Weekly Header Challenge -- Official

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Fishing Guy 

Kathy 

Imac 

Lew

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

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Official

Chosen by Tom.

Should I use the noun or the adjective for this week's theme?  I may have a few pictures of officials--police officers, a government figure--but I decided that I have several images that describe something official.  Like my header, uncropped below:

This header image has a fun memory attached:  I grabbed the mail that day (spring 2013) and saw the envelope with the big "Yes!" on it.  I hollered to Danny, "Hey, you got mail from UIC!"  Then I said out loud to myself, "They say yes."  I thought it was another advertisement from yet another college, so I was trying to be funny about it.  Then I realized what the yes meant--Danny had been accepted!  I went from joking to super excited.

Here's my one image of the noun version.  He looks official, too, don't you think?

Don't mess with the security officer.

Here are the rest of my images for official.

Math team -- officially 5th in state.

Thomas--9th in state individually!

Officially a college graduate!

Thomas is officially a licensed driver (yikes!)

Danny--an official member of the National Honor Society.

Fernando started his own business a few months ago; this business card makes it official!

My official business display at a local business expo.

I took this last picture just a few days ago.  The vows, a kiss, then this walk down the aisle--they are now officially husband and wife!

That's officially it!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge -- Any Sport Not Played with a Ball

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Fishing Guy 

Kathy 

Imac 

Lew

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

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Any Sport Not Played with a Ball

Chosen by Mac.

I believe this is the only sport I've photographed which isn't played with a ball.  Unless chess or Scrabble is a sport...

I cropped my header image (above, if you're reading this the week it was published) so you can't tell just what that object is they're trying to catch.  Here's the full image:

Frisbee, and some serious air time!

For years, our guys have been involved in an informal Frisbee league which meets weekly throughout the summer.  Today, I'm featuring images I took at one of the games last year.

This sport is technically called Frisbee football, and involves passing, catching, throwing, blocking, etc., in order for your team to get the Frisbee into the goal--someone has to catch it in the end zone.  There isn't supposed to be physical contact, nor can you run once you've caught the Frisbee.  I tried playing it once--there are several dads who play--but gave up halfway through and decided that photographing it was much more to my liking than running around on a hot, humid summer evening.

Photographing sports means a fast shutter speed to freeze the action.  This also means a higher ISO, especially for this game played in the evening.  By the end of the night (dusk) I had my camera set to ISO 8000 to obtain at least a 1/500 second shutter speed (fast enough to freeze most sports).

I also take a lot of multiple images (in burst mode) to capture the action.  I try to keep just the best shot that captures the action; otherwise, I end up with hundreds of images!

Brothers chasing down the Frisbee.

Don't collide!

This was a nice trip down Memory Lane for me, and since it's supposed to be in the 80s today, it feels like a Frisbee day!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Steaming into the New Year

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.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Steaming into the New Year

Chosen by Mac.

I'm publishing this post as we are steaming toward midnight here in Chicagoland!!  Here's the full image representing my header:

A little odd, I admit.  But see that truck?  It has a satellite dish on the back of it, and Fernando drove it home the night before Thanksgiving, just in time to celebrate with us.  This truck--called a SAT truck in the industry--represents our future:  Fernando's employment, steady work, and the ability to continue to live in our beautiful little (by American standards) home.  This is what we'll be using to steam into the new year.

As we take down the ornaments on our tree...

...and reflect on how the Lord has blessed us this past year, we're looking forward to continuing to celebrate...

...every answered prayer (all prayers are answered, y'know), every blessing, every turn in the path, as we drive down the road the Lord has planned out for this new year.  God bless you and yours, as you steam into your own wonderful new year!!


Back to life,

Christine
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Weekly Header Challenge -- Finished!

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.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Finished!

Chosen by Kathy.

I feel so much better prepared for the Weekly Header Challenge this week!  Even though our family is experiencing multiple difficulties and challenges, I think I found a great photo to illustrate Kathy's theme for this week.  Here is is, in full format:

The game is finished and both teams celebrate together!

The Crusaders (our home team, in blue) played the Illinois School for the Deaf (the Tigers), and won a hard-fought game.  Both teams played with great heart, which was exhibited at game's end when both teams gathered for a pep talk by the Crusaders' head coach.  Then, all the players held up their helmets and celebrated together--the game is finished!  What a great show of sportsmanship.

Here's another shot from a wider angle, though I love the close-up with the camaraderie between the players.

Other things that are finished...

My garlic-lemon-rosemary chicken roaster is finished.  (It was delicious.)

Finished kebabs from the grill.  And finished in minutes by my hungry guys!

Thomas' baptism!  Old life finished--no looking back after this public declaration of faith in Jesus.

The tomatoes are finished--in cans as sauce.

Danny's haircut is finished.  He paid me for this one.

Alpha Omega math team finished 5th in state at the state finals tournament!

Jacob finished college!

If I play this game, I'm finished.  ;)

The finish of a summer day.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Chaos

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.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Chaos

Chosen by me.

So, this week's theme popped into my head, and without a second thought I officially sent it out to our Headbanger group.  Wellll, then I started looking for images.  That was a bit tougher than I realized it would be!  Here are my images for this week's theme.  First, the header, full-size version:

Yes, the motion blur is deliberate.  Settings:  ISO 200, f/6.3, 2-second shutter speed.  I took this image for a photography class, where the weekly lesson was about motion blur.  I had the camera on a tripod so that things would be in focus, and the only blurred objects would be those in motion.  We had friends over, and several of the guys were playing a complicated board game (Settlers of Catan, an awesomely fun game!).  It was pretty messy.  In the midst of that, little Emma came wandering into the frame with my purse slung over her shoulder.  I got the effect I was after--lots of things going on in the image, with the blur showing all the movement, and thus creating the effect of action.  I like the slightly chaotic feel to it.

On to some other images.  When we moved our computer hutch from the family room into the front living room, I snagged a photo of the hodge-podge of wires underneath the desk:

It's pretty scary to me when Danny and Thomas decide to take the computer tower completely apart and clean it out.  What if they don't get everything back to where it's supposed to go??  Look at all those little pieces of real important stuff!!  Aaaggghhh!  However, since you're reading this, you know that the re-assembly was successful.  They're geeks, after all.

Our garage is definitely chaotic, and has been cleaned up since the taking of the below picture.  ;)

I hesitated to show you all the "chaos" in my house from time to time, because, well, messy stuff is rather embarrassing.  So I also included the "after" images, where everything was cleaned up and put back, and is even neater and more organized than before!

The contents of my mud room pantry.

An organized and pretty pantry!

Here's our basement; the food storage area is called our Bomb Shelter.  I don't have a good "after" picture, so you'll have to trust me that it's all neat and tidy.  That's why I take these before pictures, y'know.

The boys' bathroom--a very scary place.

Ahhh, neat and clean...for about an hour.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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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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Herbs, Weeds, Chives and Leaves

Sometimes a spring garden is a little messy.  Plants are starting to pop up, but the weeds also make their appearance.  I've brought Ellie out to the garden on many an occasion, simply to document the progress in each year's garden, but also to capture the beauty that only a macro lens can see.  Here is one of those occasions in my mid-May garden.

Budding chives.

Rhubarb!!

Garlic growing strong.

Don't worry--we've taken care of the weeds.  And the garden looks a lot different, now that it's July.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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