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

memorial day 2011

it was so nice to spend memorial day with rocky and the kids!!

so...monday morning rocky set off to do a bit of work on the beach, leaving very early to actually get a parking spot...he got all set up with his work things needed to do some work (for back home) and realized that he could pick us up and still be back to the spot before people started to pack onto the beach.

so...he came home for us and off we went..the beach is much more fun with the whole family, right?? yes.

we had a great time kite flying, snorkeling, swimming, wave jumping (i learned that a bikini may not be the best attire for really strong wave jumping...i'll just say that this is NOT a nude beach..must get a more sturdy swim suit). 

we also had fun relaxing beneath the umbrella, playing in the sand, going for walks, and enjoying spending time together.

but....today we look strangely related to the lobster. OUCH! sunburn is no fun! i do love the color red, but would rather our skin not be a lovely shade of it...it just hurts.

so...we have been getting pretty cozy with extra virgin olive oil (it's good for sunburns...google it) ;-)

i may or may not post more on my thoughts on natural sunscreen vs. chemical sunscreens on a later post on my health blog sometime soon, we will see. (you can google that too..chemical vs. barrier sunscreens)... but, i will say that even with multiple applications with the natural one we have been using , we have been getting more red than we should be...so, (gasp) i may be thinking about exploring chemical ones...(did i really just say that?). though...i really only apply the sunscreen if needed like long beach days, etc. (we love vitamin d around here and love being able to get it from the sun).

so.....back to memorial day happenings...

my sexy snorkel man ;-)

operation: cover daddy with sand

starting from the feet up...

just so you know...i think it is pretty clear which pictures are taken with my cell phone and those taken on my nikon..i love the toy camera effect on my cell phone, in case you couldn't already tell. ;-)

i pray you all had a wonderful weekend and got to spend it with the ones you love!

love,
kelly

Easter...part II

more scenes from Easter {beach time}...

seagull chasing

trying to outrun the waves..

 waiting in anticipation for the wave to crash {on them}

a random little girl...but, just too adorable not to photograph

father-daughter sand castle making

lily looking like she may be responsible for something... ;-)

well, that pretty much sums up Easter day for us..

what a blessed day, it was!

~kelly~

Easter 2011...part I

yes, yes...Easter was a while ago, but at least i'm posting these in 2011 so, that counts for something, right?:-)

more photo catch ups...

this was when jeremy and "patch" were in town the weekend of Easter...

so..Easter sunday we went to an egg hunt (i say "we" and mean that, as there was even an egg hunt for the adults, too).

on a mission..

view from where the adult egg hunt was. (people literally drop from the sky here)

patch looking all adorable..

sometimes what you are looking for is right under (or above) your nose..

random to some, but not to me...these were cute little birdhouses  (they were used as egg hiding spots, too)

jeremy being silly

really getting into it..

lily being quite thankful daddy was there to help..

rocky and "the colonel", the sweet man who invited us to the yearly egg hunt at his home. (the colonel is the grounds keeper at the airport rocky works at)

checking out the loot

we are very thankful for the generosity of the colonel and his family. they truly make Easter a very special time of the year for their family, and we are very thankful that we were able to be a part of their fun this year.

seriously...the colonel planned the whole event beautifully and thoughtfully (his wife said that he was even at the store at 5 a.m getting all the goodies and baskets for the kids). how sweet is that??

anywho..part 2 (the beach on easter) coming up next post...stay tuned. ;-)

have a blessed day!

~kelly~