You Capture - Spring

Beth's You Capture subject this week is Spring and it's one of my favorites.  I started with the freshly blooming azalea and found I wasn't the only one who appreciated it.

 Then a walk around the side of the house revealed some hardy geranium blooms.  I love these because not only are the blooms pretty and delicate, but the foliage is really interesting which is good because the blooms aren't all that prolific - at least not on mine.

 The peonies won't bloom for two or three weeks at least but the buds say Spring to me and have a beauty of their own. I wasn't the only one who appreciated these either.


Of course no Spring blog post would be complete without including a bluebird and maybe even some bluebird friends.

  Then yesterday I thought to address the flowers in front one last time.  The first is one of Mr. Right's favorites - the Columbine.
 

 And the next one is a sprig of spirea.  The blooms seem to have lasted extra long this year and I'm glad because it's one of my favorites.

Finally the worst picture of them all, because it was by far the most challenging to capture, had to be included because it says Spring more clearly than any of the others.

There are many other Spring pictures at Beth's I Should Be Folding Laundry.   Go take a look.

You Capture - Sunshine

  Beth's You Capture assignment this week was Sunshine and I have to say I just love the title - You Capture Sunshine.  I looked for sunshine in my backyard - of course - and started with the flower beds, spirea, and dogwood tree.

And quickly moved on to my very favorite things to photograph - bluebirds!  My challenge was to find them in the sunshine and I did.  I just hope I captured them well enough. 

 

 And finally I thought to broaden my horizons by looking for sunshine in the country at the end of the day.

 

 

And with that last glimpse of sunshine for the day, I concluded my project.  For more takes on 'Sunshine', go to Beth's I Should Be Folding Laundry and if you have some Sunshine inspiration of your own, join in.

Sarah Michelle - Through the Years

Sarah was born early on April 21, 1978.  She arrived 'sunny side up' which undoubtedly was a sign of the sunny disposition she would always have.

Here she is 'pictorially' through the years.

 

 

 

 

 

    

 Although I have almost 4,000 pictures with Sarah in them, I had a hard time finding pictures of just Sarah and if I found one it would be a picture of just Sarah being hilarious.  And that made two things about Sarah very clear.  One:  She loves to have her loved ones close by.  And two:  She loves to have fun and knows how to go about it.  So I decided to show Sarah with some of her 'most' loved ones.   

And then some pictures of Sarah being Sarah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

And this set wouldn't be complete without showing Sarah 'overworked and exhausted' after Thanksgiving dinner a couple of years ago. 

I could go on and on but already I'm afraid I've included a few too many pictures.  There's just no place to stop with this girl.  And I can only hope that you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed going through them because I just can't stop smiling.

So Happy Birthday to a girl who has spread love and joy everywhere she's been.  We're so blessed to have you in our family and we hope your birthday is the best one yet!

Dan and Dave Through The Years

I remember this date in 1973 like it was yesterday. In those days you might know that you were having twins but you didn't know the sex until they were born. We had two girls so of course two boys would be optimal and that's what they were.

They've brought us joy every day (except for maybe a couple of days during their teens but only a couple) since then.

Here are Dan and Dave pictorially through the years.









These boys have been through so much together and they've always made us proud. After the war in Iraq they were both - separately - awarded Silver Stars, the third highest military award designated solely for heroism in combat - an almost unheard of honor for brothers much less twins.

They've each had multiple deployments where they spent extended periods of time away from their families.

But just like in the first picture in this post, they've never forgotten how to laugh together. And when they laugh, everybody around them laughs because it's so joyous and hilarious.

So Happy Birthday to the best two boys any parent could ask for. I hope this day is filled with happiness and wonderful memories.