This is the photo that made me fall in love with photography. I took it nineteen years ago. Black and white film in a manual-focus Canon. I was trying so hard to get everyone to look at the camera and cooperate. I didn’t even know what lighting was. The baby had an ear infection and was really grumpy. When I opened the Rainbow Photo envelope, I pulled out the 36 prints and started sorting through them like a mad person. Did I capture that perfect shot?
And then I saw it. It wasn’t what I expected. But it was perfect. A metaphor for my life as a 28-year-old mom with five little boys. Messy and chaotic. Like my dad would have said, it was like herding cats... everyone going a different direction. And right in the middle of it, Kevin looking right at the camera, serene. It was a little bit of magic.
Do I miss the days of film cameras? NO. I LOVE my digital camera. I love being able to instantly see on my camera if my lighting is looking the way I want. I love not having to print my photo shoot in order to see if I got any great shots. I love being able to edit my photos digitally.
You would think that it would have taken me a lot less than 19 years to get to where I am with my photos. I need to spend more time learning about settings and the technical aspect of photography. But that photo 19 years ago was the beginning. It lit a creative fire that still burns to find those special shots... the ones that connect people. I’m doing my first newborn baby photo shoot this afternoon. I’m a little nervous because they have to be taken indoors and the lighting is going to be an issue. Posing will be a new challenge. Props... yikes. But I can’t wait. I love a challenge. Oh! And by next week my photography website will be up and running. I’ll keep you posted.
Why am I smiling, you ask? Fun day? Well, let’s see… I played the organ for a funeral. Draw your own conclusions there. Shopping spree, then? Not this time… I actually screwed up and accidentally overdrew my bank account today. House all clean? As if. Actually, the fact is, I smile a lot. Not in pictures so much, I will admit. I love a good pensive expression, pout or smirk. But I actually spend much of my day laughing. Often at the expense of others. So this is just real life. And here are a few things that made me smile today. First, phone calls from a couple of different friends I haven’t talked to in awhile. I haven’t been exactly stellar at friendship lately, so it is nice to see I have retained a few diehards. Oh! A really fun blog story over at Fruit of the Carolyn… start with Part 1 and work your way up. And, I found a Lindor bar (my favorite chocolate) that DK brought home for me the other night, and which I had forgotten about until this afternoon. It is a little like finding a $20 in the pocket of a jacket you haven’t worn in awhile... except that it tastes better... that said, you wouldn’t really want to find one of these in your pocket after a few months. A package from my mom with dried pears, walnuts, a new shirt and a bunch of other cool stuff. I love packages. Oh… and that little secret project I’ve hinted about… that is making me smile.
My project is a leap of faith. It is requiring me to get back some confidence I have lost over the last couple of months (along with some of the flesh off my hands). I was reminded today of a particular incident that happened a couple of years ago, that involved my son Dillon, our foosball table… and one of these awesome missionaries. This picture was taken in my kitchen, where we used to serve breakfast to this many missionaries every single p-day. Those were such fun days. The previous Christmas we had bought a foosball table as a family present, and it was seeing a lot of use. Dillon was particularly good at it… he could beat anyone he played. The missionaries loved to play two-on-two tournaments on those Tuesdays. Some of them were pretty lousy at it, some were good, and occasionally one would come along who was really good.
One of those was a certain Elder Jones (in the picture he is the one with the craziest smile). Elder Jones was the sunniest, happiest missionary I have ever met. He reminds me that I used to taunt him that his girlfriend who was faithfully writing him would never wait for him (ask me later how that turned out). One Tuesday as they were all about to leave, Dillon ended up in a quick one-on-one game with Elder Jones. He had no idea just how quick it would be. Before Dillon even knew what had happened, Elder Jones smoked him in about a minute flat… 10-2. And then breezed out the door for e-mail time. Dillon was a little stunned. I figured he would just forget about it, but over the next hours, days and even weeks, he had to play constantly. He challenged everyone, perfecting his game a little more each time he played. It wasn’t a revenge sort of thing… it was as though it was his personal mission to improve. And better he was. After awhile, instead of trying to beat him, I would just try to get a single point before he shut me out. The funny thing is, I don’t think Elder Jones ever knew that ever after, he was famous in our house for his foosball prowess. Love you, Elder Jones!
I have suffered some humiliating shut-outs of my own over the past couple of months, mostly due to my own pride and thoughtlessness. I have decided it is time to take on some new challenges, improve my game, and dominate. You will be seeing the results soon enough.
I have to admit, it is was a relief having you all tell me what to write about for a change. The brain cloud is receding... so without further adieu:
1. McD Three: You could ask me anything, and you want a LIMERICK? About my CLOSET? Well, okay...
There was a collector of clutter Whose family tended to mutter I have to confess That she stuck all the mess In her closet, where it couldn’t confront her.
2. Lindsey: You didn’t ask a question, so I am forced to give you dating advice. Call the cute doctor, and tell him he needs to ask you out, or he is an idiot.
3. Jan: What a lovely question! We are gypsies, are we? I have been thinking about it all day, and in preparation, I have started learning how to play the guitar. You and I are are going to be street performers...and let’s face it: the piano is just not very portable, is it? It is a good thing you have such a lovely singing voice, because mine is slightly below average. But I know I can pick up the guitar quickly. I am thinking of very folksy stuff, and since you are politically inclined, I think it will do nicely. We are going to start in your neck of the woods, because I have been having a hankering to see the stunning Columbia River Gorge again... we will drive an old pickup truck, and work our way through the Northwest. If my guitar case doesn’t yield enough funds, we can moonlight in the occasional diner...I’ll short-order cook and you can waitress (you might want to brush up on the lingo)...eventually heading all the way east, until we wind up on the steps of the White House singing one of your songs for Barack and Michelle. I think you should make up a song about her $450 tennis shoes!
4. Raechal: You are most welcome for the chocolate cakes.
Here is your wish:
First, you use this on just the roots of your hair before you blow-dry:
Then, try this cool stuff on your styled hair... just a little silica dust...
Second, I don’t always say the right thing in my lessons. And I don’t stress out over it like you do. You can’t hit a homerun every week. I do listen carefully (to the girls and the spirit) and make course corrections.
Third: I read the lesson, ponder, pray, and don’t overthink. Depend on discussions to provide the bulk of the lesson.
My favorite books: think hopelessly romantic, but with a happy ending. Pride and Prejudice. Little Women. And a church book that I can’t help reading and re-reading: The Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Callister, that has me thinking and re-thinking.
Thank you for asking...Casey and Ethan are fabulous. Casey is loving his mission and loving the people of Texas, and Ethan is growing up and thinking about others more than himself.
I don’t know why you don’t live next door. For that matter, Nan, get Jeff right on that. Having you next door would be ever so much more convenient.
6. Allie: What to do with the kiddies at your lunchtime free-for-all: Let them throw cream pies at Mrs. Shu! I will come and help them.
7. Rachel R: Next week we will record with my beautiful almost-new and formerly nicotine-stained microphone, and I will ply you with homemade bread and jam.
8. Catherine: Your bread sounds as though the yeast is collapsing. Try using a little more flour. Here is the consistency you are looking for in the dough: if you touch the dough and some of it sticks to your fingers, it is too moist. Add more flour. Add flour until you can handle it with very little sticking. It should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl a bit as it mixes. Then in your final rise, don’t let it rise too long. When one inch is visible over the tops of the pans, bake it! Let me know if that helps.
9. Carolyn: My favorite color, hmm? I took this one as a challenge. There are no ordinary questions, right? Just ordinary answers. I would hate to disappoint someone with artistic sensibilities. So, Carolyn, I have included a visual answer, as well as an audio one recorded just for you (this MP3 player is being very temperamental...if it doesn’t play at first, go up and click on the post title: The One That Killed the Cat. Then scroll back down and it should play. I don’t even know why!). I called this “Sea Glass.”
Okay, so guess what! I took this song I wrote for Carolyn, and it is ON MY CHRISTMAS CD! I renamed it “About the Baby,” but it is there... exactly like this:)
Tuesday is my 25th wedding anniversary with DK. Hmmm… it seems like so much longer! Actually, that isn’t true. I feel like I am about 25, so I have a hard time wrapping my brain around that many years of marriage. To the same person. And having seven kids. With the same person. Go figure… so in honor of 25 years, here are 25 cool things about DK, in no particular order: (Click the photo to see it big!)
1. He thinks I am practically perfect in every way. 2. He is the master of random and strange facts about practically everything. 3. He can do more diamond push-ups than any of the missionaries who have ever lived with us. 4. Never tells me I can’t do something. 5. He loves babies. 6. When our oldest left home for college, he missed him so much that he found an excuse to drive to Utah to see him the very next weekend. 7. He takes Skippy to kindergarten every single day, and volunteers in his classroom. 8. He always tells pregnant women how beautiful they look. 9. He taught himself Italian over the last two years by listening to these crazy Jane and Mossimo podcasts in his car on the way to work. 10. Aside from a reckless (no, maybe distracted is a better word) disregard for traffic rules, he always does the right thing. 11. He makes lunches every day and uses the money he saves by “eating in” to buy me things, like my nice camera. 12. He calls my mom at least twice as often as I do. 13. Once when Cambria was about two, he heard her coloring on the hallway wall and barked a reprimand at her that made her cry. He carried her crayon around in his pocket for a week, to remind himself that little girls should be disciplined in a gentle, loving way. 14. He is going to take me to the new Star Trek movie for my birthday. 15. Despite his love of socks, he never complains that he seldom has any clean, matching ones. 16. He downplays drama. For instance, in DK parlance, “The car got totaled on the way to work” becomes, “I had a little challenge with the Volvo today.” 17. He tries to brag about me to everyone he talks to. You can see how that wouldn’t always be a good thing, so sometimes we have to have a chat about that, but it is certainly nicer than many of my friends’ husbands, who seem to always complain about things their wives do. 18. He visits elderly widows and helps them with anything they need around the house. 19. When the missionaries needed a place to live, he told me we needed to do it, even though we still had six kids at home, one in diapers. I thought he was crazy, but he followed his inspiration, and it has turned out to be a huge blessing to our family. 20. He has a sense of humor that often only I get. 21. He is smart. Definitely in the top five in our family. I think. 22. When our kids have to go to the emergency room (we are not bad parents…it happens, people), DK usually takes them. 23. You know how some people say, “If I tell you something, do you promise not to be offended?” right before they cut you off at the knees with a character attack? Whenever DK says that to me, it always turns out to be something that isn’t even about me…no personal criticism. 24. He is ten times more romantic and sentimental than I am. 25. He reads my blog.
Couldn’t resist this picture...there are a lot of fun faces here. Click it to see it big...what a great memory!
I have been at a church youth conference all weekend with about 300 young men and women aged 14-18. I have had way too much sun and way too little sleep. But wow! Talk about some amazing kids. By the way, I’m not kidding about the sun. It is currently 91 degrees here at 5:00 p.m., and can’t lie… I am not a good warm-weather girl. So I am a little tired. But I needed to do a Sunday post for you. I have been thinking a lot today about one particular thing: The Book of Mormon. There is much to love about the Book of Mormon. It has beautiful scripture stories. Since I was a child, my imagination has been captivated from the very beginning of the book, where a father receives a vision from God that his city is about to be destroyed, and he takes his young family and tents and provisions, and flees the city. As the story of the people that lived on the American continent centuries ago, the book is compelling and exciting.
More and more every day I realize, however, that every word in the book has one purpose only. That is to testify of Jesus Christ, and to celebrate and glorify his atoning sacrifice for each one of us. It is interesting how as I study the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I begin to realize that it is the one thing without which nothing else matters.
So…The Book of Mormon. If you are not Mormon, you have likely never read the book. Maybe you have never given it a second thought, or maybe you have heard that it is false…wicked, or controversial. But here is the amazing thing about the Book of Mormon: you don’t have to judge the book by what you have heard. It comes with a promise, that if you sincerely read the book with an open mind and real intent, then you can pray to know if it is true, and you will receive an answer!
Listen to these words from the introduction of this amazing book: “We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that tells the story of Alma, a missionary teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He explains in the most beautiful language what it means to be the people of Jesus Christ, and then he issues a powerful challenge: “Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?” I love that.
Now, may I take one step further back, and issue this challenge: What have you against reading the Book of Mormon? If it is true…and I tell you that it is…how can you stand not to know that for yourself? How can you afford not to know the truth of something that means happiness for you and for your family? You can get one online at this website. OR, I myself have several of these books sitting right here. You need only ask, and I will send one to you. A free Book of Mormon…from a genuine Mormon. Now that is a giveaway you shouldn’t miss.
