Soul Surfer

Now that Jane, my neighbor who I am taking care of, is rehabbing from a broken hip at Casa Maria, I pass right by Albertson's grocery store everyday.  It is one of my favorite grocery stores since they have a lot of unique foods that none of the other stores carry--although the newly remodeled Lawrence Brother's grocery is giving Albertson's a run for the money.  Anyway, I stop into Albertson's almost daily on my trip home. ( I love fresh veggies).  Lately, I have picked up some movies from the Red Box that I have wanted to see.  One was "The Way" which is a story about the "Camino de Santiago" catholic pilgrimage in Galicia, Spain.  I heard about it on the Laura Ingraham Show.  It was a pretty good movie.  Tonight we watched, "Soul Surfer" which is about Beth Hamilton who lost her arm in a shark attack while she was surfing.  What a fantastic movie!!! A must see for sure.

Fire and Ice

Lately, I have been having an allergic reaction around my eyes and I cannot figure out what is causing it.  My worse bout was the day Warren and I flew out to NC.  I woke early in the morning (4 am) with my eyes itching like crazy.  I got up, looked in the mirror, and scared myself.  It looked like I had been beaten up.  My eyes were swollen almost shut, and they had a very nice red ring around them.  I looked pretty racoony.   I decided I needed to get some ice on the eyes.  It helped a lot, but my eyes were still red and swollen when we boarded the plane.   When the stewardess came around with the beverage order, I used my cup of ice for my eyes rather than for my beverage.  I used my napkin to hold the ice, and placed in on one eye at a time.  It felt so good, but I am sure I looked like an idiot to those who could see me.  It took a couple of days before my eyes returned to normal.  I thought my problems were due to an allergy to my eye make-up, so I threw it all away, and bought another brand, but I am not sure my make-up is the culprit.  I had another bad flare-up yesterday.  Out came the ice pack.  Warren and I were quite the sight last night when we went to bed.  He was on his side with two heating pads on his leg, and I was on my side with an ice pack on my eyes.  Fire and Ice-- aren't we the poster picture of romance?  I sure hope I can figure out what the source of my problem is--being female and not being able to wear make-up can really be a scary thought indeed.

With our internet being variable, the repair men here, and our constant winds these past few days, I  had not been able to complete my Flash photography assignment.  I finally got it done today, which is a good thing since today is the last day to post the assignment.  I have loved this class.  I like the dramatic lighting effects, and the quality difference in the pictures.  This week's assignment was to use the flash with ambient light.  Thank goodness Warren was willing to pose for me.

Our creative assignment of dragging the shutter produced an interesting effect, which I like very much.  For this one, since the shutter speed was so slow, I could be the subject and give Warren a rest.  The picture was taken at 8 p.m. with the Christmas lights being the only light other than my flash.  I like the effects of the blur on my hair, light reflections in the bush, and the star flair of the lights.  I knew there was a good reason I had not taken down my Christmas lights.  And I don't have any make-up on either.

Just an update

It has been one of those weeks where you don't get a thing done that you planned to get done.  I am trying to remember to live out my James Bible study, and "count it all joy" when I encounter various trials.  We had a nice round catching our mouse, only the mouse turned out to be three mice.  Perhaps I should start singing "Three blind mice" here, but it would have to be "three dead mice" and Warren would tell me to stop my singing since I don't sing very well.  Yes, those mice were having quite the party in our pantry.  Their party caused me extra work since I had to clean out my pantry again. Groan!  Then our internet was acting crazy.  Amber told us when she was visiting over July 4th that our internet connection was in and out.  Well, it was in and out worse, and mostly out.  I became good friends with technical service, and they finally sent out two trucks (and men) to solve the problem.  It took them two days to get everything cleared up, but thank goodness they seem to have the problem fixed.

Today was the first day that I was able to download all my pictures I took while in NC.  It was so fun to go back and look at them, and remember.  I thought I would post some Dad and son pictures.

Luke and Tate

Tate (top) screaming, and Sawyer doing I don't know what.  Luke trying to juggle both boys.

Tate and Luke.  I like this picture.

And one of Sawyer sucking his thumb.

Waiting to eat. 

Got my mouse

I just got my mouse: 10:05 a.m.  I heard a snap as I was just shutting down my computer.  Sure enough, there he was.  I am glad the mousetrap turned over so I don't have to look at the carnage.

Back in the saddle again

I am home!  It was an uneventful trip, and it was like a breath of fresh air to see my man waiting for me when I walked into the airport. Hugs and kisses abounded! What a great feeling to have his warm, strong arms wrap around me.  Sigh!  That's not all--he had flowers for me at home.  He truly is the greatest.  The worse part of traveling other than the packing, is the unpacking and getting back into the swing of things. I have a lot of errands to do, my Beth Moore videos to get caught up on, Jane to check on, and the worse...get rid of a mouse.  That's right--we have an uninvited guest in the form of a mouse.  When I opened my pantry to get a snack last night, there were signs left behind.  How Warren could miss seeing them is beyond me.  It is one of those male/female things: men see the whole, women see the details.  That is how God made us and that is what makes us work so well together.  He set the trap--another male/female sort of thing.  He will do it; I will not.  No luck on capturing our uninvited guest, but we will get him.  My motto is copied from the Mounties: I always get my "mouse"(instead of man).  Know when we do catch this critter, it will again be the male/female thing:  I will not touch it to throw it out.  That is my man's job.  I am so glad I am a woman when it comes to these sort of things.  That is it for now.  I am off, back in the saddle again.

Couple of pictures of the twins...

 More pictures. 

Usually it is Tate hanging on to Sawyer's arm. This time it is Sawyer hanging on to Tate, and he is enjoying his thumb.

Brotherly Love.

More pictures

Well, I don't know what I did in my other post...I couldn't get my pictures in where I wanted them, so rather than fight with the layout, I am just going to do a new post.

Happy Dad...not so happy Sawyer.

Tummy time with Sawyer.

Tate's little hands.

Sawyer.

Tate and his books.  He learns by osmosis.

Winnie the Pooh is in his dreams.

I caught a smile.

One happy Mimi.

Tate in his straight jacket.

The Terrible, Horrible , No good, Very Bad Day...I see miracles!

Sawyer and Tate could be the main characters in Judith Viorst's book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, because that exactly the kind of day they have had, and ours has not been that much better.  Why has their day been so bad?  Well, they have their days and nights mixed up.  They sleep all day, and are up all night--not good for those who have to function during the day.  Therefore, our main goal for the entire day was to keep these little guys awake, except for their afternoon nap time.  This was not easy task considering they are basically "comatose" babies during the day.  Needless to say we had some unhappy babies, and I felt so sorry for them. I sure hope they don't remember today, because I feel terrible, too.

Wide awake at night...

Comatose in the day...

Tate has hold of Sawyer's arm.

All in all, these little guys are very, very good.  Today only seemed bad since we had to keep them awake.   And my heart is full, and being a grandma is just the greatest.  "All good and perfect gifts do come down from the Father of Lights!"  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day.  Look at these little valentines.  Cuties to be sure.  

Tate upper, Sawyer lower.  Cute, cute!

The boys are in dreamland. Maybe dreaming about baseball...notice the three fingers.  Maybe those are signals for a certain kind of pitch.  See the burp cloth that is under Tate's head.  That is what makes me think it's a dream about baseball.  Sweet Dreams little ones...

Maybe a Fast Ball

Did you get the signal, Sawyer?

The twins are one week old today.  Happy one week, and Valentine's Day.

Day 6 in the lives of Sawyer & Tate

The night of Day 5 was not so great for Mr. Tate.  He thought it might be a fun thing to cry and keep us awake. Consequently his Daddy did not get to work as his planned early hour.  I have become intimately acquainted with the washing machine and dryer, both of which have tons of bells and whistles which is pretty challenging to an old school person like me.  These little guys sure go through a lot of clothes.  And people just think it is girls that like to change their outfits. Girls don't hold a candle to these guys. Luke is the master "snuggler." He's good at rolling these little guys into burritos.  I am sure his expertise is due to the fact that he is from New Mexico where Mexican food is a staple...especially burritos...we have breakfast burritos, bean burritos, chicken & beef burritos, and now Sawyer and Tate burritos. They look like they are in straight jackets to me, but this sure settles them down.

Burrito Brothers...Sawyer foreground, Tate background.

Sawyer had a bit of jaundice, and his Pawpaw McKelvy told us to keep him in the sunlight with only a diaper on.  He looked like he was out on the beach trying to get a suntan.  We put a portable heater close by, and a heating pad on the low setting under his blanket, and he enjoyed the sun which did the trick. He's back to his normal skin color.

Sawyer...not too sure he likes the sun.

Getting his hat to shade his eyes helped.

Savannah checking out this object.  She's actually afraid of them.

Sawyer taking in the rays!

I decided since Mr. Sawyer was sunbathing, it would be a good time to take some up close pictures.

Sawyer holding Daddy's finger.

Sawyer's feet.

We had some milestones today...other than laundry.  They had their first office visit with their pediatrician.  We had great news.  The boys are finally on the incline in the weight department.  Sawyer is a whopping 5 lbs. even, and Tate is 6 lbs. 7 ounces.   Yeah!  It has been a great day six.  We thank the Lord for His help, and for these little boys.

Tate.  Isn't he so precious!

Tomorrow we are going to try to do an official photo shoot.  And I promise I will have more pictures of Tate,too.

Welcome Sawyer and Tate

On February 7th, we welcomed into the McKelvy family two precious little boys: Sawyer and Tate.

Here we are with Sawyer

Sawyer...Mimi...Tate

Sawyer...he has more hair than his Daddy

 The boys have two distinct personalities, cries, and looks.

Tate (left) and Sawyer (right)...not the happy campers they usually are

Tate (left) and Sawyer (right)...now happy campers.  Are they not the cutest?

 Here they are at home sometimes happy and sometimes not.  Basically, they eat, sleep, and poop.  We are very happy with our new additions.

Flash of Brilliance lesson; NMMI library

I have finished my first week of my external flash class.  It has been interesting.  I have basically remained  "in the dark," (get it...a flash lights up the dark). Our assignment was to take two pictures.  One with the flash pointed directly at the subject, which produces shadows and harsh lighting, and one with the flash bounce off the ceiling or back wall.  Here is the one I submitted.

I can see I have to figure out how to get the light more evenly distributed on the face and less shadow under the chin.  I had my flash tilted a little...maybe I should have tried the bounce off the back wall to see what that would have done.  I have to work fast.  My subjects are not willing to be subjects very long.  I miss my cat, Smidge.  He was great at just lying around, hence he made a great subject. He did what he did best and that was... lie around.  He was pretty good at eating, too.

Our creative assignment was to photograph a moving subject in a totally dark room.  We have one room that is pretty dark, so I told Erynn to take off her shoes and jump on the bed for me.  (in the dark). She looked at me like I was crazy, and reminded me she was not supposed to do that.  I told her it was a class assignment, and then she was very willing to oblige.  I think she had a great time.  This photo session lasted a little longer than the other.  Perhaps it was because she was doing something fun and forbidden.  It is interesting how the flash will freeze motion at a very low shutter speed.

I have always loved the NMMI library at the top of Richardson Street.  It just stirs something inside me, and it makes me proud especially with the flag flying. Kind of patriotic.  I liked it even before my boys attended school there.  On this day, I happened to have my camera with me, so I stopped to take a picture.  Not at the best time of day...too much light, and definitely not the golden hour, but I took pictures anyway.

Squint, and you can barely see the flag!

The flag is not visible here, but I liked the clock framed by the trees.  

Today...wild and crazy!

This has been a wild and crazy day.  I usually like Wednesdays because it is my day off.  I do not have any classes to teach and I try to use it to catch up.  Well, I was asked to come to the Quilters business meeting to take pictures of the raffle quilt...which I did.  Then I had an Doctor's appointment with Jane for her knee. She calls me early and late to tell me she cannot sleep because her knee hurts.  The appointment was so I could get some rest...I am desperate. Those two things took a chunk out of my day.  I had prescriptions to drop off... I did that.  Then her physical therapist wanted an old fashion walker... not the super duper ones with all the bells and whistles.  Jane did not want to buy another one, and I cannot blame her.  I  discovered a  place called "Choices" that has medical supplies they loan out for no fee.   I went there to pick up the old style walker...no one wants them anymore.  Well, the one they had for the loaner looked pretty ratty and dirty.  It needed a lot of elbow grease to clean it up.  I thought I would sign a form and leave...in and out.  Was I wrong.  The paper work was incredible.  And I had to sign my life away for this horrible looking walker that I was going to have to scrub.  (I was sure to use handsanitizer when I got to the car.)  By the time I got out of there it was past 5:00 p.m.  My whole free day gone.  CaPutz. I decided a fast and easy meal was in order, so I decided to make Pioneer Woman pico de gallo, guacamole, and quesadillas for super, but I needed some ingredients.  On the way home, I stopped by Farmer's and got in the shortest line, which ended up being the longest line, because the lady in front of me had a problem with her "food stamp" card.  Which brings up a pet peeve.  I was standing in line at Sam's and the lady in front of me was conversing with another person about working.  She said why should I work?...and paid with her stuff with a 'food stamp' card.  She was about 20 years old.  I wanted to tell her, "you should work so I don't have to buy your food." Why am I working to subsidize someone who is not.  Even the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "if you don't work, you don't eat."  Yes, I know our elected officials would never get re-elected if they used that as their platform.  My day has not gone as planned.  Hopefully, things will go as planned on Friday.  I need to get some organizing and packing done to get ready for my stay in NC.  It is not long now before those two little guys will make their debut.  I can hardly wait! As I close, even though my day was wild, unplanned, and hectic, I am so thankful for KLOVE.  It has done wonders to bring me back to His peace, and I can say, "Praise God from whom all blessing flow!"