Capturing the Sun

I have always seen beautiful images of the sun whose rays are captured in the moment streaming through fluffy clouds like long fingers reaching down towards earth. I have seen photographs of the beautiful amber glow of the sun in the sky as it rises and sets. And I have even seen images of the sun in a the far off distance like a ball of fire placed in the sky. I myself, have never really attempted to take pictures of the actual sun except maybe in a sunrise or sunset. So with all of our beautiful sunny weather this past weekend, I was challenged. Just how do you take photographs of the sun? I realized that you can't just photograph the sun itself when it is fully overhead and shining directly at you. I definitely don't recommend attempting this little action, or at least the way I tried it. It not only results in a completely white image no mater how low your ISO and how fast your shutter speed is, but also results in perhaps temporally blinding yourself and falling out into the yard as I did. Luckily only Mr. Squirrel and Mrs. Robin had a little chuckle on my account.

 So, no direct sun photo taking for me. I then moved on to taking photos of the sun through the trees, which I think actually turned out OK.

 I also realized that you can capture the sun indirectly through shadows and bits of light you see in the yard or elsewhere, or in halo form around your children's heads.

 I realize this photo of Emma-Caroline is a little odd with her one eye darkened, but it was how the light was falling on her, so I included it in  this post. However it is that you capture the sun through the lens of your camera, it is fun and an interesting challenge to do so. I would love to hear from you all if you have any photography techniques for capturing the sun. I want to end this little post by saying, "Yippy Skippy" and "Woo Hoo!" I have completed, as of today, 31 days of my 365 project. I am so happy about this little accomplishment I think I deserve a treat! One Starbucks grande Skinny Vanilla Latte with three Splendas coming up!

Shadow Dancing

It has been a phenomenal weekend with temperatures in the upper 50's, beautiful blue skies and lots of sun. We spent the better part of Saturday outside soaking up the sun and enjoying this BEAUTIFUL weather. I took full advantage of this winter weather gift and have taken a gazillion photos. I will wait to share all of them until later in the week, but for today, I will share an image we haven't seen in a long time.

 I can't remember if seeing your shadow means we will have spring weather sooner or later in Ground Hog Day terms, but yesterday and today sure feel like Spring to me.

For now, we'll take what we can get. I hope that you all have had some nice reprieve in the winter weather, wherever you may call home.

Sometimes

Sometimes, you don't need words to tell a story.

Sometimes, all you need is a good image.

 Sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

 Sometimes, you  get a chance for a really good laugh.

Sometimes, you get a chance to really live in the moment.

Sometimes, you get a chance to be a kid again.

 Sometimes it's OK to throw caution to the wind.

Sometimes it's OK to let your hair down.

Sometimes it's OK to let it all hang loose.

 Sometimes the right now is all that matters.

Sometimes delight is found in simple things.

Sometimes you find out what sheer joy truly is.

Sometimes, you find a forgotten treasure.

Sometimes, you remember with a smile spread on your lips.

Sometimes, you enjoy a captured moment and really feel blessed.

Generational Profile

As I look at this little profile, I see not only the precious face of my sweet Emma-Caroline, but also the faces of generations that came before and perhaps those that will come after too. I see the face of my great-grandmother whose little curved nose followed the same line as this. I see the face of her paternal grandfather who gave her these long eyelashes and beautiful soulful brown eyes. I see the face of my own Daddy in her expression and twinkle in her eyes. I see Howie's face and I see my own intertwined into this beautiful face that is our very own Emma-Caroline. And I see the face of the future in this sweet little profile, of the possibilities that await. As I gaze upon this beautiful profile of my very own child, I think of all the generations that went before, the generations that may come after and I feel connected to them all on this perfect timeline that our Heavenly Father created. I feel blessed and loved and complete.

The Princess Diaries

On Sunday, Princesses Emma-Caroline and Sophie were requested to attend the birthday celebration of Princess Catherine Day Harper, aka Cate, who turned three. I often say that God surely knew what he was doing when he gave me two beautiful princess girls to love, because I truly love experiencing these little fabulous parties like Miss Cate's.

 The birthday Princess had a beautiful Belle Cake which tasted as good as it looked.

 Each princess in attendance to Princess Cate's party was treated to their very own parfait of princess goodies including delicious candies, princess jewelry, and mini princess crown.

 Adorable!

 The little princesses took turns being pampered by two "older" princesses who gave them complete makeovers which included polished nails, eye shadow, and body glitter. Check out the results below!

 These sweet 9 year old girls were so adorable and I was impressed with their make-up artist skills!

 The party concluded with singing "Happy Birthday" to the  birthday princess, of course!

 We had an exceptionally wonderful time celebrating Princess Cate's birthday and look forward to many more Princess Play dates together.

What's Cooking Wednesday!

One of the first memories I have of baking was when I was perhaps three and my Mema made an Apple Cake from Granny Taylor's recipe.

Who knows if it was an actual recipe or just a little of this and a little of that. But what I remember was the actual process of mixing up all of the ingredients, licking the bowl after the cake pan was filled and knowing that it was oh so good. It had to be if I still remember it this many years later, right?

So I have been on the perpetual search for an Apple Cake recipe that would mimic the one my Mema and I made that day with me propped on the kitchen counter. Supposedly there is a great one out there by Martha Stewart, and I will give that one a try next.

 But for today, I am going to share a recipe from the Knoxville Junior League Cookbook entitled "Sis' Applesauce Cake" This cake turned out to be more like a coffee cake than a regular cake and is still very good, but just not the same as the one I am looking for.

 And, since somehow I have misplaced my Junior League Cookbook, well, you are just going to see the process of the making of the cake instead of getting the actual recipe.
 Sorry about that, but you know I have already gone through and edited my photos for this post, and so that's what I am going to do, post the photos.

 One day, when I do find my cookbook somewehere in the girls toy box, I will post the actual recipe.

 Thank you for your patience with me on that! I hope for today though you have at least enjoyed seeing Emma-Caroline and Sophie loving being little bakers. Don't you just love Emma-Caroline's indoor snow cap? She insists on wearing it since we keep the house cold enough to hang meat in. If y'all have any good actual Apple Cake recipes, please let me know. I really do need one!

Sweet Shot Tueday!

I am participating again this week in Darcy's "Sweet Shot Tuesday." Today's shot is of our coral bark maple tree. I actually really love this little tree for many reasons, one of which is that it has an AWESOME  bark color. Saturday had such beautiful blue skies and with that as a backdrop, this little Miss Coral Bark looked simply stunning.  The reasons I am posting this photo as my "sweet shot" are because 1) I love the color composition and 2) I used all manual settings, which I have been doing for awhile with lighting, but this one was also done with manual focus. Please hop on over to Darcy's to see some pretty amazing photos there that other awesome photographers have submitted.

For the Love of Reading!

During my years as an elementary school teacher, my most favorite thing to teach students was how to read. When the connection between letters and sounds and actual words on a page clicked, it was like watching a light bulb turn on in a child's eyes. And then there was no stopping them! Every book was a new adventure, a new challenge, a new accomplishment. Reading is perhaps one of the greatest gifts someone can ever receive because it opens up so many doors to new possibilities and places everywhere.

As a parent, I knew that it was important to read to Emma-Caroline and Sophie from the beginning, even in utero. Howie and I have read countless number of books to our girls every day and the girls have a true love for books. Each night they go to bed with a least 100 books in their beds that they have listened to and retold to their dolls and stuffed animals.

This year, as Emma-Caroline has been in kindergarten, I wondered if she would learn to read. I had hesitated to teach her to read before she started kindergarten because I had seen one too many times the ill affects of "pushing" reading too soon on a child before their brains were ready to make that connection. And my instinct to not push her proved correct.

She went into kindergarten with a wide knowledge of book awareness and print concepts and even knew many site words. Now mid-way through, she is reading like wild fire any and every book she can and with full comprehension of what she is reading.

She completes AR (Accelerated Reader) tests which awards points if a child answers comprehension questions correctly based on the story.

I love that Emma-Caroline has a passion for reading. I love that her new reading skills have opened up new worlds for her to explore.

I love the confidence she is gaining with each book that she reads.

I love that she takes the time to not only read to me and her daddy but also to her little sister. It is such a sweet time. Emma-Caroline's love of reading has also rekindled my love for reading and I have sought out new books for myself to read and get lost in. It's a great adventure, the world of reading, and I am so glad I am along for the ride with my very own little readers, Emma-Caroline and Sophie.