New Blog

Why a new blog now? Well, I need to protect my kids lives a little better, and I needed to be able to make some posts private. However, I don't mind people reading some other things. In the course of going and making a new blog, which has been an almost 2 year process, I had originally planned to debut it when we'd had Katie for a year. That obviously didn't happen. Then, I thought, 18 months...that has passed as well.

The penny story, and the ER doctor, and such NEED a little protection. I'm still feeling a little too vulnerable about them. So, here is the link to the new blog...I will be leaving this blog up for awhile longer.

http://somebodyneedsanap.wordpress.com/

I know I have extended family who read the blog and friends who don't comment, if you send me an email (which I'll get if you leave a comment here) and let me know you need the passwords I'll be happy to send them on.

There are several passwords, and I think if you enter them once then until the cookies are cleared on your computer you won't have to re-enter them.

One set is for photos of the kids, and daily life with the kids.

Each child has their own specific code, and that is for family only as I talk specifically about the kids activities and where we live. Many of those posts will be duplicated but with less photos, or such. I suspect there will be few of them...very few, but things like Samuel's Kindergarten graduation photo with his certificate...KWIM? Or first day of school with the school sign...that kind of thing.

Adoption related posts that have info specifically about how Katie is doing, those are under a separate code.

Our Disney vacation is under a code for Disney.

Then any photography/photoshop post has it's own code IF it has a photo of my children in it. These will be mostly for past history ones.

I mainly did all the codes like that because I have watermarks of this blog name on those photos in the posts. I'm working hard to clear out those and replace them as I don't want people directed back to here....except eventually this blog will become "private" so only I have access. I expect that will take a few months though.

Any questions?

OH, if you leave a comment with an email I promise NOT to post that comment!

New Blog is almost ready....

I'm going to be moving my postings to a new blog soon. I'm working on the importing of this blog, making all 2008 and before posts private, changing the kids names to nicknames, etc. :) Long process...but almost done! FINALLY...then I'll talk about the doctor's comment.

Katie's bday invitation

I've been working on Katie's birthday party invitations today, and I used some photos from a recent "session" with her...if you can call it a session. She gives me literally 5-10 minutes and poses, faces, etc. MUST be her idea. I get whatever she decides to give me. In this particular session I got maybe 2-3 that I would give to grandparents/family, but as we have one we just did for all the family I'm not worrying about fully editing them.

Here are 2 I particularly liked as they show a little bit of Katie's personality:




I will definitely have to show you all the final photo invite when I figure it out. I'll also show you a few others from this particular session.

*details - canon5d 24-105 lens, 100% natural light - window to the left of Katie and white reflector to the right of Katie. This is shot in my dining room with the dining room table removed. ;)

Sorry I've been MIA

I've had an interesting week, well, actually just a really wild and crazy Monday followed by a few days of recovering! Suffice it to say that Katie really really really keeps us on our toes. The up side to her latest adventure is that she let me cradle her for 30 minutes in the rocking chair while she looked into my eyes and patted my cheek or played with my hair. Yeah, I melted. The down side is that she completely and totally regressed in the potty training, we had her TRAINED and she slid backward completely. We're slowly getting there again.

I also have a major VENT/RANT with a question of what I could have said to a doctor. I'm still upset about the comment. I love Katie's response though, and it was that response that made me realize she DOES hear and understand what is being said around her.

Lots and lots and lots going on...

I promise that I'll have fireworks and 4th of July photos up soon! ;)

Happy Birthday America!

I hope each of you in the United States have an AWESOME 4th of July! Lots of family time, summer cookouts, swimming, fireworks...mosquitos, cranky kids, sensory overloaded kids...ah...the stuff of awesome summer memories.

Looking forward to seeing and sharing photos next week!!!!

Photoshop - tutorial on grunge brushes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrcFJSdg6Pg

That's Sam Puc's tutorial on the Quarantine Collection. :) VERY awesome to watch someone go through the steps. However, I wonder if those who aren't familiar with photoshop will get as much as I did. IF you get lost at any point of it, please let me know through comments and I will do a post on that step.

You will need to full size that, but I didn't catch her actions very well on some of them (like creating a new layer). In a previous photoshop post I've mentioned how to make a new layer, and add layer masks. I can update this post with those steps as well if you like.

1 - not sure where to get the overlays, and what they are doing with those. Will need to research that. I've never done much at all with grunge brushes and overlays period, I just have never tended to like the look. High school seniors though? They love the look.

2 - I am purchasing these, and will do a post of my working with these grunge brushes soon.

Remember, here is where you can purchase the brushes...

Nemo and friends

Yes, we have Nemo and friends vinyl clings gracing the windows of our van. Katie loves them. Me? Not so much. Do I even have to mention how many time I go to look back to my left to see if there is a car there and I see NEMO out of the corner of my eye?! Yeah.

These photos could also be explained by the phrase, "what happens when you give Samuel the camera." At least I'm shielding you all from the horrors of my van. Or maybe I shouldn't? It would earn me a spot in 3Channels blog.



*quick click away if messy disorganized vehicles cause your OCD to kick in, as obviously I don't suffer from that particular problem*






Explanation - pink swimming bag with swim stuff like sunscreen, Katie's diaper bag, a towel from said swimming, a box for the pool toys (which you thankfully can not see here), a Karate bo, a bible from church that must not have made it inside (okay it stays in the van so we always have it), water bottles from the pool, a wiffle ball from the baseball going days, a capri sun pouch (from when we went to karate), umbrella, paper from the summer camp science classes, pencils, cup from dinner out recently...

Please tell me I'm not the only one whose van looks like this! LOL It's not nearly so bad at the moment, but only because I cleaned it out when we went to my parents for the week. Sometimes though, I feel like we LIVE in that van we're on the go so much.

Just trust me when I say, I spared you from MORE of the same! Exactly the same, I think he took 5 photos of the mess on the floor.

Wordless Wednesday

Low points in my life

God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons we could not learn in any other way. - C.S. Lewis

I truly believe this is true. I can think of so many "low" points in my life, that ended up benefiting me in that it shaped me for the better. Just like every time I ask G*d for patience, I am given opportunities to LEARN patience. Now, that doesn't mean I appreciate those times while living them, but I do eventually appreciate them after they are done.

One such low point was when we were skipped over for LOA. We didn't know what was going on, we didn't find out exactly what happened, and no one could tell us how it would end up affecting us. We just had to be patient. We just had to wait and see. I'm so not good at wait and see. I saw the days go by, I saw those who got LOA when we should have get TA...I saw them make plans, all while still waiting on on our own LOA. I questioned it. I really did. I questioned if we would ever be able to travel to get Katie. I questioned if we were really supposed to adopt her. I wondered if I should I tell our agency to give her file to another family so she could be adopted by a family. I truly started wondering if we would EVER get to her. It was rough. I learned how to wait. I learned how to be still, to be quiet, to TRUST that it would work out and be great.

So, really, that is just ONE story behind a "low" point in my life. I have a few others. I have some "low" points that I fear will never be figured out what I was supposed to learn. But I do know, I have to keep re-learning the whole patience thing.

What have you learned during a low point in your life?

This is what Summer is all about

Photography/Photoshop that can help Orphans!

Sandy Puc, a truly awesome photographer, is currently quarantined in China. She has some amazing charity drives through her photography business, and founded a personal favorite Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep which helps parents of stillborn children capture photographic memories (100% donated services from local photographers). If you click on Quarantined in China you will be taken her blog, which links to the Denver Post article that has a link to her Facebook photos (which are public). :)

Anyway, while quarantined in China (Shanghai to be exact) she has taken photos of the "grunge" in her hotel room and created "Grunge textures" to be used as layers in photoshop for grunging up photos. Click here for direct link to the grunge brushes BTW, the samples of the grunge brushes in action on that site are of her daughter in Quarantine. The session was a challenge for the Mom I've heard without all the extra equipment she typically has on hand for taking indoor photos.

100% of proceeds from the sell of this set of brushes is going to help Chinese orphans through a charity that works with them. I have asked which one, and will update when I know.

If you don't know how to use these brushes, please let me know and I will do a quick photoshop tutorial on them. It's super easy, and many photographers use them in a layer above the image and play with opacity and such. It's really easy. :)

Thankful Thursday

I PASSED!!!!! I passed the exam and the 20 image review by peers. I'm one of a very small percentage of photographers out there that has this, that took the time, and the effort to become certified.

Why certification

This is a big deal, but not huge like graduating from college. KWIM? :) But if you are in the Nashville area next January, I will be attending Imaging USA and walking across that stage to receive the recognition of this in front of my photography peers (it's Tuesday night of that week)! But from what I've seen of the vendor fair/EXPO, I will most definitely need to leave my credit cards at home! *drool*

So very very thankful to have passed.

We've been on vacation

Sorry for not posting much this week...like at all. We've been on vacation at Grandma's house. We dropped JM off at summer camp on Father's Day, and came back to Grandma's for a few fun filled days with my Mom, my sister, and her kids.

We're so incredibly tired. Worn out exhausted...but the kids have had fun.

I've also been checking stalking the camp's website for updated photos of my kid. So far this week, JM has been camping without a tent and fought a water balloon battle using cardboard "subs" they designed as a shield.

He has been in precisely 6 photos out of over 500-600, there are 227 BOYS from grades 2-10 at this camp. Of those 6 photos, only 3 were non-posed...and all were in the lake where he was swimming! LOL

He is signed up for various "skills" that he will go through and learn while there each day, 3 hours each morning with alternating skills on each day.

Canoeing, Swimming lessons, Target Sports (archery and riflery), crafts, rocketry (he'll build and shoot a model rocket), and geocaching.

He's also probably playing A LOT of 4-square games.

I miss my son. I really do. But I also know that he is having a truly AWESOME time!!!

Aunt Nay is sick

That's what Katie said to me last Friday as we were packing to leave for Grandma's house, and to take JM to summer camp. "Aunt Nay is sick," Katie said. "Sick with what?" I replied as I knew Aunt Nay was not indeed sick unless my daughter was suddenly clairvoyant or something. "Sick of cleaning." was her reply. Ah yes, I bet Aunt Nay is sick of cleaning. LOL I giggled and asked Katie, "Why is she sick of cleaning?" Katie replied, "'cause Deean and Mi-shell don't help."

After I finished laughing, I had to call Aunt Nay and tell her that Katie thought she was sick...of cleaning! LOL

Photography Friday

Faces. It seems everyone loves faces, and quite frankly so do I! I love serious faces, silly faces, and happy faces. But mostly I love those BIG eyes. Not so easy to get in Katie, but doable when she's older.

I've talked about how your camera has an in camera meter. In a dSLR, especially those Canons, you have 3 choices for the in camera meter - spot, center weighted, and evaluative. Each are good in their own way, and I think the default is evaluative. But I can't remember for sure and I don't feel like looking for my manual to see. Forgive me?

Anyhow, here are what those 3 in camera meters do.

Spot - the spot, the circle in the camera viewfinder? That's what is metered to 18% grey if the image is turned to B&W and "averaged" overall. So, if what is in the spot is black, the camera will overexpose that to where that spot would be 18% grey. If it is all white, then it will underexpose to 18% grey. Spot metering is GREAT if you are looking to meter something that is far off and you can't get close and the rest of the scene could be too bright or too dark. Say, oh a child on a snow bank. ;) You probably don't want to use it for close up because one spot on the face might be more in the shadows or brighter sunlight...and the rest of your exposure could be off.

Center weighted - this will evaluate the entire scene in the view finder but "weight" the results to what is in the center...and again, bring the exposure to 18% grey. If you have 3 kids in dark snowsuits sitting in the snow and they are centered, then the camera will set the exposure with the subject matter in the center more "weighed" and it might actually come out close to correct. But, what if, you are following the rule of thirds and a snow scene and had a child in the top 1/3 on the left (that point) in a dark snowsuit. The entire image, weighted for the center of bright snow, will be underexposed. (hint, spot might work better here)

Evaluative - this one considers the ENTIRE scene and brings the entire scene to 18% grey. So, a snow scene is going to be underexposed and a scene shooting in the dark shadows is going to be overexposed.

So, why does this matter with FACES? It pertains to it a little, but mostly, to get a good exposure in a non-direct lighting situation, the best way to meter using your in camera meter is to get really really really close to the face and meter. Set the manual exposure to the most correct when filling the frame full of the face. Then, after getting the correct exposure reading you can back off, recompose, and take the photo knowing that the FACE will be in correct exposure regardless of the rest of the scene.

Compositionally speaking however, what is good for those close-ups? I prefer a horizontal crop with the head tilted at a an angle (so the eyes are not horizontal). If I'm going to include the shoulders in the shot, then I prefer a vertical shot with the eyes at an angle. With shoulders and head, I will also turn the subject at an angle to the camera as well. The 3/4 shot? again, at an angle and vertical. :)

I have different tricks to getting different looks. Did you know that a recent 4 year old that I was taking photos of looked to see if she could find Tinkerbell in my camera? ;) My camera also does tricks. If you smile REALLY good, then it will wink at you. But you have to be aware, that IF you ask a child to smile for you, and you get that cheese smile, then they do think they are smiling pretty. They really do. It's a forced smile they are giving you, not a true one, and they don't understand the difference. I never tell them, "Oh that's not a real smile, give me a prettier one." I will say, "OH what a BIG smile you have. Let's see if you can show me a small smile? How about no smile? I bet you can't be serious. Now, don't smile. Don't you dare smile....don't smile...." and guess what they do? They smile. They just can't help it.

Except there is always one or two out there that can hold a straight face forever. Those kids, they make me work for their smiles. They get to see some silly looks, hear some silly sounds, and oh if they are around 6 year old boys...they get really bad jokes told by me. ;)

thankful thursday

I'm really thankful that HE...


has grown out of THIS stage...



One down...2 to go. I also used up ONE of my alloted "portraits with a smile" from JM for this. I'll get ONE more this year sometime. *sigh*

No I'm NOT confused....

it's well, that I had blog posts ready to post at later dates, then forgot to change the dates on them, or the times...and I messed up when they post. When that happens, it's best to delete and re-post, only I didn't have time (or energy) to do that. Thus, I left them.

Which meant my Tuesday post, which had the WRONG time, was below the photo one...and I wanted it on top, so I made it a Wednesday post. *humph*

It will look "right" in the archives, but it's humorous for now. It's also more of a reflection of how I feel about the month of June. It's flying by and it seems like it should more than be over at this point! LOL

OH, and in order for this to be posted "on top" I have to post it today (Tuesday), then edit the date to be Wednesday. *roll eyes*

Thoughtful Tuesday - a day late...oh well

"The greatest gift my mother ever gave me was a messy house, and the knowledge that other things in life came before a tidy house."

What does MY house say about me? What do I place as important? If you look at my calendar, what is important in my life there? If you look at how I spend my days? What is important to me there?

I get so many of these kind of thoughts from quotes. Sometimes I have to stop myself and ask privately, in 20 years will I care that I did or did not do something? What will I remember? What will the kids remember?

Will they remember getting to eat a picnic in the floor for dinner while watching a movie? Or will they remember our dinners around the table more? Will they remember the day we went for ice cream just because then to the park to play? Or will they remember me always cleaning, cooking, and getting on to them? Hmmm?

Wordless Wednesday

One week ago

One week ago I took a test to see if knew enough about photography to pass or not. Sure, I know enough about photography to be able to talk about it intelligently, but this was a test that would ask questions about things like gel filters and lens filters, and the inverse square law for lighting and flashes. Oh the JOY.

1 week of waiting to find out the results. I was told I would be mailed results in 1-1.5 weeks. Well, supposedly, before they mail the results out they will post to the website if you have earned the certification or not IF you are waiting on the 2nd part of the certification process results...which I am. I've already passed image review. The website has not been updated yet, and I'm left to wonder...did I pass or fail the exam?

See, it was 100 questions. I knew most of them, and knew them without having to think about which of the answers best fit. However, I had to think and eliminate down to the "best" answer on 20 questions (or I flat out didn't know the answer which happened 2 times). That left me with 10 questions of the ones I KNEW that I could have made a mistake in marking the correct answer.

I'm a terrible test taker.

I have to make a 70 to pass. I thought after the test was over that I was close, that I most likely had it. Now? I'm beginning to wonder if I did okay or not.

Internets...I had to learn how to develop FILM, and transparencies (at least theoretically)! I had to learn about view cameras, different kinds of film, and so forth. I learned about the Zone system developed by some photography greats (that was actually very interesting!). There were even some photoshop questions on the exam.

*sigh*

I really do not want to have to take the test again, but I will if I have to.

What has your summer looked like so far?

Mine? Well, lets just say that I'm finding a new meaning to the word busy. This week was interesting, as were the past 2 weeks...and oh yeah those before that. If you are one of the people who count the summer months as June, July, and August, then here I am, not even through June 15th.

2 kids have completed swimming lessons for this summer.
1 kid has done 2 summer camps at the science museum.
1 baseball team party down.
1 set of grandparents have visited.
2008-2009 yearbook is finally DONE
summer sessions have been booking up left and right
3 kids, and one adult, have been swimming for "fun" 6 times.
1 photography exam taken, and hopefully I will be certified by this time next week. If not, then please don't hold it against me.

Still left? Actually submit that yearbook. Tag summer camp clothes for 1 kid and pack him up...he leaves in about a week!!! Go to the zoo. Meet friends for swimming....multiple times. 1 more team party. Fall sports signups. Work on all that curriculum where we start the school year in the summer...

and, oh yeah, BLOG about it.

I saw something today that I'm going to post about, and why I'm going to be more diligent about watermarking my photos.

My life. It's too busy. Haven't I said that many times before? Yeah? thought so.

1 year

I remember it clearly because I was "counting down the day" and unsure how we would survive or react.

Monday June 9, 2008 was the day we had told the satellite company to turn off our "connection" to their system. It was the day we moved to only what we could pick up with rabbit ears.

Y'all...we bought an HDTV LCD television in April of 08. Then, less than 2 months later I had killed the connection to television shows on cable. That TV, while we love it now, at the time could have had a sign put up on it that said, "Stupid Tax."

If you don't know what Stupid Tax is, please please go visit DaveRamsey.com. ;)

We do not consider ourselves very weird at all, but perhaps we are. We are loving life without cable television. It's not life without TV though. We still watch shows and movies. We just rent movies/shows/dvds through Netflix OR we stream things through the internet.

As we're a slightly "geeky" family, and as such had more computers than people (not really but not far off either), we now have a dedicated "dinosaur" of a computer that is connected to our TV and directly to our HIGH SPEED cable internet (oh how we dream of a T1 connection or our old really fast DSL). Nothing is on the computer anymore, it's a glorified terminal to the internet. It doesn't really have as much RAM as we'd like, so things are not perfectly smooth...but oh...all the shows you can see!!! Well, they do have commercials, but only 1 or 2 every commercial break period.

Except it seems more people are doing this so less and less are free, and more and more sites have fees associated with them...fees like $5/month. Netflix has instant play shows, and LOTS of them...shows like Engineering an Empire on PBS (yeah...we're a tad weird, but I have already admitted to being a geeky household).

I foresee a future though where instead of cable we're streaming tv shows, movies, news, etc. and watching on the tv. We'll have to pay for the service, but I predict that we'll be paying on a per site basis...so this household would pay for Sci-Fi and CBS most likely and leave the Golf channel alone. Oh, we'll have to pay for the NASA channel as well I guess as the boys seems to love it for some odd reason.

This was all part of a self-reflection on being wasteful with resources. We didn't really USE the cable television, we didn't get the $55+ enjoyment out of it every month, so why have it? It also started something in our lives where we were cleaning out all the unnecessary things, simplifying things somewhat...and it was all part of that quest for "finding family time" with each other doing things the old fashioned way...you know, not connected to electronic things 24/7.

100,000

Our van recently rolled over that milestone. 100,000 miles. We bought it new (bad Dave Ramsey followers), but we had our reasons. I remember when we bought the van thinking of how long it would take to get to 100,000. Yet, here we are. I remember where I was THEN when we bought it, and where we are now...the changes our lives have seen.

We have moved 2 times. So it's been registered to 3 different homes.

Visited Walt Disney World 4 times as a family, and 1 time on an Anniversary Trip.

We did the entire adoption and added Katie to our family.

I started my business after bought the van.

It has moved multiple pieces of furniture to different locations.

We've driven it to Hilton Head Island multiple times.

We've driven it over the TN/NC border in the mountains.

We've taken it to camping trips.

We've spent many hours sitting in it waiting...for classes to be out, ballgames to over, sessions to be done, shopping to be completed...

and then I think...I wonder what the next 100,000 miles will hold for us? Will we make it another 100,000 in our van?

Summer is here

can you believe it?! I sure can't, but then again I'm so incredibly busy with juggling the 3 kids, homeschooling, the yearbook, the photography, the gearing up for all things for the summer fun, trips, and oh yeah...we started school back. Not to mention the household chores, and I started wondering if I truly am a little insane to try to do all that at one time.

I sat down the other day and listed out all that I'm responsible for, and I finally decided that it would be rather nice to have about 5 clones of me. Yeah, that might work.

Over Memorial Day weekend we took the kiddos to visit Grandparents and cousins and Aunts and Uncles and "hopefully one day in future" Aunts...and managed to work in a trip to Splash Country. It was the first waterpark for all of the kids, and it was a HUGE hit. A big huge major hit especially with JM.

The favorite waterslide.


Samuel on the lazy river with his cousin.


JM on the lazy river.


Katie does NOT like the wave pool at all. "Is too wha-owd."


Cousins together and happy...they love each other so much. 3.5 months apart, and they will give you the funniest look if you ask if they are related. I swear they looks at you like you are dumb for not recognizing that they are cousins. I mean, in their eyes they look just alike...both short. LOL

A few gems from a month ago...

Yes, it was THAT cold here in early May one evening when we went to visit friends. Friends who have 4 kittens they are looking for homes for (and more kittens to come).

Katie LOVES kittens. A little too much sometimes?

Interesting quote

Stop the mindless wishing that things would be different. Rather than wasting time and emotional and spiritual energy in explaining why we don't have what we want, we can start to pursue other ways to get it - Greg Anderson



Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.

- HL Hunt

Can you tell where I am right now? What is important to me? What do I really want out of life? What can I do NOW to start me on the road to what I want.

Both of these quotes came from Dave Ramsey, and while I definitely SEE the link to financial things, I also see the link in them to other things going on in my life and head.

Um...when you are in debt it HURTS to fix the problem because you have to save money, not spend money, live waaaaay below your means and actually well...pay off that debt. It's "duh" but oh so incredibly hard to do. Well, we found Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett and Money Matters budgeting software starting almost 10 years ago. We picked ourselves up, buckled down and just DID it. It hurt. We learned a LOT through that experience...like Kool-Aid does taste alright without a full cup of sugar. ;) Driving a car without an FM radio is okay, after all Dave comes on the AM stations. It's even possible to drive a car without Air Condition in Southern Arizona during the summer. Yes, indeed it is. The biggest thing though during this, we didn't complain to others constantly. Sure we vented to friends about how bad it was to drive in 110 degree heat without an AC. Imagine, if you will, a 36 hour drive by CAR across country without FM radio. Yeah. Add in a car sick cat as well....fun fun times. Marriage building fun times.

We still are not perfect with money and budgeting, and probably never will be. Afterall, Matilda Jane, Strassburg, Disney, and such still exist and my willpower is weak. Oh so very weak.

But one thing those early days taught me was that while it was tough...it was doable with ingenuity, humor, and lots of love. I have a good friend who is going through similar, but reading her blog you wouldn't know it. While we were buried under debt (thank you college degrees), she is living life as a Single Mom...and I would venture to guess that her daughters truly do not know all the sacrifices she is making. I would guess those girls do NOT feel poor, because they aren't. Poor is a state of mind. My friend is going through a financially difficult time, and she's humbled herself in order to get what her daughters need. She may vent and whine about a particular situation, but you know what? She does it once, then she fixes the problem or works to find a solution. Sometimes she vents a few times, but always she is working to make it better, usually with humor.

Then, there is the whole "I want to spend more time with my family" aspect that has been an ongoing theme for the past 2 years. I just have to DO it. Life has a crazy way of interfering with quality family time, but even if I'm not perfect with it...at least I'm making that effort. KWIM?

Lately, I've been paying attention to what I've been complaining about, and what irks me. Usually, that is a clue to something that I need to work on, to change in my life...and while it might hurt (like to give up carbonated beverages and start a running program) it's usually something that is BETTER for me. Like being out of debt.

Just don't expect an update anytime soon. Remember...I work SLOW. ;)

Photos from last weekend

Katie LOVES to float around the pool.


JM was not allowed in the pool on this day (long story for another time), and he wasn't thrilled about it. But he survived. Notice the RAIN drops in this photo? How cool!

Then...the entire series of Samuel jumping....he didn't stop and he LOVED every minute of playing in the pool.










Okay, so this is a COOL series right? Only you wonder how in the heck did I click the shutter that many times?! I didn't. I pushed it once and held it down until the camera stopped, or Samuel was in the water. On most cameras you have a "burst" mode as an option in "shutter drive" - single shot is one box, the stop watch is the self-timer, and then there is another option of MULTIPLE boxes stacked on top of each other. That is burst mode, and the number of frames per second is totally dependent on your particular camera. My sister's new point and shoot will do about 3-5, the 30d that I was shooting with will do 7-9. The 5d? something like 3 if I'm lucky.

Each camera is designed for a different purpose. This is why I can't recommend a particular dSLR or camera to any one person without knowing what they want the camera for. It's just...well, so dependent on how you will be shooting. KWIM?

When do I use burst mode? Well, mostly during sporting events (or swimming). I've used it to capture my younger brother doing his crazy dives off the diving board (lots of fun), I use it during baseball games to capture the hitting of the ball (or the entire swing), and I've used it to capture my boys sliding on the slip and slide (will re-do that later this summer as well).

I do NOT use burst mode to capture portraits. It's overkill. It's for capturing the motion of actions. It ends up making a GREAT "flip" movie book, or a storyboard. ;)


NOW....for the photoshop portion. ;) Compare these two versions of the same photo. One is "batch processed" with my basic edits, the other I edited fully.



and before I get any criticisms about no one being right next to Katie....my BIL is a lifeguard and was in the pool and within quick reach of her at all times. Of the 3 kids in the pool, there were 8 adults around the pool. ;) 1 big kid sulking and wanting a chance to jump in, and one 3 year old who was REFUSING to even get on the steps.

Wordless Wednesday

3 Things

Okay, so you remember my big huge idea concerning a day of rest and my lightbulb moment. Yeah, sometimes it takes me a little bit. We're still going strong with that 24 hours thing, and loving it.

However, well, the other 6 days of the week are still just too busy and I've been struggling with THAT this year. 2008 was the day of rest, 2009 is the 6 days of the week are just too busy! I'm starting to see a pattern here - my life is BUSY. ;)

So, one day I was chatting with my sister (oooh, how we did not get along that great growing up but now, in the past year or so we chat at least once a week if not daily...and I LOOOOVE it). Anyway, I was complaining to her that my life is just too busy. I try to not overschedule things, but it happens anyway. She was agreeing, and then she said something.

"I try to not schedule more than 3 things to do in a single day."

Huh? What did you say? 3 things MAX in a day? What do you mean? It turns out that Sis has a friend who was reading a self-help book that recommended you only schedule 3 things max in a day (well I guess besides cooking, dishes, etc.). ;) That invariably something would come up and need to be added to that day, but trying to keep it to no more than 3 things would help free you up.

LIGHTBULB MOMENT!!!!

But then, it got better. You know those BIG plans we always get involved in (well I do at least), you know like hosting a baby shower for a friend that you know through another friend, like say through monthly Bunco nights? Yes? Well, you are asked to help host, and it's on a date that you don't currently have 3 things scheduled...GREAT you can help. But can you REALLY? What else is needed to help host? Invitations mailed out 6 weeks prior (or however earlier?)...look at your calendar THEN and see if you do have time to devote to picking out, creating, addressing, and mailing invites? Is it booked solid with other commitments? Yes? Then you do NOT have time to help host, it would stress you out too much.

LIGHTBULB MOMENT #2!!!!

I always, always, always forget about the prepping stages of things. ALWAYS.

Now, I'm working on not being so busy and I recognized something important. I have been trying to put all sorts of therapy appointments, doctor appointments, etc. on days we were already leaving the house. Well, it's no wonder I got so stressed on those days as I had 5 things scheduled on some days. Phew. I started moving things around as best as I could and things are going better. Still not great, but better.

Just a hint, I'm counting FAMILY TIME as a scheduled event now. It doesn't necessarily happen daily, but I try to get time in for playing with my kids. They are only this little once. If I have days where I need to do MAJOR chores, then those get scheduled into the "daily plan" as events. If I have a project with the school to do, it gets scheduled. I schedule specific days for "business" work.

I'm still busy, but I'm finding that more often I am less stressed because I have my life more under control...well at least it's an illusion of control. ;)

Test Results

No, I'm not going to post the kids test results exactly here...but I am struggling in the interpretation of them.

For example, JM took the 4th grade test as he is officially in 4th grade. He was 10 years 3 months (hey...wait a minute, the form says 10 years 4 months....), and then it gives us number possible, number correct, scaled score, national PR-S,and AACS PR-S (that's the American Association of Christian Schools) and then Grade equivalent. I understand THOSE things...it's the numbers associated and how to "understand" them in regards to my child.

For example, I have a Number possible of 114, number correct of 99...scaled score of 675. With national PR-S of 86-7 and AACS PR-S of 78-7 (Huh? what's that -7 mean? 78-87? or something else?). Then grade equivalent of 8.3. I *think* that means that he scored as well as an 8th grader in their 3rd month on taking the 4th grade test. Right? Maybe?

then we have Samuel. He's in K and I had him take the 1st grade test. He scored fairly well for taking the 1st grade test a year early. :) But what does that MEAN to his scores? Do I take the scores of grade equivalent of 1.9 to mean he's doing the work he should be doing?

Regardless, it' s a good gauge for us to see where we need to work more on...no surprises there. LOL

Word Study Skills
Language Expression
Spelling
Language

yeah. Did I mention before that they are total science and math "geeks" yet? Glad to have the test results, and I've "filed" them away for comparison with later years (and looked back over JM's results from previous years...he's doing rather well). I can tell, for example, that our hard work in Math this year paid off. I can tell that he make great strides in grammar and word study skills as well.

Onward to next year...which starts June 1st. Poor kids have to start school back on June 1st. But then again they've been "out" since early May, and being "out of routine" is really starting to show.

Heard today...

"oh Mommy, dat's boo-tiful."

"Yes, it is a beautiful castle Katie."

"Boo-tiful Cin-er-ella Cas-sell, see Cin-er-ella Cas-sell?"

"Yes, Katie, I would love to go back and see the beautiful Cinderella Castle again. We need to ask Daddy don't we?"

"Yep. Cin-er-ella Cas-sell boo-tiful."

A few hours later, Daddy calls for some reason and I'm talking to him. Katie runs up to me and yells, "HI DADDY!!!!"

"Boo-tiful Daddy."

To which we end up trying to figure out what she's saying, and we go through Daddy is boo-tiful, Katie is boo-tiful...and then I remembered. I show her the photo of Cinderella's Castle and she tells Daddy, "Cin-er-ella Cas-sell boo-tiful. See Cin-er-ella Cas-sell?"

I laugh. I really do. Daddy has to tell her no, but he stalls by telling her not right now, but probably in 2 years. Like she understands 2 years. LOL

Tonight, after her bath...many hours later.

"I go Cin-er-ella Cas-sell? See boo-ti-ful cas-sell?"

No Katie...not right now. But be sure to ask Daddy again. ;)

Who saved them?

This has the potential to be controversial. It's one I hesitate to post, but it's something that I've been pondering for a long time now. Is it ME causing something good to happen or is it G*d causing something good to happen.

What if you were following a car, and were the witness to that car being in an accident. A TERRIBLE accident, so terrible the driver was near death. But, you had recently been through CPR, or were a doctor, or a nurse. You were "in the right place" to offer aid. Through YOUR actions, that person was saved. Did YOU save them? Or did G*d? If you believe it was you, and you had not been there...then that person would have died. If you believe it was G*d saving them, then you would have to believe that they would have survived without you there...possibly because G*d would have had someone else there.

What if, through your direct actions you were in the right spot at the right time to adopt YOUR child who needed medical care. Who needed medical intervention that you were able to provide (thinking of the twins who were hospitalized while in China), a little girl who was in desperate need of heart surgery, a little boy whose heart needed immediate intervention...what IF that were to happen to you? Did you SAVE your child? Or did G*d save the child through you? Do you think that had you made a different choice your child would have died in China? If so, then it was not G*d's plan that your child live, but if you believe it was G*d's plan that your child live...then HE would have had another family (or perhaps medical doctor or orphanage worker in China) step in and make the appropriate choices or provide a miracle healing.

After thinking about this, pondering this, I have come to believe that if/when I am in the place of being "in the right spot at the right time" that it is because I am being allowed to WITNESS firsthand the MIRACLE of a life being saved. If it is because I knew the Heimlich maneuver, or CPR, or some other reason then G*d just used me for HIS purpose.

If the miracle occurred because I adopted a child, I would not want that child to grow up hearing how LUCKY they were to be adopted by my family because we were able to provide their medical interventions. I would tell them that we wanted to adopt them to be a member of our family because G*d led me to that decision and we are GLAD they are my child. Their medical interventions are just a part of their story, not the main focus of it.

I think it all comes down to WHO you believe is truly in charge? G*d or yourself.

It's a bleh kind of day

too much left on my to-do list, enough time to tackle a few projects...but no motivation. Why is that?

I feel like my life is an endless cycle of laundry these days. Start a load, "re-boot" the load, fold that load, and put it away....and always...ALWAYS there is a load right behind it!

We moved Katie into a twin bed, installed ceiling fans, and realized Samuel's bunk beds MUST go. After a craiglist listing, they are sold and Samuel now has a twin bed...without a headboard for the moment.

I've been falling behind in my exercise. No big surprise. But I feel so much better when I've been consistent with it...probably need a better motivation. Dh has his, he watches 24 season episodes while doing his exercise.

It has rained entirely TOO much lately. Between that and "piggie flu" baseball games are having trouble getting made up. Thus, 2 this week and 5 next week. I feel like in between laundry loads I'm living at the ballfield.

I'm in the "creative" stage where my work stinks. It stinks to be here. I know it's a cycle, and it typically means I'm "growing" but dang...it's hard to look at stuff and think "I don't like that at all!"

School stuff for next year is arriving. Yippee. I think.

I can't believe June is almost here.

I'm not a very patient person, and waiting on decisions from other people is hard. It's hard not to push, or anything. HARD.

Less than a month from now I will leave my oldest child at a summer camp. His first spend the night camp. ACK!


It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't. They sit in front of the T.V. and treat life as if it goes on forever. - Philip Adams

I want some of that confidence.


Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. - Theodore Roosevelt

Ah...that's much more appropriate for my life...at least I feel like it is.

Fashion Friday...not too bad this week.

One of her favorite shirts (and OH so apt), and you missed the pink snow boots she originally had with it. The Cinderella socks really go too...*giggle* She wanted jeans, but I talked her into shorts as it was 75+ outside. She liked the "orange" shorts.



Yes, she picked this one...it has JEANS! Who cares that the "top" is a size 12 month dress from last summer...right?



Even at 10, they still don't quite get it right...it was APRIL and he picked a Halloween shirt. *shrug*


Check out other fashionable kids at Salsa in China

Wordless Wednesday

2009-2010 School Year Curriculum

It's coming up, and I have finally...FINALLY ordered our curriculum. Samuel will be 1st grade and JM will be 5th grade.

Are you ready? It's...well...quite interesting.

Both boys are going to do Horizons Math - Samuel will finish up grade 1b and then complete 2a and 2b. JM will finish up 5b and complete 6a and 6b.

Samuel and JM are both using Abeka Language Arts this year. We need help with word skills and grammar, and I'm hoping this will work. I've heard good things. Samuel will be in Language 2 and JM will be in Language 6.

Samuel will have Abeka Spelling 2nd grade as well. I ordered the Abeka Spelling 6th grade for JM but it is going to be too hard for him, so we'll go back to Spelling Power for him. I'll have to figure out which level he is though.

JM will be doing Abeka's 6th grade handwriting. Samuel will be doing A Reason for Handwriting Transition.

Samuel will be doing the Bible lessons from Sonlight Core1 - Leading Little Ones to God. JM will...errmmmm....I'm not really sure. Oops! I'll head to Lifeway and browse for something for him.

Both boys will be doing Apologia's Astronomy (at least through Christmas). I'm personally VERY excited about this one.

Samuel will be doing Sonlight Core1+2 with Regular Readers for History and reading. I think the readers are "below" his level, but I'm trying to boost his comprehension skills. If, by Christmas, he's WAY beyond them, then I'll purchase him some extra books off the Intermediate and Advanced list from Sonlight.

JM is doing Abeka 4th grade History - History of the United States. He's not gotten a full curriculum of this yet, and I felt this was a good year to do so. We are supplementing with 10 books off of the Sonlight Core 3 and Core 4 lists. I chose them based on JM's interests. He'll have to write book reports on them as well.

They will continue the city league sports and Karate to fill in for their PE.

Personalities of our kids

Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them. - W. Clement Stone

In thinking about this quote I started thinking about my own life, and particularly how this will affect my children. Which led me to think about their personalities, and who they are.

While in China I remember telling Cheri that I felt like we were all given children with personalities and quirks that we were best able to handle. That something about the makeup of the parents' personalities fit in perfectly with what the child needed. With the boys it's something we just assume, they will have personality traits that match either myself or my husband.

But, really, is personality genetic? Or is it learned? Or is it a little bit of both. I mean, Katie could NOT have learned to be a grouchy grump first thing in the morning from ME on her first morning with us (she woke up JUST like I do and has continued to wake up like that). It was not learned from me, but is exactly like me. Is it a genetic thing, or is it learned from perhaps her foster parent?

When I was dreaming of my "perfect" daughter, I told my husband that I wanted a girl who would want to dress up like Cinderella but play sports against the boys and beat them....wearing her tiara in the mud. Can you see it? (another photographer I know) That link was the embodiment of what I wanted MY daughter to be like.

At our last post placement meeting with our social worker, I was asked about Katie's personality. When I mentioned that she was fit in perfectly with our family, with personality that meshed with the boys just as if she'd born to us. Our social worker commented that everyone feels that way.

Why is that? Why does everyone feel that way? Is it like voices, accents, talking, etc. that our kids can end up sounding just like us (yes Katie is going to have that lovely southern accent which is going to make learning Mandarin just that much harder). Is it because liking to play sports, or liking to watch NASCAR, or liking music, or liking games like spades or Monopoly, or any other thing that we consider part of the personality is environmental?

Will Katie be strong willed because of genetics or because of her environment? Will she be patient? Will she be honest? Will she be thoughtful? Will she be demure? Will she be an extrovert or introvert? Will she like science and math OR will she like the arts?

With the boys we sort of figured that they would be more science and math kids (with 2 "geeks" for parents did they even stand a chance?). But with Katie we don't know. It's actually kind of fun and interesting to see her develop her own interests and personality. I'm anxious and excited to see what and who she becomes as she grows.

But to be honest...she's the female version of our boys in likes, dislikes, personality traits, interests, and such. It's enough to make you go, "Hmmmmmm....."

Disney 2009 - Chapter 6 - Magic Kingdom

Wednesday February 11, 2009 - Magic Kingdom (to Epcot)

Again we were up early to make it to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop, and this time we were actually earlier than we’d been the entire week. I stood in line next to the opening near the strollers so I could grab it and go to Fantasy Land quickly. Dh took the kids to watch the opening show because they were going regardless of whatever we told them. Clone2 really wanted to see the opening show from in front of the train station. I just smiled and told Dh that it’s Disney. It’s all good.

Well, it was all good until a family with 2 small children in a stroller had one start vomiting standing 2 people away from me waiting on rope drop. Poor little thing was coughing, and it sounded very much like what Clone2 had been doing and his Mommy was not patient with it at all. We survived, and rope dropped and we made our way down Main Street. The Cast Members were waving, the characters were out, and the bubbles were blowing out of the trash cans! Princess Peanut and Clone2 were really excited about the bubbles, but we had them in the stroller by this point and I just pushed them past the bubbles. We laughed about the trashcans burping bubbles for a good little bit.



Our reason for being at rope drop was Dumbo, and we quickly made our way to Dumbo and got on the 3rd ride of the day. We were hoping that Princess Peanut would love the ride, and she did! We had to encourage her to sit on the seat, but once that elephant started flying she was all smiles. Thinking we might have turned the corner on the rides department, we sashayed over to Peter Pan and basically walked on, Princess Peanut buried her head for the entire time again! We finally started putting it together that she would like the outdoor rides but not the indoor ones. So, we went directly to the carousel to make it up to her. She loved the carousel, absolutely loved it. At this point we were debating, and not fully following the plan as this morning was all about Princess Peanut for the first time. Did we do It’s a Small World again, or do Pooh? Dh thought Small World would be better for the Princess because we had fast passes for Pooh and could ride it later, and as it was an “indoor” ride it might not go over well. Small World she’d ridden before and liked it so he thought it would be a good one to try. Okay, it was a morning ALL about the Princess afterall. Clone1 was oh so thrilled.



After Small World we decided to try seeing the Princesses and found the line to be posted at 15 minutes (time on exif data on photos says 10:16am). Not too bad, but the Fairies line? It said 75 minutes! What in the heck? We decided it wasn’t worth that. Princess Peanut did not react well to the face characters at all, not even for her favored Cinderella. We got our photos, and Clone2 got his photo made with them. Princess Peanut told them all bye and blew kisses, but wanted nothing to do with getting closer than seeing them from Daddy’s arms. She’s excited to see the photos now, so it was worth it.


We left the Princesses and decided to see how long the line for Mickey was. Dh played FPV and got Space Mountain fast passes as the boys really wanted to ride this again, and they had been so very patient with the morning that was all about Princess Peanut. Mickey’s line was really short, but after a few minutes standing in it we realized that it was not moving at all. Having been in this line before, I realized that only one Mickey must have been back there. VERY slow moving line, so we left and made our way to Tomorrow Land where we were able to get on Buzz Lightyear easily, and then Dh took the Clones to Stitch’s Great Escape. I sat outside in the sun and enjoyed the warm day with an overly active Princess Peanut. After a few minutes Dh came out with the clones, and Clone2 told me that he did NOT like that ride and refused to ride it! Okay by me, so Dh and Clone1 got back in line and I sat with the kids outside eating a snack.

Right before lunch.

I rode Space Mountain with the boys after securing a Rider Swap pass for Dh’s trip later in the day. Then we made our way to lunch, and caught the show in front of the Castle. Yep, Princess Peanut yelled at Dh to stop the stroller so she could watch. Clone2 enjoyed it as well. Clone1? Well, he went with me to grab some grapes and water to help round out our lunch and we made it back to the show for the very end. The younger kids really enjoyed it, and I’m glad they were able to “work it in” at that point.

We ate lunch and headed toward Frontier Land, and I knew we were getting close to really being off our normal schedule, so we talked about what ride the kids wanted to do and Splash Mountain won. Dh was FPV and got fast passes for those as I made my way that direction. Clone1 had asked if we could please do Tom Sawyer’s Island this trip, so I figured that now was a good time for it. Tom Sawyer’s Island was “eh” to me, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. Time stamp on these photos is around 1:15 pm.



We finished up with that and went to Splash Mountain. We were seated in rows 1 and 2, and I got soaked. I dislike being wet, and getting soaked at the beginning of the ride was the pits! Oh well, the boys thought it was hilarious. When we finally exited we saw Dh with Princess Peanut first in line to see Goofy! She went up to Goofy with Clone1’s encouragement and even gave him 5! (Time stamp here is 2pm)



We left Frontier Land and made our way back toward Fantasy Land where we rode Pooh with our fast passes, and Princess Peanut seemed to like it (she only buried her head a tiny bit). We headed on to Tomorrow Land for that Space Mountain rider swap and to use the Buzz Lightyear fast pass we’d grabbed earlier. Princess Peanut was in my arms for Buzz Lightyear and she actually tried shooting her gun the entire time! We were making definite progress. When we exited Buzz, the Princess saw Stitch and insisted on getting in line for him. I didn’t argue with it, and sent the boys ahead to Space Mountain.



Our experience with Stitch was awesome. Princess Peanut really started opening up to the “furry” characters, and as she had her squeaky shoes on Stitch really got down and played with her. It was adorable. Princess Peanut went up to Stitch (he was down on her level and let her approach him). The only problem came when we were leaving, Princess Peanut blew him a kiss and said “bye” then started walking away. Stitch followed behind her looking at the shoes, and Princess Peanut freaked out a little. Poor Stitch was so sorry that he’d scared her. It was okay though as Princess Peanut blew him another kiss…safely from my arms though. ;) (time stamp here was 3:55pm)

We made our way to Space Mountain to wait on the boys, and I made Princess Peanut get into that stroller where she proceeded to show off all of her “two-ness” for everyone.



I used her Nemo towel and played peek-a-boo which got her giggling again. Phew! The boys finished their blast through space, and we headed out of Magic Kingdom to hop to EPCOT. I knew that Princess Peanut would fall asleep in the van (why we drive to all the parks), and we were able to let her get a 30 minute nap in.




Once in the van we decided a quick 30 minute or so stop at the resort for the boys to experience the water slide at our pool. Great plan, well, sort of. I was going to rest with Princess Peanut in the room, the boys were going to swim. The slide was NOT working that day, so it was a quick disappointing “rest period” in the pool. Still fun, still a quick rest period for Princess Peanut who really needed it at that point. But we still had a park to see that night! The plan…I was insisting we stick to the plan.

When we got to EPCOT we sent Dh on to get Test Track fast passes, and then the boys all rode Mission Space. We grabbed the Rider Swap for this one as I knew they’d be riding it a 2nd time back to back (we do green with Clone2 then orange with Clone1 for each time of riding it). Dh and I swap off riding with the boys as well (I only ride the green though). We made our way over to the Land for dinner, and noticed the Soarin’ wait time was 40 minutes. We agreed to wait to ride it. We then went to ride Jounrey into Imagination because the Clones asked us to. We knew Princess Peanut would hate it, she did. The kids played in the exit area for a little bit, then we headed over to ride Test Track with the Fast Passes. We got our rider swap, and I rode with the boys. We left there to ride Mission Space again (hey the boys love it), then we went back for Dh to ride Test Track with the boys on the Rider Swap, but it was “down.” Clone1 asked to ride Spaceship Earth, so we went to ride that and enjoyed the updates. I miss the whole ending that was the “future” but were things that were actually happening now. I remember riding it as a child/teen and being amazed at the thought of communicating over the computer with another country!! I was looking forward to pointing to that and saying “We DID that while in China!” Oh well, the computer thing was cute.

Unfortunately Test Track was still down when we exited, so we had to skip it. It was almost time for Illuminations by this point and I feel like I forgot some of the stuff that we did that night, but it’s really starting to all blur together now.

We made it back to our room and promptely fell asleep so we could be back at EPCOT for rope drop the next day. Why didn’t we just stick around at the hotel after we “rested” I wonder? I'm also starting to wonder if anyone here would ever willingly travel to Disney with us now? LOL