He's Here!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Overdue and Waiting...
Sunday, March 24, 2013
A few weeks ago at 37 weeks.
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our overdue little boy! I was due on 3/22 and this little guy is taking after his brother and sisters for sure. With my other pregnancies, I was 2 days late, 13 days late, and induced at 10 days late. My midwife won't let me go beyond 42 weeks, so I know that we'll be holding him sometime within the next 12 days - hopefully sooner rather than later!
Marriage is a Momentary Gift: Meet Ian and Larissa
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Marriage is not mainly about prospering economically; it is mainly about displaying the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church. Knowing Christ is more important than making a living. Treasuring Christ is more important than bearing children. Being united to Christ by faith is a greater source of marital success than perfect sex and double-income prosperity.
If we make secondary things primary, they cease to be secondary and become idolatrous. They have their place. But they are not first, and they are not guaranteed. Life is precarious, and even if it is long by human standards, it is short. “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring” (Prov. 27:1).
So it is with marriage. It is a momentary gift. It may last a lifetime, or it may be snatched away on the honeymoon. Either way, it is short. It may have many bright days, or it may be covered with clouds. If we make secondary things primary, we will be embittered at the sorrows we must face. But if we set our face to make of marriage mainly what God designed it to be, no sorrows and no calamities can stand in our way. Every one of them will be, not an obstacle to success, but a way to succeed. The beauty of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church shines brightest when nothing but Christ can sustain it.
—John Piper, This Momentary Marriage (Crossway, 2009), p. 178.
Truth in the Tinsel
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Every year, we look for a way to keep Jesus the focus of our Christmas preparations and celebrations. We want to do activities that are simple yet meaningful for our children. We pray that the focus of Christmas will not be on receiving gifts, but on the One who is the True Gift. It's such a battle to stay focused on Christ when we are bombarded with messages and advertisements that draw us into materialism and selfishness. It takes so much intentionality and prayer! To that end, we're excited about trying Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands by Amanda White this year.
The focus of Truth in the Tinsel is to bring Jesus back into our month with 24 days of Scripture reading, ornament crafts, topics to discuss, and fun activities. The author wrote it for her children when they were 3 and 5 years old, but children who are older will enjoy the activities too. I downloaded the e-book tonight ($7.99 - but get a 20% discount with the code HOMESCHOOLTRUTH), printed out the supply list, and went as a family to the craft store to pick up the few items that we needed. We will begin on December 1 and I'll be blogging here and there along the way to capture some of the activities.
What do you do for Advent?
If you're looking for an alternative, we enjoyed our Jesse Tree a couple of years ago. It was simple and fun and the kids enjoyed hanging the ornament on the tree each day.
My prayer is that we won't get discouraged as we battle for the hearts of our children this season. We have to persevere and trust that these little seeds of truth we teach them will one day take root in their hearts. "For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little." {Isaiah 28:10}
Baby #4 is a.........
Sunday, November 25, 2012
I couldn't wait to find out if Timmy would be our only boy surrounded by three sisters, or if he would have a little brother to grow up with! Before the ultrasound, everyone voted on what they thought the baby was. Daddy was the only one who thought it was a boy. Even Timmy expressed his little opinion by shouting, "Gawl!" We had the ultrasound and it was quite clear...
It's a BOY!
(The cake was supposed to be blue, not green - ha!)
We are so excited to be adding another sweet boy to our family. Two girls and two boys... we are blessed.
Now if we could only think of a name...! We are having the hardest time coming up with another boy name we like. We want something that goes with the other children's names, something Biblical, something traditional but not too common. Hopefully we'll think of something we both like before March. :)
The Cocoon and the Butterfly
Friday, November 16, 2012
One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we could never fly.
-Author unknown
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Vote for Me!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
I just found out that I was nominated for "Best Photos Blog 2012" for the Homeschool Blog Awards at The Homeschool Post. I'm so honored and humbled! If you would like to vote for my blog, you can do so here. It's also a great opportunity to visit so many other amazing blogs! Thank you so much to whoever nominated me. It means a lot! :)
The IHF photo challenge theme is orange this week! Be sure to enter for a chance to win a new website + 5 years of free hosting from Folio Websites! What an amazing giveaway!
Isn't this little orange guy a cutie? Check out other "orange" entries by clicking on the graphic below.
Great Deal at Barker Creek - Draw Write Now
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Hi Friends!
I just wanted to hop on to tell you about a great deal. It's $25 for $50 at Barker Creek Publishing. We LOVE the Draw Write Now series that they sell but they also have a lot of other great products for homeschoolers and teachers.
Here's the deal!
http://www.plumdistrict.com/three_for_free/9b30438ef6/click
Happy Shopping! :)
Teetle Man
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Dear Timmy,
You're growing so fast and you have brought us such JOY over the 2 years that we've known you. There are so many things and cute words you say that I want to remember...
- the way you play with your "beep beeps" and make vroom vroom noises all day long
- the way you spontaneously say, "I wuv you Mommy"
- you call rabbits "wunny bops" because you're trying to say bunny hops.
- how I laughed when you greeted me the other morning by saying, "Hewwo Cafferine!"
- how you love the letter O
- you insist on wearing your Daddy's train hat from when he was a little boy. I love it.
- When one of your sisters gets hurt, you rub their hair and say, "Tay Abby, tay" which means, "It's ok Abby. It's ok."
- how we tuck you in each night and say, "Daddy loves you. Mommy loves you. Rachel loves you. Abby loves you. Charlie loves you. Jesus loves you."
- the way you are my little helper... you steal my broom to sweep the floor, you close open cabinet doors, you love to help clear the table, and you sing the clean up song while doing it. "Meno, meno, evvvverrrwububudare."
- the way you giggle hard when I tickle your belly and sing, "The rain is falling down on my little Teetle!"
- how you love snuggles, hugs, and kisses
I love you Teetle Man. God knew that I needed you.
Love,
Mommy
Because I Need This Reminder Today...
Friday, September 7, 2012
Custom White Balance Transformed My Photography
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
One of the things that transformed my photography the most, other than my camera body upgrade, was getting the right white balance in camera. Whenever I take pictures that I care about, I always do a custom white balance to ensure that my colors are accurate and consistent from one picture to another.
Why Is It Important?
Correct white balance is so important because the more accurate your colors are, the more professional your pictures will look. Also, if you ever want to hang a grouping of pictures on the wall from the same photoshoot, they need to have consistent color. One picture from a series shouldn't be bluish and cool while the picture next to it is more warm and orange.
Correcting White Balance in Photoshop
Why don't I just adjust the white balance in Photoshop afterward? I could, I suppose. Even though my eyes are pretty well trained to recognize accurate color, there is still a fair amount of guesswork involved in that. I also don't have the time or patience to measure and correct the percentages of CMYK values to correct skin tones. As a busy homeschooling Mom, the less post processing I need to do the better!
What I Use
One of my favorite photographers, Erin Cobb, recommends the Lastolite Ezybalance Card. It is grey on one side and white on the other and you can use either side to set your custom white balance. I have the 12 inch card, which I think is just the right size. It folds up to a small size and fits inside a blue zippered pouch that comes with it. It is priced at $24.95. I love it! My white balance is so accurate and consistent now and I never have to tweak my colors in post processing.
How to Set a Custom White Balance (CWB) on the Nikon D7000
Thankfully setting a CWB on the D7000 is a quick process that doesn't involve going into your menu system (although you can also change it from the Shooting Menu). I set a CWB often especially when I'm on a photo shoot. Whenever I take a picture in a different location or whenever the light changes, I take a new CWB. If the sun suddenly goes behind a cloud, I take a new CWB because the color of your light is going to be different. It sounds tedious, but I promise it's not. Learn how to set your CWB quickly and it becomes second nature.
1. On the D7000, press and hold down the WB button. Use the main command dial to scroll through your WB options and set it to PRE. (You'll need to look at the little window/screen on the top of the camera.)
Tip: The only times it has flashed "No good" has been when my exposure wasn't set. It can't read the white balance card if your exposure is severely over or underexposed, so set your exposure first and then customize your white balance.
That's it! Make sure that you take a custom white balance reading in the same lighting that you're going to be taking your picture. And don't forget to take a new CWB every time your light changes. I hope this tip transforms your photography as it did mine.
If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them below.
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