Finally
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We have enough hair for a ponytail. Kind of.
My best pictures of Jocelyn. Ever.
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In late May, my friend Heather organized a low-key girls' night out at Caribou. I had to pore over research studies for my thesis, but everyone else played with photo and digi-scrap stuff on their laptops. Good coffee, good company, good times.
While I wasn't partaking in the photog fun, I did catch a great tip for taking pictures of Jocelyn. You know, the girl who won't be stopped for a picture and who won't look at the camera. Here's a classic shot of Jocelyn from a week before our girls' night out:
Cute, yes. But every so often, I want a shot with her looking at me. And someone - Laura? Rachel? Heather? Janie? not sure which one, but it was one of those talented ladies! - suggested telling Jocelyn, "Don't smile. Try not to smile. Don't you dare smile." Simple, yes. Not really reverse psychology (which I'm not a fan of because I think it reinforces disobedience, but that's another post...) but more of a silly game. And it seemed plausible. So I tried it the next day at the church playground.
Oh my word. Why didn't I discover this tool/trick earlier?
(I should note here that maybe, just maybe, I should have been paying a little more attention to where Robbie was. Shortly after the picture above was taken, he might or might not have been taken out by his swinging sister. And the rest of the swing pictures might or might not have been taken with my free hand while I held and cuddled with a little guy with my other arm.)
And then it just got silly...
And to cap off our silly photo shoot, she was even willing to pose for this.
Yes, this is the same child who has given me files full of crying shots because she hated the camera. Thank you, H.Lo and company, for the best photos I've ever gotten of my sweet girl!
(And because I'd hate to leave this guy out, here's Little Man:
)
While I wasn't partaking in the photog fun, I did catch a great tip for taking pictures of Jocelyn. You know, the girl who won't be stopped for a picture and who won't look at the camera. Here's a classic shot of Jocelyn from a week before our girls' night out:
Cute, yes. But every so often, I want a shot with her looking at me. And someone - Laura? Rachel? Heather? Janie? not sure which one, but it was one of those talented ladies! - suggested telling Jocelyn, "Don't smile. Try not to smile. Don't you dare smile." Simple, yes. Not really reverse psychology (which I'm not a fan of because I think it reinforces disobedience, but that's another post...) but more of a silly game. And it seemed plausible. So I tried it the next day at the church playground.
Oh my word. Why didn't I discover this tool/trick earlier?
(I should note here that maybe, just maybe, I should have been paying a little more attention to where Robbie was. Shortly after the picture above was taken, he might or might not have been taken out by his swinging sister. And the rest of the swing pictures might or might not have been taken with my free hand while I held and cuddled with a little guy with my other arm.)
And then it just got silly...
And to cap off our silly photo shoot, she was even willing to pose for this.
Yes, this is the same child who has given me files full of crying shots because she hated the camera. Thank you, H.Lo and company, for the best photos I've ever gotten of my sweet girl!
(And because I'd hate to leave this guy out, here's Little Man:
)
Oh happy day...
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..when my husband set me up with much more storage so I can finally download all the pictures that have been held captive on memory cards for the past month or so. Plus all the pictures that Lee had been hoarding on his memory cards, pictures from the past year or more. (In his defense, he thought he had given them to me.)
Many, many, many picture posts will be coming. And many, many, many of them will not be from recent events. Just warning you.
I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tickled by this. Who knew I could ever get this excited about network-attached storage?
Many, many, many picture posts will be coming. And many, many, many of them will not be from recent events. Just warning you.
I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tickled by this. Who knew I could ever get this excited about network-attached storage?
Good stuff: Blog catch-up version
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I've been catching up on my blogs, and while I prefer to just highlight something that stuck with me each day or every few days, y'all would be overwhelmed with all that because I would inundate you with a ton of posts. Instead, here's my list o' blogland links that I think are good stuff from the past couple weeks. You'll learn something. Perhaps something you didn't ever want to know (see item #3).
1. My thoughts on C.J. Mahaney's post about Kevin DeYoung's message (whew!) about being a part of and making a difference in your local church: It's simple. Bullet-pointed. And a darn good reminder of what we can do to be the church instead of just going to it.
2. John Piper's thoughts on the importance of the Bible (you can follow the link, but I've pasted the part that stood out to me below):
4. Powerful analogy about reading God's Word. Are you reading your Father's letters to you?
5. Two different posts from Pete Wilson: one about leadership (Leadership Demands You Put Up With The Bull, complete with a video of a bailing bullfighter) and a personal one that sums up our week at the beach
6. This one isn't revolutionary, but if you're trying to wrap your mind around the how-tos of family worship, read this.
7. Wild Olive Tees has a giveaway you can enter and win three free tees. I own at least eight of the fitted tees. Good stuff, y'all. Find out how to enter here.
8. On A Thinking Person's Guide to Autism, a couple of good posts from parents about vaccines (she doesn't think there's a relationship between them and her child's autism) and gluten-free, casien-free diets (she - a different poster - doesn't see the connection there either). Both are well written and thoughtful, stating their thoughts without cutting down those who cling to hope in opposing views. (And I'll be posting more about my thoughts on both in the future, so you'll have to wait to hear my side.)
9. Sacred Sandwich's funny about Farmville and the first chapters of Genesis. Secret Sandwich is kind of like Stuff Christian's Like but with comics instead of paragraphs. Hilarious, but with less reading necessary. (Who thought I'd ever call that a good thing?)
10. A funny and a serious from It's Almost Naptime. But PLEASE skip the serious one if blood talk makes you queasy. It doesn't usually for me, and it did a little in this post. But the message is still enough for me to share it.
11. And saving the best for last: Go here. Watch the video of what the prosperity gospel is like in Africa. And then read and see yourself (well, maybe not you, but I saw a lot of me) in the excuses of greedy Christians. Lee and I have been convicted a lot in this area recently - that I needed to resign from my part-time work for a variety of reasons (which I did last month) and that we should be giving more (even as our income is reduced). I'm not trying to say that this is the same lesson God has for you, just humbly admitting that we have a lot of room to grow in this area. And sharing something that I found to be good stuff.
1. My thoughts on C.J. Mahaney's post about Kevin DeYoung's message (whew!) about being a part of and making a difference in your local church: It's simple. Bullet-pointed. And a darn good reminder of what we can do to be the church instead of just going to it.
2. John Piper's thoughts on the importance of the Bible (you can follow the link, but I've pasted the part that stood out to me below):
I know this is going to be called bibliolatry, and people will say, "You worship the Bible, not God." Bologna on that. People who reject the Bible for God become idolaters. The only God worthy of knowing and loving is the one we meet in and discover through the Bible. I do want him to be everything, and the Bible is secondary compared to him; but if we try to say him or something about him without stressing the foundation of the Bible, then we will lose what we are trying to preserve after a generation.3. According to HoodMama, the backs of Daddy Long Legs (which technically are arachnids but not spiders) taste like black licorice. You just have to lick 'em. Who's gonna try now?
4. Powerful analogy about reading God's Word. Are you reading your Father's letters to you?
5. Two different posts from Pete Wilson: one about leadership (Leadership Demands You Put Up With The Bull, complete with a video of a bailing bullfighter) and a personal one that sums up our week at the beach
6. This one isn't revolutionary, but if you're trying to wrap your mind around the how-tos of family worship, read this.
7. Wild Olive Tees has a giveaway you can enter and win three free tees. I own at least eight of the fitted tees. Good stuff, y'all. Find out how to enter here.
8. On A Thinking Person's Guide to Autism, a couple of good posts from parents about vaccines (she doesn't think there's a relationship between them and her child's autism) and gluten-free, casien-free diets (she - a different poster - doesn't see the connection there either). Both are well written and thoughtful, stating their thoughts without cutting down those who cling to hope in opposing views. (And I'll be posting more about my thoughts on both in the future, so you'll have to wait to hear my side.)
9. Sacred Sandwich's funny about Farmville and the first chapters of Genesis. Secret Sandwich is kind of like Stuff Christian's Like but with comics instead of paragraphs. Hilarious, but with less reading necessary. (Who thought I'd ever call that a good thing?)
10. A funny and a serious from It's Almost Naptime. But PLEASE skip the serious one if blood talk makes you queasy. It doesn't usually for me, and it did a little in this post. But the message is still enough for me to share it.
11. And saving the best for last: Go here. Watch the video of what the prosperity gospel is like in Africa. And then read and see yourself (well, maybe not you, but I saw a lot of me) in the excuses of greedy Christians. Lee and I have been convicted a lot in this area recently - that I needed to resign from my part-time work for a variety of reasons (which I did last month) and that we should be giving more (even as our income is reduced). I'm not trying to say that this is the same lesson God has for you, just humbly admitting that we have a lot of room to grow in this area. And sharing something that I found to be good stuff.
I like writing, but
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this quote, from John Piper, was mighty convicting for me today:
As I plan these changes and enjoy time to read and write more, I have to be on guard against letting my love for reading and writing about God overrun my love for God. It's a danger to which I'm susceptible, and I'm thankful for Piper's words (well, his friend's words) drawing my attention to that.
Sam Crabtree said to me once, "The danger of the contemporary worship awakening is that we love loving God more than we love God." That was very profound. And you might love thinking about God more than you love God. Or arguing for God more than you love God. Or defending God more than you love God. Or writing about God more than you love God. Or preaching more than you love God. Or evangelizing more than you love God.Y'all have seen more writing and less pictures lately on the blog. The main reason for that (lack of memory on my computer restricting my ability to download and subsequently upload new pictures) will be solved soon, but the writing will stick around. If you look back at my first blog posts, there were no pictures. Now it will be a balance: still plenty of family and pictures posts but with a mix of theological musing, devotional material, book reviews, recipes, and education-related discussions thrown in. I may be reorganizing the blog (and possibly relocating it, though that wouldn't be for a while) and/or opening a different blog (to discuss news, policy, and research in education), so forgive me for any mess in progress.
As I plan these changes and enjoy time to read and write more, I have to be on guard against letting my love for reading and writing about God overrun my love for God. It's a danger to which I'm susceptible, and I'm thankful for Piper's words (well, his friend's words) drawing my attention to that.