Family Musings

Today  I have two more pages from the awesome scrapbook my mom made for me more than 11 years ago. And I am going to share with you some pictures of my family after my mom remarried.  On the first page of the "We Are Family" spread, we have a picture from our family vacation to the Keys. It was the first time I had ever been there and we went camping at a beach side campsite. I remember it being really cool that we camped at the beach and had a hammock to hang out in. Our trip was over the Christmas break, which is why there is a Christmas tree inside the Margaritaville where we ate.  There is also a picture of our cute puppy, Alex. He was a gift to my brother and I when I was in the 7th grade, but he was really my Dad's dog. The bottom photo below is of my mom's marriage to my step-dad. But you'll never hear me call him that. He is just Dad. I am sure my mom is hoping you won't click and enlarge this photo though, she wouldn't want you to see her Bride o...

  Read the Mission: Nagarote blog for stories. Here are some quick pictures, completely uncropped and unedited!

I'll be signing off from Family Musings for the next two weeks while my family travels to Nagarote, Nicaragua. You can follow our adventures at Mission: Nagarote , and even subscribe by email so you don't miss a single update! While we are gone, please lift up the following prayer requests that are specific to our family: That we will glorify God in all of our actions; That we will each be kept healthy and safe; That our travel plans will not change drastically; That Charlotte will adjust to the new culture, time zone, and food easily; and That our luggage won't be lost. Don't forget to check Mission: Nagarote for prayer requests related to the entire team and the people we are going to serve.

Last week I shared a brief overview of my life until high school, and this week I introduce you to the cast of characters that make up my family. This was intended to be a 2-page spread, so pretend along with me that I am showing you the pages side by side. If you are creative enough in your brain, then you will envision a headline that reads, "Ties That Bind." The picture of my brother and I (don't you just luv that blond hair?!) was taken with my Aunt Viola because my mom didn't want her picture taken. She sent our aunt in as a substitute mom. But that is okay, because Aunt Vi is cool. She used to listen to Little Feat and bought me 10 LPs for my 10th birthday. At the bottom right of this page is a great picture of my late, great-grandma Rosalind. She passed in 2006 and is now praising God in heaven. I miss her in a nostalgic sense, but otherwise know we will meet again. Oh, and here I am staring as the Flower Girl in my Uncle Joe's wedding. I have no idea how ...

I've been less video-y recently, but am trying to make up for that today. After posting the "Hot Wings" video, I thought I'd share a few more with you. Here is Charlotte explaining where we will be going in just a couple of weeks. (Translation = "Nicaragua") And video proof that Charlotte isn't the perfect angel her grandparents think she is. What I find so funny though, is how she can turn the tantrum off so easily! This is Charlotte playing "1-2-Jump," one of her current favorite games. I received a BabyCenter.com e-mail at her 21-month birthday saying it would be a couple of months before she would be capable of jumping on both feet. Guess Charlotte forgot to check her e-mail! :) She's been jumping with both feet for a couple of months already! I've already shown you how Charlotte likes order, and this video is more evidence to demonstrate that exact thing. Notice how she carefully selects only the squares to stack. And finally, now ...

Ever since Bruce and I decided to start a family, it has been our desire to create a legacy of missions for our children. We are always looking for opportunities to share missions with Charlotte. She was named after a missionary after all! Any cash gifts she has received in birthday or Christmas cards have been put into a missions fund for her. We have prayer cards for missionaries on our refrigerator. We talk often about people we know who are missionaries. We even pray that she might be called to serve as a missionary someday. Before that though, we have been praying for an opportunity to take her on a mission trip now, while she is still young. And for Bruce and I to go on one together (we've been separately). This Spring, God presented us with that chance. My heart is thrilled that we get to spend 10 days together as a family in Nicaragua. Nagarote to be exact. Our time there will include running a Children's Festival with puppets, games, crafts, and face painting. As ...

I signed up this week to take a basic photo editing class from Jessica Sprague . And so far, I've had a lot of fun learning how to use the Photoshop Elements 7 program. I wanted to show you some of the straight-out-of-the-camera shots compared to my edited versions and get some feedback. The unedited shot is first, followed by, hopefully, the new and improved version. The first one is a photo I showed you yesterday. I edited it after the 2nd lesson when I was learning how to adjust exposure, brightness, and color cast. My favorite part is how her skin warmed up and her hair color was more golden, which is more true to life.    And this is a picture of Charlotte when she was just 3 weeks old. I was camera happy back then but had no idea I would ever be taking a photo editing class! I edited this one during the black and white lesson. The increased contrast and the way the colors aren't an issue (since she was laying on a jungle themed pillow) make this one an improvement in...