Memories, Dreams, and Reflections ~ 2015

I know it is has been a while since I last posted here.  Let's face it ... blogging takes time.  And I have just not taken the time to post anything.  Summer 2015 was incredibly busy with raising Monarchs.  And dealing with our house being hit by a car.  (More on that soon).  Then fall was incredibly busy with photo sessions and editing.  Then the holidays.  

And even now, when I typically have time to get caught up and work on projects that I didn't have time to do during the summer and fall, I have been blessed with more work opportunities.  A family session between Christmas and New Years and a wedding on New Year's Day.  I'm currently working my way through the wedding images and hope to have them finished up this weekend.  Especially since I need to report for jury duty selection on Monday morning.  Ugh.  Praying I don't get picked to be on a jury.

Anyway, I always like to participate in Ashley's Memories, Dreams, and Reflections recap each year, so I made a point to seek out the photos this year.  I will be honest and tell you that I took less photos of my family.  I had a tough time finding a photo for a few of the prompts.  Between butterflies and photographing clients, I apparently didn't pick my camera up as often as I would have liked.  I plan to change that also in 2016.

So here are my selections for 2015's memories, dreams, and reflections ...

{me}

If you know me, then you know I hate selfies.  But I did want to share a pic of a new t-shirt that I bought last summer.  So this is me.  Kind of.  :)

{i love you}

Doug and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary in November.  I had Keira take some pictures of us while we were both dressed up before we went out to dinner.  However, none of them turned out very well.  So we tried again on Christmas Eve.

{still laughing}

Since I realized that I hadn't taken many photos of my babies in a while, we set out one evening to remedy that.  Of course, the boys started getting silly.  Nick first, then Alex followed his lead.  I giggle every time I look at this photo.

{winter wonderland}

Honey loves the snow.  Although this particular day it was super cold and windy and even she didn't want to stay out long.

{birthday}

Nick asked for cold, hard cash for his birthday.  So my sister-in-law made sure to make that happen.  :)

{friends}

My friend, Sharon, and I met on Facebook through a photo-a-day group.  When we discovered that we lived close-ish to each other, we decided to meet up.  First at Phipp's Conservatory then at the zoo.  We both love photography and both places are great for photographers.  We both love the polar bears at the zoo also, so this was a perfect place for us to hang out.

{i was inspired}

I have been raising Monarchs for 6 years now and I had yet to take a photo of a Mama laying eggs or a couple mating.  Well, this year I got both.  The mating pair was taken with my phone though, so I still need to get a good shot of that.

{spring fever}

Nothing says spring like tulips.  

{travel or vacation}

We didn't take a vacation this year but we did go on several day trips.  This is a phone pic from one of them.

{summer days}

Butterfly season started a little later than usual for us this year thanks to all the rain, but once it got started, it consumed my summer days.  And some of my fall days.  We raised and released 1,062 Monarch butterflies along with some Black Swallowtails and Spicebush Swallowtails.  For a while there it was like a full-time job.  But one I wouldn't trade for anything.

{a day in my life}

These guys are always part of my days.

{all smiles}

Kobe appears to be smiling for me.  I just love her!

{autumn harvest}

Fall was such a busy time for me that I didn't seem to take many photos other than clients.  However, we did take a family day to go to Elk County to see the elk.  We came up empty in the morning but after lunch we were fortunate enough to see a few elk including this bull.

{family or home}

As I mentioned above our house got hit by a car in September.  I had planned to write a blog post about it (and I still might), but short story is the guy fell asleep at the wheel and our house ended up in his path.  This happened on a Saturday around 1:00 a.m.  The kicker is that we live about 100 feet off the road and up a hill.  Not a house that you would ever expect to get hit by a car.  This photo shows the wall that he took out.  Our homeowner's insurance had to cover the repairs since the driver didn't have insurance.  The house repairs just got finished on Tuesday.

{celebrate}

My in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year.  They didn't want any gifts, just a nice gathering of friends and family.  I offered to take pictures for them.  This photo is of Doug's two sisters, his parents, and him.  It had been a while since they had a family photo taken.

{let's do it again}

Can't wait for butterfly season to start again this year!

{i miss you}

Kobe is so much fun to play with at the zoo.  It has been a few months since I visited her and I miss her.  Must get back to the zoo soon!

{beautiful}

Keira participated in a princess day at a local banquet hall.  All the "princesses" (and the "queen") looked so beautiful.  Keira is 2nd from the left, beside Mary Ellen, the owner of The Gathering Spot, and the host of the princess day.

{dress up}

We're pretty much past the days of dressing up (for play anyway).  However, they do still have a fun costume party at youth group.  Keira dressed up as a Geisha girl.

{macro}



Thanks to my macro lens and my stalking this Black Swallowtail egg, I was able to capture the tiny caterpillar hatching out of its egg and then turning around and eating the egg casing (the baby caterpillar's first meal).

{holidays}

My babies on Christmas Eve.

{my favorite}

It is really hard to pick one photo as a favorite, but I'm pretty happy with this one.  A Black Swallowtail (one of my babies perhaps) depositing an egg on my parsley plant.  They are super quick, so I was excited to capture her.

{don't ever change}

Silly, funny, loving, helpful.  I hope he never changes.

{just because}

I love her!  :)

{hopes and dreams}

Of course, I have lots of hopes and dreams.  For my family, our home, my business.  But I had to pick just one photo, so my hope is to help the Monarch population even more this year by raising LOTS more butterflies.  If you've never raised one, you should give it a try.  But be warned, you will be hooked.  :)

If you made it this far, congratulations!  And thank you!

Be sure to stop over to Ashley's and see her gorgeous pictures!

I hope to be back to blogging soon.  In the meantime, wishing you a blessed and Happy 2016!

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Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 11/23-11/29

Another week has gone.  Much food was consumed during this one.  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  I'm still trying to figure out how it is December 1st already.  :)

{November 23: I made this!}

I was really wracking my brain today to come up with something for this prompt. And then I remembered ... Two Saturday's ago I spent the morning at my church with a group of wonderful women learning how to watercolor. My friend, Sam, is a fabulous watercolor artist and was gracious enough to show us how to do it. We each made a poinsettia book mark to take home. It was a really fun time! And it was great to see how different everyone's painting turned out. 

{November 24: I need to do this}

Today I wrote out a big, long list of things I "need" to do, when God spoke this to my heart.

{November 25: Time}

"STOP!  Hammer time!"  
If you don't get this, check out this video ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIRQf0S3oD0.  :)

{November 26: Wall}

{From the archives as I spent the day preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration}

The kids and I went on a photo walk around the city and had some fun at the "graffiti wall". It is actually an advertisement for our local cable company. As you can see, they were being pretty silly. I wish I could remember what they were doing. 

{November 27: I'm thankful for this ...}

Crazy crew! 

We celebrated Thanksgiving today and had family over to celebrate with us. It was such a great day! Lots of good food, laughter, and even some tears (caused by too much laughter).  Although I think my niece may have cried once or twice for real. She's all good now though. I try to get the kids together for a photo when they are here, which isn't the easiest thing to do. My kids are usually the most difficult. You would think being a photographer's kid, they would know what to do. Look at the camera, smile nice. We get done faster that way. But sometimes I take what I can get. I'm thankful for this opportunity to get together and celebrate family and our many blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

{November 28: Black}

This summer, while on a walk, I came across this little black damselfly that was nice enough to sit still so I could take its picture.

{November 29: So, this happened}

We went on a train ride today for Alex's birthday (which is on December 5). It was the Santa train! Santa got picked up shortly after we left the train station and made his way through each car talking to the kids about Christmas. Surprisingly when I asked the kids if they wanted a picture with Santa, they all stood up and got in the shot. Not a great shot as this was taken with my phone. I had my big camera with me but didn't have it out as I wasn't expecting them to actually want a photo with Santa!   :)

Not a whole lot happened this week.  I opted to stay home from another school consolidation meeting on Monday.  We had our Thanksgiving church service on Tuesday evening.  It was lovely.  Wednesday I cooked and prepped.  I even made a couple birthday cakes since we decided to celebrate my niece Christi's birthday, which was on November 18, and Alex's birthday, which is coming up on December 5, while everyone was here.

Don't you just love their genuine smiles?  :)  Thank you, Pinterest, for the idea.

Thursday we hosted Thanksgiving.  We ate too much.  Laughed a lot.  And played UNO, which has become a tradition when my mom and sister are visiting.

Friday we did nothing, really.  I thought our local light up night was Friday but turns out it was Saturday.  But we went on the train ride on Saturday and didn't make it back in time so we missed it.  Many of my friends shared pictures on Facebook though, so I didn't completely miss it.  :)  We enjoyed the train ride.  Five people squished into two train seats.  Seriously, were people shorter back when trains were used for transportation?  There was about 6 inches between the seats.  And since the train was so full, we couldn't spread out at all.  We still had fun though.  And we think we saw two eagles.  If not eagles, they were some pretty big birds.

Before you go, I need to mention a giveaway that I am having.  Go check it out ...
Awaken Love couples devotional

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Tamar.

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Our 27th Week ~ 2014

It is hard to believe the year is half over already!  We had a great end to June and beginning to July!  Relaxing and playing and learning and reading.  Of course there is always some whining and bickering and fighting thrown in for good measure.  We are only human, after all.  :)  But, I have to say, for the most part, the kids are getting along well this summer.

Continuing with Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day challenge, here are my photos for last week ...

{June 29: Delight}

Obviously this was taken while on vacation.  I was having a hard time coming up with a "delight" photo and this verse kept coming to mind, so there ya go.  :)

{June 30: The end}

Staring down the wrong end of the barrel.  :)  Nick was excited to help me with this prompt.  And, don't worry, all safety precautions were taken in the creation of this photo. Except for the whole pointing a gun at me thing.  :)

{July 1: Red + White}

Keira doesn't usually wear red lipstick and she's not this pale (I lightened her up a bit in PSE) but she agreed to help me make this idea come to life.

Oh, and I have challenged myself further for July ... I am trying to include at least one family member in each prompt.  Even if it is just a finger or toe.  :)  Wish me luck!

{July 2: Something beginning with K}

King.  Too bad I don't know how to play chess.  :)  Doug does though, so this is something he does with the kids.

{July 3: Match}

Or in this case {mis} match {ed}.  :)  (These are my feet, by the way).

{July 4: Stars}

Keira and I had fun with sparklers in the back yard.  And then we watched our neighbors set off fireworks.  They were LOUD!  :)

{July 5: On the table}

My cousin had this old typewriter that she wanted to find a home for.  I knew my kids would love it (and they do) so she dropped it off on Thursday.  It has been sitting on our dining room table ever since.  The kids are having a blast messing with it!

And just for fun, here are a few fireworks photos from the show we watched Saturday night.  A friend invited us to the home of the person who hosts the show every year, so we had front row seats.  It was cool!  (No electrical wires in the way this year).  :)
  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Linking with Tamar.  
(can't grab the button today for some reason)  :/

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Our 19th and 20th Weeks ~ 2014

Since I completely missed last week's recap post, I have to bombard you with two weeks worth of photos.  Sorry!  I will keep the words to a minimum when possible.  :)

I am still participating in Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day challenge, so that is what these are from ... (some days are missing because those are the days I used photos from my archives).

{May 5 - 4PM}

The idea was to take a photo at/around 4PM and share it, so that's what I did.  This picture was drawn by a friend of Keira's.  It is Keira in fairy form.

{May 6 - From down low}

I had this idea to lay on the ground and take a picture up at the kids.  Keira was having a bad day that day and wasn't all that smiley.  And Alex is a little out of focus because I should have closed down my aperture.  Oh well, I still like this pic of them.

{May 7 - Taken from above}

A grape hyacinth.

{May 8 - Blue}

I was pressed for time and having a mental block, so blue food coloring in a vase of water would have to suffice.  :)

{May 11 - Mother}

My mom and sister came to visit on Mother's Day. Linda brought a bunch of old photos with her, at my request, so we spent some time looking through them and reminiscing.  We found my mom's senior photo and since the prompt was mother, I had her hold her senior photo from 1954.

{May 12 - Ready}

Our Painted Lady caterpillars were all in chrysalis as of Friday, May 9.  Not quite ready to join us as butterflies yet.  This particular one had fallen when I was transferring them from the cup to the butterfly house.  I looked up what to do and Google said it should be fine - just to lay it on a paper towel.  Thank you, Google!  :)

{May 13 - I spy}

I spy ... the face of an old man.  Alex sees a smiley face.  What do you see?

{May 14 - Lines}

There are lines all around us.  We just need to look a little closer to see them sometimes.

{May 16 - Create}

Only God could create such a fascinating creature!  (This was the first Painted Lady butterfly to emerge.)

{May 17 - Bag}

Alex put our bean bag chair on his head and said, "Look, mom!  I have a big brain!"

A quick recap of the past two weeks (more for me than for you, so you can skip this if you'd like)  :) ... 
last Bible study of the year :(
Grandparents' Day at the boys' school
Keira's school concert
my mom stayed with us Tuesday evening through Thursday evening in order to attend Grandparents' day and Keira's school concert - I love having her but it throws me off my routine.  :)
Staff Luncheon at the boys' school - I helped shop for, prepare food, and serve - whew!
Prom photo shoot - FUN!
Keira had a strolling strings gig at Kids' Day America
Doug and I drove down to his chiropractor's office to take advantage of a big sale they were having on supplements and we were going to go out to dinner until we pulled in the parking lot and remembered it was Mother's Day weekend.  :)  So we ate at home.
Mother's Day at my house - gorgeous weather - also celebrated my niece's birthday
my van got serviced/inspected
Alex got sick for a day and a half
visited a local apple orchard, took some photos of the blossoms and got to meet the owner who was very nice
had to postpone two photo shoots on Saturday because of the rain (but got them both in on Sunday)
we sold Doug's Hyundai, now we only have the Lincoln to sell.

I think that's about it.  At least that's all I can remember at his point!  Hope your week is going great!

Linking with Tamar ...

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