Gone Fishing

These four amigos are headed to Squantum Point to see what might be biting in the bay.

Cemetry lights or BBQ Candles?

Next weekend will be All Saints' Day when all the Poles descend on their local cememtries and leave candles and flowers. It's a really moving occassion, especially walking through the graves and night (with all the twinkling candles).

Talking of which...the grave lights are very popular here...as you can see with the above advertisement. A few years ago, an English friend of mine came to Toruń and but about 20 of these lights thinking they were BBQ lights. He then went back to the UK and invited some Polish friends of his around for the evening. You can imagine the shock and surprise when they entered his garden!! They must have wondered who had just died!!! Hee hee!!!

August Birthday

My friend just turned three. His folks threw a big party with family and friends, and an artist came to draw caricatures of all the kids. I wonder what wonders my buddy contemplated while he sat for his portrait. Perhaps he considered how blessed he is to share his birthday with his baby brother.

Perhaps not.

Meanwhile, baby brother contemplated a completely different set of wonders on his first birthday.

Happy birthday, my friends!

Having Some Fun

My brother Matt and sister-in-law, Gina, are both really talented. Matt can pretty much pick up any instrument and play it well and he writes music too. We always enjoy hearing his latest songs when we're hanging out as a family. He took a photography class last year that really connected with his creative side and he jumped right into it. Gina loves photography too and is always snapping photos at our family get-togethers! (She's also an amazing knitter and even plays the drums!)

After throwing the idea around for quite some time they decided to start a photography business! I'm so excited for them and know they're going to do great! And it's been fun to get to share with them some of the things I've learned over time. They want to mainly focus on HS Senior photography at first, so I thought it would be great to get a group of high schoolers together and do a shoot with Matt & Gina. It would give them a chance to build their portfolio and really, I just thought it would be fun! So these fantastic teenagers volunteered to be our subjects in the freezing cold, windy December weather and did such a great job! (Thank you Elizabeth, April, Hannah, Brennan & Jillian for being so wonderful!) Matt & Gina's website is in construction mode, but to book a session with them, you can check them out here: www.corneliusphotoworks.com
They live in Eugene, OR, but will be doing photo shoots in surrounding areas too. Bookmark their blog to follow their progression.

I really like photographing groups in a setting where we're doing something active. We had arranged to have a green canoe that day and be able to do some other fun "lifestyle shots", but that fell through at the last minute. But it was great just to goof off and shoot anything we wanted. I also put down my 85mm lens that day and only shot with my 50mm and I re-fell-in-love with it. :) I use to only shoot with a 50mm until I bought my 85 and it became my favorite lens. (I rarely take it off my camera.) But I think I'll be using my 50mm a lot more again! You go 50, you go! :)

If any hs seniors in the future want to do their senior sessions together (in a group) I'm all for it!
Here are some of my shots from that day.

Gifted Friends

So, last Saturday my right hand went numb while shooting pictures! It kind of freaked me out. By Sunday I had most of the feeling back in my right hand, except for my right ring finger. On Monday my friend Mauria graciously watched Jude & Selah so I could go see my chiropractor, Christine Cook. She's amazing! I'm not a "chiropractor" kind of person, especially because the sound of someone just popping their knuckles grosses me out. But Christine is SO good at what she does. She helped me a year ago when I fell down the stairs carrying Selah and had really tweaked out my back and ribs. She made me feel like myself again through ultrasound massage and a couple adjustments. So I went to see her about my numb finger and she did some work on me, and I felt great!

On Tuesday I was feeling much more aligned, and got some feeling back in that finger, but it was STILL partially numb! Grrr... I was starting to get concerned. So I talked to my friend Val, who is a gifted massage therapist (LMT #10329) & has been doing massage for 6 years. She generously brought her table to our house and set it up in our living room. The kids were asleep, Josh put in a soothing CD he had given me a while ago, lit my favorite candles, and Val attacked those crazy muscles of mine with some trigger point massage and then a super relaxing massage. And the feeling returned to my right ring finger! Yea!! I can't even explain how luxurious it felt to have a personal massage in my own home! Amazing. Val is SO good. It was the best massage I have ever had. A real gift.


Val said that if you call or email her to book an in home massage and give her the discount code, "Bethany F Photography" she'll give you $10 off. So it's only $60. Trust me, it's worth it!
Here's her info to book an appt. (503) 318-1129 or email, vrpontius@yahoo.com

Val specializes in in-home massage for women. She is skilled in Swedish, Deep Tissue, Trigger Point, Myofascial Release, and Prenatal massage. (She does massage for wedding parties as well.)

Thank you Lord for healing my finger through these skilled hands of friends!

Le Déjeuner sur le Sly

Yesterday I made reference to a "secret picnic." S. invited a few friends to help perpetuate her tradition of a "trespasser's picnic," where you have your lunch in an idyllic spot that's somehow...off-limits.

Of course your purpose is benign. You have no wish to intrude. You simply know of a spot. No one's using it, it's perfect, and shouldn't someone have a picnic there?

When you leave, you take with you every bit of what you brought. "Pack out what you pack in," as they say, and no one will ever know you were there.

Buddies

Jude's best buddy is Rowen. He just loves to play with him and they can be all boy together... although, they tend to be less rowdy than most boys, but still all boy. :) They love to play with trucks and trains, and Jude gets a kick out of the funny things Rowen does, like hide in the toy box.
Today they got to enjoy a special treat together, after a warm morning of strawberry picking. Here are a couple snapshots...


I love the drips on their clothes. :) What a couple of cuties.


Jude was really excited to get an ice cream cone. He apparently wasted no time eating it.


And this was Rowen's very first cone! Go Rowen! So adorable.
Mauria, we're blessed by you and your boys' friendship. :)

Oregon Beach

Josh, the kids and I spent the weekend at the beach with my family and had a great time. It's always so relaxing there. We stayed at the Cornelius House and I'm telling you, I LOVE that place. It's a home away from home for me, and every time we stay there I wish we had planned ahead to stay longer. We were a crack up, though... among seven adults we had seven computers there. It sure shows the age we live in; none of us felt like we could leave home without our laptop!

On Sunday afternoon my brother Caleb's girlfriend came out to the coast and brought along some friends, and a couple of those friends were visiting from another state. We went down to the beach to take some fun pictures and play around. This was a great group!! They were singing, full of laughter and personality!