Saturday, October 2, 2010

Thomas & Jr.

Thomas has always loved chickens. We have had several over the years. It is hard to keep chickens out here. With neighbor's dogs, coyotes, chicken hawks, and such, we have probably spent a small fortune on chickens and the things needed for feeding them. But we keep trying.

Right now we have six full grown chickens that are producing eggs. When we had a rooster a few months ago my husband decided to build an incubator so we could hatch baby chicks to replenish our flock. It was a good thing he did because one day not too long after the incubator was finished our rooster disappeared, never to return.

We kept a total of ten eggs and successfully hatched six, although one baby chick died after a few days of hatching.

The biggest chick Thomas named Junior. I'm not sure why because we aren't sure if it is male or female chicken. But Junior is it's name.

The other day I walked outside to check for eggs in the coop and saw Thomas walking across the yard and Junior was following him. It looked just like a puppy. When Thomas would stop, Junior would stop. Thomas sat down on the ground and Junior jumped in his lap.

I laughed at them. But it's also kind of sweet. Junior knows Thomas will protect him and if Thomas isn't outside to watch over him then Junior stays in the coop. Who said chickens were dumb?



Sunday, September 26, 2010

Nice Weekend

A nice weekend is coming to a close.

Yesterday we stayed home from church. I had asked someone to take my childrens' class so we could have a family together weekend. We didn't have anything planned. Just wanted to spend some time together.

So, since we have passes to the Aquarium we decided to go there in the morning. I love to go and see all the different fish and sea life they have. Thomas loves the birds. We spent a few hours there taking in the different exhibits before heading home for a quick lunch of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

In the evening, we took a ride over to Ingelside to check out some building of offshore rigs that is going on but couldn't get close enough to really see it well. Then we decided to take the ferry over to Port A and drive around and see some sites. By sundown we found ourselves at Fins Restaurant & Grill and went in to get a bite before heading home. It was a very nice day.

Today was a usual Sunday. Did some housework, some laundry, some grocery shopping, some bread baking, some gluten making, and watched some Dallas Cowboys football. They won!!!!! It was a great game and one I wish I had been right there in the stadium to watch.

Anyway, now the day is almost over. Time to get some sleep and get ready for a new work week tomorrow.

I'll leave you with a few shots from our trip to the Aquarium.




And this is how I feel as my day ends today.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

New Blog & Rain

I didn't think it would ever stop raining.

We have received over 12 inches of rain since last week and today we actually saw the sunshine for a few minutes.

Tomorrow is the first day of fall however our high is going to still be in the 90s. We are supposed to get a cold front in on Sunday evening but we aren't holding our breath for freezing temperatures.

As you can see I have changed my blog. It is still under construction and hopefully I will have the whole thing completed over the next few weeks. I hope you like it.

For my photo today this is a purple water hyacinth that is in the lawn pond in our front yard. Our chickens loved the plants and were eating and walking on them so my husband had to put a fence around the pond so they couldn't trample the plants anymore. They are finally beginning to look healthy again and today there are four flowers among the greens. Here is a close up of one of them.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Football

For anyone who knows me, or has known me, you know that I love football. And if you REALLY know me, you know I love the Dallas Cowboys. I have loved them since I was a small child sitting on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon watching TV with Daddy. I don’t just watch the game. Like my dad, I have been known to yell at the TV, jump up and yell, scream, get excited, and I have even been known to break a chair.

Well, Saturday evening I had the opportunity to watch the Dallas Cowboys take on the Houston Texans in a preseason battle for the Governor’s Cup. My husband and I along with his brother and sister-in-law, drove up to Houston and took in the game at Reliant Stadium. We had seats way up in the nose bleed section. Section 616, Row E, Seats 1, 2, 3, & 4.

Unfortunately the Cowboys had a bad night. They weren’t synced and had a terrible game. They lost to the Texans 23-7.

Hopefully, their season will begin on a better note next week.

Here’s to the 2010 NFL season. Hope it’s a good one.

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Internet

We finally have RELIABLE internet!

We got fed up with Clearwire. It worked fine for the first year and then they decided to change their bandwidth and the service was spotty at best. The several times we have called to complain they said that we are 1 mile outside of their access area and there was nothing they could do. We told them we would have to find another provider but they didn’t want us to do that.

I just couldn’t see continuing to pay $32 a month for internet service when we only have it for maybe a week or two out of that month.

Today we had GTek come out and put up a dish/antenna on our roof for their internet service. It was $150 for the installation and will be $45 a month but it will be well worth it to have internet now whenever we need it and want it.

I am completely hooked on it. I love to go to my digital scrapbook sites, photography sites, email, Facebook, etc. There’s always something to see and do. How nice it is to be able to do it now!

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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Baptism

On Sabbath, June 19, Thomas was baptized along with his cousins, Ashley and Kayla. It was wonderful to see my son take this step in taking a stand on what he believes and acknowledging what Christ has done for him through His death and resurrection.

My hope is that he will never forget that with Christ all things are possible and that salvation only comes through Him.

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Friday, June 11, 2010

Camera Bag Giveaway!

The Saavy Photographer website is giving away a Kelly Moore camera bag. Check it out here!

http://thesavvyphotographer.blogspot.com/2010/06/its-fabulous-giveaway.html

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Baby’s

Yesterday was all about babies. We had a baby dedication at church for one of our newest in the church family. Little Hadassah was a little on the fussy side but is still so sweet and who could help but love her just because she is a gift to us from God.

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In the afternoon we stopped by to see my grand-nephew, James, who was entertaining my sister and niece since his parents both had to work. He is such a cutie. I was taking pictures of him and as soon as he saw the camera it was like he would stop and pose for me. I got lots of smiles and lots of kisses. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

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God has certainly blessed us with wonderful children. May we always show them love and encouragement and just how special they are. And may we never take for granted the blessings God has given to us.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Chickens

About three months ago we got eight baby chicks from the local feed store. They had four different kinds of chicks and we got two of each kind. We got white leghorns, buff orthingtons, black australorps, and red leghorns.

Thomas loves chickens and we have enjoyed watching them grow. They reside out in our back yard in a chicken coop that Tom built.

On Sunday, Thomas was outside playing and he accidently stepped on one of the black chickens. He came in to the house very upset because it had ripped the skin from underneath the chickens neck.

I wasn’t sure what to do. So, I googled “chicken wound” and found several sites that said it was treatable but the closest thing I had to what they recommended was Bactine spray.

So, we had a prayer for the chicken (the first time I have prayed for one and not over one :o)) and we sprayed it with the spray. I am happy to say that it is now Thursday and the chicken is doing fine. She doesn’t look as pretty as she once did but is thriving with the rest of the chickens.

God cares even about the little things.

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Sunday, May 2, 2010

A New Birth

Yesterday a wonderful girl who has been attending our church for about a year decided to get baptized. It is so wonderful to see someone who has studied and found truth in the Bible and wants to make that commitment to follow Christ.

It was a happy occasion for all of us as this young lady has become a part of our “family” and we all love her.

Here is a photo of her in the baptistry with our pastor and my brother-in-law who was the one who studied with her.

God bless you, Megan, and may you keep close to Him always. We love you!

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Saturday, May 1, 2010

Sabbath

Today is Sabbath. A day of rest. A day to spend in worship and with fellow believers. I look forward to this day each week. It’s a time when I can stop worrying about life and just spend time with my Savior in worship and song.

I have to teach the Kindergarten Sabbath School class and today our lesson is on prayer. The message is, “We can talk to Jesus anytime, anywhere”. I forget that sometimes. I think that I can do it all myself. That He isn’t interested in what I’m doing and what I need. But the memory verse really sent it home to me. It is found in Jeremiah 29:12. It says, “Pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” That is all it takes. Just take time to pray. Make time to pray. It is something I need to work on and with His help I will.

I took this photo a few weeks ago. I have been wanting to take it for a while but our weather wouldn’t cooperate and it was always cloudy or rainy.

On Monday morning, April 19, I was on my way in to work early. It was about 7AM and I was coming over the Harbor Bridge and noticed the sunrise. I knew I had to try to get my picture.

So, I stopped at the First Methodist Church down on the bayfront and took this.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Digital Photography

I was able to register to take the "Oh! Shoot!" photography class offered at jessicasprague.com and given by Candice Stringham. Yesterday started the second week and all ready I have learned so much!

The first lesson was on shutter speed. I learned that a fast shutter speed will freeze motion and a slow shutter speed will show motion (motion blur). It was a lot of fun trying to use these settings for different photos. She also told us about panning and how you can photograph someone or something moving and still get a sharp photo of the subject with the background blurred which shows the motion.

This week's lesson was on aperture. A small f/stop (i.e. f/1.8) is an open aperture which means you will get more background blur and the focus will be more on the main subject. A large f/stop (i.e. f/22) is a closed aperture and that means that more of your photo will be in focus.

I am having so much fun with this class and can't wait for each week to start and the next lesson. I will post some pictures later to show what I have learned these first two weeks.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!

The beginning of another year. How time seems to be passing so quickly.

Our New Year's celebration wasn't anything too exciting. We had some family and friends out for some fireworks and even though there was a huge bank of fog, it actually made the fireworks more intense so see them through the mist. Everyone was done and gone by 8:30PM.

Thomas had his cousin Kayla spend the night and they made up their beds in the livingroom and watched movies til they fell asleep.

Me, I was in bed by 10PM. Is that sign of old age?

Some things Iwould like to accomplish this year.........

Take more photos. I am going to try to do the P365 project where you take one photo a day and make a scrapbook layout.
I'm going to try to eat more healthy and hopefully lose some weight.
I want to read my Bible more and study it as well as other books. Angela & Mom got me a One Year Bible that we are going to try to read it through in a year. Also there is a group on Facebook that is reading the Conflict of the Ages Series through this year that I would like to get in on. You start with Patriarch and Prophets and read through Great Controversy, in order, one chapter a day.
I want to be more organized this year. Organize my home, my desk at work, my computer files, my church clerk files.
I want to take a photography class. I want to learn how to use my camera and get great photos.
I want to spend more time with my family doing meaningful things together.

So, there is my list. Hopefully I can accomplish most of it if not all of it.

Happy 2010!