Making Use of Waiting Times

Yesterday I had to drive in to the hospital to sign some paperwork with my husband. (It was house stuff – we’re under contract now!) He was pulled in for a procedure right before I arrived. This happens, and it’s ok. Instead of wallowing in the crookedness of my front teeth for the next half hour, I picked up the camera and experimented with more manual exposure... Read More

On the Heavy Side of Life: House Hunting and Adoption Issues

I had another post planned for today, but levity doesn’t seem to be the order of the day. My husband grew up as the oldest of five siblings. After he left for college, his parents adopted another sibling group of five, plus a sixth foster child who was living with them and who became available for adoption at the same time. Several years later, they added the seventh, a little... Read More

Definition of Kissability

One day last week while the baby was sleeping I took advantage of his stillness to practice manual exposure again. His face was in the shadows, but I wasn’t about to move him! The foreground and back of his head are overexposed. In this picture, I’m happy with that. My younger daughter has started calling him “Bungee.” I have no idea where she got this,... Read More

The Things Kids Say: Bible Memory Verses

Scroll to the bottom of this post to view the list of verses, or printable PDF of the verses we’re using (plus how they fit with our school topics), click here. If you do use these, please double-check the verses for accuracy, in the Bible version you like to use. Some of the verses are only partial; older children could memorize the entire Bible verse. Also, several verses... Read More

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day… …to our softball playing, tea party throwing, chick flick loving, dirt digging, soul delving, grandkid chasing, wise Mom. … and to our mothers-in-law. Thank you for persevering, inspiring, and giving so much. We love and trust the sons you’ve raised – enough to want to share the rest of our lives with them. Is... Read More

A Spring Snowstorm for Learning Manual Focus

Every once in a while, my husband travels to the miniature version of the heroin capital of the U.S. to cover a weekend for the regular doctor there, God bless him. Some weekends he only needs to go in to the hospital a handful of times, so the kids and I drive up to spend time with him. Last weekend we had already visited him on Saturday. It was a wonderfully warm day, and we were... Read More

Here We Go Again

This was my older son (and his twin sister) three years ago. He was receiving an albuterol treatment with a home nebulizer. It was one of many, many treatments over the course of two years. He had “reactive airway disease,” his pediatrician said. It’s a precursor to asthma, which apparently cannot be diagnosed reliably until age six. When I was a kid, they didn’t... Read More

Jellyfish and A Reason to Switch to Manual Mode

Wednesday I posted pictures of field trips I’ve taken with the kids. One of the places we frequent during warm weather is the local aquarium. It’s a fascinating place. Around 1:00 every day, divers go into the shark tank and feed the fish. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually seen them feed the sharks, though. Maybe they think the kids would be traumatized! They... Read More

A Marathon Field Trip

I had a another post planned for today, but I’m out of steam. There seem to be plenty of people I know who are out of steam lately. Can we just take a break today? Want to leave the house and worries behind and come with us on a field trip?! This is a virtual field trip, so we can visit the zoo, the gardens, and the aquarium all in one day! We can also skip the blowouts, the... Read More

More Practice Shooting Manual, Plus Some Laughter

Two photographers have told me almost the exact same thing: “Start shooting fully manual. You’ll never go back.” I love aperture priority mode. It sure is nice just to set the aperture and let the camera adjust the other settings to get the right exposure! Their photos blow mine out of the water, though, so it’s to the “M” setting I go. I’m... Read More