Contest Entry

     Last weekend I entered this picture into an online photography contest with an emphasis on missions. Each entry had to have a caption. Mine didn't make it into the final 5, but I enjoyed making it. This is a picture of Abby - a little girl who lived at the Galilean Home when I volunteered there in 2009. She was still there when I went back for a visit in 2011. She finally went home with her mommy in 2012. I think about her quite often and all the experiences we had together.

Through the Years with my Sisters




Megan, Laura, Caroline & Me - May 2008

     For so many years there were just four of us girls - 15 years to be exact. Rachel, Megan, Caroline & Laura. We liked to compare ourselves to Meg, Jo, Beth & Amy of "Little Women" as well as Mary, Laura, Carrie & Grace of the "Little House" books. (In fact, my mom & Laura Ingalls' mother must've really favored the same names. Out of the 11 names that make up our first & middle names, and the 8 that make up the Ingalls girls' names, we have 6 in common!) It's a little funny how our personalities actually match pretty well with the girls in those books. I guess it just comes with the territory of your place in line. :)

     And then along came little Amelia - making us five in number. Life was so different & so fun! And our lives (and pictures) were never the same. Over the years we always made time for "Sisters" pictures. All the ones of just us four are on film as I didn't get a digital until Amelia was about 2 years old. All these posted here (excepting the first two) were taken with it, but they're all a bit blurry as I copied then from an online storage site.

These two are from my film camera - Fall 2007



Amelia's Shirt says "Little Sister" - we all wore pink to match her :)

Easter 2008



October 2008

Our 2nd Annual Christmas Concert - December 2008

Just before Jacob left for Iraq - March 2009

At Silver Dollar City just 2 weeks before I left for Kentucky - April 2009

At SDC right after I returned from Kentucky - August 2009



Standing proud under our Scottish Clan's flag at the Scottish Games in Tulsa - September 2009 (Amelia was not there)

Independence Day 2010 - after singing at 3 different events



Vacation at Ft. Gibson - August 2010



All in plaid for Christmas - December 2010



Fourth of July 2011



At our 5th Annual Concert - December 2011



Vacation June 2012 - Rogers, Ar

At our Cousin's Wedding - June 2012



At our 6th Annual Concert - December 2012

Country Churches

     Here are a few more pictures from my snow-covered days in Pennsylvania. I thought I would post a few more since we're still technically in Winter. (However, yesterday our high was 82 - lovin' it!) I took these on the drive back to my room for the night after the wedding. My hostess was so kind and stopped several times for me to get these pictures of churches, houses, etc. I was fast losing light, so some of these are a little dark.

I've never really been one to take my own pictures, but played around with it here, and was fairly pleased with the results.

More from Pennsylvania

After Edith & Simon's wedding was over, I trekked around outside taking pictures in the snow. At that point, we'd only had dustings of snow here (we've since had several major storms, including a blizzard) so I was having a great time! I wrapped my camera strap around a small tree trunk so it would hang there, and posed for some. I got great exercise running back and forth setting off my timer!  The sun was cooperating nicely - love all the long shadows. I'm really not a big landscape photographer. I love looking at great landscapes, but I've never really taken the time to perfect that genre of shooting. So, for what they're worth, here're my attempts....

Made me wonder what animal made these....

A little fuzzy here - I took this at quite a distance & then cropped in. Wish it were clearer!

A little editing makes a big difference....

     Last year at my cousin's wedding, I took a few pictures (around 80 - that's a few for me).  I was really pleased with this one, but thought it would look much better without the "clutter" in the background.  I sat down to do it in time for the Bridal Show, expecting it to take me several days to finish. It really didn't take too long though - just a couple of hours. And I love the end results.  Apparantly so did everyone else as I got many compliments on it at the show.

From my travels....

On my trip to Pennsylvania I had a layover at Chicago O'Hare.  I was thankful it was a long layover so that I'd have time to find my next gate without running.  I didn't know how grateful I should be. I think I walked nearly the entire place before I arrived at my gate - but I took my time & enjoyed the scenery. I also bought an awesome smoothie for breakfast. Stopped in Chicago on my return home too, but with a much shorter layover. Upon landing, I prepared myself to run like mad in order to catch my connection, but this time my gate was just around the corner from where I got off.  Praise the Lord!

Took time to read about Edward "Butch" O'Hare for whom the airport is named. He was a WWII Navy Pilot who received the Medal of Honor for action in 1942. In 1943 his plane was shot down & he lost his life. This plane on display is a Wildcat - restored to look the same as the one he flew.