July 4th!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I love fireworks so much, and today is really, really special. We bake a cake and put lots of frosting on it. And we watch the fireworks go off outside. And we smile because everything is so beautiful.

Emmy, this is for you. ♥

Emmy, you will always be my little strawberry. I love you so, so much and so, so beyond words. I'm sure you would love the fireworks here. They are just for you.

I love you, little sis. ♥♥

My Long-Forgotten Update

Hey, everybody.  I'm a bit embarrassed due to the fact that my last entry was just before New Years 2015, and it is now New Years 2016.  Time flies and life happens, I guess.  But, I'm back and I have some big news to share with you all!

To start things off, I have a new photography blog - Diverse Reflections Photography.

In the months before my last post, I'd noticed The Godly Photographer had slowly grown from the first tiny posts with no more than a captioned photo into longer posts that weren't limited to photography.  I've become a Tyndale House book reviewer, Compassion International blogger, and storyteller on this blog.  Anyway, I decided that I wanted to take my photography to a new level, and in order to do that, I felt the need to create a new blog solely for photography, Diverse Reflections.
However, I found that I missed having a blog where I could share my thoughts and review books and just write about whatever without worrying if it sounded professional.  It's kinda nice having a place to write freely, you know?
So, have no fear, I will (hopefully) continue writing on this blog while still building up Diverse Reflections.  But, I probably won't have quite as many photos posted here, so check out Diverse Reflections for my really good shots.  :)

Also, I have a little sister!  As some of you may know, it's been a long, long time since there's been a baby girl in our house (and there have been lots of baby boys), but the wait is finally over!  Azzy and I just shared a birthday...did I mention she was born on my birthday?...and we're preparing for a Birthday Girls photoshoot.  I've already planned out our future birthdays (i.e., making the waiters at restaurant sing Happy Birthday twice, and give us two separate desserts - we can share one, and the family can share another ;) ).  Ooh, it's so surreal having a little girl in the house!!!

And we've moved...again.  We move a lot.  I've gotten (sort of) used to living where we are, but there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of the best friend I had to leave.  Paprika, you are awesome! ;) ♥♥♥
In the months since we've moved, I've joined a fun group at Starbucks where Deaf people meet (I'm super interested in Deaf Culture, and hope to become a Deaf Interpreter).  I'm excited about where this will take me.  I've also volunteered at a Deaf children's camp, and have met a few interpreters who have given me advice for when I go on to College for interpreting.

Oh!  I'm now on Instagram!  Check out my account @megan_diversereflectionsphoto for my photography and art.

Speaking of art...Even though drawing has always been a hobby of mine (I drew lots of simple paper dolls when I was 8 years old), in the last two years my art style has changed a lot!  I switched from Manga to realistic portraits.  Let me tell you, my portraits weren't very realistic two years ago!  They looked more like Picasso had decided to keep the oversized features and place them in the correct position on the face!  Yeah, that bad.  But, about 5 months ago, I finished a portrait that is my personal best to date.  And now I've started a new portrait montage of Angel from X-Men: The Last Stand, which I hope to finish in time for the County Fair.  Once I'm finished, I'll post a photo of the drawing here on the blog for you all to see.

I guess that's about it.  I'm thankful for all my great readers who have kept following me all this time.  Thank you very much, everyone!  And happy 2016!

The Messy Chocolate Bunny

Baby brother had found a big chocolate bunny somewhere, and he plopped onto the kitchen floor and promptly bit into it.  He knew such a messy block of candy wasn't for him, but he delighted in it anyway.

Unfortunately, I'm not one to stop him when it comes to something cute (and safe) to photograph.  Besides, if he had become messy, I would have done the laundry anyway. ;)
Baby brother was happy...until I took the chocolate away from him.  He got over it soon enough, and I came away with some cute photos.  Win-win, I guess.

Reading

Little brother plopped himself down on the floor, and selected a little book from the shelf.  He pointed to the cow and the dog in every illustration, and got really excited about them.   I had been taking photos from a floor-view, and I thought this would be a great addition.

 He flipped three pages at a time, and 'read' the pictures over and over again.  I took photos from every side, and liked the background in this one.  His hand in the background is in mid-air, and it was really cute.

This one was funny, the way he has his tongue out, and just looking intently at the book.

He's a sweet little boy who dances to music, loves looking at my photos when I take them, runs around with the big boys (he calls them "guys"), and thinks it's hilarious when we accept candy corn from him.  I don't know what I'd do without him.  He's a great brother. :)

Baby Eyes

My baby brother was in a bad mood, and had a sour face on him.  He just sat in my Mom's chair and pouted.

You know the face little babies make when they're just about to cry?  He's grown out of that, but it's as cute as anything when his eyes show emotions like not getting what he wants.

I changed it to black and white, and I tried out a trick with the eyes I've seen before by replacing the color in them.  Aren't they such a beautiful blue?

What B&W photo are you proud of?

My First Shoot

Today, I shot clays for the first time.  Strike that.  I shot a gun for the first time in my life.

It's the most amazing thing I think I've ever done (besides a headstand, I guess).  And when you eject the shells to reload, it smells like fireworks!

The group I was in shot .20 gauge shotguns and an over/under shotgun.  I felt a little discouraged at first because I didn't hit a single clay in the first round (nobody did, in fact), but after getting the hang of it...and shooting incoming clays, which are easier...I shot three clays in a row!

We switched areas with another group later on.  The area was open with fast, outgoing clays (those are a bit harder to shoot).  I think that was more fun than the last place.  I shot four in a row, and would have shot five had the wind slowed down a little more.  The last round, however, I shot ten out of fifteen.

The instructor told me that my dad and brother should watch out because I'll be better than them. :)

After watching the other people in my group shoot, the man let me finish the day off.  He kept giving me shell after shell until he ran out!  I said "pull" to my heart's content (well, not really...I would've shot at least 50 more clays if he'd had enough shells and time!), and by the time my mom came to pick me up, I had a lot to tell her about. 

Before I left, the instructor told me to come back soon.  I definitely will...after I get my own over/under shotgun!

Muddy Feet

Little Brother walked outside in his pajamas during a slightly rainy day...without any shoes on.  I followed him around as he would stop and check something out, then continue on.  This is one of the shots I took.  Baby and toddler feet are adorable.  They're chubby, small and full of energy.  And they help the baby follow its best friends around everywhere.  Get to know your energetic kid.  They're the cutest models you can get!

Sitting Sibling

It was a less-warm day, so all the kids decided to play outside for a while and blow off some steam.  Baby brother was helped into his jacket and wanted to sit on the bench near our porch.  I sat on the other side in front of him while he sat there looking down at the rocks below or his fingers or whatever he was looking at.  My Dad looked at this photo and said, "Aw, that's really sweet, very cute."  Thanks, Dad. :)

Shopping in the rain

Rain, rain, rain! That's what my day's been filled with! In fact, my Mom and I just got back from grocery shopping. The rain is POURING down.

Makes me think about It's in The Rain by Enya!

We looked at Baby clothes for the new baby, too(My Mom's going to have a baby in 2013! I'm so excited!).

 

 Awww. I thought this outfit was so cute! I've been wanting a baby girl for a LONG time! (:

My little sister loves Hello Kitty. She has a hat and a coloring book. I, myself, own Hello Kitty pajamas by some weird chance!

Oh, I can hear an Enya CD in my parent's bedroom! Have a good morning or night on your side of the world!