Matthew's Turn to Shine

Today's post is all about Matthew.  His middle school experience has not been terrific.  But, in the last couple of weeks, things have improved.  He got to play hero for three female classmates.  This, of course, was a very big deal.  Three girls in his class were standing in front of the white board when it decided to fall off of the wall.  Matthew sprang into action and stopped the board from hitting the girls in the head.  For a day, he was their hero.  Word got to the administrators about his heroics and earned him some much appreciated kudos.  The boys were all jealous that he got to play that part instead of them.  Too bad his reflexes were so good.  :)  Then, this past Friday, Matthew saw two parents with their arms full and he jumped in front of the one lady to open the door for her.  She was so impressed, that she made sure to tell the principal and her secretary.  The principal then came in to his classroom and spoke about how disappointed she was in the entire middle school's behavior as of late, and called Matthew's name out.  He was thinking, "OMG, what have I done?".  And then, she followed it up with a sentence stating that they should take a lesson from him as to how to behave.  He gets to wear a t-shirt today which is a BIG deal.  They have to wear collared shirts each day and tuck them in.  So, to get to wear a t-shirt and not have to pay a Dollar for No Collar, is big in the middle school world.  Matthew wants to ask the principal if the rest of the school can have a No Collar for a Dollar day tomorrow.  I don't think he wants the attention.  So, in a nutshell, we are very proud of our soon to be 14 year old son.  He is growing up right before our eyes.  I'm trying not to blink. 

More Fun with Photography

 This all started when I used the "StumbleUpon" website.  I stumbled upon Photography and discovered these cellaphane people.  If you wrap an object in Saran Wrap and then cover it in cellaphane tape, when cut open, the tape holds the shape of the object wrapped.  Hence, the cellaphane babies.  My co-worker and fellow photography lover and I made cellaphane babies and went all over campus taking their pictures.  What follows is our results.  He is also taping up his 7 year old daughter.  Totally cool results.  Can't wait to see what we can do with that one.  So, this is obviously combining two photography tricks in one....cellaphane baby and sparkler photography.

 My baby driving the golf cart all over campus.

 Out in front of the music college, the baby plays the harp.

 Caution!  Cellaphane baby crossing.

 I got up close and personal with the geese.  Remarkably, they were not scared.  My friend was just hoping they would attack me.  Photo opportunity, right?

Our mascot, Norm, the miner, mined a baby.

 Oh, no!  Looks like the geese did my bubble boy in!

 Or, maybe it was a canoe accident.

Our last shot is with baby on the fence of the track field.  Say goodbye!

To many, this may seem a little more than strange.  But, to us, it was fun!  Hehe!

Hannah's Adventure in Vegas

 This was the outside of the New York, New York Hotel.  Hannah was hoping to get to ride the roller coaster but did not have enough time to make it over to the hotel.

 She stayed at Ceasar's Palace Hotel.  This was the view from her room.  The Bellagio fountains.

Really cool.  Apparently, they had one of the best views.

 This is Hannah and her colleague, Andrea.  They actually did not miss the flight.  They were, however, the last to check in.  That's why they got bumped.  The flight was overbooked so they bumped Andrea and gave her a travel voucher.  Hannah wasn't going to let her fly alone, so, she too, received a travel voucher.  So, I have to take back my derragatory statements about her not making it on time, as she did.  My bad. 

 Hannah getting her grove thing on.

 The girls were striking a pose at the much talked about "white" event.  Yes, I am quite aware of how short her dress is.  But, as you know, after 7 hours of shopping over two days, I didn't care!  I gave her instructions:  "Don't bend over!!"

 Glamming it up in front of the Paul Mitchell banner.

Hannah is actually a very good photographer, too.  Isn't this the coolest picture?

She made it back safe and sound with lots of stories.  We were very glad to see her.

Valentine's Day - A Day of Love

What is Love?

Valentine's Day signifies love.  We make it a point to tell our loved ones that they are indeed loved, cherished, etc.  What greater love can we show each other than to tell everyone of the love of Jesus Christ?

John 3:16 

“For God so LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten son so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Who better than to be loved by our God in heaven?  He showed us love even when we didn’t deserve it.  He loves us when we are unlovable.  Which is sometimes often.  Romans 8:38-39 tell us that “nothing we do can separate us from the love of Christ.”  How comforting is that? 

On this Valentine’s Day, don’t just say “Happy Valentine’s Day” to your loved ones and friends.  Tell them of the gift of salvation.  Ask God to put someone in your path that you can show Christ’s love.  Be a blessing to someone and remember “God is Love”.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

SNOW DAY

Our latest snow storm in the south. 

 The snow was so beautiful and soft.  It was very hard to make the snowman.

 Hannah and Jon came outside for some play in the snow.

 Hannah's part in making the snow man.....sweeping the snow into piles for Jon to put the next snowball onto.

 Our strong man.

This is the kids version of Frankenstein....snow style.  

Fun with Photography

I have a passion for photography.  This is shared by one of my colleagues.  He provided me with a simple tool to place over the end of my lens in the shape of an asterisk and a heart.  What follows is the result when photographing Christmas lights.....

The one above looks like Angels!  Really cool.  More later......
Micki

Snow Angels - Horse Style

We recently had a 5 inch snowfall in the Charlotte area.  It was beautiful as it blanketed the ground.  It was the perfect snowfall.....perfect for making snow angels, that is.  Darryl and I took a walk around the neighborhood enjoying the view of everything splashed in white.  We decided that a trip to the barn where we board Hannah's horse would be a great photo opportunity.  Lucky for us, one of the horses was in the mood to cooperate.  He decided to show us that he, too, could play in the snow.  He wanted to show us how to make a snow angel - horse style.

These are the photos depicting that great snow angel feat....

 First you have to get down on the ground and get completely on your back......

 Then, you have to really dig in deep and give it that good snow sinking roll........

 Ok, I think that's good enough.  Let's see how it looks......

 Oh, wait, let me fix my face first.

What are you looking at?  Don't you like my snow angel? 

Hannah, of course, was not thrilled with the fact that we didn't allow her to ride her horse in the snow.  It was so cold!  We didn't want to spend all afternoon there.  Just wanted that perfect photo op and got it.  Yeah, Mom!

We are expecting snow again this weekend.  Don't know if I'll make it back out to the barn or not.  We now board our horse 30 minutes away.  So, not so convenient as just 5 minutes away.  But, you never know.  Hannah can be very persuasive.  And, of course, we don't want her going out there by herself in the snow.

Have a great day!