Is taking pictures of my kids.....
Personal Interest
July 08, 2010
June 09, 2010
Too hot for the park
Today I took the kids to the park to play with some of their friends from church. The park was awesome, I have never seen so many great things to play on for all different age groups. The biggest problem with the park was there was NO SHADE. We were baking in the direct sunlight, sweat pouring off our faces, our hair drenched like we had just gotten out of the shower - little Mikel even could not stand being outside, he started begging to go home after an hour. Next time we go it will have to be a first of the morning thing or wait until fall gets here. Despite the heat, the kids had a great time for the hour they lasted....
Tomorrow we are going to the pool :)!!!
June 08, 2010
Our Pets....
We have a problem - the Sebren children have asthma & they cannot have pets (except for fish, but that is more of a decoration or hobby). So we have turned to more unconventional, non-obligatory types of pets. We first got the kids little caterpillars that turn into butterflies - that was truly fun for the whole family. We watched these little bitty larvae turn into full grown caterpillars which turned into cocoons and then we watched 10 beautiful butterflies emerge. Once their wings had dried & they had filled up on sugar water we watched them fly away to continue their short life cycle. Not long after the butterflies flew away we put up some bird feeders outside our kitchen windows. Now we have constant company with multiple birds & a little chipmunk (Alvin) that has figured out a way to put his little face in our 'bird-only' bird feeder. It is so fun to watch his little cheeks start to get full as he fills them up with bird seed. I am loving these educational low maintenance non-asthmatic pets :)!!
May 17, 2010
i ♥ faces - flowers & faces
A year ago my wonderful friends, Ken & Laura, were married and I was the lucky photographer. This is one of my favorite pictures from the shoot - you can see the happiness on their faces in this candid unposed moment.
I am now entering it into a photo contest with other fabulous pictures, please click the link below to see everyone's entry...
http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/
April 21, 2010
A Blessed Day
What a beautiful, blessed & fulfilling day I had :)!!! Today, after I helped get Weatherly & Tennyson ready for school, Mikel & I drove to The Garden to spend a day with a resident at the homeless shelter. She has been living at The Garden for about 2 years after she lost her job as a teacher. Not long after she lost her job her self-esteem plummeted, she ran out of her severance money & found herself with no where to live. At this point she had no clue what to do - she prayed for guidance and God led her to The Garden, a shelter for women and children. She found comfort, refuge and a family there. Now, 2 years later, she is trying to gain control of her life again. Today Mikel and I took her to get a photo ID and open a bank account. Social Security is beginning to pay for her disability so she will be able to start going to a doctor and get her health under control which will allow her to get a job and in turn rent an apartment. What a blessing!!! God is so good :)!!!! I can not tell you enough on how she blessed my life with her beautiful spirit, her friendship and her love. I could not have asked for a better day....
Thank you Lord for bringing us together today and allowing us to praise your name together and enriching our lives further with your love. You are an awesome God!!!!!
April 14, 2010
I meet Duff on Ace of Cakes!!
Last December Ace of Cakes came to visit CHOA. It was so fun to meet a cake celebritiy - he was sincere, nice, friendly, warm, a jokester & very approachable. He was absolutely fabulous with the patients & families - Duff made sure he spoke with everyone on the floor & spent time in the rooms of patients that couldn't come out to the family room. Duff is just the same in person as he is on TV. Plus his cake was delicious as well as beautiful. It did not even look like a cake - I was amazed!!
The episode airs this Thursday, April 15th, at 10:00 pm on the Food Network - and if you miss it you can always check it out on the computer later. Don't miss it - tune in so you can see our amazing cake!!
July 22, 2009
Agua De Jamaica — Hibiscus Flower Water
I have had a week full of ups & downs. This morning was no different. As I was eating my breakfast feeling a little depressed from the day before I noticed our friend Ken drive up. Jason went outside to talk to him because I was still in my pj's & I just figured it was ministry related. A little while later Jason came inside with his hands behind his back, a twinkle in his eyes & a grin larger than life on his face. I closed my eyes in response to his request then found a wonderful surprise lying in front of me once I reopened them. For the past year Ken & Jason have been looking for my favorite drink I found while we were on a mission trip last year in Cancun - Jamaica (ha-my-ka) which is a very popular drink in Mexico (resembles the taste of cranberry juice). Ken found dried hibiscus flowers at Ingles & a receipe for me to make it. I was thrilled! And I felt so loved by some very wonderful people!
So today I made some fresh Jamaica to enjoy...
Aqua de Jamaica
2 cups dried hibiscus flowers
1 1/4 cups sugar
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil, add the flowers and the sugar and stir why the mixture boils for about a minute. Pour into a non-staining, noncorrosive bowl and allow to steep for about 2 hours.
Strain the mixture through a sieve pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Taste, if too "tangy" add more water, if too "tart" add more sugar. Cover and refrigerate until time for serving.
(This is me enjoying a Jamaica in Cancun last year - I loved it!!!)
June 19, 2009
Having fun with photography
This week Jason & I took the kids downtown to take pics for Mikel's 1 year birthday. I usually take the kids to Portrait Innovations, but we are strapped for cash due to the adoption process so we decided to do it ourselves. We figured we had nothing to loose, and if the pics were awful we at least had a fun time as a family. I took over 200 pics, but narrowed it down to about 60 pics we actually liked. Since then Jason & I have also been experimenting with Photoshop some & we have really enjoyed what you can do with Photoshop brushes. After playing with these pics some I REALLY want to learn more, just finding the time might be difficult. So until I have some free time I will experiment - but if any of you have any pointers please share :)
You can go to this link to see 20 of our favorite pictures from the photo shoot....
Below are some of our Photoshop experiments...
June 03, 2009
The Westbrooks Wedding
On May 2, 2009 our good friends, Ken & Laura, were married in a very fun & unique wedding. Jason officiated their wedding & I had the honor of being their photographer. We were so proud to have part in such a wonderful time in their lives.
Laura was a beautiful bride, & Ken could not have been more handsome! To see a "few" of their photos please click here.
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