Church rocks!
Merry Christmas!

The Leaves of Fall

2010-11-26T22:57:00.002-05:00

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!

2010-11-25T09:51:00.003-05:00

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

2010-11-23T16:15:00.003-05:00

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.