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. ♥♥

Little Boy Blue

My little brother loves to pose for my camera whenever I point it at him...which can be an adorable pain when I want a candid shot.  He also likes to pull chairs around with him wherever he goes, wanting to see what we older ones are doing. 

So, on a chillier day, we were outside, and he climbed into the patio chair.  He didn't see the camera, and was making a face that looked like he was sighing.  I thought it was so sweet (and a bit sad), and I like the way he just stares off into nothingness. 

Clock Face

I was practicing some amateur portrait photography with my little brother, who stood on a piano bench so he was close enough to eye level with me.  Wanting a solid prop, I took a clock from the dining room wall.  I told him to hold the clock up to his face, and he laughed so hard behind it!

The Trip For Kip

Recently, one of my many wishes came true.

This is Kip, the newest member to my family.  Today, he is two months old.

Earlier this week, my family bought him and drove him to a trainer.  We didn't have a name for him until about halfway into the trip.  Our two choices were "Kip" and "Chai".  My Dad let him out of his crate to walk around, and called me out of the van to take some "classy photos" to send to friends.  It took a bit, but a few photos came out well (he actually looked into the camera!).  That's when my Dad started calling him by the name Kip.

Back when I was a little kid, my family had a big black Lab named Scout.  He was a nightmare!  My Dad was training him, but then became too busy with work to do much with him.  Scout took that advantage to let loose all his playfulness.  His tail had enough force to knock a person over (or give them the slap of their life).  We eventually gave him away, and he became a hunting dog.

Kip is a very good boy.  He isn't overly dominant, and definitely not shy either.  We sat down on a picnic blanket to watch him, wondering if he was the one.  Kip sat there by the fence, watching us.  More like guarding us.  My Mom said it was like he was choosing us, not the other way around.

After a while of thinking, we sat down in our hotel room to discuss our choices.  We finally came to a conclusion that the "dog with the ticked legs that keeps watching us" was our new hunting dog.

We went back to the dog pen, picked him up, and my Dad signed the papers for the puppy.  We put him in a kennel in the back of our van, and left.

I felt kind of sad as we drove away from Kip, leaving him at the trainer's.  He was sleeping on the grass, worn out from playing.  The trainer's daughter picked him up and cuddled him.  Right then, I felt really sad.  That girl's playing with our puppy, our Kip, and we've only had him for three hours! I thought, watching him until the van turned the corner.  I couldn't see him anymore after that.  But he'll be back soon.

Patience is a virtue, and I need more of it.

Little Sister Crocheting

My little sister is learning to crochet, and I decided to make a hat out of pink yarn.  I wanted a picture of it in progress, so I placed it in her hands.  She started acting goofy, and I snapped a photo at just the right time to get her making a face!

"Sunshine, didn't your mother ever tell you your face might stick that way?" I told her. 

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?

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!

Dripping Soap

My baby brother was hanging out with our Gram in the backyard while we flew kites nearby.  He had a huge jug filled with bubble soap, and was having the time of his life trying to blow with all his might.  It was so cute!  I took a break from flying my kite, and took some photos of him.  Bubbles and soap dripping from the little wands are fun to photograph.  I like how this photo turned out, especially since Baby was moving so fast.  A lot of the photos came out blurry!

Silhouette Boys

My brother doesn't like to ride his own bike, so he hops on his sister's and rides it.  My second brother has a habit of running behind anyone on a bike.  So, that's how both of them get their exercise.  It was around 7:00 in the evening when we all went outside to play.  The sun was going down, and my two brothers were riding and running down the gravel driveway.  It made for a cute, meaningful picture.

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. :)

Hunt For The Devil's Dragon {Book Review}

Hunt For The Devil's Dragon is the eleventh book in the Imagination Station series about two cousins named Patrick and Beth who travel into the past and arrive in Libya in a special time machine, the Imagination Station.  During their adventure, they become friends with a boy named Hazi, his sister Sabra, and their father.  The villagers think their town is being attacked by a dragon sent by the devil, and so believe they have to sacrifice someone from the village to please it.  When Beth and Sabra are chosen, Hazi and Patrick find help from a Christian Roman soldier named Georgius.  A mix of fantasy and history, I would recommend this exciting book to anyone looking for a fun children's story.

When I saw this Imagination Station book was up for review from Tyndale, I was very excited.  My family owns all the books in this series before Hunt For The Devil's Dragon.  The younger kids in my family enjoy having the books read to them, especially when a special friend of ours comes over.  He reads to them with different voices for each character in the books.  Hunt For The Devil's Dragon was all about separating superstition from truth,  with different twists to leave you on the edge of your seat until the next chapter began a new cliff-hanger.  The excitement flooded the pages while I read this book to my siblings.  They huddled around me on the couch, and didn't want me to stop!  The words are easy to read, making it a good choice for little kids learning how to read slightly more advanced books.  This book is just as good as the ones before it.  You won't go wrong in buying it for your children!

I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Spring Is Here

The snow is all gone.  Rain and sunshine are coming around.  Flowers are blooming, and I can actually see green grass again.

I really like Spring.

My family is starting a garden, too.  We kids spend quite a while hoeing and digging up dirt clod after dirt clod.  We tell jokes,  talk about the weather, and hope the wind dies down (our landlord is a self-called "anti-tree man," so it gets pretty windy at our house.).

I'm enjoying running around our yard barefoot, glad to not be hearing dead, crunching grass underneath.  Dandelions abound in our front yard, and our backyard is no different.  My little brothers like picking them for Mama, and putting them in bowls of water on our table.

Isn't Spring nice?

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Handful Of Nuts

My siblings decided to collect a whole bunch of walnuts from our front yard tree and put them in a big pile.  While they were doing that, I asked my sister to hold out her hands and show me all of her nuts.  The sun was shining through the trees and onto her hands, so I like that part of the photo.  The varying colors are also nice.  I'm glad my siblings are willing to put up with my impromptu photo sessions!

ASL Practice

I have Sign Language classes every week, so I practice quite a bit with my little sister and friends.  I'm thinking of pursuing a career as a deaf interpreter, but I'm not quite sure yet.  This is one of the books I use for practice.

Inspecting A Flower

My little brother picked this little flower and began looking at it closely.  He let me take a few photos of him, as well as directing him (The smile, for instance...I asked him to make it bigger.).  He was so sweet...Thanks, brother!

Building Snowmen

The little kids and I enjoyed creating snowmen a week ago.  One had no arms, another had no eyes, but each looked wonderful.

My little sister took a while to build this snow-girl, and used her Hello Kitty hat for it.  We used baby carrots, sticks and rocks for the faces.  The snow was very hard, and occasionally an "eye" would fall off and we'd struggle to push it back in.

One of my little brothers even put rock buttons on his snowman.  He made a plate of food for him too.  He was very creative, from the smile to the arms pointing up and down.

Then came Mr. Simple Snowman, who (though he has no carrot nose, no arms and no buttons) is very special.  My brother, who made him, didn't like that it didn't look good like everybody else's.  But don't you think this snowman looks fantastic?  I like simplicity.

Each and every person, just like these four snowmen, are different and special.  People need to know that.

 

Little Brother's Art

My brother has decided to make a movie with one of his buddies.  This is one of his many ideas that he drew for the movie that he wants me to film.  With such a wonderful imagination, he even added snowshoes to his man.  Just looking at it makes me want to grab a jacket! :)

Ukulele Headstock

My parents bought me a ukulele for Christmas, and so far I've learned two songs: a song my friend taught me, and Somewhere Over The Rainbow...my brother is getting tired of me switching back and forth.  He told me, "Can you please learn something new?"  I said, "I'm trying!  I just can't think of anything yet."  I'm possibly going to try my favorite hymn, Wonderful Grace Of Jesus.  My sister and I sing the refrain while we do the laundry.  We like to sing it high. :)

December Photo-A-Day Challenge (Week 4)

December is almost over (and so is 2013), so this is the second from last week for the December photo-a-day challenge. Have a merry last-of-December!

20.  Merry and Bright  (one of our Christmas decorations)

21.  Your View Right Now  (I was standing in the middle of the road while my Dad brushed off our mailbox)

22.  Red  (I love drinking coffee...unless it's black. Black coffee tastes weird.)

23.  Presents Under The Tree  (lots and lots of gifts)

24.  Favorite Holiday Tradition  (our family does the Jesse Tree every year)

25.  Morning  (the aftermath of unwrapping gifts...it's a good thing you can't see all the trash!)

26.  Bundled Up  (Baby's first time in the snow)

Happy New Year!