Of All Places

Why can't they look like this for me or the photography studio?

Scrap Inspiration

Do you ever take a picture that just makes ya wanna scrap?? I haven't had an inkling of a desire to scrapbook, even digitally, for several weeks. But today, I download my photos (upload?) and I'm clicking through the pictures and there it is, the photo that says, "Scrap me - NOW!"

In Honor of My Mother-in-Law

I bet you were expecting a Christmas post from me today, huh? Well, it ain't happenin'. I am in no man's land (northern Michigan) and internet access is sloooooooowww up this way. So since I've been bantering with my in-laws all day (a good kind of fun :), here's a post I'd already had in queue:

It was the evening of Thanksgiving. Tony was lounging on the couch, I was sitting on the floor in front of the couch and my mother-in-law was across from us doing something with her cell phone (probably answering a call from her eldest who was in the same room.) I guess you might conclude that we were bored. But we weren't. Just relaxed and having some down-time. Of course, my camera was in my hand (is it ever anywhere else?) so I was passing the time by taking some portraits of me and my beloved. I finally had one that I thought turned out really neat. My mother-in-law dared to disagree. Upon viewing my masterpiece, she vehemently proclaimed, "This would drive me nuts! I could never decide which way it should be turned." So in honor of my mother-in-law, I present to you, Betty's Fury.

I should mention that my mother-in-law and I get along famously. She did not mean this in a rude way at all. We all had a good laugh over it and in fact, my father-in-law spoke almost the same exact words when he saw the picture later.

Baby Deanna

We are so lucky to be able to attend church with one of Tony's cousins, Phil, and his wife and children. They joined our "three girls" club (other members are Pastor Mowery and Sherry's father, Dennis Campbell, among others :) in September of this year with the arrival of Deanna.

She was dedicated recently and I had the awesome privilege to write a dedication song for her parents to sing (didn't know that was gonna happen when I joked with Sherry about getting inspired the Sunday before!) And also the opportunity to photograph her. What an adorable subject!

Pastor Mowery often presents a rose to the parents along with the admonition that children are like roses...fragile and in of need lots of care, love and nurturing to grow. As usual, it was a touching ceremony and Deanna looked like a beautiful little princess in her dedication gown.