191/365

This weekend we've been in prayer about some things. 

Big time prayer.  At a crossroads kind of prayer. 

As we were getting ready for church, we were watching the choir of a nearby church on TV. 

They were singing one of my most favorite songs.  I thought...hmmm...how appropriate that song is. 

Then?  We were sitting at our own church listening to our choir.  And wouldn't you know it? 

They started singing the exact same song. 

Later in the service, I decided to look up the word "shield" in my Bible...since it's referenced in the song I'd just heard (twice). 

I turn the pages and end up here.... Psalms 3:3. 

We found out just a bit ago?  That our prayers were heard. 

He?  Is good.

He?  Is a shield. 

He?  Is a bad mamma jamma. 

(You can here the song I'm referring to here:) 

188/365

Remember that time?  That time I said I was going to do much better and photograph myself with the kids at least once a month? 

Ah.  Those were the days.

Somehow, I missed out on that little promise during the last two months. 

I'm going to do much better (there are those words again) starting now. 

Here is my self portrait with one of my lil' darlins. 

And there ya' go. 

By the way....has Blogger gone all caty whompus on y'all?  It is totally different for me, but I think I'm diggin' it.  Too bad I'm switching to Wordpress soon. 

*hint hint*

180/365

I'll take one of these pleaseandthankyou. 

{how ya' like that dust bokeh?}

169/365

Today we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  It was Emily's idea.  She's been begging to go for weeks.  After that yumminess, I found these little sweets in the Cracker Barrel store.  Right away, it made me think of my Papa.  He would buy these all the time and keep them in the kitchen...in the cookie jar.

Now we have some....

...in the kitchen....

...in a cookie jar.

158/365

Today I was looking for "cold drink" to go along with the Inspired Summer Challenge.

156/365

These little lovelies are bloooming in our backyard right now.  We left for vacation and there was nothing.  Came home five days later and the girls noticed them right off.  Blooming and sprouting up like crazy!  To give you an idea of how big they are...this one was about the size of a silver dollar.

145/365

I'm sorry for not making the blog rounds lately and commenting on everyone's fabulous blog posts and images.  I'm way behind on being way behind. 

Way.  Behind. 

Just crayons today. 

139/365

I didn't want to harass the kids today with my paparazzi skills so I took a walk around outside with my trusty macro lens.  Which, by the way, I'd love to upgrade to the 105mm...but alas, the sixty will have to suffice.  This is a bit of Lantana from our planters by the front door.  At least, that's what we southern folk call it....lantana. 

137/365

Just a batch of Zoobles today.  My girls (all three) are somewhat addicted to collecting these things. 

133/365

I think?  Being a parent is the hardest job I'll ever do. 

And lately?  I've been trying something with my girls. 

A whole lot less of that on the left.

And a heap load more of that on the right. 

130/365

Just an orange today. 

Penny De Los Santos will be teaching a FREE food photography course  online this weekend? I think I'm going to try and catch a bit of it...how 'bout you?

122/365

Not sure what this one is called either, but it makes pretty bokeh.

121/365

This is a macro shot of some sort of teeny flower that is blooming in our backyard.  I asked my horticulturalist husband what it was called and he named it right off the bat.  I'd tell you what it is, but I can't even pronounce it...much less spell it. 

118/365

We spent last night waiting out incredible thunderstorms and numerous tornado warnings.  We spent some time in our basement and the only ones that slept down there were Emily and Allison.  I think Allison could sleep through a .... well, a tornado.  Needless to say, Caroline is a wee bit grumpy and I'm a bit of a zombie myself.  I wonder about all of the kids at school today.  How tired and groggy they must be after pulling an all nighter last night.  Hopefully, everyone will be able to rest well tonight. 

Thankfully, our area was spared, however the county just south of us has a lot of damage and numerous deaths. Schools there were closed today.  Families on the northside of Atlanta and the top left corner of our state suffered as well.  I am incredibly thankful that God kept us safe last night.  I feel ashamed for letting myself be bothered by the little things in life when so many in our region of the country have experienced such grief and loss.  Lives changed in an instant.  An absolute instant.  Hug your babies today.

And a bit of a funny....my dude wasn't all too happy about taking cover downstairs at one in the morning, but he knew how dangerous these same storms had been in Alabama just hours earlier.  He was grumbling sarcastically a bit once it was all over and we were headed back up the stairs. 

Me:  Hey now...you should be so happy with me for getting your goofy self down here and safe.  That nasty weather was all around us.  All. Around. Us!
Him:  Yeah.  All around us. Like a belt. 

And a totally unrelated photo:

115/365

Happy birthday to me! 

My sweet husband came home with a dozen red roses and surprised me with a sitter for date night!! 

111/365

Today's photo is inspired by Catherine, a fellow blogging buddy. She used her macro lens to photograph colorful cake decorations and it was just bursting with colorful sweetness.   It was delightful!

So...I looked around my house and thought...Hey! My dear little mother-in-law left us some chocolates!! BINGO! And that means that this post is brought to you by Catherine, my ever-so-sweet mother-in-law, and some yummy M&Ms.

Also, can I just say? I really do appreciate all of the friends that I've met through our photography blogs. I just love reading about your kids and your adventures. I consider us buds...pals...amigos. I thank you so much for commenting on my photos, for leaving advice and pushing me to not give up. You guys? Why, you guys ROCK and I'm sending out big ol' smooches to you right now!!

Love you all heaps and heaps...

109/365

I know it doesn't actually look like much, but I worked a bit for this one.

No.  Seriously.  I really did! 

I lugged out my backdrop stand (a step stool from Ikea) and placed it near our glass door.  I set up that super heavy backdrop material (a piece of scrapbooking paper) in front of my stand.  I carefully placed my fancy flooring (a piece of white paper) just in front of my expensive backdrop and called my ever-so-cooperative subject over. 

She was incredibly willing to work with me and her smile never faded.  I've never seen anything like it. 

Once I had her in the perfect place and showing off the perfect pose? 

My white balance was off. 

Eeek! 

The hardest part of my session with this lovely model!  I used my grey card with Miss Full Frame for the first time ever! 

So, see?  Although this doesn't look like a big deal?  Really, it kinda is. 

In case you haven't seen these little cuties before, this is a teeny tiny Lalaloopsy doll. Her name is Pillow Featherbed and she's about two and a half inches tall. And always up for photos.