We had a wonderful lunch bunch meeting today...Brenda with our district Social Work department came over and talked to each lunch group about child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence. I worry so much about the girls and their relationships with their boyfriends...we've had a lot of incidences of violence in the past and I want them to know where to turn for help. The information about neglect and abuse is invaluable as well, because they need to know what is and isn't abuse or neglect in the eyes of the law. It was a great session and I was very happy with the info presented. :)

Fun and play are the words of the day...the boys and I went to the local park to enjoy the GORGEOUS day today. I took some shots with the Tokina 12-24 and thought I'd share. :)

P.S. You didn't think a day could go by without a Lilly shot, did you? ;)

Well...now you can see why I've been too busy to post. :)

Meet Lilly. She's the newest member of the Black family. We got her for free. A lady was giving away kittens today in the grocery store parking lot, and this one was just toooooo cute to resist. What is wrong with me????

So far, she's very playful, very nosy, and very loving. She and Peanut don't know what to think of each other, but they haven't had any wars yet. So far they just run around and chase each other. It's pretty cute.

Expect to see Lilly in a challenge near you soon. :)

I really am falling behind, aren't I? That stomach virus just wiped me out for a few days I think. Here are a couple of shots since I have to make up for yesterday too. The rustic, old-timey scenes here made me feel very comforted and peaceful in the country. I love to be around scenes like these. :)

André is very studious...he works hard to keep his grades up and to do well in school. I'm proud of him for that. Tonight, he's working on a project that has been assigned to his gifted and talented reading class. They each had to choose a WWII-era subject and write a research paper, create a visual aid, and create a fact sheet to hand out to the other students in the class about your subject. His subject is General George S. Patton. I know that in my helping him to research his subject, I've learned a lot about that man. More than the movie ever portrayed, that's for sure. :)

I have been under the weather for the past 24 hours or so...and not feeling well enough to take pictures. I'm posting a few from the past few weeks that I like a lot for whatever reason, because I figure I owe you guys at least that. :)

I'm feeling rather nostalgic today...I worked for a long time to try to come up with something for the 80s challenge but can't seem to get anything that really embodies that time period. It was my coming-of-age years, and when I look back, those were some of the most awesome times of my life. I wouldn't trade a second of it...well, maybe one or two seconds but that's all. I still have my letter sweater from Beta Club, my letter jacket from drill team, my yearbooks, my memory book, my cap and gown, and my senior prom corsage. How that happened I'll never know. Even if I can't use these for the challenge it was good to drag them out and look through them again. I think I'll go put on some Loverboy or some Bon Jovi and see if I have any aqua-net to spike my hair with. :)

99.9% of the population seeing this will not get this at all, but when I found this at the store today I had to buy it because of the simple and poetic irony of it all...if you know crabappl3 then you can figure out why. :)

The feeling of the day has been patience...my kids have it (for the most part). I put together a southern-engineered backdrop stand tonight, made from PVC pipe and a bedsheet. I had fun configuring the pieces I had cut at Home Depot, and even more fun trying to talk the boys into sitting for me so I could see if it would work. ;)

I had them a little too close to the backdrop but I think it will work for my purposes. I can use it at work for sure, with the little ones. I can't wait to try it out for Mother's Day portraits! :)

"Mommy, there's nothing to do!!!!" I hear that sometimes from any of the three boys...tonight was Clay's turn. I snapped this of him in his boredom, on the couch, waiting for me to get ready to go work out. I wish I had time to be bored! :)

Little Peanut was sleeping on the recliner, curled up in one of the boys' coats... I had to get a snap of him to show how peaceful he can be. :)

Happy Valentine's Day from me to you. I hate to have to put my ugly mug up here but I wanted to try out my new lightsphere and flash. I'm still learning but this is better than it would have looked with just the on-board flash I'm sure. Hope you guys have a great day today!!!!! :)

Cooperation...working together to achieve a common goal. I love the expression on R.J.'s face as Miss Linda paints his hand for a Valentine gift for his parents. He said the paintbrush tickled. :)

#97...she was a sweet longhorn, out in the field with her calves and her buddies, minding her business as I took pictures today. It made me sad to think about what fate probably lies ahead of her. She'll probably end up as a pair of boots or a wall trophy or a handbag someday. She didn't make any noise, and she came right up to the fence to let me photograph her, as if she wanted the attention. I hope I'm wrong and she gets to stay out in the pasture, playing and nursing her babies "until the cows come home." :)

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa...I know...I missed yesterday. I really did take a picture or three last night, when my new toys arrived by UPS...but I got so busy playing with the new lens and the new flash and the new bag that I forgot to post!!!!

I decided this morning though, that since the shots last night were practically in the dark, I would go out this morning and run my new Tokina 12-24mm f/4 lens through it's paces and post those instead. I also know that the shots I'm posting really don't fit into my theme of emotions, but oh well...I'm too excited about the new equipment to care at the moment!!!!!

I suppose these can be examples of peaceful or tranquil feelings... so we'll run with that and pretend it's all good. ;)

What a day, what a day...with a sick little one who got a trip to the ER, an IV, blood work, x-rays, and a clear liquid diet, it's not a wonder I'm exhausted. I didn't have much of a mind for (or the time for) photography today, but I did snap this of the moon this afternoon, high in the sky. I looked up and immediately thought of the feeling of wonder...wondering about how small we are in the universe, wondering if we are alone in it (I personally don't think so), and ultimately, wondering if I could make it through the rest of the day without passing out. ;)

Focus...the look of concentration. This is David, who turned 1 today. He was intently watching his caregiver as she was reading a story to his 1 year-old class. He's a very sweet baby with two WONDERFUL parents. He has no idea what a lucky child he is. I hope that the focus he shows here will stay with him and help him to become as determined to do as well in school as his mother is doing. :)

Meet Paola...bright, bubbly, and bashful. She is absolutely one of the cutest little girls I have had the joy to see in my lifetime. Her big brown eyes sparkle, her face is such a light of joy. You'd never know the hardships and struggles she, her baby sister, and her mother have gone through to be where they are today. A third baby is on the way in her family, yet mom is barely 17 years old. I have great fear about what is in store for her during her lifetime, but also great hope that she will defeat the overwhelming odds against her and her family. :)

Blogger was down (AGAIN) last night so I didn't get to post, but here you go. This is André making a "What face would you make if you saw a Yeti?" face. I think the emotion or feeling I will go with on this one is shocked. I guess I'd be shocked too if I saw a Yeti. I watched a show about Big Foot last night. I might make this face AND pee in my pants if I saw one! :)

Meet my little troublemaker, Jason. We call him J.P. at home. He's the middle child, very much a rough-and-tumble, dig in the dirt, beat up his brothers BOY. If there's mischief to be had, he's the one making it. Instigator should probably have been his middle name! But he's also very sweet, smart as a whip, and extremely devoted to his brothers. I think he has the most outgoing personality of the three boys.

This face is his mischief face, so I thought I'd make the feeling/emotion of the day mischievous. It describes him to a T. ;)

The feeling for today is skepticism. I captured this image of André this morning...I told him I wanted to take his picture, and he looked at me with this "whatchutalkin'boutWillis" look. I thought it was cute. ;)

OK...this is my picture for yesterday, the one I couldn't post while blogger was down. Clay is showing us the emotion of that day, which was disappointment. He has the cutest little pout when he sticks his lip out like that. I think disappointment fits yesterday, with blogger being down ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT. ;)

I'll post today's later on...if the site stays up. :)

The laughter of a child is one of the most pure, unadulterated elements on the planet. Sparkling eyes, chubby cheeks, goofy grins...they all work together to bring out one of my favorite emotions - joy. Clay was being silly this evening, laughing at me, so I snapped a few shots. They're too soft, too noisy, but I love them and thought the triptych presentation fit them well. We should listen to our kids more often and laugh as much as possible. It might keep us young. ;)

Whew...made it through the first month of this year's PaD project. I'm glad that "Resolutions" seemed to be a crowd pleaser, and I'm glad it's over with. ;)

This month's theme is Emotions. I'll be using a new feeling word every day and try to match a photo to that day's emotion or feeling. I won't be using the scrapbook layouts regularly anymore. I love them, and will occasionally use them, but they are very time consuming and I don't have much time to go around. Instead you'll get a picture.

I took several pictures today, mostly of the kids in the day care at work. Lots of happy faces and sweet emotions...however, because I'm an idiot, I left my CF card in the card reader at work. So...you're stuck with a shot from yesterday's evening walk until I can get back to work and post another one in the morning. Tomorrow you'll get two-for-one, so to speak. I just want you to know I really did take pictures today!!!!

This image is one that really kind of spoke to me. The emotion I have decided to highlight with it is lonely. I'm sure everyone has had a time in their lives where they felt very alone. Sometimes being alone is nice...no one to bother you, no one to answer to, no one to clean up after...but other times, it's really a struggle. No one to talk to, no one to take care of, and no one to just be there with. I feel like that sometimes. I saw this lady out walking in the field by our city park, and the scene just spoke volumes to me. The loneliness overwhelmed me when I saw her, so tiny, against the vastness of the scene. I had to capture it.