Candle

So I was watching some of the updates and things about the Sandy Hook tragedy, and it was almost over, when my 7 year old son came into the room. They were listing off the names and had a candle in the background. My son turned to me and asked if we could light a candle for all the children lost and their moms and dads. I said yes, of course and did it right away.

So to all the little lives that were lost far too soon, and for all the parents and families that had to endure this Christmas Day and many more days like this to come, here is our candle for them.

Angel

This is the Christmas Angel that sits on top of our tree. My husband got it for me on our first Christmas together and I have loved it ever since. I really don't like some of the Angel's out there. They either look too creepy, or too baby-like. I just really like this one's face and the softness of the purples of her clothes. Anyhow..Merry Christmas to everyone!

I Love Georgia

I love Georgia. Where ever in the state you travel, you are sure to get a different view every time you look out the window. From city, to country sides, to pastures, to mountains, it's all a great view if you only open your eyes!

And So This Is Christmas..

"A very merry Christmas.
And a happy New Year.
Let's hope it's a good one.
Without any fear.
And so this is Christmas.
For weak and for strong.

For rich and the poor ones.
The world is so wrong.
And so happy Christmas.
For black and for white.
For yellow and red ones.
Let's stop all the fight.
A very merry Christmas.
And a happy New Year.
Let's hope it's a good one.
Without any fear."

-John Lennon

Our 2012 Christmas Tree. I love how my boys' always decorate the bottom. It reminds me that they are still little and I should always enjoy the little things and not be so worried about being "perfect" in anyone else's eyes but in my husband's and son's!

One last Fall picture

I love the Christmas is near, but I know that Fall is still in the air, and so are all the colors. This tree is in our front yard, and I just love the red that's on it! I'm a lover of reds, and browns and tans, any darker color really.

I loved taking some Fall pictures the last month, but I am ready to take some pretty Christmas ones.

The trees the lights and decorations, the smiles on my boys' face and the excitement in their voices and eyes, listening to them talk about their Christmas list and Santa...that's what Christmas is to me!

So enjoy one last Fall picture from Georgia!

Nothing new

Rarely, anything new happens to me. I'm a stay at home mom, with health issues, so I rarely get out and do things I would really love to do without pain interrupting it. So I'm pulling this from the vault. This is my youngest son's hands and feet when he was, I'd say, almost a year old. He'll be 6 March 2013, so wow..time really does fly!

Done

So my first little photo shoot, that I did with my sister in law and her boyfriend is finally done. I don't think I did such a bad job. I've been mulling over them and editing them and trying to make sure they look OK. She wants to put them on her walls in frames, because they have no pictures of them together.

Here are a couple..I don't think I did too bad, at least, I hope not!

More Fall Pictures

If there is one thing I'd have to say about Fall is: I absolutely love the colors! Living in North Georgia is just so awesome around this time. There are always lots of out of town visitors that come up every weekend just to see the leaf colors on the mountains. I really do think it's my most favorite of the 4 seasons!

All I did tonight was head out to our backyard and took a few pictures of the different leaf colors. Even though I was only out there for a few minutes, and didn't even go far, I got some great pictures of the different color leaves. Not to mention, I caught our kitty cat, Besty, doing a little cleaning!

Enjoy!

First Time

For the first time ever, I'm going to put my new found knowledge of my camera and editing to good use. This Saturday I'm going to do my first ever photo shoot. Granted, it's not for any money, and it's only for my sister in law and her boyfriend, but I think we'll have fun. So I've been looking at pictures professional photographers have taken of couples to maybe get an idea on what to do. She didn't want to go to a studio to have some done, because she doesn't like to pose and fake smile. The exact same reasons why I hate for my two boys to have pictures done at school. Eventually, we'll have a family picture done in the great outdoors that I will love. So, anyhow, she wants pictures to put on her walls, and she only has a few that she's taken with her cell phone and I'm available and learning. She knows I'm not a professional, but she knows I will do my best!

Leaving this blog post ending with a picture, as I always like to do! Here is a picture reminding me that Winter is near, but soon after that, Spring will be too!

Coffee

I used to hate coffee. I just couldn't handle the taste, it was too strong and bitter. But, for the last two months, I've been drinking it. With every flavor of creamer I could get my hands on. It's been great! So, here is my ode to coffee and the creamer that I picked up this weekend. It's a seasonal flavor, so it's only out for a short while. My goal is to try all of them!

Editing

So, I've been doing some more editing on pictures. I don't have a fancy program yet, so I'm resorting to free editing software that you can get online. It's not the best, but if you work at it, you can make it work.

I would show the editing I did on a great friend of mine's children, but we all know how that works. You cannot take someone else's pictures unless you ask for permission, even if it is just a picture they took with a phone. It's considered copyrighted to them and it's bad form. The second reason I won't be showing it is because they are just babies, and I'm not the parent, so it's not in good form for me to splash children's faces around. Even if I had taken the picture, and it was copyrighted to me, I still wouldn't do it. I respect my friend, her husband and her children too much for that.

With that being said, I am the copyright holder on these next pictures. I did edit them myself, and I will splash them around on this blog because they are actually my boys! I'm learning how to use the color selection feature. It's working out pretty well. It just takes a lot of patience!

The Beginning

So here's a little taste of the beginning fall. I always love to see the different colored mum that adorn every house, or in the stores. I finally got some 2 years ago. We planted them in a planter and just let them do what they wanted. They always turned brown and twig like during the summer. It's dry and hot here, what do you expect, really? So I never think they are going to make an appearance again. They've totally fooled me twice now. This year was no exception! They are blooming great, and full and beautiful!

I always know fall is really near when these start in with their colors!

Cemetery

I haven't gotten outside to take any new pictures, I've been lazy and it's been nasty and rainy out. I haven't been a very good blog poster, either.

So, with that being said, since it's getting close to Halloween, I'm going to post some pictures from a cemetery in Florida that we visited during our trip. Normally, walking into a cemetery really doesn't bother me, in the day time or night time. I don't get freaked out very easily, but when I walked into this cemetery, I instantly had a creepy feeling. The air was heavy, and thick. It just felt really really sad. They tried their best to keep up with the maintenance of it, but, it was used from 1835-1841, so time is no man's..dead or alive...friend.

What made it a little worse was, straight across from this cemetery, was another big burial space. Headstones were rare, but, according to a Memorial sign/marker, it was a mass grave for victim's of Yellow fever or plague. Again, it was sad feeling. It must be, because they didn't even have a nice place to rest, or a proper burial with their loved ones being able to come and remember them at their headstones because there WERE NO headstones for them.

So here are a few pictures from there....

                                                                                            

The Lake

There is a lake near our house that is man made. I've heard it can get up to 60 feet deep in some area's and that there is the remains of a town at the bottom. I'm not sure about that, some of it just might be legend though. Anyhow, our family spends our summer at this lake, Carter's Lake. Weather permitting, we are there at least two, sometimes three, days a week. We always cook out, have snacks and loads of fun with family. So here it is in a few short pictures.

First Post

Haven't really posted on here, thought I would go for the first one. Just so you know, I am NOT a professional photographer. I'm just learning as I go. Taking pictures relaxes me and I just really enjoy it.

My camera is a Canon Powershot SX30 IS.

My family recently took a trip to Port Saint Joe, Florida. My husband, two boys, and I. It was a lot of fun! Here are a few pictures! Enjoy!

*And yes, the little bird on the bottom right hand corner will always appear on my pictures.