Weekly Header Challenge - All Things New

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew 

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Feel free to click on the other participants' blogs

to see what they've come up with!

Theme ~ All Things New

Since it's New Year's Day (meaning wintertime), and since it snowed all day yesterday, and since I'm cold, I'm thinking about snow.  Tie that in with this week's header theme, and you get The First New Snowfall.  You just have to go out and walk in it, catch some snowflakes on your tongue, and marvel at how a blanket of snow can seem to make everything look new--or at least you're looking at things in a new way!

A sunrise is definitely new every morning (just like the mercies of the Lord, according to Psalms)!

And, just like a snowfall makes things look "new," spring flowers bring the promise of warmth and green and all things new!

With all things new, here are some of the new things I'm personally looking forward to this year:

Fernando learning new things (here he is fixing the car after learning

via YouTube videos).  He passed the CDL (commercial driver's license)

test and got his permit yesterday and will soon be in a new job, learning the

ropes as a satellite truck operator!  (Goodbye, unemployment!!)

For Joseph, our autistic son, I hope this new year is filled

with opportunities for him to grow, learn, and develop

into a fruitful participant in life.  (In this image, he got up

with me on our 2011 Florida vacation to catch the last

sunrise of our trip.)

For Thomas and Jacob:  Thomas will graduate our homeschool high school,

and move on to bigger and better things!  Jacob will graduate from WIU and

begin his career in law enforcement with an eye toward the FBI or U.S.

Marshals (watch out, world!).

New beginnings!  There are already three weddings on the horizon this year,

with the promise of a few more for us to attend.

Lastly, for my business, I hope to capture more moments like the above

(holding baby sister for the very first time).  I hope to hone my skills and

shoot better and better!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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We Interrupt This Frisbee Game

I was in a bad mood for this early July Frisbee game.  Chalk it up to hormones, heat, or whatever; I just didn't feel like being around people.  It was nice to hide behind the camera for a bit in order to get some alone time.  It also helped that there were two games going on at the same time, and I was able to walk across the field to shoot the game in which my guys were playing.

Before the game started, I enjoyed the view, which was glorious with the sunlight radiating out from the clouds.

During the game, I kept hearing the deep croak of bullfrogs.  There was a pond behind me, so I turned and saw these wildflowers.

After the first game, the teams switched around and I found myself back among people.  I sat for a while, then snapped a few shots of this adorable little guy interacting with one of the moms at the field.

Aidan, the adorable little guy above, has a new baby brother.  Here he is with their mom.

And, here's baby brother with his grandma.

Aidan was getting a little ansty, or bored, like all little boys are wont to do.  I asked him if he wanted to take a picture, and he seemed willing enough.  I don't know what it is about kids and cameras, but they catch on pretty quickly, and Aidan--only about two years old--had my big 'ol camera down in just a few minutes.  I helped him point, and he pushed the shutter, saying, "Push the button!"  He did a great job, and these are the images he captured.

Grandma!

 Mommy and brother

Grandpa!

 Some Frisbee action--he even got the Frisbee mid-air!

Mommy, brother, Grandma!

Little boys are sure to put you in a good mood, and Aidan did his job well.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Introducing Misses J and M

In preparation for this portrait session, I purchased two wooden letters from Hobby Lobby.

Now, I'm not a creative person, as far as decorating and crafts go, but I figured two wooden stained letters would be cute.  At the actual portrait session, I set everything up:  apple basket, blanket, real apples, and finally, the two letters.

Well, that was sure cute!  But it'd be much cuter with two cuties inside the basket.  Which is what I did.

Miss M leaned over a little, with her head resting on her sister.  It turned out to be, I think, the cutest shot of the day!

We got the girls situated in their Bumbo seats (I'm going to have to invest in those!) and proceeded to spend a bunch of time trying to get them not only to look in the same direction, but to smile.  Boy, was that hard!

Their mom wanted some shots of them on the couch, so we used another blanket and tried to get them to smile.  I kept the below shot for fun--don't you just love how babies love their fingers?  :)

The below shot was our best effort while they were on the couch.  I think these girls are adorable!

This was one of the most fun portrait sessions I've had in a while!  The babies were so easy to work with, and even though we all worked hard to get them to smile, we got some beautiful images.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Carthage and Bluegrass

This sign says it all:

Another Wednesday evening concert in the little village of Carthage.  This particular concert had me tapping my foot, clapping my hands, and bobbing my head for two hours.  It's hard to take pictures when you're doing that.  But I did okay.

Meet the Atkinson family bluegrass band.  And Nate--he's the mandolin player on the left.  He also plays fiddle, really well.  Here he is, below.  Too bad you can't hear how he played; it was awesome.

Below is the patriarch of the family, and the banjo player.  He played great.  In fact, the whole band played great.

Many who came to the steel drum concert the week before returned for this concert.  That gave me some opportunities to take some candid shots of the audience.

The bass player (below) married into the family; she played and sang beautifully.

The ladies sing a cappella

Pink must have been the clothing theme of the night; I spotted several girls wearing that color, and couldn't resist taking their pictures.

Love the below!  Talk about candid!

I saved two little pink-clad girls for last, because they were just so incredibly cute.  I couldn't decide which images to choose, so you get them all.  Enjoy the little-girly-girl show!

Okay, I think I just adore this last shot--their expressions, the twirling legs, the flying hair.  Just cute, cute, cute.  :)

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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