Fairy

I was recently playing outside with my daughter, and she was running around and playing with sticks, rocks, etc. She loves to run under our neighbors' dogwood tree, which she was doing on this particular day. There was an opening in the branches and leaves, and I noticed her peek her sweet little face out of it. I was inspired, so I ran in side and grabbed my camera, knowing that it would be sheer luck if I captured the picture I was envisioning. I told her to peek her face through again, and I snapped a few pictures. Little did I know I would end up with this "golden" shot. She looks like a little fairy! Now I have a wonderful picture of her sweet little face that I can look at forever, no matter how old she gets.

A Lifetime

I've posted this picture on my blog before, so if it looks familiar, that's why. I took this picture shortly after I got my new DSLR. I was so excited. I was trying it out on anything and everything. I think I was just sitting there one day, looking at it, and looking around taking pictures of everything from the plants on my patio, to my child, to the ceiling light, to the carpet...everything! I haphazardly looked down and took a picture of my hand on my leg, and here we are! It's funny, because I didn't have a lot of emotion when I took the picture, but the picture evoked a lot of emotion in me. I look at this picture and see years of ups and downs in marriage. I see over 30 years of life and lessons, hardships and joys. I know that's not a lot, but there are times I feel like I've been through a lifetime's worth of experiences in my young life. I look at this picture, and see the covenant of love that I made with my husband in 2001 (do you know we've been married 10 years now?!), and I see the birth of our firstborn. I know this picture may not mean a whole lot to anyone but me, but it speaks many things to me. Who knew that I would end up with such an emotional picture as I carelessly clicked away?

Crazy

My husband and I can be a bit crazy sometimes. Usually, when one of us is crazy, the other is rational, but there are rare moments when we are both out of our minds crazy. My husband was the crazy one, the Thursday before Labor Day. He convinced me that it would be fun to take a spontaneous, 10-hour drive camping trip to Virginia Beach for the weekend with our two children, both under 3. It sounded fun, but I really thought he was a bit nuts. Not only was it a long drive, but we couldn't afford a huge vacation. His solution...take any food we had in the fridge/freezer/pantry with us. We had an air mattress, and a lot of our own camping gear. We didn't have a tent that would accommodate our family (we had a 2-3 man tent from our pre-children days). He said we could borrow one! My reasons for not doing it were dwindling. Besides, I like that he keeps me young by wanting to do such playful things! I looked online for available campsites at the area state parks. Nothing was available...no wait! There's one! Oops...it's taken. No wait...it's available again! I grabbed it. We were committed. Yikes! So, we threw our stuff together, found a willing friend who let us borrow their family's tent, loaded up the kiddos, and took off for Virginia Beach for Labor Day weekend.

It was absolutely gorgeous, and we made some wonderful memories as a family. Was it a little crazy? Sure! But what is life without a little crazy to keep us sane?

Photo Challenge: White

I know, I know . . . it's been a while, huh? Since giving birth to my son in June, I've been a bit preoccupied. But, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I'm still photographing things, so stay posted! I haven't gone anywhere!

I subscribe to several photo blogs, to keep me inspired and thinking of new ways to capture the things I see. This week's theme at I Heart Faces is "White." Here's my entry:

It's one of my favorites from this past Easter. My daughter found these steps at the place we had stopped to take pictures, and kept going up and down them, over and over and over again. On this particular decent, she picked up her skirts—like Cinderella—and very daintily came down the steps. Whenever she's pretending to be a princess, she gets really serious about it, as you can tell by the focus on her face. I love it!

Cuddlebug

Our newest addition came into the world at 7:41 PM on June 14. Our family of three is now a family of four. Wow! I never could have imagined this, in my wildest dreams. It's a wonderful feeling to actually hold a baby who's been incubating inside for so long. It's nice to have them on the outside! Welcome to the world, little buddy!

There's no place like my 2nd home (Part 2).

There's no place like my 2nd home (Part 1).

There is a little section of the Southern Gulf Coast that is like another home to me. My heart yearns to return there every year, and when I do, I feel like I have returned to a piece of home. My family made the trip earlier this Spring, and it was delightful.

Flowers getting ready to bloom at the local zoo.

There was a lot of fog when we first arrived, but after it cleared away, we were left with a gorgeous sunset and beautiful surf.

Aahhhhhhh!

That's just a sampling. I'll share more later. Enjoy!

April showers bring May flowers

Hyacinths just capture Spring, don't they? I took this shot on a recent visit to a local horse farm. This is no credit to my photography, but these flowers look like a painting! The petals are just gorgeous, and so detailed. I love the various tones of purple, and all the curves and curls of the petals. Happy Spring!

We planted!

I hate to say it, but I think the green thumb in my family skipped me. My grandmother is a phenomenal gardener, my mom is a phenomenal gardener, but me . . . not so much. It's so sad! I really want to be a green thumb, but I'm not. I'm stuck following instructions and advice from others. I have no gardening instinct.

But, when we (my husband and I) bought our first house last year (I won't tell you that I almost spelled "house" like "h-o-w-s-e"—thank you, Winnie the Pooh), the landscaping was/is in dire need of help. We've been caught up in a kitchen remodel, so the landscaping has taken a back seat. But, with the kitchen almost completely done, we decided to put a little bit of time into the yard recently. So, we headed up to good ol' Home Depot (our home away from home), and another local garden center, and stocked up on potting soil, mulch, a sprinkler, some various plants (including a gorgeous hydrangea), and our first tree for the front yard—a Kentucky Black Gum. Our front yard is sadly lacking for trees. And while the projects are NEVER done, here's a little preview of some of the flowers we planted. I will post more when the grass gets cut, after the mower gets fixed, and my husband has a chance to take on the jungle in our yard. :) Let's just pray that everything stays alive, despite what I may throw at them.

My new friends...

One of the things I've been longing to do since moving to Kentucky is visit a horse farm so that I can photograph the horses! I was able to see that dream realized a couple of weeks ago when Click-ish Photographers (the local photo group I belong to) visited Bachelors Barter Farm in Harrodsburg, KY, home of April's Andalusians. Here's a sampling of what I was able to capture...

Jadira DD

Jadira & her half-sister Indira

Katie gets a good shot of the sisters kissing each other.

Tia was a sweetie!

Abby saying hello to Dia & Nobleza

My husband & daughter meet Tia.

Well, hello there!

Katie's son was a natural. 

Getting a bit of a shave... how embarrassing for this girl! :)

This is their stallion Campero. He wasn't allowed to come out and say hi, but we enjoyed him from a distance.

The Click-ish girls getting up-close shots of the new blooming daffodils. The grounds were absolutely beautiful!

Campero strutting his stuff near the barn.

Inside the house... was built in the late 1700's, by a friend of Daniel Boone's!

The huge fireplace in the original kitchen, which was in the basement.

My studly husband enjoying the pasture view.

I love all these beautiful old stone walls that are littered throughout Kentucky's horse country.

Katie's son felt a little adventurous, and wandered into the pasture. Thankfully, the owners were quick at jumping fences. :)

Thank you to all who made this fun day possible!!