Weekly Summary ~ 1/25/15 - 1/31/15

Woo hoo!  January is done and February is here!  We are that much closer to spring, which is followed by summer, which is butterfly season.  I can't wait!  :)

I'm still going strong with Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge.  I plan to continue at least until the end of March.  That will give me a full year.  Then I'll see if I want to keep going.

{January 25:  Black and white}

My beautiful girl outside in the snow.  We played with our dog for a while then went for a walk in our neighbor's woods this afternoon.

{January 26:  Three things}

Three tiny snowflakes sitting on a scarf.

The kids had the day off of school today due to the weather. We got several inches of snow last night and throughout the day today. At one point this afternoon when I let the dog in, I noticed that the flakes on her fur had some detail to them, so I bundled up and headed out to see what I could capture. This photo is just one of several that I am pretty pleased with.

{January 27:  Morning}

I hate to post another snowflake picture already but honestly this is what I photographed this morning. I was out clearing out our driveway after the kids went to school and kept seeing snowflakes falling that were just beautiful. So my macro lens and I went exploring once again. Have I mentioned how much I love my macro lens?  :)

{January 28:  Strange}

This strange-looking caterpillar was found by me in our back yard a few years back. After making sure it was harmless, thanks to our good friend Google, the kids and I had a good time holding it and letting it crawl on our hands. It is a Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar in its last larval stage. It was looking for a place to dig into the ground to pupate. Because of its size it would take about a full year to become an adult, which turns out is just a boring, brown moth, albeit a big one. We never did get to see the moth.  (Archive photo because I just couldn't come up with anything strange today.  Funny thing is - this got picked in the Fab Four photos for the day.)

{January 29:  Summer/winter}

Definitely winter here today. Honey and I ventured out to play in the snow for a few minutes. It was really coming down for a while! Glad I'm not going anywhere today!

{January 30:  Fave food}

Friday night means popcorn and movie night with the family. Hot-air-popped popcorn is most definitely a favorite in this house.

{January 31:  On top}

I was totally stumped on what to do for this prompt today - thinking I would have to dig into the archives for a photo - when I came home to find my daughter crocheting herself a hat.  Totally unplanned but problem solved!   :)

Linking with Tamar:

Just a quick run down of my week:
Monday the kids had a snow day.  The 2nd of the year.  Today, they are having their 3rd.  :/  Seems to be a Monday thing.
Had a meeting at school on Tuesday morning to discuss Alex's reading challenges and what we can do about them. 
Keira was sick all week.  She just didn't feel well.  Not sure it was the flu though as she didn't have a fever at all.  She just felt icky.
Nick had volleyball practice again Thursday morning.  The tournament was supposed to start tonight but with school being cancelled, I don't know what they will do.  His team was scheduled to play tomorrow evening.
Friday I actually left the house and ran some errands.  :)
Saturday morning we had our artist workshop.  We learned how to crochet.  I used to know how many years ago so it wasn't completely unfamiliar to me.  When it was over I came home for a bit and then went to my friend Rainey's house to do some Project Life scrapbooking.  I really just got some photos and cards inserted into pockets but I'm okay with that.  It is better than nothing!  She made dinner and dessert.  Yummmmm.  It was a really fun day.  We probably won't get another chance to do that for a while since she is in another play in March - Steel Magnolias - and she'll be busy with practices.  Should be a good play!

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Our Eighth Week ~ 2014

Last week was another unusual one.  The kids had school on Monday (President's Day) to make up one of their snow days, but then had Tuesday off due to more snow.  Then freezing rain moved in which caused a two-hour delay on Wednesday.  Thursday morning I was finally able to meet my friend Amy at Panera.  We had postponed two weeks in a row because Alex was sick.  It was nice getting caught up.  Friday I watched another friend's toddler for a few hours.  You saw pictures of her in Sunday's Scavenger Hunt post.  She's such a cutie!  Saturday I taught a class teaching folks how to move out of auto mode on their cameras.  It was really fun!  I came home to a really cool snow fort built in the back yard.  (That was shown in the scavenger hunt post too.)  Then my two nieces hung out with us Saturday night while my sister-in-law went out with friends.

Here's hoping this week is more normal.  So far, so good!  :)

Anyway, here are a few snaps from last week ...

Sunday afternoon I noticed the snow had changed from pellet-like to more fluffy, so my macro and I went out to investigate.  I managed to capture some more snowflake close ups. (If you didn't see the last batch, here's the link ... Beauty can be found).  I'm eager for spring to arrive, but I will miss seeing all the details in the snowflakes.
(Linking this to P52 - Sweet Shot Tuesday)

I "caught" Nick reading his Bible on Tuesday afternoon (the snow day).  I love seeing my kids dig into the Word of God!

Tuesday evening Nick had finally dug a big enough hole out of this pile of snow to be able to fit in it.  He wanted to build an igloo but ended up with more of a cave.  :)

The sunsets last week were all very different but all very beautiful.  At least on the days that we saw the sun.  :)  This sunset was on Saturday.  You can see most of the snow is gone now - after the warmer temps we had.

While my nieces were here on Saturday, they had fun with Nick and Alex playing in Alex's tunnel.  I managed to get him to be still long enough to snap a pic.

That's it from my neck of the woods.  Thanks for stopping by!  Make your week memorable!

Linking with Tamar, NC Sue, and Create with Joy.

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 02.23.14

Welcome to another Scavenger Hunt Sunday!  I sort of fell off the face of the blogging earth this week.  I was finishing up the prep work for the class I taught on Saturday - Saying Goodbye to Auto Mode.  The class went really well and my students left with some knowledge in hand, equipped to move that dial from auto to manual and actually know what they are doing.  Yay!

Anyway, let's get to the hunt ...

{see, sea, or c}

Alex wanted me to go outside to "see" the snow fort he built with his dad on Saturday while I was teaching my class.  I was impressed!  I wonder how long it will last, with the warmer temps we're having right now.

{chair}

I babysat for a friend of mine for a few hours on Friday.  Selah loves Yo Gabba Gabba and sat quietly in this cute little chair for a while watching it.

{symmetry}

I had an opportunity to photograph some more snowflakes last Sunday afternoon.  One of the things I notice about snowflakes, besides their beauty, is their symmetry.  Fascinating!

{blanket}

Another photo of Selah, this time with her blanket.  We were playing peek-a-boo.  My kids are too old for photos like this now.  :(

{giggle}

My nieces came over for a while on Saturday evening while my sister-in-law had some time to herself.  There were lots of giggles going on!

Thank you, once again, for stopping by!   I do appreciate your visits!  I hope to get time to return the visit this week, now that my class is out of the way.  In the meantime, be sure to visit our gracious host, Ashley, for more great Scavenger Hunt photos!

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Our Seventh Week ~ 2014

I honestly didn't take many pictures last week.  Most of the ones I took were for Sunday's Scavenger Hunt.  But I do have a few other random photos to share with you ... 

I'm a bit obsessed with snowflakes lately.  (Did you see my close ups of snowflakes?)  I mean, as long as it is going to keep dumping snow on us, I may as well enjoy them, right?  These were stuck to our living room window.  (By the way, the kids are off school again today because of more snow and ice.)

Keira made Oreo Bon Bons for her Youth Group Valentine's Day celebration.

Alex missed school two days last week due to illness.  He slept a lot,watched a bunch of movies, and colored.  

Because Alex was sick and hadn't made his Valentine's Day box yet, I made one for him.  We decided on Olaf from Frozen.  Friday morning before school I had him hold it for this photo.  He is trying to smile big like Olaf.  :)

Once again, I helped out in Nick's classroom's party.  Cat, the room parent, came up with this game where they had to transfer tissue paper hearts down the line using straws.  At the end there was a bag to place them in.  The team who filled up their bag first was the winner.  It was fun to watch.

I also finally got to go to lunch with my friend, Nikki.  It was a great time talking and catching up with each other.  And I did some one-on-one photography/camera training on Saturday after soccer.  My student, who is a first grade teacher, is getting it!  I love that!

I have a couple classes coming up where I will be teaching folks who to use their cameras.  I'm excited to help people get comfortable switching out of auto mode.  I can see a vast improvement in my photos since I switched from auto about 4 years ago.  Makes me wish I could go back and re-take those images.  :)

Linking with Tamar today:

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Our Sixth Week ~ 2014

Last week was one like none other.  (Of course, aren't they all?)  :)

I took pictures at a baby dedication on Sunday, spent the day at my church on Monday for craft day, hung out at the hospital photographing a labor/delivery on Tuesday, had the kids home on Wednesday due to school being cancelled (again!) because of snow, spent the day with Alex on Thursday because he wasn't feeling well, took Keira to her violin lesson and went to a PTO meeting Thursday afternoon/evening, on Friday took newborn photos and went bowling, watched Alex's soccer game Saturday morning and went to the symphony with Doug on Saturday night.  Whew!  No wonder I needed a nap Sunday afternoon!  :)

Our Pastor got to dedicate two babies on Sunday.  And they are cousins!  I loved seeing him holding two babies at one time.

Ted and Melody were loving on baby Emerson shortly after he was born.  Being involved in a labor/delivery was the coolest thing!  I hope I get to photograph more births.  Soon!  I shared another of Emerson's birth photos on Sunday's Scavenger Hunt post.  Can't share too many yet until mom and dad get to see them all.  :)

The sun was glistening off the newly fallen snow Thursday morning.  It was a beautiful sight!  If you'd like to see more of my latest winter photos, check out this post ... Winter Continues.

My friend, Jenn, brought baby Jonathan over on Friday afternoon so I could take some newborn photos of him.  He's such a doll baby!  Another photo shared of baby Jonathan in Sunday's Scavenger Hunt post.

My kids had a blast bowling on Friday night with our church family!

Looking back at all the photos posted here, I guess I was in a black and white mood this week.  :)

So that was my week.  What were you up to?

Linking with Tamar ...

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 02.02.14

Hello!  And welcome to another Scavenger Hunt Sunday!  Which also happens to be Groundhog Day.  I'm posting this on Saturday night, so I have yet to see what the rodent predicts as far as the duration of winter.  But I don't pay much attention to him anyway.  It's going to do what it's going to do.  No matter what Phil says.  :)

But enough of my ramblings.  You're here to see my Scavenger Hunt photos.  Ashley used my list this week, so I had to be sure to participate.  Don't want to miss my own party!  :)

{beverage}

Alex was enjoying a mug of hot white chocolate.  My sister-in-law sent it to us for Christmas.  Alex loves it the most.

{snuggle}

Alex loves to snuggle.  I will miss the days when he no longer wants to snuggle with his mama, so I take advantage of the time now.

{thick}

I used a recipe for a thick bubble solution in order to try our frozen bubble science experiment this week during our well-below zero temperatures.  How's that for a sentence?  :)  If you want to check them out, there are more frozen bubble photos here.

{behind the lens}

 Naturally I am usually behind the lens.  That is where I am most comfortable.  But every once in a while I hand the camera over to Keira so I can be in a shot or two.  Like this one where I'm showing off the painting I did at a class Friday afternoon.  It's not perfect, but not too bad for my first-ever acrylic painting.

{where were you?}

Last Sunday afternoon I sat outside at our picnic table for about an hour capturing close up photos of snowflakes with my macro lens.  It was very cold but I was determined.  And my determination paid off because I got some incredible shots.  Snowflakes are truly amazing.  More snowflake photos here.

Thanks for stopping by!  I will do my best to return the visit.  I'm on call for a birth photo session the next few days, so things are really up in the air, which I'm not used to.  I like things scheduled.  I'm excited for the opportunity though.  I can't wait to share them with you!  Provided I do a good job.  :)

Make it a great week!

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Beauty Can Be Found

As we are on our third school day cancellation in a row due to the sub-zero temperatures, I hesitate to share photos of snow.  Many of us have had our share, believe me.  However, if you look hard enough, beauty can be found most anywhere.

Snow, as harsh as it can be, is really very beautiful.  If you look closely.

Delicate.


Intricate.


Unique.  


Spectacular.


Simply beautiful.

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