A Good Man

I ran across this photo the other day and it made me smile, remembering the fun that we had on this particular evening. I've had a long ride with this guy, some bumps along the way, some smooth sailing. But in the end he's the one I'm glad I've been down that road with.

The Sky's the Limit!

When my little girlfriend told me she wanted to be a nurse, I said "Why don't you become a doctor?"
At the park, while climbing up this spiral, she looked down at me and said, "I think I want to be a doctor instead of a nurse." Out of the clear blue. Who knows - maybe up there, on top of her little world, she realized that the Sky is the Limit!

Feet First

The difference between girls and boys at the playground, I've found, is that girls always go down the slide feet first.

A Place for Everything

Can you guess what these items have in common? Give up?

They all live in my JUNK DRAWER. Or rather, my old junk drawer. I had to go to the cabinet makers today to have a new drawer made. The one being replaced grew old and weary of bearing the heavy load and constant opening and closing several times a day.

"Where is the ______?"

"It's in the Junk Drawer."

OR

"Do you have a AA battery/screwdriver/glue stick/deck of cards/nail file/extra chap stick/roll of hockey tape/pair of scissors/magnifying glass/bottle of wood glue/package of plant food sticks/needle & thread/tool to crank the frozen garbage disposal/plastic golf ball/red paint pen/take out menu/bag of colored pencils/walkie talkie/sunblock stick/cell phone that doesn't work?"

"It's in the Junk Drawer."

Looking at all these items spread out on the counter, I wondered what I should really keep, and if I could transfer anything to a more appropriate place. Where should the batteries be kept? If I put the screwdrivers & wood glue in the toolbox I'd have to go all the way in the garage to get them and the glue would probably freeze. Someday I might find the mate to the walkie talkie and then where would I have put the other one?

So, for now, I've put all these items in a large box lid. That will be "their place" until the new drawer is installed. Then everything will be back as it should be.

Captive at the Castle?

Is it any wonder why my little girlfriend wants to stay "one more night" with the Shopaholic Queen, the Goofy King, Old Princess, Middle Princess, the Minstrel, two court Jesters and a kingdom of new Barbie dolls? She looks pretty content here on her pink throne.
I'm still waiting for her ransom note.

Eye Spy

Basic Grey sent me their newsletter today. It had a layout titled "Eye Spy". All I could think of was this photo I had taken of my little people last year when I let them play with some old binoculars. Notice they are looking through the wrong end, but it didn't seem to matter to them. They stood at the window "spying" for the longest time. Another of life's simple pleasures only carefree little people seem to know about.

Power

" Never underestimate the Power of a parent's prayer, " I say.

My kids surprised me this morning by traveling miles out of their way to meet me at my special church. My healing church. The church I prayed and worshiped at when I had special needs for one of my kids. You see, it sits directly across from the hospital where, at various times, my young children were hospitalized for not real serious things, but enough to be there. Maybe it's the Irish in me, maybe it's the mamma instinct in me, but my prayers asking for healing the illnesses of my children seem to work better in this building. In fact, at the age of five years old I was a flower girl in a wedding here. I fainted during the ceremony because I didn't eat breakfast and it was so hot. Twenty years later I found myself here for a second time praying for my five year old daughter to recover from pneumonia. Peyton was a ringbearer (at five years old) in this church last year. I feel a connection to this place. I feel peace in this church.
Well, it's not really the one in the photo above, but another older, traditional one like it. I'm all for tradition in church. The kid's like the contemporary stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but it's nice to know they think enough of their mamma to indulge me every now and then. Today was one of those days and I am still happy in my heart from having sat in a pew full of my family this morning.
Anyway, this particular church in the photo above is steeped in tradition in my husband's family. The oldest living relative, Aunt Sophie, who will be 102 years old this year, was the first child baptised here. Ever. I took this shot at a family reunion we had there not long ago. I really like this photo and it is displayed in our home.
It seemed appropriate to use it for my postcard this evening.
Thank you, L & J, for making your mamma so happy in her heart today.

First Borns

I am a "first born". My daughter and granddaughter are first borns also. Here is what the experts say our traits are:
strong achievement drive, responsibility, dependability authoritarianism, dominant, conservatism, insecurity, sensitiveness, jealousy, spoiled, stinginess, shrewdness, high dependency, need for affection and praise
I wonder if this is why we clash at times? I wonder if this is why we feel such a special bond and are so sensitive to each other? Even though Chloe is technically a first born, she is the baby of our family, therefore, I think that some of these traits aren't as strong in her. I think I think too deeply at times. Now where is THAT trait listed?

Rubble & hope

Sometimes you need to really search through the rubble and noise to find that there still is hope. Some days the rubble is harder to sift through than other days, but it can be done.
Never give up and never lose hope.

Happy "V" day

This is the day that you let people you care about know that you love them. Here are just two of the people I love, in their pretty valentine's shirts, posing without complaint. Now isn't that just one of the nicest gifts of all? To me, it is.
Happy Valentine's day!

Young Tim is home

Just wanted to share a couple of photos from the party where we celebrated young Tim coming home from Iraq. Welcome home, Tim. We love you and are very proud of you. Thank you for serving our country and defending our freedom. And I still think you grew taller!

Peyton's pick

I'm teaching my little Einstein how to blog. He had his selection on images to use and this is the one he picked. He thought his mom looked pretty and happy because she's holding her favorite thing. How sweet is he?

No Vacancy

Glen recently repaired the damage that the squirrels did to our bluebird houses. I was looking out the kitchen window, wondering if they would come back this year. No sooner was my thought complete (a rarity these days) when I saw this lovely pair checking it out. Looks like we've got new tenants.

A glimpse of Winter

We woke this morning to a blanket of snow on the ground, and huge snowflakes continued to fall for a couple of hours. By afternoon it was all but gone - except in the park. No one there to trample and play.

All in the Family

Even though you might not be able to tell, this is an orchid. (hey, I shot A LOT so you'll have to bear with me a couple more days) It might not look like the typical, growing from a slender long stem, delicate blossom - but it is. I guess every family has a member that doesn't look or seem the same, but they still have that connection. This particular shot keeps standing out to me and I think I really like it because it IS different, growing in it's own free form, just a bit rebelious. It seems appropriate that it is also red. How boring it would be if we were all typical and delicate. I am glad to see a red, non-traditional orchid every now and then - even if they do require different care and nurturing.

Delicate strength

So here is the top portion of the Chihuly tonight for my friend, L. I would love to go at night and shoot this when it was all lit up, but this is what I have for now. You can see more of his work here http://www.chihuly.com/chands/chand001.html
take a moment to go browse.......it's beautiful!

more of the orchids

This little trio reminded me of dancing starfish. The lighting wasn't so great on these, but I loved the lines and texture.

Blown away

This is one little section of an incredible blown glass sculpture by Chihuly that is hanging in the atrium entry of the botanical gardens.

Full bloom

I went to the Orchid show today at the botanical gardens. It was magnificient! Since we've had such a warm winter there were several species in full bloom that normally don't put in an appearance this time of year.
I shot over 150 images, so for the next few days guess what I'll be blogging????

No Shadow?

I don't know.......I think I see a shadow......but they say it wasn't there. Looks like we'll have six more weeks of this "winter" weather! Happy Ground Hog Day.

Old things

I love "old things". People, houses, barns, dishes, linens, books, buildings, trees, iron fences. To me, they are interesting to photograph.
I wonder what used to go through these old doors?