Today's picture of the day is an introduction.....

Friends and Family, meet Hamilton.

Hamilton is our new baby. He weighs twice as much as Siggy did full-grown and he is only 10 weeks old! He is a soft, loveable, and GENTLE sweetheart.

We were going to adopt a lab dog (and avoid the puppy stage), but we decided that we would rather know the dog's history, raise him and train him the way we want him to be, and reduce the shock the cats were going to feel in seeing such a massive canine.

The kids all adore him--even DJ who wanted a pug or a boston terrier instead. Richard and I adore him. He slept in bed with us, until about 4 am when he was all of a sudden restless and wanting to play. (I took him out, then hung out in the family room with him so Dad could sleep) He walked (when I wasn't holding him) the kids to school with me this morning and did pretty well on the leash.

I'm going to Petsmart today to buy lots of chew toys...and to look into their puppy training classes. I want this dog to be very well trained.

I think he is going to be a wonderful addition to the family!

POTD 3/25-3/26

I just wanted to post a picture that I took Friday, then later I will post several from this weekend. I thought this turned out quite cute--it helps having a ham for a son!

Let me know what you think...

POTD 3/24

My wonderful husband bought me an AWESOME new lens for my birthday!!! I am so excited about it! He tricked me, too. I seriously had no idea because he had me believing I was getting something that had nothing to do with photography! He gave it to me early so I could play with it today on my birthday. (Isn't he sweet?)

So, today I play. Since the kids are at school, I am using my 4-legged kids as subjects. Today's picture of the day is of Tabby sitting in the sun. It's taken with the new lens and natural lighting.

I hope you are all doing well and staying warm---it was 31 degrees this morning when I took my kids to school! And we thought it was Spring--ha ha ha!

~Hugs to you all~

Here is the slide show I threw together today for the kids. (click on the screen to view it) It summarizes our camp retreat weekend pretty well. Carly and Ethan are for sure going in the summer and watching this made them even more excited about it! Enjoy!

Picture of the Day 3/22

I have been a bad blogger....I just have not had time to take any interesting photos over the past few days. So...today's POTD is a collage I made with Greene Family Camp retreat pictures. I'm working on a slide show as we speak, and when I finish it I'll post it so you guys can see it!

Photo of the Day 3/20

Took this last night with my white backdrop. It was very difficult for me to get a good shot with no shadows...I still have SO much to learn. Anyway, here it is. Noah and Jake after their bath last night:

Photos of the Weekend March 18-19

This has been a very WET weekend here in Texas. Saturday morning DJ had his first Flag Football game and it was so miserable outside that I watched most of it from inside the car. We got a few pictures, however--and took one beforehand.

The kids didn't mind the weather much. I took these pics from inside the car---Ethan and Carly were cheering and dancing together at one point! It was hilarious! They all had a good time cheering DJ on.

Carly, then had her first volleyball game. It went very well and was much more comfortable, being inside and all. *grin*

Jake was so bummed because his soccer game got cancelled because of all the rain. He can't wait for his first game! We missed last week's because of camp, so the rainout this week REALLY disappointed him. HOWEVER, I must brag on my little guy: He won the award for being RESPONSIBLE in his kindergarten class. His name was announced at an all-school assembly and he got a certificate. Here he is displaying his award:

Noah and Ethan had no games due to it being their Spring Break this week.

I'll leave you with one last picture. We had a RARE photo-op this morning! We actually had all the kids stand together for a picture. Matthew spent the night last night---and even though he didn't want to be in the picture, he stood with the kids for us! YAY! It's not even a good picture as they are all looking in different directions, but at least you can see everyone's face! :)

Hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful!

Pictures of the Day 3/17

I'm posting one of my sweet Ethan! He is so good-hearted and loving. He brightens my day and I'm truly enjoying having him and Noah here for Spring Break. It's just a bummer that my kids' spring break was LAST week, while theirs is THIS week. Oh well. Here is one to put a smile on your face!

And since I didn't post my picture yesterday---I meant to, but it was a crazy day...here it is. Jake is learning to read this year and I caught him "in the act". Yesterday's picture of the day is Jake reading his book about wheels.

Have a Great St. Patty's Day!

Picture of the Day 3/15

Didn't have much time to shoot today as I've got a deadline to meet in doing layouts for the yearbook. (It's fun, though, so I don't mind being busy working on it)

I got a new external flash yesterday. I love it. I played with it a little this morning and I got a really cute picture of Carly.

I guess this should be my picture of the day, but I also did a fun one (so I guess there are two photos of the day!)

I hope you all are having a great week!

Picture of the Day 3/14

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. We are very sad here, because our beloved Sigmund escaped again. He has been missing since Friday. Being that he is microchipped, I have called every pound around, we have signs up, and he had tags on....the outlook isn't so good. Being gone so long and not having heard anything, we are beginning to fear the worst. The local dog shelter has told me that there are a lot of coyotes around here that kill small dogs, like Siggy. :( However, Richard and I are going to think the most positive thing we can: some nice family has him and decided to keep him as their own because they love him so much. Not what we would wish, but much better than the alternative. And of course we still pray daily that he will be returned to us unharmed!

So...the picture of the day is of my precious baby dog. The one who sleeps cuddled up next to me every night....the one who follows my every step during the day as I work around the house.....the one who plays with Richard every night with one of his zillion toys....the sweetest dog I have ever had:

Photos of the Day for 3/11 and 3/12

We went on a family camping retreat this weekend, so I couldn't post my POTD's. But---we got 191 pictures! I'll be making an AWESOME slideshow, that's for sure! Camp was wonderful! The kids had a blast. Ethan and Carly want to go back in June for 12 days. We'll see if we can afford it, but we really want to as it would be an amazing experience for them....and they both made friends that will be there as well!

Soooooo---with that are your Photos of the weekend. I will only post a few, but hopefully you can get an idea of the fun that was had by all 5 of the kids (Matthew didn't go with us unfortunately).

Picture of the Day 3/10

Here is a shot of Drew and Carly in a rare moment where they are actually being nice to each other----ha! Just Kidding!

Hey---PLEASE feel free to comment on these every once in a while, so I know who is looking. I don't want to feel as if I am posting these for nobody. I want my family and friends to see my work/the kids/ etc.

Picture of the Day~March 9

For some reason, when I see the sun's rays shining through the clouds, I think of God.

This morning I thank Him for all He has given me including my children, my wonderful husband, my health and that of my family, and this beautiful world.

Picture of the Day 3/8

Not a lot to say....my fish was my model today. Played a bit on Photoshop and came up with this. :) Enjoy.

Photo of the Day 3/7

The cat is always an agreeable model as she is NOT the most active creature in our house. Here she is in her relaxation mode.

Picture of the Day --- March 6

I love Black and Whites. I decided to take a photo of Jake and then convert it for something a little unique.

I'm so glad to be getting some friends and family visitors! I hope you enjoy these blogs. Let me know what you like and don't like about my work.

Hugs to you all!

Picture of the day for March 5

This was fun. Richard and I had as much fun as the kids with this mondo bubble wand! Took several photos. Here is one of my favorites:

Picture of the day for March 4

This is my step-son, Ethan, at his Lacrosse game today. He is such a good player! I chose this picture over the action shots, however, because I love the look of concentration here.

I have decided to start a photography blog. I post pictures all the time on my Xanga blog, but since discovering twopeasinabucket.com, and their wonderful photography forum, I have decided I want to post favorite photos daily. It has started b/c of the March Picture a Day challenge. That has me motivated. I want to see if I can improve my skills over the coming weeks....months.....etc. I am IN LOVE with photography!

I will post the first 3 POTD photos now.

March 1

This is Jake and one of his soccer teammates during practice. I thought it was cute.

March 2

I was feeling down on this day, so I went to the park. In one of the trees, I noticed these new blooms. Nothing cheers me up like spring and I loved how pretty these flowers looked against such a blue sky. Spring is Coming! Yay!

March 3

I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I was in bed all day. I had to find a picture that I had taken previously and this was the one I chose. I cropped it and sharpened it a bit, but I think it shows off Jake's eyes beautifully.

I'm still feeling bad today, but I am going to try to go to Ethan's lacrosse game and get some pictures later today. Then I will have my POTD for today! I don't want to miss any....I love a good challenge!