Welcome, Erin!

Erin Kearse has joined our ranks! The link to her blog is in the link list to the right. Please check out her site when you get a chance and add her to your link list! I tried to comment on her blog earlier today, but it isn't set up for comments from just anyone. So, Erin, if you're reading this.....WE CAN'T LEAVE COMMENTS ON YOUR BLOG! Go back to your dashboard and then into settings to change it so we can leave comments on your cute boys!

Someone Special

My someone special is my brother Bill, but it could just as easily be my brother Adam. As most, if not all, of you know, Riley doesn't have a dad. Don't go feeling sorry for him though. I think God and the Justice system for that fact. So many kids have horrible excuses for parents in their lives today because the people in the system think that a bad parent is better than an absent parent. I don't happen to believe that. I know that my son is much better off with our current situation than he would have been if my ex was still in the picture. Thank goodness Riley's attorney also saw things that way. But, that's another story for another day. Today's story is about how much I love my brothers for being that positive male influence in Riley's life. Riley loves both of his uncles, and I'm so thankful that we all live so close to one another and that Bill and Adam can be a constant presence in Riley's life. The Lord knows they're not perfect, but they are hardworking, honest men who love their family and who will stand up for what they believe to be true and right, no matter the odds or popular opinion. Unfortunately, in this day and age, those traits are becoming more and more rare.

This week Bill brought Bailey, some BB's and a homemade target over to the house and took all three of the kids outside on the back porch for some target practice. Riley had a blast, and I got a few pictures (from the back...I'm sure you'll understand why I didn't get any from the front when you see the pictures!).

BLUE

Riley's eyes looked especially blue today. The in-camera crop was unflattering so I played until I liked it. I love these eyes (or eye, in this case!) The blue background is his school uniform shirt.

Sweet Baby

A couple of shots of our newest family member from yesterday. I hope to take some better pictures of him on Saturday, but time will tell....everyone is just so busy these days...including me! I'm on the run. Just wanted to get some pics up for today!

See the tongue? He's already mocking me and my camera!

An Elvis lip curl? We have a goofy one of Hayden like this when he was a few months old.

A Token of Our Appreciation

Sunday was our appreciation dinner for all of last year's Sunday school workers. This year we also honored someone very special in our church: our church secretary, Ms. Jan. She does so much for all of us at church, and she always goes above and beyond the call of duty. She truly deserved a special token of our appreciation. I hope that she enjoyed her day. I'm much better at taking photographs of the "details" than I am at event photography, so I will spare you the shots I got of any people at the dinner. LOL. Here are some of the detail shots that I got before all of the hungry guests arrived! Andrew Carr took the last shot for me. I'm the big'un in the back.

New Photo Challenge Posted

Did everyone notice that a new photo challenge has been posted? This week's assignment is "Someone Special". That can be anyone in your life that is special to you for any reason at all. This challenge comes from Cindy D. and Anita! Thanks for the challenge submission, ladies! Can't wait to see the photos.

Wendy, you asked me to play with your beach photos if I could, and I finally got around to playing with this one of Drew. I can't email it to you because I lost your email address when the computer crashed a few weeks ago. So, I'm uploading it here so you can right click and save it from the blog if you so choose. The first is the original, and the second one is the one I played with. I did anew crop to take out some of the distractions in the background, brightened it up a bit and then moved his shovel closer to him because it was kind of a distraction in the location it was in once I cropped it.

Movies!

I don't rent movies very often, and the only movies I see at the theater anymore are kids movies. This makes it very easy to rent movies because I haven't seen any of them! This is very convenient because I don't have to limit myself to the new releases (which are always checked out by others anyway). My problem is that I usually rent movies and then never actually get around to watching them! Riley and I rented four movies for this weekend, and I did take some time this afternoon to actually watch one. They aren't due back for a week so I might get to watch the other one I rented for me before it has to go back to the store.

Faith

It looks like Ms. Judy and I had the same idea for this week's photo challenge. I turned to Hebrews 11:1 for my subject. I didn't witness Christ being crucified for my sins, but I believe that He was. It is by that faith that I am saved and will one day live in a mansion in Heaven with my Savior. So y'all be sure and stop in for a visit!

P.S. The objects in the photo with the Bible verse are a "crown of thorns" and a nail. I raided my resurrection eggs (from Easter) for them. I should have made a realistic version of the crown, but I had forgotten all about the challenge this afternoon and was racing the daylight to get my shot!

A New Nephew!

My sister-in-law was induced today, and I now have a new nephew. Riley and Hayden were so cute at the hospital. Hayden covered his ears when baby Leland cried (he was blessed with a loud set of pipes just like his older brother!), and Riley looked worried and asked what was hurting him so badly that he would scream like that? LOL. The boys were assured that baby Leland was just good and mad at being evicted from his nice warm home of nine months! Despite the crying and carrying on, both Riley and Hayden are super excited to have a new cousin and baby brother, respectively!

First Day of Kindergarten

was a resounding success. He couldn't wait to get there this morning, and we ended up just going 30 minutes early because he was bugging us to just go! No tears. No tugging on my arm or leg...he just went with a quick kiss goodbye. I hope this attitude continues, though I know there will be days that he just doesn't feel like going (I just hope it isn't too soon!). As excited as he was to go to school today, he was NOT excited about having his picture made. I got a couple, but none that I'm really pleased with. Maybe I'll have to try again another day!

STRIKE!

Heh. That's one word that was NOT associated with MY bowling today. The only way I would have been able to get a strike is if I were standing over home plate on a diamond-shaped playing field with a bat in my hands! I was the official handicap of my team! LOL. But I don't care. I had a lot of fun, and if you can't laugh at yourself...well, you just aren't somebody I'd care to be around! (In my defense, however...it was only the second time I've ever bowled in my life...and I'm no spring chicken! I did, however, improve once I found out I was using the wrong fingers to hold the ball! LOL)

This one is blurry, but I like it anyway.

Cindy, our most competitive bowler.

This is usually what my lane looked like even after I bowled. There were usually the same number of pins standing after I bowled as there were before I bowled.

New Challenge.

Sorry I never got around to posting a photo challenge for this week! I've been super busy this week, and there is no end in sight to the tapes on my desk! Cindy called me earlier in the week and suggested a couple of challenge ideas (THANK YOU, CINDY!!!), the first of which is "FAITH". So, the challenge is to take a photo of what embodies faith to you. Have fun, and remember to post your challenge photo on Friday, 8-24-07!

Trapped!

This little hummingbird flew into our house yesterday afternoon, and we couldn't get him out. Dad was even going to climb out onto the roof and open the dormer windows to let the little guy out, but the windows were locked and he couldn't get them open. I even tried to "shoo" him into the upstairs room so that those windows could be opened for him, but he would never fly low enough to find the way into the room from the cathedral ceilings. Do you know how hard it is to "shoo" a hummingbird in a specific direction?!

These Hands...

have been busy! My mammaw is currently working on knitting everyone in the family an afghan of their color choice. Riley has opted for this John Deere yellow and green stripe. I think it is turning out really cool, and it is nearly complete. I think Mammaw has made about 7-8 of them so far, and she has a long way to go if everyone in the family is going to get one! That is a lot of knitting and perling! She's a pretty speedy little knitter though. She tried to teach me how to knit when I was a much younger girl, but alas, that is NOT where my talents lie!

I guess we're getting another Friday off from the challenge, as I have yet to post the next assignment. I'll try to come up with one and post it soon. In the meantime, keep snapping pics and posting! Don't follow my bad example!!! =)

Relaxation is....

a comfy (and cool!) spot to rest, a good book and some good chocolate! Add a cold glass of sweet tea, and it's heaven on earth!

Well...I didn't earn any money for it....

but one of my photos will be in the newspaper for public TV and public radio. When we got home from Beaufort today, I had a message from a writer at Current newspaper in Washington D.C. requesting permission to print one of my photos of Mr. Crawford, the hiker that stayed with us back in June. I gave him a call, and gave him permission to print the photo, and he's going to send me some copies of the paper. It's not The Washington Post, but at least I'll be given photo credits and get a few copies of the paper to keep. Too bad it isn't one of my "better" photos. LOL. Mom is just thrilled that her photo will be in the paper, especially considering that she had just gotten up at 6 a.m. after getting no sleep the night before because she was worried that an axe murderer was in the very next room waiting to pounce if she closed her eyes! LOL.

Here is the photo that he wanted to use. As you can see...not the best photo I've ever taken...but it's for a newspaper so I guess it's more about being informative than being creative.

Some Get Flowers.....

I get fungi!! Shanon, Adam and Hayden came over for a visit this evening, and they didn't come empty handed. Shanon picked a huge mushroom in the yard and brought it over for me to photograph for the blog. LOL. We were overrun by fire ants last year, and this year it's mushrooms! If I had to pick between which of the two I'd rather have in the yard, I'd have to choose the mushrooms! So, here is today's photo....compliments of Shanon!

***A certain blogger mentioned to me on the phone the other day that she had noticed that I was "slacking" lately with my blog, and made reference to my photo subjects (in particular the phone shot). I won't mention any names (Judy T.), but when that certain someone has been blogging for as many months as I have and has as many blog posts as I have...THEN she can "criticize" my lack of interesting photo subjects! LOL. I'm sure she's just gonna LOVE this one! Oh well, it was either this or nothing! I'm running out of original ideas, and my life is just not THAT interesting! ***

First Sleepover?!

Will tonight be Hayden's very first sleepover....or will it end as just a late night visit?! We shall soon see! It's 11 p.m. and they're still watching TV on the sofa bed (with mom encouraging them to go to sleep).

Blast From The Past

When is the last time you used one of these old rotary phones? I've been reduced to using one these past couple of weeks since the lightening "accident" that occured. My cordless must have been fried right along with my fax modem. I will have to buy a new cordless because this old phone is really a pain. There is certainly no "press 1 for English" on this phone....heh, maybe that's a good thing!

Bluffton

I hate it. I despise going there. Give me Charleston any day of the week, but you can keep Bluffton. I hate the traffic and crazy drivers. I hate the U-turns because you can't get to where you're going without them. I hate the fact that all of the buildings are disguised and hidden behind trees so thick that you pass them and have to do what? Yes, ANOTHER U-TURN!! Maybe hate is a strong work for how I feel about Bluffton, but I definitely do not love it! Unfortunately, we've made quite a few trips to the dreaded place lately with trying to get Riley ready for school. We made one of those trips today. I had two things to accomplish. 1. Return some school uniform pants to the uniform shop. 2. Buy Riley a new pair of shoes for school. The first task was performed rather quickly and painlessly. The second task proved to be very painful and impossible. I'm still looking for the child a pair of shoes. It's not that I'm being particularly picky. I just couldn't find any in his size. But enough about that.

There is one good thing about Bluffton. The turtles that live in the water beside the uniform shop. Riley loves to watch them, and today I took along my camera to snap a picture of them for the blog. It was about the only pleasant thing about today...that and the fact that I scored some bargains at Gymboree on a couple of jackets and some rain boots for Riley (mud boots is more accurate when they're on my child's feet). Other than that, the trip was a total waste of time, and I hope I don't have to go back there for a quite a while!

The second one is a little hard to see with the reflections of light on the water, but he's in there!

NEXT PHOTO CHALLENGE TOPIC

The next photo challenge topic is "RELAXATION". Photos are due to be posted next Friday, August 10th. I'll change my little sign over there on the right when I get some time!

Details...

of one of my hobbies. I'm a scrapbooker, and these are all of the supplies that I have collected over the past few months. Not a single item in this photo has been used! I just don't have the time to indulge in my hobby, but I do love it when I get the chance. In fact, Anita and I have been meaning to get a "crop" on the church calendar so that we can all scrapbook together. So...if you're not a scrapbooker, maybe it's time to think about becoming one! Your family will thank you one day! I scrapbook Riley's photos and I'm sooooo far behind on them. I'm still working on photos of when he was 1 y/o, and he is now 5! I need to get to work! He already loves looking at his scrapbooks, and it is my hope that he will pass them on to his children when he has them. I think they will appreciate seeing their father's childhood photos and getting all of the memories that I have of him. It's truly a remarkable hobby, and one that I really think is worthwhile! Please let Anita and me know if this is something that you would be interested in. I would LOVE to get a regular crop going, as that is the only time I get to work on my scrapbooks!. It's a great way to fellowship with one another and so much fun! We have some extra supplies for some of the new scrappers to borrow at the crop, and we can give pointers, ideas and even tutorials on different techniques if anyone is interested. Anita, let's make this happen!

A Bird's Eye View

We went to see a couple of people that are in the hospital this evening. I had my camera and took this picture from the 4th floor waiting room. What a view!