Showing posts with label Jacob. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacob. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- I Didn't Expect to See THAT Here!

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ I Didn't Expect to See That Here!

Chosen by Kathy.


It was tough to find images that fit this theme.  Halfway through my images, I realized I was searching for Now What's That Doing Here?  Then I realized it's slightly different.  I expect to, say, walk into a room and have it look like it always does.  So, these pictures reflect things or scenarios I didn't expect to be there.

For my header, I chose this image:


I fully expected to see college books lying around my house, and even on my kitchen counter.  I didn't expect to see that molecular model sitting there, though.  I guess that's a toy for a biochemistry major (required for his Quantitative Chemical Analysis course--I can barely type that, let alone try to say or describe it!).

Here are some more unexpected scenarios...

Walking into my family room, I fully expected to see Jacob in his spot on the couch, on his laptop.  I did not expect to see a huge Papasan chair with Thomas lounging in it, his bruised ankle (twisted in a football practice injury) hanging off the end of the chair.  That chair took up the entire family room!


While making a large batch of tomato soup which I planned on canning, I didn't expect the hot soup to shoot through the little pouring hole in my blender as I pureed it.  And, neither did I expect to look up and see the splatters of soup all over the ceiling above.  I mean, I had the lid on the blender.  Sheesh.


For last year's Labor Day parade, I expected to see parade-type things--not Jacob with a sign taped to his chest.  The sign came from my friend, the homeowner, whose son-in-law had posted it on the coffee pot in the kitchen that morning.  She figured the sign would get put to good use on Jacob.


One day last October, I heard a loud CRACK as I sat at the computer.  I thought the lawn mowing service for the church property behind us had kicked up a rock which hit our window.  I checked all the first floor windows on the west side, but nothing.  I shrugged and went back to my day.

Later that evening, after Danny had come home from school, I heard a, "Hey, Mom?  What happened to my [bedroom] window??"  I knew before I even saw it.  The industrial lanwmower had kicked up a rock to the second-story window, which shot through both the screen and the outside pane of the double-pane window!  I took several pictures, while dreading calling the company to see if they'd replace the window.

Before I could even finish my story to the owner of Prime Cut Landscaping, he told me to get the window and screen fixed and send him the bill.  I was impressed and amazed at their integrity--and thankful we didn't have to pay for repairs!


The below is the Christmas tree in Daley Plaza downtown Chicago; it's a familiar landmark of this city, along with the Christkindl market at Christmastime (you can see the booths of the market around the tree).  Danny performed in the UIC University Choir's Christmas concert that night, and honestly, we found the building, walked in, and enjoyed the concert, never bothering to look at our surroundings.  When we exited the building, there it was!  I expected a street full of skyscrapers, and lots of people since it was a Saturday night.

While Fernando and Danny walked to the parking garage to pick up the car, we had about 15 minutes to enjoy the tree and our surroundings.  I even had several people lined up at one point, handing me their smart phones to take their pictures in front of the tree, lol!  How did that happen??  I guess they saw the Canon around my neck and figured I knew what I was doing.  It was a ton of fun.


Thanks for visiting!  I expect to see some great, interesting, and fun photos on your blogs, too!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Weekly Header Challenge -- Finished!

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Finished!

Chosen by Kathy.


I feel so much better prepared for the Weekly Header Challenge this week!  Even though our family is experiencing multiple difficulties and challenges, I think I found a great photo to illustrate Kathy's theme for this week.  Here is is, in full format:

The game is finished and both teams celebrate together!

The Crusaders (our home team, in blue) played the Illinois School for the Deaf (the Tigers), and won a hard-fought game.  Both teams played with great heart, which was exhibited at game's end when both teams gathered for a pep talk by the Crusaders' head coach.  Then, all the players held up their helmets and celebrated together--the game is finished!  What a great show of sportsmanship.

Here's another shot from a wider angle, though I love the close-up with the camaraderie between the players.


Other things that are finished...

My garlic-lemon-rosemary chicken roaster is finished.  (It was delicious.)

Finished kebabs from the grill.  And finished in minutes by my hungry guys!

Thomas' baptism!  Old life finished--no looking back after this public declaration of faith in Jesus.

The tomatoes are finished--in cans as sauce.

Danny's haircut is finished.  He paid me for this one.

Alpha Omega math team finished 5th in state at the state finals tournament!

Jacob finished college!

If I play this game, I'm finished.  ;)

The finish of a summer day.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Weekly Header Challenge - Celebration

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!


"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 


I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!


Theme ~ Celebration

Chosen by Tom FG.


Perfect theme; thanks, Tom!!  We've been celebrating lots of things lately, but this one is the biggest:  Our son Jacob graduated from college!  That's him in the header, which was taken right as the graduates walked to their seats and were still standing.  My 70-300mm lens was focused on Jacob, and I was ready to snap away when he looked over and up at us.  It ended up being a perfect shot!

Rather than lots of words, and since I love to tell a story with my images, here's our weekend of celebration.

Friday - The Honors Convocation


Jacob received two medallions--one for completing Honors College requirements,
and one for graduating Magna Cum Laude.




Saturday - The Graduation

Driving from our hotel to the WIU campus; greeted by purple and gold banners!


Jacob spent the night in his old dorm with some buddies.

Taken by Fernando--Jacob gave me several names of friends to take pics of!


The full image of my header.



Moving the tassel--that's Jacob's friend Corey's triumphant face!

Hug from his proud dad.


Sunday - The Celebration

Just a couple of images from our afternoon/evening party!

A celebration must-have--I made two cakes!

Brothers and friends (and a photobomb!) celebrate together.

Can't wait to visit your blogs and celebrate with you!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Monday, November 21, 2011

365 Project -- #316-322

This is the time in my week when I look back at the images I've captured
throughout the previous week, and choose my seven favorites.
These seven--one for each day of the week--are featured below.


November 12 - November 18

Slow is a good word to describe last week, photographically speaking.  Ellie sat a lot, but that's okay--I was busy in the home, which I like to be, and didn't get much chance (or didn't think about it much) to pull her out and take pictures.  I have a few random shots of those few times I did get Ellie out, and then a small event with our son, Jacob.

Soooo...I made pico de gallo with most of the rest of my garden tomatoes that had ripened.  I ended up with about eight cups of salsa, which we enjoyed throughout the week.

[316] Pico de gallo

Okay, the below is a really bizarre shot.  One night we noticed that the moon was really low, heavy and full in the sky.  I've experimented with moon shots before, so I figured I'd do so again.  After trying different angles and exposures, I finally just set Ellie at f40 and took a 25-second exposure.  In post-edit, I had to jack up the fill light to see everything, and this is what I ended up with.  (The white streak is what showed up from a plane flying by.)

[317] Moonscape

The rest of the images below were taken at our son Jacob's induction ceremony for Phi Theta Kappa (honor society for two-year colleges).  We're so proud of his hard work at school, and we're really hoping that his brother Danny will follow in his footsteps.  We met a couple other homeschool graduates after the ceremony, and enjoyed some fantastic appetizers made by the Joliet Junior College culinary students.

 [318] Phi Theta Kappa

 [319] Ceremony program

[320] Inductees

[321] Signing the register

[322] Phi Theta Kappa member


That was a very nice ending to our week!  This week I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving; I'm determined to take as many pictures of family as food!  Plus, we're going on a crazy trip to Wisconsin with dear friends to get a Christmas tree.  I know for sure Ellie will produce a bonanza of great images this upcoming week!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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