matthew, mariah, and mama!

this weekend we had the privilege of getting out to the beach, enjoying God's creation, and photographing our friend, alissa and her two adorable kids...matthew and mariah

they live here in our apartment complex...right across the breezeway from us..such sweet neighbors to have!!

matthew and mariah love to play with lily and river (leafy's real name) and vice versa! this bunch together, makes an awesome lizard (and apparently tree frog) catching team.

anywho...here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

you can go to my flickr site to see the rest... (just click on a photo to go there)

the reality of portraits...sometimes one does something silly...but, it keeps it fun!

aren't they an adorable family? their blue eyes are stunning! yes...they really are that blue! gorgeous!

leafy and lily had tons of fun on this shoot...well, near the end lily got pretty hot (as it was a pretty hot day) so she eventually became pretty grumpy. but, other than that...it went beautifully!!

it was our first shoot using our new reflector, which is so exciting! i can really see how the reflector makes a difference in the photos and i am so thankful to have it!

have a great day!
love, kelly


linking up with life made lovely monday.

photos...but, of course.

pretty much just some photos..surprised? ;-)

most of these may have already been posted here, but they have been edited a bit different and well, they are worth of showing again, in my opinion (as the people in the photos are just so lovely).

day 8/365

niece in color ;-)

i pray you all have a very wonderful weekend!

love, kelly

beautiful one

both of the kids have been walking around singing 'beautiful one' by jeremy camp, as well as others, because of VBS, which is going on this week.



so...i had to listen to it for myself again, as i have always liked this song, but haven't heard it in a while.. the video has some pretty photos, too.

also, here is picture 7 of 365 of my 365project (a photo a day for 365 days)...you have total faith that i can complete this project, right? i hope so! ;-)

the kids doing hand motions during a song at VBS

there is something just so sweet and precious about children singing and worshiping God. it is heartwarming, to say the least. melts my heart through and through.

must go now...have a wonderful rest of the week (in case you don't hear from me before then).

*oh...in case you haven't seen the first six photos from my project 365 and care to...just click on the above picture and it will take you to my flickr.

love, kelly

these are a few of my favorite...

photos..of my three favorite people..

oh...i love these people! i am so blessed to have them!

happy tuesday to you!
<3, kelly

VBS

Vacation Bible School started today!

to say that leafy was excited is putting it mildly...and though i ,unfortunately, do not have a photograph which captures his happiness.. i do have this one...

(just please ignore the the graininess of this shot..i know i can not, but hopefully you can... (my iso was way off), but i love the moment captured just the same.

this was taken the day before the first day of VBS..so, quite possibly he was thinking about all the fun he would have while learning more about Jesus and what life was like when He was a kid? let's go with that..;-)

so..let's see...we showed up at the Church and of course, i stuck around for a while snapping photos and though leafy was excited he became very shy and really wanted me to stay around for awhile. i was completely fine with that...as i really didn't want to leave anyway..

after meeting in the Sanctuary for some worship singing..we (yes, i was still with them at this point) headed to the market place in Nazareth to learn more about some trades such as toy making, bead making, dye shop, and they also learned about synagogue school, and played games that  children might have played in Jesus' time.

each child was given a bag with tokens and they had to "pay" the market shop owners a set amount of coins for each shop. (notice the market keepers hand reaching for the coins leafy is getting out. ;-)

leafy and lily loved making beads..

leafy really is having fun, despite his body language communicating another message.. promise. ;-)

would have been nice to get a few better shots of this experience (oh, how i could put to good use a speedlight flash for my camera)...lol. but anywhoo...

the other nice part of the VBS was that lily got to partake in the fun today,too. leafy's teacher went ahead and let lily participate in the bead making and a couple other activities since i was taking there for a bit taking photos. and then when it was time for me to leave (it had to happen i suppose) the teacher requested that lily stay if i was fine with it since she was working so nicely and having fun. you see, lily doesn't turn four until july and to participate in VBS you had to be four by june...so, i was thankful that the teacher allowed her to do this. i asked lily if she wanted to stay and of course, she did.
i registered her and then was on my way...but, was saddened to realize that i was without my babies (if only for a couple hours).
i made the most of it by going back to the apartment and exercising at the club house then having a quiet lunch with rocky..it was certainly nice and much needed (both the exercise and alone time with the hubby). God is so good to work all that out!!

i hope you all had a wonderful day,too!!

much love,
-kelly

flickr

so...i have decided that i would start using flickr for keeping all of my most favorite photos all together in one place...as, well as a place where i will post my project 365 photos (yes, a photo a day...taken either on my nikon or my cell phone). i started my project on 6-2-11 and will end...yep, you guessed it: on 6-2-12.

this is a little slideshow of the photos i have had time to throw in there as of yet.



don't worry...i will still post the other photos in shutterfly (i am behind on that), but as it is pretty difficult for me to post unedited photos these days, please be patient.

meanwhile...you can follow my flickr photos which will include my project 365.

have a blessed weekend!!

love, kelly

mr. turtle...

why did the little turtle set off to cross the road?

to get picked up mid walk, investigated and appreciated by a little family of four, then put back in a safer spot? yes, exactly. ;-)

i just love the markings of the turtle's underside. how beautiful! God is a magnificent artist and creator, indeed!



oh...and update to yesterday's post when i mentioned sunscreen..
i have been doing some research and at this point i cannot yet go ahead with the chemical sunscreens, based on what i know about them.

i have been consulting with friends and also found this website to be very helpful. so, before i throw in the towel on natural sunscreen i am going to try out different brands first..

and it just so happens that two of the natural sunscreens i want to try (from the list and from recommendations) can be found just down the road at target. oh yeah!!

have a beautiful, sunshiny day!!

love, kelly