I ♥ Faces - Hands - on Fun

This is my entry for the "Hands - On Fun" theme.  This shot was actually taken on accident.  I had my camera on my lap facing my husband as we were talking in the office one day.  Force of habit caused me to push the shutter button as I took hold of the grip.

And that's not a blister on his finger - it's a fishing scar.  We were cleaning fish when his hand slipped and went right under his freshly sharpened knife fileting his index finger.  We didn't have any first aid supplies with us at the lake, it was all at the lodge.  So he poured vinegar on it and bandaged it with a blue Shop Towel and duct tape. 

Head over to the I ♥ Faces website and check out other awesome entries!

Out of jealousy comes friendship

#12 - My Maggie Mae

When Maggie and I first met, I was VERY skeptical.  The first time I ever saw her was July 2004.  Weeks after Jerrad and I were married.  We were at the tractor pull in Syracuse and I was in line at the concession stand when I looked over and saw this beautiful girl hugging my husband.  Not good.  I automatically went green, but then realized Jerrad went to Christian school for a while and probably had friends from there.  So I cooled my jets long enough to find out what the truth behind the illusion was.  We met and then I met her boyfriend, Kyle.  The four of us were the best of friends almost immediately. 

Maggie has accompanied me on photo shoots. 

Split my sides with laughter. 

Cried on my shoulder. 

Supported me.

Photographed me.

Scared me.

Broken the law with me.

Gotten terribly sunburnt with me.

We've done all sorts of things together.  Mudding, tankin, hoodin, paddleboating, photographing, hiking, you name it!  We've even chased bears together. 

We've gone through some extreme high points in life and extreme low points together.  And there are few women I would rather have by my side.

She is my daughter's Auntie M.

And although it has been a rough road for her this last year, her life is looking up.  WAY up!  She is getting married in September to a great guy!  It is very hard for me to see her with anyone but Kyle, but Luke is it for Maggie.  I am honored to be one of four women by her side as she vows to love him in sickness and health. 

At Adam & Sarah's wedding.  July 2008

At a Chinese restaurant... CHEESE!

At the demolition derby July 2007.

After tankin.  July 2009

Tubing June 2009

Paddleboating June 2009

Quiet Cobwebs Photography

As we were sitting in the office at Tax Time yesterday evening, our tax preparer, Jennie, was talking to us about her babies.  A topic I have gotten used to thoroughly enjoying with people.  She asked if I got anything done besides holding Aspen.  We chuckled.  Then she and I fumbled around trying to remember the last line or two of a poem.  I came home and looked it up.  I read it over and over again.  This poem is about living in the moment and appreciating what you have because it will too soon be gone.


Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton


Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo


The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.


The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.



That is exactly the essence of pictures and what I want my photographs to be.  I have been struggling for some time about what to name my photography business.  I had a little time to think about it so I wasn't going to rush into anything.  But this hits the nail on the head!

St. Co. Clinic

#13 - My Job

Since I was fired from Skyland Grain on June 13th at 1300 hours I thought it would be fitting to make #13 the thing I love that conspired from that event.

I had an overall awful experince working at the local grain elevators.  I hated my job after only 3 months but stuck with it because, well, that's what you're supposed to do.  16 months of knives in my back, two - faced friends, an oppressive supervisor and crying almost everyday when it was time to get out of my car and go inside.  That is the sum of it.  I prayed, literally, to be sick when I woke up.  Then I would pray to not be sick so no one would be mad at me for being sick.  I was afraid to quit because the benefits and pay were awesome.  I wouldn't get that anywhere else. 

Then a series of events happenned.  Some my fault and some were not.  Overall, my supervisor that had seemed to want me gone for some time, lucked out on those events and was finally able to get rid of me. 

I slipped into a slight depression, then pulled myself out and started humbly looking for a new job.  That's when I read of an opening and my doctor's clinic. 

I had always seen the group of people out eating together and having a very enjoyable time with eachother.  I took my resume to the clinic with hopes out of my reach.  When I went in for an interview Dr. Bill was the most gentle and professional person I could have ever imagined.  I loved him as my doctor, but as a boss I was still yet to be impressed.  He and I talked about what happenned with me at Skyland just enough to get the idea.  He didn't press or pry. 

Needless to say, I got the job.  I enjoy going to work.  Sure there are days I want to sleep in, but don't we all?  I actually missed my job when I was on maternity leave. 

Everyone comes in, does their job and goes home.  We all have a sense of humor with great respect for eachother. 

I was devastated about being fired, but so relieved to be out of the position I once loathed.  God had his plans for me and they were beyond what I could've dreamed for myself.  And guess what?  He also took care of the material matters.
I have watched girls come in with the thoughts of pink lines in the forefront of their minds and over a few months and watch women leave with new life in their arms. This has helped me so much after my nephew, Keagen, was born and passed. I was terrified of childbirth and the unknown. Once again, God knew!

Magical, magical, magical...

#14 - Nutella

Nutella (Italian: /nuˈtɛlːa/; English: /nʌˈtɛlə/) is the brand name of a hazelnut-based sweet spread registered by the Italian company Ferrero at the end of 1963. The recipe was developed from an earlier Ferrero spread released in 1949. Nutella is sold in over 75 countries.

After my Papa Bill died, my MeeMee invested herslef in the things they loved.  Family and missionaries.  My grandma went on missions trips to Puerto Rico and to Australia.  She would, of course, bring us things from her trips.  The item with the most impact on our household was Nutella!

This chocolate hazelnut spread has been an indulgence staple in my house!  If you've never tried it, don't worry - it is marketed all over the U.S. now!  You cannot believe how delighted I was to find it in our little grocery store! 

Bon Apetit!

#15 - Cooking

Another one of my outlets is cooking.  I love going into the kitchen and coming out with something delicious to eat.  I guess the biggest part of this is my passion for food and eating.  One can also assume it could be a downfall to be able to constantly feed one's own addiction.  But it sure is yummy!

I didn't cook very much growing up but I watched a lot so I had the basic idea.  When I would visit my Uncle Dale and Aunt Mary we would eat wonderful meals!  My aunt is from up north so she had a much different recipe collection.  It was neat to have some different stuff.  It wasn't weird different, just stuff that my mom didn't usually make.  I remember having her potato soup and the whole time she was making it I was wondering how I was going to choke it down.  I had never eaten potato soup that I liked.  It was always potatoes, milk, salt and pepper.  Thin, bland and blech!  But when she put that soup on the table for us I knew that if potato soup could be good, you could make almost anything good!

When I got married there were pitfalls beyond our control with the house we were going to rent and we ended up living in Jerrad's grandparents' basement for 7 months.  It was actually a very enjoyable time for us.  Marmie got my hands dirty in the kitchen.  It was the first summer for Kitty to be at camp so Marmie was a little frazzled without her help.  She would go do stuff on the farm and leave me with simple directions for lunch.  I had some flops, but overall we still ate. 

Kitty, my MIL, has taught me a bunch too.  She has taught me more about baking.  I remember her teaching me how to make bread.  I asked her something about tweaking recipes and how she felt confident to do that.  She told me that cooking was simply a chemical reaction and if you knew the purpose of each ingredient and how it reacted you could do anything. 

That sparked a memory for me.  In 8th grade I had a science teacher.  Coach Callahan.  He was a typical young coach.  Liked the kids in sports, didn't like much of anyone else.  I had many rough experiences with him that year.  I wanted so badly for him to like me, I wasn't a bad person, I did my work, I got decent grades - why did he hate me?  So one day we were doing a "lab" as a class.  We made chocolate no-bake cookies and bacon.  Coach Callahan was trying to flip bacon in a skillet over a Bunsen (sp?) burner with a plastic fork!  He was having trouble not only because of the plastic fork but because the grease was popping on his arm.  He asked if someone else wanted to do it for him (because having one of your 8th grade students get burned by popping bacon grease is better than injuring yourself anyday!). Still anxious for his approval, I volunteered.  I'm sure he was glad to pass the scorching, rogue droplets to my arms!  I ignored his teaching and just watched the bacon change from raw, cold and floppy to a curly, hot strip of fattenning goodness!

This popped into my head as Kitty was telling me this in her kitchen above the hum of the KitchenAid.  Duh!  Didn't you listen in 8th grade science?  There are some snippets of knowledge that you have and you don't remember that you have them! 

Overall, I'd say I'm not too bad at this cooking thing.  I have impressed people, yet I have also embarrassed myself, and I've made frozen pizza as a substitute on a few occasions.  Nonetheless, I do enjoy it. 

Here are pics from our Valentine's dinner Sunday evening.

Italian Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Lasagna Rollups
Fried Asparagus
Pink Tapioca Pudding

Don't let the pictures fool you... The chicken was under cooked and the pudding never sat up.  But it tasted yummy!

Every once in a while

Every once in a while even a redneck tomboy needs something a little girly. 

Can you guess what my hubby got me yesterday?

Hint: He got it at the gun show.

That was a really good clue if you ask me.

Still no guess?

My beautiful girly gun case!  As soon as I saw them I veered off the path.  You wives out there know the path.  The one that is set forth before you walk in the building ensuring that he will get to look at every little piece at every table.  I got a dirty look when I pointed to the booth behind us.  It distracted him from what was directly before him.  He assured me that we would get there and he would look then.  Sorry.  I got a little carried away with my excitement for this girly thing in a man's world. 

This is a perfect combo of my girly and redneck sides.  Plus if he ever tries to "steal" my gun case everyone at the range will know!

Don'cha  like it?

My outlet

#16 - Singing

When people get frustrated, depressed, or even happy they usually have some way of expressing it.  For some it is art.  For others it is poetry or some other for of writing.  Some people do something destructive.  And there are some of us that resort to music.  There is something about music that reaches places in our soul that nothing else can. 

My sister in law plays the piano to beat out her mind and heart.  When Jerrad is heartbroken he plays a song on his fiddle. Yet he is happiest when he is by his Momma at the piano with fiddle in hand. 

Me - I sing.  I have always loved music but there is a person who made it come alive for me.  Her name is Janet Walker.  She was my choir teacher in high school.  She showed me how to make the music come from my whole body, not just my throat.  She invested so much time in me and for nothing in return.  I didn't have money for voice lessons so I worked of my debt, yet I feel indebted to her forever for the gift she gave me.

When I sing I feel confident.  I feel like everything will eventually be ok.  I feel I can communicate my innermost feelings to someone just by opening my mouth in song. 

This is my favorite song to sing in times of joy or despair.

God's Been Good

My cousins

#17 - Shayla & Caitlain

My cousins.  Wow!  God really blessed me with some great cousins but He out did Himself with these two!  When we weren't catfighting we were giggling out of control!  Whenever we stayed at MeeMee's together we all slept in the same bed.  A queen size bed.  All the way up to about 13 years old.  There were many times one of us (usually me) got shoved between the bed and the wall.  Someone would get mad and go sleep on the couch (for about 5 minutes).  And innumerable times that MeeMee would have to come in and tell us "for the last time" that we had to settle down and go to sleep.

Now, they are two of the dearest women in my life.  I stand in awe at what they've accomplished for themselves and what they are planning to in the future. 

The three of us would always take a picture sitting on the couch, at MeeMee's, in this order every time we were together.  

These two pictures are from Thanksgiving 2009.  This year Caitlain was in Korea teaching and we missed her so much. So we took these pictures for us and for her.

I hope and pray that my daughter will have this bond with her cousins because it has enriched my life so much!

Sonic Goodness!

#18 - Sonic's Lemon Berry Slush

SSBYC

#19 - Silver State Baptist Youth Camp

Good morning campers! It's time to rise and shine in the beautiful, colorful, coooool, Colorado Rockies! *Commence the twangiest well-played banjo music ever.

Or if it's Wednesday, in honor of Biscuits and gravy, you'll hear "Rollie Polie, daddy's little fatty..."

I LOVE this place. It's one of my favorite places on this earth. The smell of the Ponderosa Pines, the sound of the gravel popping under tires, the majestic mountains blocking everything around, Jimmy Carter's crazy little laugh, the preaching, the Holy Spirit, the changed lives, the heritage, and the Tabernacle (old and new).

I have been going to this camp since 1996.  There has only been one summer (2008) which I did not make it to the camp at some time or another.  The best summer was in 2003.  I worked at the camp for 8 weeks.  A dream come true.  As far as I know, no one else from my home church has worked at camp.  There are former workers on staff at my home church now, but not ones originally from our church. 

I was actually afraid to apply before I went to college.  You see, the Dumas group had a reputation so infamous (not for bad behavior, just loud and obnoxious) that I thought if they saw my address as Dumas that they would burn my application.  I was never really part of the "in crowd" of my youth group that was recognized as "Dumas girls" but they wouldn't know that by looking at an application.  I was rejected at first (my pastor refused to send a recommendation because he wanted me to work at my home church that summer), but when someone withdrew Bro. Carter called me.  He was going to be in OKC and wanted to talk to me about it.  When the day came that he would be there I got a stomach bug (It was so bad that when I was working the jewelry counter and showing a man a diamond necklace I dropped everything right in front of him and ran to the bathroom.  Good thing he was honest.  He even bought the necklace when I got back.) so I called Christy Pittman and told her that when she met with him to tell him I would be there for the summer but couldn't talk to him that day. 

God had plans greater than my pastor's, so I was an employee of SSBYC for 8 wonderful weeks.  The 2nd of which I got saved.  Then the 4th week I made amends with someone from my youth group.  Then the 6th week I re-met Jerrad.  We had met at youth rallies and youth retreats a few years before but this is when we really started talking.  We went on a date and the rest is, as they say, history. 

I wanted to get married there, but there were certain requirements that Jerrad and I could not meet.  Nothing big, but our entire relationship was long distance and the requirements consisted of us being geographically together.  My SIL got to live that dream of mine though!

This place has more meaning to me than all of that though.  My parents met there, as did my husband and I.  Jerrad's great grandma, grandma, mom, and sister all work(ed) there as well as Jerrad.  Jerrad worked the 2 summers before mine.  His sister and I worked together that one summer also. 

This is one place I am constantly yearning to be and I could go on and on about it.  Here are a few over-exposed photos (from my 35mm) of the campground.

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy

#20 - Sunshine

Right now as I look outside there is snow covering the dark, moist earth.  How do I know it's moist if there is snow covering it?  Because there was a lot more of it a week ago and the sun is showing its lovely face today.

There are people, myself included, that slip into depression without enough sunlight.  Somedays it would be ideal for me to live in Alaska and other days it would be almost destructive.  I need sunshine fairly often.

I've been hearing loud crashes up against my house today because the icicles are releasing themselves from their temporary home on my eaves.  This is a much welcomed sound because it means that there will be lots of sunshine pouring through my windows today.  I was very happy to realize that today because I've been inside this house since Saturday night.  Aspen is sick and so am I.  We are battling our sinuses.  In a little while I will bundle us up, turn off the heater and open the windows for a bit.  It's 41 degrees here, but I need to air out the house a little.  I wish it were warm enough and dry enough to go for a walk but oh well.  It will be soon. 

Spring, you will be welcomed with open arms whenever you decide to return!

Matrimonial Affection

#21 - Weddings

I went to Hays this weekend with The Seal Clan to see Maggie and go to a bridal show.  Maggie is getting married in September and wanted all of her bridesmaids to come to the show with her.  We had a ton of fun and laughed so hard!  Luke (the groom to be) was in town and his parents met us there.  His parents were awesome, just like him.  I know I keep saying it but the best way to sum up our weekend was "a ton of fun!" 

The wedding showcase helped seal the deal in my head that I've always thought and occasionally voiced.  I would love to have about 5 more weddings - all to the same man.  I want to try so many different styles and ideas. 

From the invitations to the favors I love weddings.  I will look at someone's wedding pictures over and over again just to grasp every last photographed detail.  Here are a few weddings I've been to/shot that I love starting with my own!

Jerrad & Alyssa

Sonny & Robin

David & Katarina