ThankFULL...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. I STILL FEEL SO FULL!!!

It is nice to be back home, and hanging with f & f!

Not only was Thanksgiving great, but my birthday (on black Fri) was AWESOME as well!

My family took me to our local Country Club for a nice luncheon. Then later I met up with my dear friend Cindy. She wanted my advise on an upgrade camera. She has been shooting with a Sony for years (not dslr) and was thinking about giving Canon a try.

It was between two cameras. She wanted to know if she should get the Canon 40D or the Xs. I was like...um, no brainer here...go for the 40D.

I say this because she has taken photos for quite some time, and she was more than ready for the semi-pro upgrade! She will grow with the 40D much better. Cindy has been a photographer for years...doing photos and graphics for our church newsletter back home, special events, and youth events. She also has shot some weddings, graduation pics, and family portraits. She has quite an eye. =)

Speaking of eyes...here is a fun shot we did while camping out at her house. After we got back from window shopping, camera shopping, dinner at The Olive Garden...more window shopping...We went back to her home and played with the new cam with GIMP and PSE 7. She has PSE 7 and I have GIMP, so we were comparing tools and such.

Here is a fun shot of us that was taken with the 40D and edited on GIMP. Keep in mind, this was taken in Auto...we did not have a lot of time to work with manual...it was like 2 am!! We were just shooting fun and silly pics to practice editing on. =)



The night before I had stayed up late with my sweet niece KayKay. She wanted to learn some GIMP, so we did this one together. This photo was taken with my Kodak P850...so are the following pics that I am posting. Actually, all of these following photos were taken with my Kodak, and edited on GIMP.

(my lips needed chapstick on this on Drea...hehe)


Can't believe I got a pic of David, HA! Everyone has always thought that our niece looks like David. Thank she could be our child. We claim her. :)


Our nieces...who are also sisters...




and last but not least...one fun shot of kaykay...

No Noise!

I had to post this and show you guys what a good "no-noise" photo processing program can do for photos...

Before


After Drea put my photo through a program that fixes noise...pretty awesome, huh! Their skin is much clearer and no grainy look...

Un-amused...Turkey anyone?

This is my "un-amused" look. Trying to learn Gimp 2, and so this is a product of me goofing around with layers, and smudge tool...and stuff I rly don't know all that much about...yet...

Anywho...I'll get there eventually!

On a fun note. We are headed home for Thanksgiving! So all you friends and family...get ready cuz here we come!!! ;)

The kids are totally excited about this. David and I, with our darling children, will be leaving on Wed to head home. Then David will come back Sunday while the children and I stay an additional week. This will give us extra visiting time. YAY!

I get to celebrate my 41st birthday with f & f. I just realized how old I am, lol, j/k. Seriously though, I can't believe I'm over 40! Dude, that is just wrong because I'm totally feelin' like 20 something! haha.

So what are your plans for Thanksgiving Day? We are having a big ol' family get together in the early afternoon about 1:30ish....traditional turkey and dressing and all the side dishes to boot. =)

Pumkin pie is my FAVORITE (hint hint CindyLu!!! You do make the best p.p. ever!!! ;)

Our family loves to reflect on so many things we can be thankful for. It is one more reminder of God's goodness bestowed upon us.

Here's a little early in the week throwback. Cindy if you are reading my blog, this one's for you and Ken! (catch the bunny ears behind Cindy...which is my hubby's fingers haha)

Our wild and crazy friends from back home!


Our table setting from last yr...

Finally... the Photo :)

My daughter took this shot of Drea and I outside of the church before we sang. :) I've had this for quite sometime, but just haven't done anything with it yet...been working on organizing the kids room...and that is another blog...that you may or may not be interested in seeing the documentary vid on! lol!

Soooo....I did all of the PP (post processing) of this photo in Gimp 2.4, accept for the vignette(which I did in Flickr's Picnik). Still can't quite figure the vignette out in gimp yet...working on it though. Drea showed me how to do this...a quick overview, but I didn't catch it completely and should have written it down. Although, I am really diggin' the vignette from Picnik too...

Anyway, I've stayed up all night studying gimp tutorials...gonna pay for this later!!! ;)

Creative people of the world, don't be like me!!! Get your sleep! Heehee...what can I say...I'm nocturnal!

Nite Nite...If I go now, I might be able to get a few hours shut eye!

Until tomorrow...

Wait...it is tomorrow!

Another Candid Shot

A little noise...well a lot of noise in this photo, but I still love this candid shot of them...taken at a time where I couldn't get them to cooperate. Sometimes those are the best shots. ;)

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

I really thought I was dreaming when my husband said, "Hey, Its snowing!"

It just doesn't happen all that much on this side of the state. Until today...

When we lived in western NC, we saw snow more often. This southern girl from FL always gets excited about snow!! Whooohoooo!!!

Now we are really in the Christmas spirit with our tree up, AND the snow falling...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our Tree is Up!

The kids just could not wait. And honestly, it seems like we just get the tree up, and then it is time to take it down. Plus, we are going home next week for Thanksgiving. The children and I are staying an additional week. So I'm glad we've gotten it done.

We had a great time together listening to Christmas music, and trimming the tree. Jordan and I put the tree together, and then afterwards Josh came to help Jordan decorate. I've got some pictures of them that I will post later.

Here is one shot I loved. This was taken after they trimmed the small tree in their bedroom. Oh, our trees are artificial...but we burn pine scented candles to give the Christmas Tree smell. Even Josh thought he was smelling a real tree. =) I do prefer real ones, but I got this pencil tree for my birthday, and it is working great for apartment living. ;)

Wordless Wed and Unexpected Expressions of Love

While I was on the floor taking photos of my hand, Josh reached over from doing his math to put his fingers in between mine. Don't you just love unexpected expressions of love?

Library, not once, but twice!

Well, this afternoon the kids and I set out to "check out" the local library branch in the new city we are now living in. We get there...and they ask for ID...which must reflect our new address. Ugggg, I realized that I haven't gotten my driver's license changed yet! Nor do I have new check with our new address yet...or anything else!

The librarian said that she would accept any type of mail that had my name and our new address. So, I'm like digging through my purse, then I go dig through my car. You'd think with as many papers and mail I had in the car SOMETHING would have my name (or the kids) and our new address.

Nope, nothing!

So, we headed back home...bookless...sad lil' puppy faces. =(

Later that evening, David suggested I go out and spend some time to myself...which honestly is much needed, but I hadn't really thought about it. So guess where I go? Yep, you got it...back to the library.

I really should have been a librarian...I LOVE being in a library! I spent like 2 hours in there!!! Oh, and I did find a netflix envelope with MY name and new address printed on it. whew! I mean..goodness, we haven't even been here long enough to get utility bills with our new name and address on them! lol!

I found a few great books on digital photography. One I'm already loving is by Scott Kelby called, "The Digital Photography Book". I'm excited!! I also found some books on tape for my son and daughter to enjoy such as Moby Dick, Old Yeller, and a Tom Sawyer book on tape. Also, a fun multiplication rap CD. hehe...had the best time doing this alone. Yet, I did miss the kids being with me too. =) Sometimes a mom just needs some alone time. (which I rarely take for myself because I really do enjoy the kids being with me)

After the library, I went to....

TARGET! WOOT! Gosh, everything was so beautiful there...like I had never seen "things" before...haha. (I don't get out much, obviously... ;)

No Show...Make Time

A lady was supposed to come look at our sofa tonight...waited around all day for her, and she pulled a no show...

We are trying to sell our sofa for a couple of reasons. One, it is way too big on our new 2 bedroom townhouse. It takes up half of the small living room.

The chair and 1/2 that we have along with it is just way too overpowering!

When we had our larger home, it was great!! Now, it is just too big and bulky.

Secondly, with Jordan's possible surgery, we would like a futon to keep downstairs in our lil' townhouse. It will take up less space and should look just fine with our chair and 1/2.

We may have family come to visit during Jordan's surgery, and also Jordan even mentioned that she may like to sleep on the futon, rather than climb the stairs right after her surgery. We found a nice futon online that looks to be comfortable. We are going to check at some local furniture stores as well to see which ones are most comfortable.

Yet, we can't do anything until we sell the sofa. Right now we have it listed on a local online yard sale. We've had good luck with selling several items quickly on this site.

I'm just a little bummed that this lady stood us up without even calling to say she wasn't going to make it...(can ya see I'm a bothered?)

I got to thinking about this though...how the Lord must feel when we go about our day, and we don't even communicate with Him. He watches over us lovingly, and waits to hear from us. How this must grieve Him that we go about our busy days without even stopping to say, "I love You Lord". He is my best friend, and I do this to Him so often. As a matter of fact, I was so concerned about this lady NOT coming, that I pretty much stayed distracted with this and did not have my quiet time with the Lord.

It made me think of this song...This isn't some great music video, but the words of this song always get to me...




I want to encourage me first, and you all as well, to make time to spend in God's word, and in prayer with the Lord. Make time for family and friends. All to soon time passes, and we won't get it back.

Ephesians 6:23-24 (New International Version)
23Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Cat in Box

This is sooo cute!

Cat Stuck in a Box @ Yahoo! Video

Greeted by a Frog

Tonight as we came in from dinner (our special night of eating dinner at the hospital with dad ;), I spotted a frog on our window. We've had a lot of rain today, so this must have brought the frogs out to play.

My son was most intrigued by this! He wanted to take a few snapshots, and so did my daughter (also an aspiring photographer. ;)

We had a lot of fun watching this green frog.

Throwback Thursday-My mother the movie star...kinda

Ok, my throwback is not only a photo...but a movie trailer as well from the early 50's.

My mother was briefly in a (1953) movie, "Easy to Love".

My family is originally from Winter Haven, FL, and I grew up near Cypress Gardens. Spent a lot of time there as a child because the president of Cypress Gardens (back in the 70's) was a neighbor of ours. He would take us to work with him a lot so that we could keep an eye on his children. Free passes, and fun!

The movie was filmed at Cypress Gardens. When my mother was a teenager, she got to be in the pool scene of the movie "Easy to Love" starring Van Johnson, and Esther Williams. When you view the movie trailer for Easy to Love, there is a quick pool scene of women kicking there feet in the Florida shaped pool..she is one of them. Ok, so don't blink...or you will miss the pool scene clip in the trailer...hehe. She is really there...somewhere...ha!

Here is a photo that was used for advertising of the movie. She wasn't in this particular photo, but she was in the actual moving kicking her feet in the water. =)


The Esther Williams Swimming Pool was built in the shape of the map of Florida, projecting out in Lake Eloise as a set for MGM technicolor movie filmed at Cypress Gardens.

Mom always had star quality, even though she was never actually a movie star. To this day my mother gets confused with Elizabeth Taylor. Once when mom flew here to visit Jordan as a baby, the airline pilot came out from the cockpit to meet who he thought was Elizabeth Taylor. People used to flag her down in town or in the car, to get a glimpse of who they thought was Liz.

My mom is a big fan of Liz, and even named my sister after her, "Elizabeth". =) Even when she was younger, she looked like the young Elizabeth Taylor. I need to get some photos to post of her when she was much younger. But she is in Florida..and I am here now in NC. :)


This was taken in 1968 in front of Inman Park Baptist Church, Winter Haven, FL. My grandfather (dad's father) helped build this church.

My parents divorced in the mid 80's. My mother remarried shortly thereafter. My father is deceased as of Sept 24th, 1997,

James 5 for Jordan

Tonight we went to a small group meeting, and our daughter was prayed over for healing. We called upon the elders as the Bible says to do, and we agreed together and prayed the prayer of faith...believing God for her healing. We had done this at our church already, but some friends of our who lead this small Bible study group during the week asked if they could anoint and pray over Jordan.



We pray with no expectation of any certain way for God to heal her, only believing that God will in fact heal her. Actually, He already has!

It may not be in the way we think, but He will be faithful to His words in the Holy Bible.

James 5 13-15 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

I would never say that our daughter's illness is from specific sin in her life. Ultimately, it is the sin of the world since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden.

Yet, if we do recognize specific sin in our lives that needs to be confessed and turned from...if we confess it to the Lord and pray in Jesus name, He is faithful to forgive us.

This is what we believe to be true according to the word of God. We believe in God's healing, unfailing love and care for us...through the power of the Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. If we "draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to us".

Wordless Wednesday-Fun with Eyes

Dedication to Drea's eyes blog ;)

Save Yourself...a daughter's dream

Well, the other day my son asked me, "Mom, What does it mean to Save Yourself". (he heard it on a television show)

Hmmmm, well, we have touched on "the talk" lately. I think it is definitely time to do the Passport to Purity soon with him. Also with Jordan. Even though she knows a bit more about the talk, she needs some of the issues defined more. I'm excited about Focus of the Family's "Passport to Purity". More on that later...

So, I answer Josh very honestly. Lately they have been talking about purity, and how they are impressed that the Jonas Brothers wear purity rings. As a mother, I'm so thrilled when they pick up on these things and when they are passionate about what is right in the eyes of God.

On a separate note: This weekend we were Space Saving! We went through a lot of clothes that were sentimental...such as baby things that I kept for Jordan and Josh to someday used for their children. The most sentimental ones. If you haven't tried these bags, I highly recommend them! I bought mine at a grocery store called Aldi's. I'm sure they could be found online.



Before shrinking some baby clothes:


After shrinking! (isn't my little model so handsome! lol)


After shrinking several items, I decided to finally story my wedding dress. Jordan was so excited about my dress and said she wanted to wear it when she is married. Of course, she had to try it on. It was so sweet seeing her dress up with my wedding dress. Then she found the veil, and what is left of my bouquet. On the back was my something borrowed. David's Aunt actually gave this to me, and wants me to keep it for Jordan to carry when she is married.




The Hankerchief was my something borrow...but ended up being given to me. It belonged to David's Grandmother. His Aunt carried in a Bible when she was married in the 70's. Then in the 90's it was given to me to carry. Now it will go to Jordan when she is married. =)


My dress modeled by my daughter...


My veil...made with an European headpiece...




I don't know how I ever fit into this dress! ha!!

Be Thou My Vision

Last night my friend Drea asked me to sing with her this for this morning's service. I was so happy to do it!

If you Click Here to Drea's blog, you can hear it.

Kind of funny...it was a practice (I basically learned the song that morning...I had a copy of it somewhere in our packed up stuff, but could never find it last night), Also that is why you hear some talking in it...like me saying I'm so tired..haha...it was one of many practices of the morning before church began. ;)

It was a real blessing to sing with Drea. She has a beautiful voice and most of all a sweet spirit of the Lord when she sings. I hope we have an opportunity to sing together again sometime in the near future.

Hope you'll be blessed by the words of the song...I just love those words! "Be Thou My Vision", Oh Lord.

It Brings Back Childhood Memories...

Funny how a clearance shower curtain can bring back childhood memories! I love that!!!

And I love this shower curtain. Found it on clearance at Ross for under $5...what a deal! I love me some Ross, Marshall's and T.J. Maxx's...



Not crazy about the curtain hooks tho...I have some Palmtree ones that I had in my Master Bath at our previous home that I may put on there...but they are kind of rusty, so I don't know that I should use them...Here are more scenes on the curtain:




This shower curtain reminds me so much of my home state of Florida. I grew up near Cypress Gardens, and we lived a few houses down from the Pres of C.G. at that time. He always got us day passes and would get ice cream for us. I so enjoyed watching the water ski shows. Such fun!



The toilet seat has bubbles in it like water. We've had it from our previous home before. I think at some point I would like to move it to the downstairs bathroom with the light house theme (more blues) and get a seashell toilet seat for this bathroom...(a bit pricey and I'd rather spend that money on needful things right now...such as groceries and paying bills!) So I can't rly do much decorating while David is in chaplain residency mode. I so would love to paint the walls...I'm not against neutrals, but tired of looking at beige and white walls...blah!...I need bold color in my life, mixed with black and whites! ;)


It isn't something we have to have right now. However, we did need a new shower curtain. =) The towels I got 2 for $2.99 on clearance..they are actually kitchen towels, but much nicer than typical kitchen hand towel and they matched very well.



Have had the Palmtree night light for a few yrs from our previous home too, it just keeps on illuminating!


As I am typing this, I can hear snores coming from upstairs...I'd better get to bed!

Evidence of Fall on the Ocean Floor

*taken by Jennography

Momma's Gotta Brag again...

...on my son's wonderful talent. He is really into creating videos.

Here is his new intro vid:



Here is a video he made recently:

A Momma's Gotta Brag!

This evening I had the privilege of taking family photos for my friend Drea. In the coarse of the shoot, my daughter Jordan had my Kodak P850, and she took some candid photos as we worked.

Here is one that I love that Jordan took. My son Josh was over to the side (as you can tell b/c everyone else is looking at him) while he is singing and screaming to get the kids to laugh, it worked for Caleb, but the Burger wasn't fallin' for it...hehe...he was fixed on Jordan. So sweet!


This photo had very little post processing...no crop, and only sharpened a bit and converted to b/w.



This photo was cropped a bit to change the composition, and brighted as well as saturated.



This photo had NO crop and just a tad sharpening






Good Job Jordan! For 12 yrs old, you have quite an artistic eye! Love, Mom

On Being Kind...

"Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a tough battle, too."

This is a quote I want to be so attentive to. Sometimes it isn't the obvious, spoken battles, that are the toughest. But the unspoken.

Not everyone I brush arms with would know the pain that I walk with daily. I have Fibromyalgia, R.A. and osteo-arthritis.



Simple things such as putting on makeup can be painful and slow going. That doesn't mean I stop trying, or stop moving, but it does mean that I have to listen to my body somedays. Somedays my body flat out tells me what to do! That can be frustrating for someone like me who is creative and loves to go and do!

This is something that takes a lot of courage for me to talk about publicly too.

Even though I do have symptoms that flare up, I daily trust God for my healing. "There is a reason and purpose for everything under heaven" as it says in Ecclesiastes. I believe God has healed me, but it is His way, not mine.

This is part of the reason why it is difficult to get unpacked here at our new location as quickly. Since my husband and I moved most of the furniture and containers ourselves, it took a tole on my body.

When I over do, I have pain in my bones, joints and muscles that is tremendous. This causes my migraines because I am dealing with the pain.

Overall my tolerance for pain is pretty high, therefore I tend to push myself too much.

My rheumatologist can not believe that I function without pain medication. I have to give God the glory for this. Pain medication causes other issues with my sleep getting off kilter, which makes the condition worse for me. So I do a lot of praying, and God is my daily dose of strength.

Psalm 46:1 1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

One thing I have to confess; I struggle with getting very frustrated (annoyed) with others who have never known this kind of pain, yet proceed to act as if they are the expert on it...

No one can fully know someone, only Jesus can! Even my husband who lives with me, even he will admit he cannot understand my pain. Same for me toward others...I can't truly understand someone elses pain either. So who am I to judge them or minimize theirs.

Some "healthy" people have said to me, "Well, it isn't cancer!". No, it isn't. Yet, it is a very real thing that I deal with daily, that they don't! I mean...how cruel!!! I've even had someone say to me about my daughter's scoliosis surgery..."well, it isn't cancer"...in a rude way that she should just get over her feelings! She is 12, and she is anxious about it! I am not going to minimize her feelings or pain.

I tend to NOT think about my pain most days, until it stops me in my tracks.

Right now, I've so got my mind on my daughter, who will be facing scoliosis surgery in Jan. She is such a sweetheart and so giving to others. She enjoys being a servant! Now, it is our turn to serve her. It won't be easy for her, because she would rather give than receive. She is not comfortable with others doing for her. She likes to do for herself. I remind her that sometimes we need to allow the other person the blessing of giving too. =) We are trusting God for her complete healing...again, it will be God's way and not our way. =)

This morning a few verses came to my mind as I was getting ready for the day:

Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Also, reminding myself this day, to think of others and be concerned for their needs. To truly be concerned for them, not just in word, but in action.

The biggest blessing to us is when people actually followed through with lending a hand during our move. Also, that people expressed prayers even if they couldn't be with us to help. What impressed us...People from a local church here, in whom we had never even met or attended their church, came to our rescue the last day of our move. It was touching! The pastor himself was helping lift our heaviest furniture. Also, that same church brought us three meals during the week that we moved here. Wow!

These folks are truly living this verse:

Philippians 2:4 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Let us find someone today we can reach out to, in sisterly or brotherly love in Christ Jesus.

Here is a beautiful photo that my Jordan took. She is so creative and talented! So is my bub, he makes movies and is so creative with that too! I'll post one of those for you soon.

Strep

Jordan and I feel Blah today...Josh has congestion and headache.

I made Jordan a Dr. appointment because her throat was in so much pain. After doing Tylenol cold multi-symptom, Advil, you name it the past couple of days...she is still miserable. We made the trip to the pediatrician, and Jordan tested positive for strep throat. =P

Josh was tested, and his strep test came out negative. Yeah! That boy stays so healthy!!!

I'm feeling run down and sore/swollen glands on either side of my throat, but I've got to wait on my appointment...

Battle Hymn of the Republic

I love this...

Originally sent from Peggy Wiggen:
Get a load of these high school kids. At the conclusion listen to the high notes on the trumpet played by a high school kid. One of the fathers recorded it, added some graphic enhancements to the recording, and posted it on the web. The song, of course, is The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Be prepared, it will definitely send a few shivers up your spine.

Click below...

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Monday Morning Sleepyheads...Good Sport!

Josh was a good sport this morning with my early morning photo antics...



Jordan is a little more camera shy in the morning...or Grumpy should I say? Guess I would be toooo..hehe



This is how they ended up on the sofa after coming down the stairs this morning...they plopped, and snoozed at 7:30 am...


Haha!

Then they wallered around a bit and grumbled as a pesky mom took pics and said, "Wake up...wake up...."







Time for pancakes and school! Have a blessed Monday!

New Phone...well kinda...

It was time for me to upgrade my phone with Verizon. I really wanted something that would organize my life, but most of the phones like Blackberries, were quite out of my price range.

My darling husband has gotten to know the manager at our local store, and just by chance the manager was getting ready to upgrade his Blackberry phone. He actually offered it when my husband called to see what they could do to match the online "free phone" offers.

So this manager offered to us his used Blackberry as my free phone. It is the older version Blackberry, without the "pearl" scroll feature on the front, but I really like the scroll on the side. I could see me bumping the front scroll pearl thingy all the time. =)

Also, it has a few scratches on it, but I do not mind...I mean, it wouldn't be long anyway before I would have scratched it myself...hehe! I'm terrible about dropping my cell phone!




I really like how it keeps up with all of my email accounts, appointments, and how all accounts filter through this one device. I find myself using it almost more than my laptop. Well...almost... ;)