06/30/09

This is a fruit bat and the largest in the world. It is found in Asia... Indonesia, I believe? These were at Animal Kingdom and it was wild seeing them so up close. They look like a furry little cutie thing with bat wings and they HAVE to hang upside down. If I remember correctly their blood flows opposite of ours? (Kevin can correct me if I am wrong.) The keepers of the bats allow it to "rain" each day on these fruit bats so that is what is happening in the picture. You can click on it to see the detail of the rain spatter. Pretty neat. :)


Didn't get any scrapbooking done today because we were at school doing inventory on the new school books that have arrived. We're not going to talk about school, though... nope, can't go there right now.

After we inventoried, Wesley had speech and so our day was caught up in all of that. Wesley is doing SO well with his speaking and self-correcting his /r/ sound. The therapist is very pleased with his progress in just three weeks!

Mikayla is beginning piano lessons next Tuesday! She is so excited and I am for her as well. Her teacher is going to be one that teaches her classically... meaning she will learn each note and what it does without "easy learning" modes. It is going to be tough, but she is used to her mother, so she should be fine. LOL Her teacher is from China and learned to play the piano the way she is teaching. She is an excellent teacher who only expects her best from her students. I am right there with her so I think it is great.

I'm planning on another all day scrap-a-thon tomorrow. lol :)

06/29/09

Isn't this tiger beautiful? I took this at Animal Kingdom. I wish I had taken my telephoto lens, but as it was, I was hot enough with just the camera. lol Click on it to view it larger... It was in the "India" section. I really enjoyed this part of the park. The way they copied the architecture was so neat. I would have taken pics of that but I knew it was "fake." lol

I finally got back to scrapbooking today. It has been a year. I was a bit overwhelmed with all of the pictures at first, but am just taking it one "day" at a time.

I scrapbooked Ashes' last pictures. It has almost been a year that she has been gone. I shed a few tears. I still miss her. She was such a sweetie.

I also began the pages of Isabelle and Sampson and they made me laugh. lol I can't believe how much they have grown. They'll be a year soon! What a blessing they have been... craziness and all.

It has been fun today looking back at the last year and seeing how things have changed in the house or with the kids/kittens. This will be a nice journey for me as I get through these pages, hopefully, before school starts back. I want to be "current" again in my books.

06/28/09

These clouds graced our skies Friday evening. How beautiful is the handiwork of God....

closeup of the one above

This photo just can't do the one on the right "justice".... it didn't turn out as well as it was in the sky because of the shadows.

More words of "peace" that I gleaned today from church. It goes well with my "word of the week" picture from yesterday.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

06/27/09

We got Mikayla's piano today!! Here are some pics of it. I think it fits great in our dining room and goes with everything very well. I really hope she takes off with it and loves it. I honestly think she will with how she is with music.

Without flash and showing the "ambiance" of the room. :)

Now for the "word of the week" pictures. This week's word was "PEACE." Let me just say that one was difficult. Peace is felt but not an easy thing to photograph. Peace is found all through God's Word. One that comes to mind is one I learned a few years ago:

Philippians 4:6-7

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I took a picture of Steve sleeping, but that just wasn't very "artsy"... lol I took pictures of some clouds but they didn't give the same affect in the photograph as when I was looking at them while sitting on Mom and Dad's deck enjoying the moment of peace and quiet.

I then remembered the little boat dock not far from here that always seems quiet and peaceful to me when no one is there. I took the "plunge" the other day and photographed it. I actually had to "sneak" photos of it because the gates were closed! I was as nervous as could be because I had to park on the side of the road. NOT good. :) Talk about less peace when you are trying to create a peaceful scene!!!

Anyway... here it is. Steve didn't think it was very peaceful at first. He said it just looked like a bunch of boats to me. I then explained to him this: the boats are all in from being used and no one is around. The lake is "resting" so to speak, henceforth, PEACE and quiet. He finally got it. lol You all may agree with Steve, who knows, but I love it.

I also took this of silly Sampson... he was "PEACE"fully sleeping on my ironing board.

Last but not least, this is what Mikayla said makes her have "peace"... reading. :)

We are off to my niece's graduation party. I found this on another blog the other day and liked it so I copied it. (I commented to her that I would. lol) Little people can have deep thoughts when you give them the chance! :) I must say, when I read this I thought of Wesley doing the same thing. Pardon the different colors... I have no idea what happened. lol

He was just a little boy, On a week's first day.

Wandering home from Bible school, And dawdling on the way.

He scuffed his shoes into the grass; He even found a caterpillar.

He found a fluffy milkweed pod, And blew out all the 'filler.'

A bird's nest in a tree overhead, So wisely placed up so high.

Was just another wonder, That caught his eager eye.

A neighbor watched his zig zag course, And hailed him from the lawn;

Asked him where he'd been that day And what was going on.

'I've been to Bible School ,' He said and turned a piece of sod..

He picked up a wiggly worm replying, 'I've learned a lot about God.'

'M'm very fine way,' the neighbor said, 'for a boy to spend his time.'

'If you'll tell me where God is, I'll give you a brand new dime.'

Quick as a flash the answer came! Nor were his accents faint.

'I'll give you a dollar, Mister,

If you can tell me where God ain't...?'

06/26/09

This insect looks a bit like a ladybug, but I am not thinking it is. I looked it up in my insect guide but didn't find anything like it. It is a small field guide so I know it isn't "exhaustive"... Kind of neat, though!


Today I was able to spend some time with my photography mentor. It was more learning for me which means more practice. lol :)

No secret about Michael Jackson's death at this point... I must say I am not thrilled with all of the "hub-bub" surrounding his death. I realize the man had his talents and he did have some great songs in his earlier years, but his later years and how he acted caused me to turn away from any "liking" of him. Instead, I have felt a lot of pity. Pity for how I think him becoming a star at such a young age really messed him up and it led to him living out his childhood in his adult years... in weird ways.

Now, I understand the man is an "icon" of American music in the last forty years. However, if he had done more nobler things as I have seen other famous people who have passed, then I would probably shed a tear. (Ronald Reagan comes to my mind as someone who I shed tears over when he passed....)

Anyway, I am sad for his family and I hate they are going through this. I think of his children and all that they have been exposed to in their lives and how their lives will now be different.

I cannot condone what the man did in most of his adult life. I cannot "idolize" that type of behavior. He was not to be put on a pedestal or made into a "saint" as I have seen so many do in the last two days while watching TV or seeing pictures on the news. He was human.

I'll always remember the songs he sung and it will take me back to my growing up years in the 1980's, but I cannot be sad over the loss because of the choices this man made in his life. Maybe that is harsh. I just find that the older I get, I weep more over a simple life lived for the Lord that was lost, than a famous one that led a path in their own way. His life showed that one can have it all in this life but be totally miserable on the inside.

In doing my Bible study this morning I was reminded of this verse and it fits for today:

I Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Do you love the Lord or the world?

We all saw what the world gave to Michael Jackson.

Is that what you really want in life?

06/25/09

Here are some pictures of a daylily with water droplets. I am amazed at how I get "giddy" over water droplets on plants and such. This one in particular intrigued me because you can see the reverse image of the side of our house and another daylily bloom in one of these. You may need to click on them to see them larger. :)


I just have to share how the Lord guided my steps in the last couple of days. :)

We have been "throwing back and forth" the idea of Mikayla beginning piano lessons. When Steve talked with the lady at our church who would teach her, Mikayla became very excited. When I began to ask around about pianos and such, I began to be a bit discouraged because they cost so much.

We could have begun her on a keyboard, but keyboards do not have weighted keys and that would only work for her for a few months. I knew we would have to go ahead and "bite the bullet" and find one. I kept asking around and getting opinions and prices from people for a few weeks. Every time I asked I became a little more unsure as whether this would be a reality. We had even moved around our dining room to find a "place" for a piano but, just not sure whether it would all work out. I started to look at that area this week and knew that if we didn't go ahead and do something, and kept putting it off, it would never come to be anyway!

Well, yesterday I began to ask another person about one and they again told me the higher prices. Then she told me to check on Craig's List. I have never used that before but Steve had and I knew others who had found things. Well, this morning I began to think about it and decided to look, praying about it as I was finding the correct area. I have no idea about musical instruments so I needed help!!!

My first section on a piano was one that was a Wurlitzer and it looked a lot like the one my Mom and Dad have. The lady had just posted it today at midnight!!! The price was MUCH lower than what I had been expecting to find and it said "excellent condition." Now, I realize it can say that but may not actually BE that way. I called the lady and talked with her about it, then I called one of my friends who is an awesome pianist and she agreed to go with me to see it. We scheduled it for Saturday.

A little later the woman called me back saying she had four other emails regarding the piano and wanted to know if I wanted to come earlier so that she could respond back to those people if I didn't want it. She wanted to give me "first look" since I had called first. I appreciated that courtesy.

Knowing how I am, this was a "rash" decision for me. I have to take time to "chew" on a major anything before I do it! Since she was wanting a response I just said "How about today at 2:00??" and she was fine with that. I called my friend back and she was ready and could come right then. :) While she was coming I began to get that nervous/jittery feeling of "WHAT AM I DOING?" but I just sat down and prayed that the Lord would give me peace, guide my steps and help me to know whether this piano should be purchased or not. I began to feel that peace come over me and have had it ever since. I can't explain it.

We got there and my friend played it and it was great. We looked at the hammers of the keys and they were fine and she checked out the sound board as best as she could and said it looked great. (All of these things are not on my list of knowledge, you know.) She told me it was a great piano and a GREAT price and we'd be foolish not to go for it.

I did it... I told her we'd take it. I was at peace about it the entire time! Usually when I spend money like that on a "whim" I feel guilty for days. lol BUT... this time I knew it was right because I went to the Lord first.

So many times in my life I have made those decisions after I thought about what to do and I didn't always go to the Lord for my answer. I am continually learning to put it before Him and allow Him to guide my steps. He was guiding my steps before I even realized it!! This piano is the price of some extra money we have set aside at this time of year for various things. When that realization came to me I was in awe. How thankful I am for the Lord's leading.

Now.... how are we gonna get that thing moved? :)

06/24/09

Here is a picture of "one that got away"... lol I was going to take a picture of a skink (lizard) and he was on top of this stump.... well, as I was taking the picture, he "got away"... His tail was all that I got!! I photoshopped him out because I liked the stump against the green background. I was highly disappointed that I missed him... but such is my luck with animals!!!!

I am fixing string beans (green beans) from our garden for supper tonight. Steve had picked some night before last and then as I was snapping them I wanted a few more so I went outside to see if there were more hanging. For me, to go in the garden was huge. lol I really do wish I was more "outdoorsy" and loved getting into flowerbeds and gardens, but it isn't always my joy. LOL I picked through all of the bean plants and was quite tickled with myself. lol Hopefully Steve will be proud of his woman.... I am looking forward to having them for supper tonight!!

Here are the last pictures "officially" from the vacation. I have others that I'll show individually. :)

We stopped over in Brunswisk, Georgia on the way back home and spent Saturday night there. We got up the next morning and made our way to St. Simon's Island to see the lighthouse. It was not going to be opening until 1:30 because it was Sunday so we just took some pictures of the outside of it, Steve and the kids walked on the beach and Kevin and I went to the pier. They have a neat bridge that goes over to Jekyll Island, Georgia that you could see from that pier, but I didn't have my telephoto lens on and my pictures are pretty pitiful. Here are some shots of the lighthouse and of the beach/sound area. It was a beautiful place that seems like it would be a nice relaxing place to stay. After we stopped there we drove 7 more hours home. We were all exhausted. lol We miss Disney... and it seems the longer we are away from it the more the kids miss it. Minus the heat it really was a wonderful trip. One day we'll be back in the COOLER weather, Lord willing. :) Enjoy these:

Finding all kinds of great stuff on the shore.

gulls fighting over a crab we thought

I don't know if this was part of a former pier or not but these two poles were just stuck out in the sound area. Click on it to see the birds.

06/23/09

Here is a coneflower before it blooms. I love this picture. I realize it is all green for the most part, but I just thought it was a neat shot.

I don't think I have mentioned this before but Wesley is taking speech this summer to help him with his /r/ sound. He can do the sound, but he has said it wrong for so long that he doesn't know how to do it in regular conversation. I felt that since he was nine and about to go to the third grade, something needed to change with that. I didn't want him to talk with a lazy /r/ all of his life. We go every Tuesday and it is nice to do it in the summer. He is becoming more aware of the sounds of /r/ in words and trying to correct it himself as he speaks.

Today as we were coming home from speech he and I had a most interesting conversation about God. It was one of those days I wish I had been able to record it to re-play it over and over. He started talking about space and wanted to know if we see it. I explained to him about how we see the stars and all at night is the closest we on earth get to view space. We then began talking about how God Created the world, etc.... and he said "Mom, is God sad when we sin?" I told him He was. He said "Well, we all sin everyday and that must mean that God is sad all of the time!!!" I began to explain to him that, yes, God is sad when we sin but He still loves us. I compared it to when he and Mikayla disobey me or Steve and that even though we are disappointed we still love them no matter what. I said that God gives us consequences to our behavior but we never have to doubt His love because He sent His only Son to die in our place so that when we accept that gift of salvation we could have eternal life with Him.

It was so sweet when he said "OH... well that makes a lot more sense!"

It was a deep little conversation with my "thinker." I know Mikayla grasped a lot out of it, too, even though she wasn't "in" the conversation. Those moments are what I love about being a Mommy... guiding my children closer to an understanding walk with the Lord.

Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

After speech the kids were invited to swim and now have their friends over to spend the night. These are the fun spontaneous events of summer. I cherish them.

Now on to Sea World....

Waiting for the Shamu show to begin

Shamu!! They had a story on the screen of a little boy who longed to be near an Orca (Killer Whale) and then the boy "grew to a man" and one of the trainers jumps out and acts as if he is the boy in the movie. Shamu makes his entrance and it was pretty neat.

This is where Shamu jumps up to meet the trainer. That was awesome. These pictures are not going to be great because too much was happening too fast for me to get my settings right all of the time. Plus, there is motion blur, but that can't be helped! ha!

waving to the crowd

jumping as his image jumps on the screens

This was so neat when he came up on that platform area. Someone told me that when you see an Orca in captivity with the dorsal fin flopped over that it means they are not happy. I honestly don't know, but, as you can see, this guys dorsal fin is not straight up.

Splashing the front rows... we were not in the front rows. I didn't want to chance my camera getting soaked!

Jumping up high!

After the Shamu show we walked around. This is owned by Anheiser Busch so they had their Clydesdales there that pull the Budweiser wagon. (Let's just say we only wanted to see the horses... could care less about the beer.)

We all walked around looking at the different fish and such in the tanks.

This is a cow-nosed ray (right, Kevin????)

various fish/sharks

Dori from Nemo!! lol Underneath that beautiful fish is a live sand dollar! I had never seen one alive before. You may want to click the picture for a better view. :)

We finally found a real live Barking Tree Frog!! This was Wesley's Zoo Project from this past year!

Walkway under the aquarium.

Sea Lion (right???) at the Pacific Coast area

Mom, Dad, Kevin and Mikayla waiting while I walked around shooting various animals. Not all of them are included today as some I wanted to show individually.

My two guys checking out the Pacific Coast animals

The Dolphin show was awesome. They moved faster than Shamu so these pictures really WERE blurrier!

By this point we are so tired of people, scooters, strollers and general sweating that we were ready to depart for home. It was terribly hot and we knew vacation had pretty much ended....

Before we left, though, we went to see the Penguins.... there were tons of them and they were quite cute. :)