I am entering this image in the Rock The Shot March photo challenge.

www.rocktheshotforum.com

I am entering in this shot of my little tiny man camping in his bedroom...one of my all time favorites.

Enough of the reasons why I dont, let me share with you what I did do!   I did capture some beautiful images at this small intimate wedding last weekend and wanted to share some of my favorites.     I hope the Bride & Groom love the images as much as I did capturing them.   Thank you for trusting me to capture your special day.

I am entering this image in the Rock the Shot monthly challenge!   www.rocktheshotforum.com

A local photographer shared a photo on www.capturemychicago.com of his grandson pitching and I thought...I can do that.     When I took these photos here is what I did with them originally to show all the poses.  I am sure parents really enjoy this, but for me it is nice, but not great.

Here was my phases attempt today.   I have some practice to do, but at least I know with the friendly help of layers and some free time, this is very doable.    I know next time I will capture a wider empty shot to capture all the poses from start to finish, now that will be something!   

I cannot wait to see this camera in action on a photo shoot with some gorgeous families!    Here are some beautiful birds in action that I captured this weekend with my new camera, I love this camera!  I feel beyond blessed.

We drove down to Florida in the family van and stopped in Georgia along the way, it is a long ride to Florida!

Here are some of my favorite shots of the vacation from Disneyland to Cocoa Beach, finally saw the ocean and loved it.

I am going to use one of my favorite photos of a famous Beverly neighborhood landmark the Irish Castle.   I loved how the green helped make the Castle appear even more special.

http://www.rocktheshotforum.com

I have never photographed a swim meet and it is a learning experience for me, the timing, the settings, the high humidity is a killer on my lenses when you first open them!  I had a great time, but so wish I was on the deck versus the stands trying to look between the flags and people.

Here are some shots, the first one is my son during his first 500 meter event, I was so proud he took third place!

http://www.capturemychicago.com/challenges/the-holidays-2013

I had taken this last Christmas for a family that is like my second family and it was one of my favorites.   Glad to see that someone else liked it as much as I did.

They recommended using a prime lens and I am using my 50mm 1.4 which did a great job.   I shot late in the day about 3PM and the snowstorm was just starting, but the window light is still gorgeous.     Try to use the available light with your shots instead of relying on flash or having your shots all grainy.   Move towards the windows and open up your curtains, makes a huge difference.   I love the catch lights in the eyes and the bubble is a great example, so awesome.

These were all shot with only window light and it is amazing that window light makes crayons, grilled cheese and even this photographer look heavenly!

Here are some shots of that afternoon, love the one of my husband and our son walking up the hill (I smell a big B&W print on the wall)!

 I am a very caring Mom, truly I am.   Just because I make sure I capture a flip doesn't make me a bad person, look at that smile he loved it! 

Here is a collage of some of our favorite moments and way too many to photograph!

My littlest man was sick recently ended up getting something I had never heard of, Kawasaki disease.   Kawasaki Disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the walls of the small and medium sized arteries throughout the body, including the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle.  It also affects lymph nodes, skin and the mucous membranes inside the mouth, nose and throat.  Check out more information at http://www.kdfoundation.org/ as the doctor's first told me it was something viral.     This can cause damage to the heart if there is delay in treatment so listen to your mother or father's intuition!

He is home and doing great and we have some follow-ups with cardiologists, but I am expecting no further issues thank God!   I am very grateful for my family and friends and all the caring people that we have in our lives.

Some pictures of Sam at the hospital since we could not leave the room for 4 days, I took a lot of pictures inside the room.  You can see some before and after of his face and how much the treatment helped! 

I love this photo of him, so sweet and innocent with cake smeared all over his face looking at his brothers!   He had a great day filled with fun, laughter, running, screaming, junk food, presents, hugs, kisses and hugs.    He is the easiest going kid, but I bet that was God's plan with him being number 4 and all.  Happy Birthday Sammy we love you!

The last three years I have been really working to improve my photography and have even started to take on clients recently and have been completely enjoying myself.    With the help of my family and friends willing to sacrifice their family photos for me to learn and also my husband and father-in-law helping me take that next step (you know how).   I am truly blessed.

The night of my birthday I was sailing aboard the Mystic Blue for dinner (sponsored by my wonderful employer) and the weather had just cleared up after a horrible storm.      My husband and I were in the front of the boat and only 2-3 people were up there with us.  It was incredibly peaceful and the weather was perfect.     I had been reading up on how to take firework shots because I know this was a firework cruise and wanted to try and capture a great shot with downtown Chicago in the background.   I love the shot I was able to capture and shared it on the Capture My Chicago site.   Here is what I saw today, it was featured on their site as a look inside of the book.     I squeaked when I saw this...literally squeaked out loud.

http://www.pedimentbooks.com/store/product/capture-my-chicago-2013/

Thank you God for this wonderful blessing, I am truly grateful.

I decided that I would go for a walk at lunch and see if there were anything that was out there for me to photograph.   It was perfect weather and when I am out with my camera my mind is usually off everything (only time that happens).    The leaves are barely starting to change by my work, nothing significant at all.    I found a couple signs that the beautiful fall carpet is starting to form...

This one below shows that the leaves are starting to crackle while they are still attached to the tree.    I love Fall!   I felt much better after this walk and went back to work with a positive attitude!

Of course I stop him and make him put the chairs back, but I do let him do this because he enjoys it.   There are times I have to remember that just a little bit of work is not the end of the world when he brings joy and increases creativity in your children.    I may not want to paint at 7:30PM, but really Netflix is not as important as building memories.    That is what these chairs are, I hope the boys remember that they use to line them up and laugh about it with their little people when they are older.

After the ducks, we had to pick up Dad's ice cream pie for tonight and get my little duck his own "crackers".   I think I still eat ice cream cone's like this, you should see me after a Rainbow Cone.

I was thrilled to see that that the local Patch in Evergreen Park https://www.facebook.com/EvergreenPatch changed their cover photo to my photo from the Freshman Mustang football game.    I cannot wait to send my friend a book of her surprise anniversary party and see that little boy and his adorable sisters in print in their parent's house.

Here are some of the photos I captured this past weekend

One suggestion I have to everyone is to please print your pictures.   Don't just keep them in your phone, on your computer or on a disc.   I hope my clients print their photos BIG, not a 4 x 6, but a good size print from 10 x 13 or larger...you will be thrilled in a whole new way.   

On the plus side, I was able to capture the amazing sunset as I was running to the store.   FYI...I am not driving with my knees,  I put the camera on the dashboard and use the shutter cord to snap the photo safely.  I do happen to think 99th street looks beautiful this evening and loved the streak of sunlight down the middle.

I did end up capturing a nice harvest moon shot...

Anyone who knows me already knows that I am a bit loud, slightly animated and truly believe I am the best reader in the house for children's book.   I do voices, whisper at all the right parts and make the occasional fart sound with my mouth to make my small men laugh.  

Well on this night I gave my husband the honor of reading "The Great Big Terrible Mess" and I loved the way he and the boys crowded together on the couch to read the book.   Of course I had to grab my camera because I did not want to pass up this precious moment.   What a great big adorable moment!

Danny is pretty fast, but Sammy keeps looking back when he runs trying to see his shadow.    He does it everywhere in through the house which leads to many bruises and bumps because he is not at his shadow instead of forward.    You will also notice in these photos that Danny is wearing his favorite shorts of all time...fishing shorts.   The amount of holes and rips are too many to count, but we do allow him to wear them around the house because he loves them.    He will outgrow them soon enough and there will be no need to separate him from his favorite shorts...aging will handle that.  

For now I am going to enjoy the shorts and the all-important races because these are outgrown just as fast as the shorts!

There were many beautiful photos, but one of the photos I loved and I shared on the website "Capture My Chicago".     Turns out I was not the only one that thought the photo was gorgeous...it was chosen as Photo Of The Day!!!   http://www.capturemychicago.com/photos/2013/8/28

This website is a site for professional and everyday photographers to share their favorite photos taken within the Chicagoland area.     They are publishing a book this upcoming fall and I would love if any of my photos to be in the 150...doubt it, but you never know because God does work in wonderous ways!

Friday night was a reason to take some pictures; it was my son's first "scrimmage" game at EPCHS where he will be starting his freshman year.   I cannot believe I have a junior, a freshman and a kindergartener...I will be tired!   How exciting all the firsts that we will be experiencing this year and plenty of opportunities to capture those moments.

Here are a couple moments from last night's game and the beautiful new turf field. 

Today is Amy's 5th birthday

I do not know Amy very well, but she is classmate of my son and I am friends with her Dad.    Amy is a gorgeous blond haired, blue eyed little girl and she looks like Coppertone baby.   Here is a picture I took of her from her preschool graduation this year!

I cannot imagine what this tiny little girl is going through.   I want to help this family out anyway that I can because I have children and as a mother my heart breaks for them.     I cannot imagine the turmoil that CANCER has caused this little girl and this family.   I cannot imagine the fear, anger, strength and the faith you must have to go through a situation like this.     I have them in my prayers on a daily basis.     The amazing thing is her father and family's positive posts and the wonderful support he and his wife are receiving from their friends and family.     

Our community of Evergreen Park and close friends of the Jongsma family have started "Amy's Lemonade Stand" to help the family with Amy's medical costs and even started a Facebook page.   Check out the Facebook page and you can see for yourself!

You can donate to this worthy cause at Paypal via '[email protected]' and even purchase T-shirts!    They have a benefit planned at Bourbon Street on January 19, 2014 at 1PM and I will be donating my services.   

Check out the Evergreen Park Patch story below about this little girl and her wonderful family and help them out if you can!    Who couldn't use a T-shirt that looks like this?

http://evergreenpark.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/bouncing-back-4yearold-battles-wilms-tumor-with-help-from-her-friends 

If you are not able to help this family financially, please keep this wonderful little girl, her family,  friends and doctors in your prayers.    

I went to Starved Rock for my birthday with my daughter and my friend and her daughter.   We had a wonderful time and walked non-stop.   I was exhausted at the end of the day and couldn't wait to get off my feet.   My daughter and I stopped at Cheesecake Factory for our favorite fried macaroni and cheese balls and a piece of cheesecake.   We have been talking about it for weeks on what we were going to order.  I happened to mention earlier in the day that it would stink if we were out and I immediately got a punch in the arm for jinxing us.  

Guess what...they were out of macaroni balls.    They did have cheesecake and it was delicious!

Back to Starved Rock, it is truly a beautiful place and so much to see and walk through.   Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the day that I have not already shared. 

I get into the grass and getting ready to take a shot of this gorgeous scene and DOH!!    At first I thought well that would have been a cool shot before the finger, but then I realized I love the little chubby finger and it makes the shot.    His curiosity makes for some great shots and I am glad I am around with a camera to capture.

We chose to spend our mile-long walk around Lake Katherine on a nice cool Sunday morning.    My mom, Sam and I went on a nice walk around the lake.    I would have said relaxing, but we did have an almost three-year old with us who is not afraid of the lake or geese. 

My mom did great and we got a mile in, just what the doctor ordered.   She also got to visit Lake Katherine for the first time in her life and wants to go again this week!   Preparation is a great excuse to spend some time with my mom and her grandkids.   We all need a little more preparation in our lives.

This castle is currently a church and a beautiful landmark on historic Longwood Drive.   I am always on the lookout to try and find something cool and different to photograph...this was 2 minutes away and has taken me a couple years.    I need to open up my eyes to all the local treasures otherwise I will truly be missing out.

I am a sucker for sunrises, trees and special moments.    

Over the last week I have done some family portraits in Indiana, photographed an awesome Little League game and I have capture some gorgeous buildings and beautiful landscape on my way to and from work.

I still have my camera with me at all times and glad for it.   Gorgeous fog in the mornings, old buildings that are a beauty all their own, baseball and can't forget these amazing clouds we have seen this year.   I need to do better with this blog as it keeps me thinking of all the beautiful things I want to capture.   I enjoy sharing with you and I hope you enjoy seeing the photos that I capture!  

Many of my friends and neighbors have been taken care of in this hospital.   My daughter and son were treated for concussions here, husband had his gallbladder and kidney stone taken out in this old building, my little man spent the night in this hospital for dehydration. You can tell from these memories that I am the strong one, I have had no need for this building, but it has taken very good care of my family.

I will miss this landmark and I a little sad that my younger children might not remember the "old" Little Company of Mary.

My youngest two do not have a pool and are not even fans of the water.  I decided last week to get one of those cheap pop up pools after my sitter confirmed my son is scared of the water.    This 30" popup pool will serve two purposes; first to show my husband how much fun the kids have and a little bit of work is worth it.   Second purpose is to teach my younger two children not to be afraid of the water and start to swim.   

Beginning of last week I could barely get my five-year old in the water and have had to work with him to get him to walk on his knees.   We started with kicking his feet, floating on floats, using pennies and goggles to get him use to putting his face in the water and then this...

Now this may seem like no big deal to most people with pools and whose children have been swimming since they were born.   I have two older children who were the same way.   But for me, the fact that my five-year old is free falling into the pool with water covering his head is a great start to him overcoming his fear and learning how much fun it can be!    I am very proud of my little man!

Snakes do not bother me and I have picked up tons of the little guys, but my little men have not.   I was actually surprised how excited and unafraid they were of him and at one point the little slithery guy jumped at them.   Instead of fear I heard laughter and how cool that was and wanted to do it again.     I of course could not pass up to try and lay in the street to snap this little visitor.   I know my neighbors think I am crazy!    

We told our little men to let him go he had to go home to his parents and check-in as I am sure they worry about him like we worry.   When we went back out later he was gone, but we will be watching out for him and praying he doesn't get any bigger.

This year was just the same I went alone (thank you to my husband) as my little ones were tired.   I was set up in a matter of three minutes, had my tripod up, camera set and just had to wait for the fireworks.   Well they started and from my screen they appeared to be work, I just increase the amount of time my shutter was open to ensure I got all the firework and maybe the next one...let me say it worked beautifully!

Some of the fireworks are absolutely beautiful, they look like flowers, cool drawing or party decorations!  Can't wait to see if I can find some more tonight!

So I snapped about five photos and really liked these three, but I immediately loved the one on the right.   I think all three are great photographs and so glad I ran into the house to grab my camera because the lighting is superb!  But, I do sometimes second guess my decisions on what photos I want to share and think well maybe everyone will like the full short better or maybe this or maybe that.    Then it hits me, go with the one I loved this is your art you will never please everyone except yourself.   

I love the animals, truly beautiful.   I do pity them and wonder if they know what they are missing, but the one who makes me feel this the most are the gorillas.   They seem sad or maybe they just don't like people and when the doors are locked they go back to normal.   

My other favorite animals are the giraffes.  They are long, peaceful looking, graceful and I love their eyelashes.    

My two boys could care less about face painting and the food, they wanted the fire trucks.   I was able to get them to participate in the bouncy house and we went to see the animals, but fire trucks were all they wanted to see.   The EP Fire Department personnel are the nicest, they let the kids crawl all over the inside of the trucks and were very patient with all the little kids.   All the people working at the Day in the Park were wonderful and this is what makes Evergreen Park a great place to live, the community.

Here are some photos for the day, we didn't stay too long because my youngest was napless and a breakdown was starting to occur.

Anyway...I took some photos on my way home because the clouds were amazing!  The were so fluffy and big and then started to change and at the end of the storm was a rainbow.    Genesis 9:13 "I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth."

I am trying to make sure I spend enough time with him, not just being in the house, but listening to him, going for a walk, making him laugh and giving him plenty of hugs.    I read a statistic recently that the amount of time working parents actually spend with their children one-on-one is shockingly low.     This is one area I really need to improve on as a mother, but I thank God that he has brought it to my attention and I can remedy this with all my children!

I was scheduled to head out to Fullerton Beach to meet up with a photography group to capture the moon with downtown Chicago in the shot.   Of course, the clouds started to roll-in and the meet up was cancelled. Determined to get a shot not clouded by homes and shopping malls, my husband and I took a short drive south of the city.

I waited for the moon to make it's appearance and it was bright yellowish orange as it started to rise.   Quite a site in complete darkness to see this gorgeous moon make her appearance.   If only the hundreds of fire flies would of shown up on this shot, would of been perfect!

Not only has my son made friends, but so have I and those friends will be missed.   I am lucky enough to have a little guy just starting with EPAA so I have a few more years around the field, but won't be the same as the last few years Brian played.       This is also a reminder that he is growing up, he has left the EPAA protective fencing and soon enough my barb wire fencing for greener pastures...

Sam was so proud to come home and show his Dad his new haircut and loved the way it feels.   You can tell from this picture he is quite proud of himself and I am sure he thinks he looks fantastic too!  It is funny he just takes our word when we tell him he looks great, never once had to take a look in the mirror.   

Well I am not ready to share my final outcome, but really loved this one I snapped of my little man just starting to blow out the candles.    Candlelight really does make everything beautiful, but he just happens to be gorgeous!

My husband is always out there with the little ones, whenever he opens the front door my youngest Sam is not far behind!    I had my camera outside to try and catch some birds bathing in my neighbors sprinkler and caught these three in the mood to ham it up for the camera!   I hope the boys remember these moments as we watched them run along the sidewalk, examine ants and their tea kettle scream as I spray them with the hose!

But during the day I got some awesome images, I love my new lense.   I also love the fact that my 14 year-old son wants me to try and snap some cool photos of him, that is huge for him!  Great day for some baseball/softball and getting a little suntan or burn in my case!

This sweet dog is HUGE, but the sweetest dog you ever could meet.    She makes the most disgusting sounds when she drinks and sheds like crazy, but always has her tail wagging and looks forward to seeing you.

I wanted to be sure I snapped a photo of Bailey while I was there so her family can remember her long after she is gone.

Tonight my little men enjoyed ice cream cones, sugar cones to be exact!  Little Man Sam took his first attempt at sitting on the couch watching Shrek eating his delicious sugar cone.   I wanted to take the opportunity to snap a photo of the little man and noticed that his brother photo bombed him...yes it starts at a young age.   He made sure he was giving a thumbs up and sitting back when I snapped it, such a ham.

I wanted to document little Sam's cheeks and the mess he was making and I was lucky enough to get them both.   Photo bombing, I believe I am going to have a collection of these in about 20 years.

There are two photos that I love and think they are absolutely precious!    This is the first one, I happen to love the background and her adorable hair lying as a little person's hair should lie...however it wants.  I love that she is perfectly exposed and the background is exposed rather nicely also!    To shoot in daylight and get a wonderful shot like that and not being in the shade I am rather proud. 

My other favorite shot from that day is just a straight on shot nothing fancy no crazy poses, but I think it is absolutely a gorgeous shot.     Now this little girl happens to be adorable, so I cannot take credit for that and I am sure anyone would of gotten good shots.  But for me, I am thrilled that the settings I use when I take my photos generate a photo like this, not over exposed or over exposed...just right!

I have another child graduating in a couple weeks from grammar school and I cannot believe Brian will be heading to high school.    Megan will be leaving for college in two years the same time Sam is starting preschool.   Yes there are huge age differences, but I think it having some just starting when my others are finishing is God's way of helping the sting.

I have a few other photos of this scene and the snake is out of frame and this big frog moved up, but the one in the water was gone.   I hope he made it out of the way because this snake was huge!  If you see his body goes all the way back in the frame...gross.

I am glad I was far away because that thing would have made me drop my camera!

My crazy niece and my husband with the obnoxious faces made the picture great!   We really should do a family photo of as many siblings as we can gather together it would be a nice gift for my mom.  The smiles here are genuine which makes it even better, we had a really nice time and lots of laughs.   A perfect Mother's day topped with caramel salted brownies : )

Either way, I loved the cake it was delicious and I think it was one of the best pieces of cake I have ever had...sometimes things made with love are the best doesn't matter how it tastes.

Dandelions mean that spring is here and right around the corner is summer.   Swimming, baseball, barbeques, cookouts, ice cream and late nights.   Looking forward to this summer; my son graduates 8th grade, my husband's new job has him home on weekends and Dan starts kindergarten in the Fall.   I am planning on getting a wonderful family photograph this summer.  
 

Not tonight...

He was smiling the whole way, these shots made my day!

This lens is amazingly fast and the auto focus is indescribable as you can see from this photo of the local EPAA little league player.   I was across the field even with the left fielder and shooting through a fence.    I could not wait to see how many fps (frames per second) I was able to capture with this beast of a lens.   I am very happy with the result.   I look forward to the sports pictures (when I am not watching my 2 year-old at the same time), portraits, landscapes and just enjoying the lens.

It was a very nice luncheon with crackers, bagels, muffins, juice (notice someone's mustache) and pound cake.   The best was the smiles, little conversations with the kids, giggles and getting to sit and chat with the other moms.   I was so glad that I was able to be part of this special day, but do wish I had the right lens on my camera ugh! 

My favorite picture of the night was the one where Danny was on third and my husband and his great big grin where in the background.   I love taking these photos and wish I had this camera when my older two were little to create little collages and document thier lives.   

I hope when he gets older he looks back and enjoys having a mother who was a photographer!

This adorable girl just happened to choose her own posing by the lake and she did a fantastic job.    It showed her dress, her hair, the innocence and the slight reflection in the water of the trees.   This is a photo that was meant to be black and white.

When I take a child's photo I hope that the parents see a photo I have taken and it immediately brings a smile to their face and cannot wait to share with their friends and family.     I am pretty positive I accomplished just that on Sunday. 

Saturday was a gorgeous day and we had a First Communion party to go to and could not ask for better weather.    My two littlest people had a blast at this party, outside getting filthy and running around non-stop for about 4 hours.     The two littlest guys drank juice, ate Cheetos and had a blast playing and running with all the other kids.  

We got home and within 5 minutes, this is how my littlest guy fell asleep sitting up.   How precious is this and amazing to be honest.   He does not fall asleep easily at all, but missing that power nap really hit him hard.

Then I was walking by my son's room and saw this beautiful sunlight coming through the window.    I immediately thought I need to get try and capture this.      I like the angle and love it in black and white!   One small ray of light gave me the spark I needed.

This picture makes me think of genetics.   James always sits on the couch with his arms behind his head and now look at his son.   You can't teach that and I have tried this myself and do not think it is the most comfortable position, but James and Dan do this quite often.      We teach our kids all sorts of things whether we mean to or not, but some things are just genetics.

I love going to the games from the Junior league to my little guy's T-ball games.   You get to know the families and lots of friendly faces at the league.   The other plus is to watch the kids grow each year it is amazing.     I can't wait to be able to make a collage for Brian next year of all his years in EPAA and eventually the same for Danny.    

Everyday out of the photos that are uploaded, the editors of this site choose the POTD (Photo Of The Day).   On April 11, my photo was chosen as the POTD.    I was shocked because even though I thought the photo was a very pretty sunset I did not expect this to win any prize.     Here is the photo that was chosen:

http://www.capturemychicago.com/photos/2013/4/11

I am truly honored when one of my photos is chosen and it does help me build my confidence on my photography skills which is very much what you see not just the camera you use.

I know my daughter is very smart; she is in the top of her class.   Even though she is insanely book smart, she sometimes has problems with common sense type things.   This makes her younger brother laugh.   For example we had a lime sitting on the counter and Meg asks where did you get this green orange...really? 

Well let's go back to chemistry.   How do I not remember this at all?  Is it age, did the kids suck all my intelligence during the birthing process.     I sat in class each day and did these problems I am sure of it, but even as she explained it I was clueless.

Now I am sure it thrills my 16 year-old daughter that she feels smarter than her mom.    I let her feel that way, but explain that true knowledge is to know one's extent of their own ignorance.     She just said okay mom, but she will understand that one day.

When I arrived at the church the family was done with their official portraits and we walked into the church and I was thrilled that it was beautiful.     This family was wonderful to work with, the parents were very patient as I snapped, snapped and snapped even more photos of their child.    The poor child that I tortured with the snapping was such a good sport and a pleasure to work with!    

I now as I am going through his photos I am trying to make sure I am able to get what the parents were hoping for, making sure I show his true personality and pray that God helped you capture some photos that will make the parents smile.

I think God helped me capture some of those moments, he never fails!

I love this photo of my little guy and so glad I downloaded a new preset for Lightroom 4 which makes him the focus and everything else slightly blurry.   I do this all the time with the lenses that I use, but this preset adds just a little something.

Church in the North West suburbs that I thought had a beautiful entryway.

The sky was a beautiful backdrop for these flags on this day, couldn't ask for better at all...even a blue sky could not compare.  

As you can see from this photo the road I travel on is a two-lane road and occurs for about 30 minutes of my drive into/out of work.     Today coming and going to work I had a driver from the other side of the road swerve and cross over the yellow line.    This happened as they were passing me, not the car in front or behind me.     I have seen this happen to other people, but never to me.    I Thank God above for his protection over me and that he had me paying attention because I was able to swerve to the right. 

I will not text, look at my phone unless I am stopped, after today.   I was not a text and drive person anyway, but today just showed me how quickly you can lose focus of what you are supposed to be doing if you are focusing on your phone...while you are going 50 mph.  

After the two near misses today, I enjoyed this type of road because it was a little lonely and this one just happened to be very beautiful.

I am so excited to have a warmer day today, my husband aired out the house and I drove home from work with the windows partly down.   I miss that.    When I got home I went into our yard which still looks blah due to the winter, but I saw this small sign of spring.  

I am looking forward to getting in the yard and raking, cleaning up Annie's gifts and tidying up.   That is the sign that spring is here and summer is not far behind...I miss yard work.

There were a lot of children at the Easter egg hunt and Sam did not get one egg, but he loved sitting in the middle of the crowd of kids just watching.   The village also made sure there were eggs available for the kids that did not receive any eggs so no one left in tears!  

The boys had a blast and want to color some more today with paint, but tonight we are going to make marshmallow tombs to represent Jesus rising from the dead.    We have been watching Veggie Tales Easter shows and talking about what Easter truly represents, Jesus dying for our sins which is the reason for this holiday.

The boys will have baskets from the Easter bunny, but we will be sure to thank the perfect present.   I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

Turns out they both were out of the house and the owner found the start of the fire when she returned home and called the fire department.    They had some doors knocked open, windows broken, roof cut open and smoke damage, but at least they were alright.

They have lived here in this home quite a long time and to drive by and see the smoke damage to the inside of the home is heartbreaking.    My husband walked over to my neighbor while he was sitting in his garage after all the fire trucks had left.    He was on the phone with his pastor and after he hung up he told my husband that his children already have them taken care of and the church family is always available.  My husband told him we would pray for him and if he or his wife needed anything during this time to let us know. 

Point of today's blog, check your smoke alarms and take photos of the inside of your home for insurance purposes (store online).      Also, thank God for the blessings you do have no matter how small they seem.

Prior to his illness started on Saturday night, this was the trophy he received for his 2nd year of indoor soccer and he was very excited!    He will not pose normally so I don't even try anymore especially when he was having as much fun as he did that did with his other soccer player friends.    Same color team as last year, but he is just a little bit bigger.     I pray his posing improves with age : )

Anyway I took the plaque and made each of the little men put their hand on it and Sam was the one it seems to fit best.     I have their handprints/footprints of when they were little and just made a small salt dough craft of their prints for their Dad last Father's Day.

It is nice to have these types of reminder that at one point you were small as your children are and makes you remember they want to laugh, tickle, your attention and act as silly as possible at all times.   I hope the handprints I have made are used to compare my future grandchildren's hands.

Here he is learning the rules as his Dad is teaching him checkers.    He caught on pretty quick for a youngin'.    Next step will be playing on the front stoop after a nice Sunday supper.    I do wish we were more like Mayberry, nothing wrong with taking things slow and moving pieces with your hands...yes actually moving them yourself not sliding your finger across a screen. 

I pray that my children retain some of the Mayberry type qualities we try to instill in them, Lord willing they will teach their children the same things.

So after dinner Dan and Sam started to PAINT as promised (Thank you Lord for washable paint)!   They did really well, especially Sam for being 2 he was very patient and actually used the paintbrush.   Dan made a wonderful rainbow and Sam tried to make Barney.    I need to frame and hang these works of art to remember the precious little hands and imaginations that created these wonderful works of art.

The flowers and beautiful buds on the trees would have been a wonderful accent next to such a lovely little girl.    Even with the cold blah type weather, we were able to capture some wonderful photos and her mother is very happy.

I happen to think that my children's elementary school is the prettiest in the District.     I like the Colonial style building and it is not an eyesore, quite nice actually.     I will be sure to have Danny posing on his first day of Kindergarten with this wonderful building in the background and follow the same tradition with Sam.    I wish I would have thought of that with my oldest two, but you live and learn.

This was my daughter's piece and it was done with markers and titled "Reunited with my Best Friend".    Glad she is enjoying her art class and she is doing well.   She is very talented from music to her drawing abilities I hope she continue pushing herself to see what she can create.

I love how he changes the characters between spins and climbs on the table to move his guy or girl depending on what he picks.   He is learning that you do not always win and it seems to be a hard lesson to teach kids at this age.     It is important that they learn that at times they will lose and it is out of their control...just the way the spinner spins.

He is already helping me teach his baby brother about sharing, losing and even winning.   Hopefully my youngest and last will be the easiest one to teach this lesson.

Meg received the co-captain pin as she was chosen along with another teammate to be captain of the frosh/soph basketball team.    I cannot believe how fast her high school years seem to be flying by!

She takes the sports seriously and really tries to be an example on and off the court.    I pray that she continues that trend as she grows older.

Pretty soon they will not be little enough to take a bath together so I am glad I have a photo to remember their smiles and funny faces for the camera!

The parade is now aimed towards families and it seems to be working.   The parade was very enjoyable this year and except for the rain I couldn't ask for anything better.   Everyone gathers at my mom's house and we eat the traditional corned beef and cabbage and enjoy the people watching.     The majority of the time it is very nice with no drama inside or out of the house!   Nice chance to gather the family before the next major holiday.

Had a great time with family with the laughs, the food and the memories.   I love that I was able to capture some special moments during the day and share them with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

This is just the beginning for him; we will have sleepovers, more parties, graduations and growing up to look forward to!   

The little ones had a blast with sledding and building snowmen.   I did not get the chance to photography the snowman because Dan ended up karate chopping it after we finished.      It is very hard to photograph the boys as they need help, especially Sam when he falls he is like a turtle on it's back.     It was more important to help them play in the snow then photograph it anyway...we made mental photographs (thanks Pam from the Office).

I had seen many pictures, heard many stories about the French Quarter, saw the small city within the city in movies, books, etc...But nothing describes the French Quarter until you have been there.   I happened to love the French Quarter and enjoyed all areas of our mini-vacation.   The city was nothing of what I expected.   I had heard it was dirty; streets filled with urine and vomit, city smelled and drunk people everywhere.   Bourbon Street fit that description at times, but the other streets of the French Quarter were charming.   I found the city to be clean, full of character and romantic.   I miss New Orleans and I have only been gone a day or more.

Here is my favorite photo from my recent visit and if you want feel free to check out all of the photos I took during my recent trip!

www.crossheirsphotography.com/neworleans

I also used the snow today to show the older kids about charity and doing onto others for no reason than to do what is right.  I have to say I was very proud of them as they didn't give me a hard time and I only counted one eye roll.   They each went to a different elderly neighbor's house and shoveled the stairs, sidewalk and driveway and were not allowed to take a dime.    I am sure they think I am a pain, but I pray that when they have children they make them do the same thing.     

So James left about 5PM and I look a ride over to Yukich Field.   The sun was just over the trees so I start to walk towards the small retention pond.     I tried to figure out a shot where I could focus on something but showcase the sun and the frozen water.     I took a couple snaps and from my small little camera screen I thought this shot was okay.    Once I got home and uploaded I was so thrilled I was able to capture the sunburst coming through the trees.     Great timing and very lucky!

On my searching for a shot I did notice an all-white tree in the cemetery that I am going to have to try and capture, it was gorgeous...maybe a future post!

e

Maybe this summer I will start saving up branches to help build something like this in a few years with help from my kids or husband.   I would love to have a nice little garden in the back corner of the yard and possibly a branch bench and it may just be a photo session setting someday!

He must have seen this from his brother or somewhere else because this is fairly new and adorable.   Some of the things he says amazes me; He tells me things are "delicious", "With God anything are possible", "I'm gonna kick his butt" and now the whole arms crossed and "I'm mad!"

Recently, my son, Brian watched my husband, grandpa and uncle at a recent family party play all play together and he was at that time bitten by the bug. It does not surprise me this house is always filled with music of some type. Even the small little men love music and have natural rhythm which they get from their father. I had to sneak this shot as it was dark and I didn't have time for flash or different lens just had to snap!  

This was an image I took today and wanted to capture this unique angle of the tree and the sunset that was hitting just the one side.   I love trees and I will be trying this angle again in the spring and summer on a different types of trees.     Frame them all together, I believe that would look great!    I am hoping to see some Spanish moss hanging from trees in New Orleans when I go soon that would be heavenly!

This is what I get now, unless I bribe them.

Maybe one day when they are getting married or having babies they will beg me to take their photos.   I cannot wait for those days!

Now to be downtown and see a sunrise like that would be awesome!   On my to do list this year : )

I am glad I now carry my camera with me at all times.   When I see something now I use to say Oh I wish I had my camera!    Now, I just pull over and snap away and love some of the photos I am able to capture.        

Try it this week, pull over and take a shot of something that you admire and normally would drive by, you will be glad you did!   

He was very good for his first time, he had the stance down and had the basic concept of what was required.     He needs to learn that he can use his hands and that will come with time as they are not allowed to touch the ball at all, so I think he is ball shy.     I am surprised he does as well as he does as we are not soccer people and I have no clue of what the rules are or what is required.   I go and take pictures and say good job, nice stop and kick it the other way!

My favorite part of the day is the picture on the left, he waved right after I snapped this photo...I love five year-olds.

Today when I arrived a dear friend of mine was there with her littlest one who was getting her haircut.     She is the cutest little thing ever and cannot believe how cute she was and such a big girl and so patient.    I happened to have my camera in my purse so I wanted to take a couple snap shots for her mom.     She looked so stinkin adorable I couldn't pass this up!

I thought this was a perfect blog posting as it was part of my day and this little one is like part of my family!

For my husband and me, Valentine's Day should be all the time.  You should treat each other with love, kindness and do these Valentine's things all during the year.    I am not saying there are not days that we do not roll our eyes, raise our voices or have tone, but we do take the time to say thank you, I appreciate that, forgive me, what would you like, let's pray on it and can we talk.    

A beautiful Hallmark card and flowers is what speaks to some people.    For me Valentine's Day is kisses from my two little men, my teenagers saying "Goodnight Mom Love you" and my husband making an effort to get something I truly want even when we say don't exchange gifts.

There are still gems to be found in the cold evenings, I just have to want to look.

Nothing is sweeter than seeing little people color pictures and take their time to do their absolute best.   The colors and combinations that they choose are unusual and would never by chosen by adults; we always try to do what is normal.    Kids and their imaginations...how I wish I still had a little bit of it left from when I was small.   How little people see things, the colors they choose, designs they add to the simplest coloring pictures is like being able to see into their little precious minds.      

I wonder what is going through my son's mind that he is choosing the colors he is for Batman.   He knows Batman's colors, but yet he chooses to create a different type of Batman.    

I am going to need one of those PODS for storage of all my children's paperwork, drawings and classwork.   I have the hardest time throwing them out.

My husband took my little men to get their haircuts and informed me they were wonderful.     They needed haircuts and think they look adorable when they are done, but it is just another sign they are growing up when the frequency of the haircuts increase...ugh.    

The show put on by Monster Jam is a great show, plenty of Monster trucks and boy is it loud.   It is amazing how much money they charge you for popcorn, snowcorn and cotton candy.   It was worth every penny to see this little face and the smile once the cars started to jump in the air.

How blessed am I to be able to enjoy this with my little man.

I posted the regular version of this photo on February 4 and I thought that photo looked good, but I really like this version.   I reminds me of a drawing and love the look of using HDR on this photo.   HDR (High Dynamic Range) does not look good on every photo, believe me I tried quite a few photos so far. 

I will continue to see if I can make one of my photos look somewhat like of those gorgeous ones you see on the internet and then I will be happy and my HDR bug will be itched.

http://www.capturemychicago.com/challenges/50mm

This photo was the first in the leaderboard and I am hoping that it is chosen as the People's choice!   I am very excited because this gorgeous subject is my niece.    This photo shows how gorgeous she is naturally, no Photoshop necessary.    I am thrilled the way the colors in the sky, her dress and the landscape turned out, it was the way I saw it in my mind.   

Even if this photo is not chosen as the People's choice, it is my choice and seeing my niece beam when she saw it....that is priceless!

2/13/13 This photo was chosen as the People's Choice!

The closer I get to my job in Lemont it starts to become slightly more industrial looking.    I go through some beautiful scenery along Route 83 before I hit the industrial part of my drive.    I was about 5-10 minutes from my work, it was early and slightly dark out and I thought this scene looked kinda cool.   The steam and the lights from the various towers at this plant made a great capture.   

Bringing my camera makes the 45 minute drive a little more exciting.   I am usually driving and singing, but now I am always on the lookout for something that I think would make a great photography.   Before I snap my camera, I tried to make sure it is a worthy subject.

Nothing better than having my children love to read!   I think my little man sees his sister, brother and his Dad read constantly and wants to be like them.    I pray he has the ability to learn to read early, have to keep working with him.    I love how his little face is so interested in this book he received at his Preschool Christmas play.   

After he is done reading, we walk to his bed and he climbs under the covers.  I tuck him in like a bug in a rug, give him a kiss and he is so sweet he tells me he loves me more than all the toys and ice cream in the world.    I could not ask for a better ending to my day.

I love him.

Here is what normally happens in my house.    I have to force the littlest man to go to bed and my 5 year-old falls asleep as soon as he stops moving.    

My 2 year-old does not stop moving from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed.     It is shocking to me that he doesn't fall asleep first.    Even tonight watching his favorite movie "Polar Express" you would think the music, a warm blanket and his brother passed out on the other couch would help him to feel tired...Nope!

Pray for me during the teenage years : )

One of my goals this year is to try and capture an awesome shot of a plane coming in nice and low at dusk.     Until then, I have to enjoy these images where are full of color and a beautiful sky. 

So grateful my husband was willing to stand out there and brave the cold so that the littlest men could enjoy the snow.   I know that years ago I use to stay out in that snow for hours building forts, eating snow to cure our thirst and building childhood memories.   I happen to have a scar on my eyebrow from an ice throwing contest during one of those winters.

I am very glad my littlest guy to finally enjoy a decent snowfall.  It was so much fun to see and he absolutely loved it.    I cannot believe his brother and he lasted as long as they did, but when they came in boy were they hungry and such good naps!

I hope for at least one more little snowstorm for my little men to play with and enjoy.   They have so much fun and it is the world's biggest and cheapest toy ever made, thank you God.

I was so glad to get the shot of him in control of the ball and thought I would single him out in the photo.    The color shot was great, but I thought I could improve it by removing all the color and leaving him normal.   After I was done, my husband thought of the perfect title "How A Mother Sees" and he is absolutely right.   It is fun to see all the other kids, but a Mom's eyes are always on their little star. 

This is one of my favorite action shots I have ever taken : )

I need to improve my food photography skills, because it really is an art.   To make the photo look as delicious as the food actually is takes some talent.    I am still working on that talent and I have 11 months left this year to improve.   Wait till Thanksgiving my turkey photo will be amazing.

If you would like the recipe for Oreo Truffles just google it and you will see it is quite easy, chocolate, Oreos and cream cheese!

I have walked down this path numerous times and it was just a bunch of trees, nothing really photo worthy in my eyes.   Just a tad bit of water changed the setting and made it interesting.    I will have to revisit some of my favorite spots when seasons change as you never know when you will find a wonderful photo opportunity.

There are some gorgeous beams and an old type shack at the top of the bridge that I wish I would have been able to see back in its prime!   I was trying to capture some unique shots to capture the bridge's beauty and history.    I enjoyed my walk today and could not wait to get home tonight and upload to see if the images were as good as I had hoped!   I happen to love these images and cannot wait to find the perfect rusted looking type frame to place them in.    I love the depth of field I was able to achieve on the last shot...turned out amazing : )

Her last home game got me thinking that my children are growing up way too fast!  

Meg will be starting her Junior year in the fall.   My son is taking his 8th grade graduation pictures today as further proof he is growing up...ugh.   Saturday, I have to register him for high school and then in a few weeks I have to register my other son for Kindergarten!   Honestly, where does the time go it is almost the end of January wasn't Christmas just a few days ago.  

Springtime is only a few weeks away and I am going to try and enjoy what's left of this winter, even with this crazy Chicago weather.   Did I mention it was in the 60's today?     Time as I get older seems to be flying right by.   Kinda like the merry-go-round, when I was younger it was like the slow spin and you couldn't wait for it to go faster.   Now, I feel like I am at the point of the spin where I am holding on and spinning so fast that you can barely see the background.     I am hoping I don't puke.

I threw a bag over my camera and headed out and took some photographs again on my street.  I did drive around the neighborhood, but I didn't like those photographs as much as I liked my neighbor's tree.   Streets where not as icy as expected, but my stairs, railings and car doors made up for it.

If I was not doing this photo blog I would never have ventured out of my home to see this beautiful ice covered tree so I am grateful I started this 28 days ago!   I was hoping for a nice foot of snow, but this little bit of ice was better than nothing.

Even though I am trying to eat "Paleo" I had a small piece of crust and it was delicious as I had remembered.   My family liked it, but my husband loved it.   He is the pizza expert in the family and the hardest person in the world to please with pizza.    He is not picky, just very particular and seems to be right when he says his favorite line when he loves something "It's Off The Chain".    If you don't hear those words the meal, pizza, cake or anything isn't that great. 

We have been married a few years, but my goal when I a make a new meal, recipe, etc is to hear "It's Off the Chain".

This 1950's light is very pretty when it is turned on and creates a very cool affect on the ceiling.   The next awesome item is an old rotary phone on the wall in the hallway.   I doubt I will ever take it down, it still works and my kids had no clue how to use it!    We had one of these growing up which was avocado green and a long cord that we use to bring the phone into the stairwell to talk to our friends.     I think I remember a time when there was a small lock on the phone so it could not be used.   Imagine someone NOT being able to use a phone nowadays. 

I love modern items, including my DSLR as one of my all time favorites!   I do enjoy the items from past years also to remind me of when times were simpler.   This was when items served a purpose not just a status symbol and carried by everyone over the age of 9!  

I do have a favorite show,  "The Office" and I very rarely get to watch it.   My little men go to bed no later than 8:30 so we spend the last few minutes before they go to bed watching their favorite shows.     Their favorite shows include Yo Gabba Gabba, Barney, Mater Tales, Johnny Test, ABC's and 5 Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed.   

So this Friday Night consisted of one of the above shows and once they were asleep I usually get to catch up on my favorite shows before I fell asleep!     My Friday nights are not as they use to be 20 years ago.    I would rather listen to the screaming of my little men and watching Netflix with my teenagers while my husband sleeps than out and about as I use to years ago.    

There is nothing like a Steven King book to scare you to death or just make you think the impossible might just be possible.   His imagination is amazing and I have always said no movie has ever done his book justice.    

It does not surprise me that Brian enjoys his books, he has quite the imagination and I have watched him spend hours reading a good book.    I am so glad this is one of the things he received from me, I assume of course it is from me.       I will be sharing some of my unfavorite things that my children inherited, if I can only figure out how to photograph tone.

We had a few firsts today besides the snow.   My 5 year-old son had his eyes dilated for the first time in an eye exam and my 16 year-old daughter is at House of Blues for her first concert.    The snow is easy, the other two "firsts" today made me nervous. 

I am looking forward to documenting this year and being able to track all of the "firsts" we are going to have.    I chose the snow photo today out of all the "firsts" as my 5 year-old's pupils are still dilated so I did not want to harass him with a "flash".    I believe my 16 year-old deserves to enjoy her first without her Mom's photo evidence, she can take her own pictures for memories.

He loved the fact that we made this silly and wanted to do the whole family this way...maybe a future family post!   I need to take the time to enjoy the silly things in life.   You do not have much time with these little people that God has blessed you with so I should take the time to enjoy them.     If my son wants me to look like the girl from Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs in the photos, that's fine with me.    I will look back at his photo years from now and still remember his laugh.      

This new kitty, Toby, is very sweet and quiet compared to our originally kitty.    He does meow once in a while when he is hungry or is looking for attention and loves to sit by the wall vents as the heat is pouring out of them.      He is my daughter's cat though, he looks to her for attention, when she goes downstairs he goes with her, she is his owner.

The kitty on the right was mine.   He had been with me for 17 years and was loud (like me), when you pet him he would bite you, came when you called him and was like a dog more than a cat.     When I lived in Indiana this cat did not even have a little box, he would go outside.    He was in indoor/outdoor cat in Indiana and when I moved back to Illinois it was strictly indoors.    I was allergic to him, I could not bet him and forget to wash my hands or I would itch, turn red and my eyes would swell.     I would not trade a day of it as he was such a treasure around the house.    He was a HUGE cat and walked around in his catlike way as if he owned the place and he allowed us to stay.

We were home and watched him pass and I remember it like it was yesterday.  As tragic as it was, I am glad we were here with him in his last moments to provide him some comfort as he did to us all those years.

Friday he thought it was better and told me he could move it 1-2 inches, such improvement!   Yes this is sarcasm; I am fluent so I apologize in advance if you need translation.    So I told him that is great, do you not want me to make an appointment?

Saturday morning he sends me an email from work and tells me he is in extreme pain and maybe we can head to urgent care after work.    He doesn't make it home in enough time to head to urgent care and he refuses to spend 4-6 hrs at the local hospital emergency rooms.    Being the Marine he is, he takes some Advil and suffers through the pain.

Sunday morning here we are...you can see that he is loving the gown and the fact that I brought my camera.    Turns out the doctor said he believes it could be rotator cuff injury or possibly tendonitis.   They were not able to do an MRI today to confirm his diagnosis, so he gave my husband some much needed pain medication and some steroids to see if this helps with the inflammation if it is tendonitis.   If the arm is not better in 48 hours, MRI and follow-up with ortho!    Praying for speedy recovery and nothing serious as he is right-handed and this is his right shoulder.   This is serious, it may affect his trigger finger, bass, banjo and guitar pickin' and of course his xbox skills!

Annie does get underfoot, but she cleans the floor immediately when the little people drop things.   She only likes to be outside for 3 minutes at a time and barks non-stop until you let her in, but she is the first person at the door when you get home.     If you even start to walk anywhere in the hallway like you are heading to the kitchen, she is right there with you in case you drop something.

She is always there for you.  She doesn't complain about the lack of time you might have for her during a busy day.   She is ALWAYS happy to see you.   She doesn't like vegetables, but loves to lick feet (gross and true).    She only wants to lay on the couch next to you and when you pet her she looks at you like she won the Lotto.    

If people could treat each other like your dog treats you imagine how wonderful the world would be.   I think to myself that I might be "superior" to this animal, but I can never show such constant love as she does which makes her far superior.     I have to try to be like Annie much more this year.

This was a resolution for me this year to not just take more pics, but be in them.   Now I am publishing on the web what a huge step.   I think this picture is nice otherwise it would not be on here believe me.    I am very grateful for photoshop to hide some of the crows feet, whiten the teeth just a little and to remove the pimple I had on my cheek that should only happen to a 13 yr old.    I added a nice little preset to make it slightly b&w, but the photo is still me.

I am going to try a post a photo of month of me and various members of the family or doing something I love.  I may even let someone else take it...GASP!      

Since his birth he has been testing my limits in my ways.   He started by testing my need for sleep at the hospital.   He would sleep best on his mother, that's me, while I slept in a lovely hospital bed.    It continued at home in a really nice comfortable recliner and I believe that has contributed to my two herniated discs in my neck.     Even know two years later he is not a great sleeper.    He no longer sleeps in a crib because he has been jumping out of it for months.   He takes the opportunity to run into my room at night to sleep with me and his dad.    His doctor said get up every night for a week and walk him back, he will stop.     She has never meet a "Heneghan" because it has been months and he still does it.     I have learned to live on a few hours sleep each night for days, weeks and even months at a time.

Physically, this has been a very difficult two years since he has been born.    I have had a few things go wrong, nothing major thank you Lord, but enough to make it uncomfortable at times.      I have had to learn how to raise my four children, including this little angel below, not feeling my best.    Thank GOD for my husband, honestly, he is so patient and very caring with me and the kids.

I look at this picture below and would not trade my crazy haired child for a few moments of sleep or painless days.     I know that my little man Sam's arrival has taught me the meaning of prayer and faith.     Those two things got me through these first two years!    Everything has a purpose and thank goodness my purpose happens to be adorable.

I did ask one of my co-workers the reason the overpass was as high as it is and it is due to a rare dragonfly 'Hine's Emerald Dragonfly' to ensure the bridge did not affect the dragonfly's habitat.    I did hear that the dragonfly now won't fly anywhere near the overpass no matter how high...figures.

I happened to get this shot today as I was all alone on the road and rolled down my window and had my camera ready to go.   I slowed down and got a couple of snaps and I really liked the way this one turned out.    
 

There are many things out there that are beautiful, unique or an unusual perspective if you keep you eyes open.   I maybe the only person who enjoys the photo, but an impact on one is better than none.

Well to go back to the photo, these two men are my favorite men in the whole world over the age of six.    These men keep me laughing, keep me honest, bring me back to reality when I am being a bit too Irish, know how to push my buttons and they both know way too many movie lines.      I love these men and the feeling is mutual even though the one on the left says it too quickly and at times inaudible when we say goodnight.    The one on the right says it freely, sometimes in different accents and sometimes to make me smile says "Dummy" after it.   Don't judge, that is "our" thing, we tell each other I love you Dummy and that is how I know he truly cares.    I will take an "I Love You Dummy" over a sweetheart anyday!

Well our oldest happen to see a really cool backpack that James used years ago in the Marines.   Well the Alice pack, as it is called, is pretty cool looking and I am sure someone who is in High School would like to use it.   I think it's cool looking too and might snag it for my photography gear as it has a cool back support system.      As my Marine husband starts to clean out the Alice pack for our use, here is the photo of the lovely item left inside the bag.     Of course anyone who was not married to a Marine might gasp when they saw this empty (YES EMPTY) shell sitting on their kitchen table.     For us, it is a pretty typical response of oh how cool.   Then we are lucky enough to hear a cool story of how he came across this and cannot wait to share this with the little guys when they are older.

I am going to take a bet that we are probably the only house on the block with empty shells like this.    Being married to a Marine, there is always a story!

them, but he plays them very well.   He has finally started to record his songs on different instruments and upload to YouTube to share his talent with the world.   If you look on YouTube there are enough people without a lot of talent posting so he is hoping that he might just be slightly better than them!

As his wife with the fancy camera, I have offered to help record a great video with a backdrop and make it look more official than say an IPhone video that you see uploaded.    The first video turned out great and right now he is working on Home Sweet Home on the banjo.     

I was sitting there thinking what am I going to post about today and then it hit me, you have two cameras so why don't you take a cool shot of recording his playing.    Well that is exactly what I did as you see below and I really liked how the shot turned out...I can be very clever at times.     Yes, I am patting my own back after 41 years you will learn that if you don't pat your own back once in a while no one else will do it.    You gotta learn to appreciate when you can do something well and not be afraid to say it.   Well that is what my husband is doing also, he is learning that no one will appreciate his talent unless he shares it.    The "taping" of the video is still ongoing I will be sure to share the link next week when he has completed the song to his satisfaction.

I hope you enjoy and thanks for taking the time to follow this blog!

This image was chosen as Photo Of The Day on January 16, 2013!     There is a Capture My Chicago website for local photographers and I have won a couple awards, but it looks like this photo was a winner!

http://www.capturemychicago.com/photos/2013/1/16

I did come home being completely stuffed and did not even make dinner.    I had a sweet tooth later on and decided to give this recipe a try from PALEOMG.com.    It looked like a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe and everyone loves chocolate chip cookies.    PALEO in case you are not familiar is not dairy, grains, sugars, processed foods, legumes, etc, it is called the Caveman Diet.     For people who have thyroid issues it is suppose to be very beneficial so I thought I would give some recipes a try.   It is Almond Butter, Dark Chocolate chips, 1 egg and some salt, baking power, baking soda and some vanilla.

Well let me tell you this was a really good cookie!   Calories is very close to the original chocolate chip because Almond Butter is not calorie free, but no flour at all.   Even my husband who enjoys the not good things to eat said he would eat this cookie again it was good.     I am going to make smaller cookies next time and sneak them to my children because they won't even know.     Going to try and health up this house a little with some smarter choices.    I am hoping Kale Chips are a big hit, but I will have to bribe the older two to even try them.   Here's to the New Year and some healthier choices.

I happen to think that it is so sweet that he is still little and a soothing car ride knocks him right out.   Seeing him sleep so soundly reminds me of when he was small and I use to just stare at him in my arms.    When he sleeps like this I can still pick him up, as long as I bend at the knees, and hold him close.   I can smell his hair, feel the weight of him on my shoulder just like I did when he was a meatloaf.

Once he is awake it is non-stop talking, playing, questioning, learning, testing some boundaries and watching.   I love those times and marvel at how much he has grown, along with all my kids.    But I do enjoy these quiet times where I can watch him sleep, just like when he was little.   It passes way too quickly!!

I have an obnoxiously loud whistle that I am very proud of and have taught many.      People do marvel at my whistling ability, come to any game you will see firsthand.   Okay let me continue about tonight's photo...

I usually let my daughter have "approval" before I post a picture of her or even her friends (that is why you rarely see them).     Gymnasiums are not always the best places to try and get some great shots as the lighting is horrible.    Here are a couple of recent shots of her and her teammates that I think capture the action of the court.   Thank goodness I have a couple low light lenses.   I look forward to figuring out something special to do with all these photos end of her Senior year!

I think that he looks a lot like my Mom.       The coolest thing is that I have this picture which is 76 years old and I can look at her when she was a gorgeous baby and see such similarities with my children.     I hope that picture is still around in 30 years when they have their kids and can do the same types of comparisons.   

I have already scanned the photo and have started the long painstaking process of refinishing the photo, but to have the original in the original frame is such a gift.      To have a photo of your child holding their grandparent's photo is even better.   

If anyone sees this copied on photography pages in the future, you will all know the idea came from Sam!

This morning on my way to work I was driving down LaGrange, as I typically do and I had my camera ready to go.   I drive over the I & M Canal at the perfect time each day and see some of the most gorgeous sunrises and I always wish I wasn't traveling at 50+ mph.       One of these mornings I am going to park along the road farther down and try to have the nerve to stand on the 6" walkway to take a photo off the bridge.

Here is the image I got this morning, the colors where glorious.     I was the only one in the lanes and already had my camera ready to go so all I had to do was slowdown and snap, snap.   Look at that sunrise...gorgeous.    

Photography makes me realize that moments like this come and go each day, I just have to be on the lookout for them and not be in such a hurry to get to work, make dinner, fold the clothes.     I have to be on the lookout for these beautiful little moments whether it is a landscape photo, dancing with my sons or playing rummy with my daughter.   They are all potentially sunrise worthy moments.  

Typically I am searching for gorgeous light and enough of it to capture a gorgeous image.   Today, less light gave me this image, a beautiful silhouette of my son Dan.     Nothing special about this photograph such as a gorgeous tree or even a cool pose, but for me it is a treasure because the silhouette image is priceless.

I will always be able to look at this photo and know that this silhouette is my son.   From the shape of his head, his mouth, tiny nose and little arms.    My son's silhouette is well imprinted in my brain, now I have a photo of it!   One of God's gifts is the ability for parents to know your child's cries in the mix of others,  they can tell when they are up to no good by the lack of noise and they can recognize their child in a photograph no matter how dark or small.

I will be printing and displaying this in my home.    This will be another memory captured for when my tiny little man is grown and his children's silhouette's are the ones I am comparing to this photograph. 

I remember the photos that my Mom took of us growing up and I remember thinking "ugh throw that out Mom".   I  look back at those photos now and after four children and 41 blessed years on this earth and think I would love to have that body back!     We never realize when we are young how blessed we really are and I am sure God has a purpose for that.   I will continue to photograph my daughter and my other three children and pray that they can share these photos with their children and grandchildren and think, I would love to look like that again!

His favorite person is the firefighter right there in the front.  We have to keep him in special places so his younger brother Sam does not get a hold of him and lose some of his favorite accessories like the scuba gear and the fireman's hat.   They have been lost before and it is not pretty.    

What amazes me the most is how he keeps them safe, protects them and knows enough to keep them away from the action of this very busy 6 person household.     He can tell you all about them, what their jobs are, what accessories are missing, what set they came with and he how much fun we had putting them together.   Danny and I always put his sets together, no one else, Danny and I.     This is one of our most treasured times together just sitting there for however long it takes putting together those sets.  

Well today He happened to leave his guys on the speaker (all attached to the lego board) and I took advantage of the light and thought I would snap some photos so I can remember when my son was 5 what his favorite toy was.

The love for his little characters makes me realize we should all treat the things that we love the most as a five-year old treats his most valued possession.    I have to remember as a Mother to treat my four gifts from above as tenderly as he treats those tough lego pieces.  

I wanted a dreamy photo of the grandfather clock in my living room.   This clock is very old and was given to us by my husband's grandparents.   We treasure this grandfather clock, so I immediately thought it was a perfect HDR candidate.    So I set up my tripod, adjusted the Automatic Exposuring Bracketing to capture three exact shots at different exposures and started to snap away!  

This is what I ended up with, not what I had imagined, but it is a first and not a bad image.     I do realize this is going to take some time and effort to perfect this type of photo processing.   I guarantee you before the end of 2013 I will have this gorgeous clock processed and HDR worthy!

I got home and realized as I was plating my delicious homemade cookin' that my photo was right here.   Nothing better than breakfast for dinner and this was my delicious homemade biscuits and gravy.      Such an easy entree to make and nothing tastes more home cookin' then a steaming plate of this gorgeous gravy.     This made me realize that cooking is just like photography, everyone has their own touches and some may be better than others, but I truly believe you can feel the love when someone makes it for you!     

This photo is what happens when you take your eyes off a two-year old to upload photos.   Thank goodness it is washable!

My first resolution for 2013 was very easy, I resolve to start a basic photography blog and take a photo everyday.  This resolution was much easier than saying I promise not to use sugar in my coffee or I will be on the treadmill everyday...ugh.   This was exciting because I actually want to do this for me.    Of course, I hope to share my continued development, my memories, my clients and my love for photography with this blog.       I will be updating this daily (I HOPE) to share my favorite capture of the day and a possible story.     Please be sure to check back often and see how my photography has developed.    Happy New Year!

Today's photo choice is actually a collage of my father in-law and my husband playing and enjoying some music, which is their modus operandi when they are together.   I had another option of photographing my littlest son's bruised and swollen pinky toe from this morning, but I assumed everyone would enjoy the band session a little more!  

.