9/24/06

Today was a bit of an emotional day at church. As I have written before, our Youth Pastor has a brain tumor. He has never bounced back from his surgery 3 weeks ago and we found out yesterday he had to be put into a drug-induced coma. They tried 2 shunts and they didn't work right because they knicked a vein when they were putting it in which caused more trauma. Today at church our pastor wasn't there because he was at the hospital so our former Youth Pastor preached. We had four deacons get up and pray specifically for Mike and his family as well as wisdom for the doctors. Our former Youth Pastor preached a powerful message. He was saying that Mike will win either way.. whether he lives or dies.. because he has Jesus Christ as His personal Savior. It was a morning of tears but re-assurance that Mike is in the Lord's hands and we need to wait on Him. His will is not our will. My heart goes out to his family, though, because I remember all too well how emotionally taxing Mom's ordeal was and what we went through. They are going through so much and sometimes we pray so much for the person who is sick that we forget to pray for the family. Please continue to pray for Mike McCaskill. God is the Great Physician and if it is His will he will heal Mike. We must remember what I wrote many times and thought of during Mom's illness... God is good all the time, All the time God is good.

We have had a lazy afternoon. My house is such a disaster and it needs cleaning but I am thinking of waiting until Tuesday before I have to go to my convention and then we will come home to a clean house. The kids have been working on their areas already so that helps. Sometimes I just get so overwhelmed with it all so it helps so much that they are old enough to help now.

Today's flower is from my friends house. I love this picture and like how the focus is on the top middle portion of the flower itself and then falls off as you look down and up. I thought it was a bright picture for such an emotionally draining morning.

I am blessed with what I have and I have thanked the Lord for that today. Let's all remember what GOD has given us and praise His name. Have a wonderful day.

9/23/06

It has been a busy few days! We went to see The Lion King on Thursday night and it was AWESOME! I would love to go see it again while it is in town but I doubt that will happen. The kids would have loved it. :) I drank a frappucino at intermission, which had caffeine in it. Let's just say I was up till after midnight and only had 5 hours of sleep. ha!! It has caught up with me today, too, and I have felt in slow motion a lot of times.

Today Wesley had a play date with a friend from school. I was so happy for him to have this time. The little boy is precious and had a great time with Wesley and Mikayla. I did make Mikayla stay away from them for a little bit of time so Wesley could have him all to himself. She has so many friends that Wesley gets left out sometimes. It was good for him to have this time. They had such a wonderful time that I knew they didn't want it to stop. We'll have to plan another one for them soon.

We bought Mikayla's Halloween costume today. She is going to be Cinderella. She is so excited and even wanted to wear the dress to bed tonight. She said it was too long to wait for Halloween. lol I remember feeling that way when I was little, too. Of course, I still do that... when I get a new pair of Birkenstocks I fling them out of the box and start wearing them immediately! ha!! She'll be such a pretty Cinderella. I can't wait to see her all dressed up.

We went out to eat tonight and I dropped off some of my nature pictures to our friends. We had eaten supper with them last night and they loved my pictures I had shown them. I told Steve tonight that I am finding all my nature pictures are on my computer and not getting enjoyed. I want them to be something people look at over and over and love the beauty in God's creation. There is no need to take them without getting to enjoy them. :) My picture above is of a zinnia from my friend's house. I don't think I showed this one this past week. :)

Well, my late nights are catching up to me and I am feeling it. I also would love to read a little tonight. Maybe I'll get a few pages in anyway. :) Have a terrific day and go enjoy some part of God's world. :)

9/21/06

This may be a long post. lol I wanted to share my devotion that I did with the teachers this morning at school. I compared my love of photography with our walk with the Lord. I thought the Lord gave me some neat points. Here is a picture I had shared, too. I hope it gives you something to think about, too!

Viewing God through a camera lens

The details of God’s Creation can easily be overlooked in our lives. We are so busy that we fail to look around and observe how God has designed the different things in the world so beautifully. What we may see as weeds and creatures/things that are ugly are actually parts of His creation that He saw was VERY GOOD at the end of the Creation week. Their purpose may have changed because of the sin that entered into the world, but they are still beautiful in God’s eyes. How can we view the world differently? How can we magnify on what God has created?

Psalm 34:3 – O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Revelation 4:11 – Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Psalm 104:24 – O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

How taking a photograph compares with our walk with the Lord:

1. You have to be still to capture the moment. Psalm 46:10 – Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. We have to be still and allow God to show us what he wants in our lives.

2. You have to focus on your subject or it will be blurry. Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. We must focus on the Lord to show us the correct path or the correct way to do things.

3. What you see through the viewfinder may not be what you get! I Samuel 16:7b – for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

4. You need a flash or the shutter has to stay open longer in dark areas to allow more light. Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine upon men that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven. Are we allowing our “shutters” to stay open long enough for people to see the light of Jesus in us?

5. You can get some of your best light from the sun. John 1:1-5 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6. Just when you have your camera ready to take the picture, your subject moves! Genesis 12:1 – Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee. Just when we think we have it all figured out, sometimes God moves us out of our comfort zone!

7. A tripod is needed at times for steadiness. Psalm 18:2 – The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. We need the Lord to hold us up when times are hard.

8. Looking through a telephoto lens gives you a narrow depth of field. When we look to God’s Word as our base of what we believe we aren’t caught up in what is all around us. Psalm 16:11 – Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

9. Have an understanding that you won’t get a “perfect” shot every time.
II Corinthians 12:29 – And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We need to remember that we aren’t perfect and we’ll make mistakes, but God can use it to teach us something.

10. In order to be used, a camera has to have fresh batteries, be turned on, the lens cap taken off with film/card inside. We have to allow the God to give us life so we can be alive to show praise to Him. Psalm 36:9 – For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light. Proverbs 8:35 – For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord.

I had a lot of people tell me they enjoyed it. I wanted people to walk away with a different "view" of a camera and give them something to think on everytime they took a picture. :)

Today and yesterday have been BEAUTIFUL here. It has been in the low 70's and BLUE skies each day. I am excited about fall and the beauty it brings. (Makes me want to go back to Washington, DC to try my hand at my pictures again....the monuments against that fabulous blue sky. Amy, I am jealous!!!)

Anyway, just a wonderful afternoon and the kids had a blast playing outside after school. When Steve got home he taught Wesley how to drive his "old" John Deere. He put it on really slow speed and then taught him how to stop/start/back up with it. It was the neatest thing and he was SO excited on it. Mikayla said she was following on her bike. :) Here are some pictures I took this afternoon.

Tonight Steve and I are going to go see The Lion King and I am excited! I am glad to be able to go with Steve, too. It will be a nice treat for us. :) I took a mini nap this afternoon so I could stay awake during the whole thing! I'll let you know how it goes!! :) Have a wonderful day!

9/19/06

I had to eat catfish tonight. I am not a fish eater....but my Daddy had Steve take a picture of me eating some that Mom had cooked. He just HAD to see that I had eaten some. lol I know I am looking most lovely, but I had just had my time of getting comfortable after a long day at work. You get the point. :)

Wesley is working on his "r" sound today. I am trying to get him to say "faRm" instead of "fawm." He is trying and that is what counts. He is also getting closer and closer to tying his own shoes. What a joy that will be! Mikayla has known how for a long time. He is happy letting us do it. lol He was pretty tickled with himself this afternoon when he did it on his own. :)

I have a ton of papers to grade tonight. I can't seem to get away from them. They just follow me home!

I am doing a devotion for the teachers at school on Thursday morning. All teachers get to do one before the end of the year. I am doing it on viewing God through a camera lens. I'll have to post it after I do it. I am happy with it. I had to ask the Lord to give me similarities. I didn't want to be rambling. lol

I wandered around a park yesterday and took some photos. I'll post a few of them. Honestly, I didn't think I'd get a lot of good ones where I had to be and I was right. I saw some other places I wanted to capture, but didn't get a chance to get back by them. I'll share some of those photos later. For now, enjoy another one from the lake. This was one of my favorites.

I am hearing some serious laughter from my kids and their daddy. He has been doing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" with them and he tickles them as he does it. It is great to hear. I am so blessed...so blessed. I am thankful to have a husband who cherishes the moments he has with his family as much as I do.

I guess I better get those papers graded. They surely aren't going to grade themselves... Have a good one!

9/15/06

Has it already almost been a week since I posted?? Time just flies so quickly now. If I am not getting home late I am grading papers at night...or folding clothes like last night. LOTS of clothes. lol

Today's picture is one I took at the lake last weekend. I am trying to work on off-centering certain things in my pictures. One of my friends is trying to teach me that and it does make for an interesting picture. I kind of liked this one. It gave a different perspective on a flower I have taken pictures of so many times.

It has been a fun week at school but yet a tiring one. I am glad it is the weekend.

We had some friends over for supper tonight. Yes, I actually cooked....do not faint. It was a fun evening of talking and laughing. My sweet family kicked in and helped me clean the house while I was cooking...tag team. I am blessed with my family. :)

Wesley and Mikayla got their first progress reports this week. They did AWESOME. It continues to show that we made the right decision with holding them back. Of course, Wesley lost his sticker yesterday for pinching a little girl at lunch. Now, I can laugh about it now because I know it wasn't intentionally done to hurt her. He just wasn't thinking and did it as if he were playing around with Mikayla. Well, we let him know it was serious and he needed to think and what not, but behind closed doors I had to chuckle. He is getting so goofy and comical now that sometimes I wonder about him. (Unfortunately, I remember myself doing some of the same things and seeing it through him causes me to shudder....ha!) He can act so funny sometimes but then not know when to cut it off and that is what got him in trouble yesterday. Apparently, Mikayla got so upset that he got in trouble that she was crying hysterically and her teacher had to hold her to calm her down. She hates for him to get into trouble. I told her last night that she had to understand that Wesley is going to make choices and she has to move past getting so emotional over them. It was sweet, though.

I walked in to wake them up this morning only to find that Wesley had made his way from his room to her room in the middle of the night. There they were as sweet as can be sleeping beside each other. When I asked them about it this morning, they both had their eyes closed and just smiled when they responded. How could you get "mad" over something like that? lol It truly is precious and I am thankful they have such a close relationship.

Well, I am finding my eyelids are getting heavier and heavier. I think it is time for some much needed rest. I am so thankful tomorrow is Saturday. I am hoping to get all of my journaling caught up and start on some more pages. lol (yeah, in my dreams...) Have a wonderful day!

9/9/06

We went to Steve's Dads today to celebrate Steve's and his brother's birthdays. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed it a lot. We went on a boat ride and I got wet... I was looking through the lens of my camera taking pictures of some boaters on the lake, when all of a sudden a LARGE splash of water came from NO WHERE and got me, my camera and Steve soaking wet. My hair was looking lovely. (In fact, my father-in-law kept kidding me about it... I know he is reading this and laughing....) Anyway, thankfully my camera was not harmed but it scared the mess out of me!!

I took some really pretty pictures that I'll be posting on my blog through the posts ahead. The ones today are of the kids with their catfish they caught. Mikayla desperately wanted to catch a catfish and that was the second fish she caught. Wesley caught the first fish of the day...which was this good sized catfish. It was a lot of fun watching them. Remember, you can click on the photos to see them bigger.

I went on a photography hunt today. It was WONDERFUL to go around looking for things of which to take pictures. I kept poking along slowly with my camera looking at the small stuff. I found some interesting things that I have no idea what they were, though. One of them were these cone like things on a tree that wasn't a pine tree! It was quite interesting. I liked them so I figured they would be a neat picture. I haven't been able to go around taking pictures like that since school has started so it was a nice "in my element" moment I was having. lol I couldn't wait to get home and upload them to see them bigger. Some of them turned out beyond my expectations when I took them. Others looked like I thought and need to be deleted. hee hee BUT..you know I have learned that a photographer might take 100 pictures and only like 10 of them. That is so true. Steve told me I had taken "enough" pictures of the ducks. Well, the last few are the ones I liked so if I had stopped at one I wouldn't have gotten the shots I liked. (Those pictures will have to come in a later post...)

Well, I need to go and get myself ready for Sunday. I am going to go read...I think I can get past 2 lines tonight. I haven't read much the last couple of nights because I have been so sleepy. It is comical, actually.

Have a good day! :)

9/8/06

It is Friday and I am thankful for a break. :) Not that this week has been bad... it is just nice to be able to be in a different routine.

I need to say that I am so blessed with the two sweet children we have. We got home late today (after 5:00) because of all of the silly day I had and I was pooped. I knew I needed to clean this afternoon because we are going to Steve's Dad's house tomorrow and there wouldn't be time. Well, my sweet children, who knew they had jobs to do anyway, took it upon themselves to go above and beyond to help me out and did it with a smile. Not only have they been at school all day like me (since 6:45) but they came home and did what was asked of them without a complaint. They are learning and growing so much in this area. We still have our moments, don't think my children are perfect. LOL BUT.... they complain so much less than a lot of kids I know. They are precious, precious children of which I am SO THANKFUL to the Lord.

Another thing I am proud of is that Wesley is reading much better. Last night Steve and a friend from church installed our new door out to the deck area. The other one had rotted at the bottom so we bought one of those that should not rot...ever. Well, while they were hammering and knocking and making all kinds of noise, Wesley read me his book and stayed focused with me. He only looked up a couple of times, but so did I, and the pictures in the book were the only thing that "got" him. Even they didn't get him as badly this time, though. He was so proud of himself when I kept going on and on about how that was the best I have heard him read. He wanted me to go with him to tell his teacher today. She was tickled, too. Mikayla Girl is just becoming an awesome reader. I am so thankful for how far they have come in a year. Last year this time I thought I was going to pull my hair out!! :)

I just had to brag on them a little bit. :)

I have no idea what we are doing for supper. Wesley is now vacuuming and Mikayla will have to do it next. At least my house is cleaner than it was at 5:00. :) They will have to eat something, get a quick bath and then read to me (and me read to them) before bedtime. Lot's to do in a little bit of time. :)

Have a super day!

9/5/06

Today's picture is from our driving range outing with the kids. Mikayla cracked us up with her pink John Deere hat smashed down on her head. :)

You know what makes me happy? When I can sit down and read to my children and have them curled up on either side of me. There is nothing like it and I can't wait till the fireplace is roaring and we can be doubly cozy!! :) I am really enjoying reading the "Little House on the Praire" series to them. I am enjoying them as much as they are! They are kind of funny because they are not catching everything exactly as it happens, but for their little minds they are doing quite well. As they get older they will absorb more of it, but for now we are building a foundation. It is great to watch. Steve is exciting to watch, too. He was not really in to reading until he met me and even then it took me a few years of our marriage to convince him reading was awesome! Anyway, his desire for the kids is for them to LOVE reading and to realize what a great adventure they can go on through a book. He was in the kitchen a few minutes ago asking the kids about what they heard from the "Little House" book we are reading. He was getting excited about it with them and that is wonderful. I truly hope my children love to read and do it more and more as they get older. Wesley is getting there and Mikayla loves it. I am so glad. :)

One of my dear friends cooked us a lasagna for supper tonight. A couple of weeks ago she cooked us chicken enchiladas and mexican rice. What a precious friend she is. That meant so much to me today when she called because I had just gotten home and was wondering what we were doing for supper. God is good to give us friends.

Well, not a lot of time to chat now because I have two sets of tests to grade. They are calling my name... along with a nice bowl of icecream, maybe... or maybe something else. hee hee Have a great day!

9/4/06

Wow...I got quite a bit accomplished today. :) It was so nice to have this day off. It gave me the breather I have been needing.

I worked on journaling for most of the day. In between washing clothes, folding clothes, cooking supper (well, part of it...) and general cleaning of stuff, I was able to get more done than I originally thought when the day loomed before me. I am still not finished with the pile of pages, but the pile keeps going down. THAT is an accomplishment. :) I still have a few hours tonight to work on them. I hope I can get them knocked out soon because I have lots more to do. lol

Steve had to work this morning but when he came home he worked around the yard then took the kids to the driving range. I hated not to go and spend time as a family, but I also knew I had to get some things done. He enjoyed his time with them, though, and it is always good to have "Daddy Time."

Today's picture is from a few weeks ago when we went to the driving range. Wesley is doing really well with his golf and Mikayla doesn't do too badly seeing as she is left handed and doing her golfing right handed. :)

Well, I am off to start reading "The Little House on the Prairie" series to the kiddos. I am excited about starting that. :) Have a terrific day!

9/3/06

Yeah, I am still here. I am taking cues from an online friend and doing the date now instead of the titles all the time. My brain is doing good most days to remember my name let alone a new title. ;)

I haven't been in the blogging mood lately. I have had so much going on with the first of school that I really don't have it in me to get on here when I get home. I will really try to do better.

School is going really well. I am cherishing my moments at home and realize why I act like I do in the summertime. I truly only desire to be at home during summer and it is because I am away for so long during the school year! Hopefully things will calm down a bit in the next few weeks.

The kids are doing awesome in school this year. It confirms that we made the best choice with holding them back, although we knew that when we had to make the decision. It is just nice to know that maturity was the main issue and not something else. Wesley is still my slower reader, but that is fine. We bought them new books last night and they are both excited about reading them. Wesley HAD to read me his book this afternoon. He did well, but he gets so stuck on the pictures that it takes him forever to get through the book. lol Mom and my brother laughed at me this afternoon because while he was reading I was passing out on the couch. My eyelids just couldn't stay open much longer. He kept saying "Mom, I already read that word..." because I was using my finger to help keep him on the words and not the pictures. hee hee I don't have that problem when Mikayla reads...just so we get that straight. lol

This past week was a better week on the emotions. Our Youth Pastor came through his surgery just fine but now they are waiting to see how agressive the cancer is. We are continuing to pray that he will be fine but it truly is in the Lord's hands and we are trusting in Him.

We went Putt-Putting for the first time last night with the kids. I don't know why we haven't taken them before now. I guess we just didn't think they would get into it. Wesley is becoming quite the golfer and he was excited. We had a good time except some young guys flew up behind us acting stupid and seeing how hard they could hit the ball to get it to do crazy things. We finally let them go past us. Well, then we had this family of five behind us after that and their kids would fly through the holes and stare at us till we were through. Do families not do anything the right way anymore? Kids have no patience and they just look at you like you are being horribly slow or something. It honestly made me want to move slower. Of course, I realize they would not have learned anything from me going slower. A few times I actually did go slower but it wasn't on purpose. It seems I had trouble getting my ball to cooperate with the putter on certain occasions. lol

We left there and went out to eat and then to the book store. We had the best time in there and got the kids some great books. I am going to start reading them the "Little House on the Prairie" series. I think it will be great for them...and me. :) I also found some books for school that I bought. I am looking forward to reading them to my students.

My picture of today is unique, I guess. Mom and Dad have a large amount of these writer spiders in their yard this year. We found the "Mother" of all writer spiders yesterday and I took a picture of it and a few others. I was CREEPED out by them, but knew my students at school would enjoy seeing them. I hope you get a "thrill" out of them, too. :) They are kind of neat in a spider sort of way. Almost all of them had egg sacks but today they were gone. I just had to keep reminding myself that GOD MADE THEM.

I entered some photos in the Wildlife Photo contest. I have no idea if I have a shot at winning, but one never knows until they try, do they? I also have to send in my info. regarding the photo I am sending in to the fair as well as the scrapbook pages I will be entering. I'll get those out this week.

I worked on journaling this weekend. I have SO many pages to do and my goal is to get them all done by tomorrow evening. We'll see if that happens!! I have gotten our Pennsylvania trip finished...just finished those a little bit ago so that makes me feel better.

Steve has to work for a short time tomorrow but after that he'll be home. I have no idea what we'll do except do last minute things to get ready for another week. I am thankful for the day off and will enjoy it immensly. :)

Fall is right around the corner... I realize around here it doesn't feel cold till November (if then!) but I am SO looking forward to a fire in the fireplace again. It has started hitting me in the last week. I am continuing to enjoy the season we are in because time flies fast enough, but I am looking forward to the coziness again. I'll have to get my fireplace picture back out. :)

Well, my cat wants my attention and there are clothes I need to take out of the washing machine and hang up to dry. Hope everyone has a blessed day and I will really try to do better about blogging. :)