"Josh and Benjamin"
This is Josh (on the right) and his friend Benjamin on the left. They had a great time at Champion Golf and Games!

"Josh's Birthday Cake"
For those who asked (and for those who didn't), here is Josh's cake. Tracy always asks the kids to design their own cake, and they also help make it. Josh made the buildings and helped with the zip line and Raphael. This one was all Josh's idea... We have made it a point to nurture and encourage all of our childrens' creative sides. Having a creative outlet is important to both Tracy and I, and we hope to instill it into our three boys as well. We will be eating this is a couple of hours... Yummmmm!

Still playing with the Oreos, and Photoshop...

"Manhole Covers"
Tracy is making a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles birthday cake for Josh. The cake is frosted in gray with sidewalks, and crushed oreos make up the street. She added a couple of whole oreos for manhole covers (Ninja Turtles live in the sewers and access the city via storm drains). Josh made buildings for two sides of the cake, and Raphael is on a zip line between two buildings. Lots of fun... This photo is the stack of Double Stuffs that I ran away with! :)

"Not Inspired..."
I'm not happy with this result, but I have no more time and have to go with it. I tried to separate the chameleon from the background and do something with it, but I'm not sure what it was.
Maybe I'll get something better on Saturday.

"Me again..."

"No Energy"
I didn't have the energy to find a PAD subject today, so you get me instead...

"Mother and Daughter"
I'm not happy with this image yet, but I'm getting there. I love the smiles and engergy here, but the background is completely horrible! I've put a little time into this shot in Photoshop, but I still have more work to do. I need to touch up the transition from face to background, especially on the mom. Enough for tonight, though! Goodnight, and sweet dreams to all...

I have posted this shot in the past, but felt it was appropriate to post it again today. My last shot on the 14th was created without any events in my own life to prompt it, but it wound up being great advice this week. We had an issue with Josh's childcare provider and removed him from that service. He was choked and strangled by an older child from that neighborhood (this child was not in the care of Josh's childcare provider). He is ok, but it could have been much worse, as the childcare provider left him in a vulnerable situation, and was not supervising the children in her care. This event served as a catalyst for me to ask lots of questions of the provider, as well as other parents who use or have used her service. Lots of information flooded in, indicating that she has a track record of compromising the safety and security of the children in her care. I have been struggling all week trying to decide if I have fulfilled my social responsibilities by notifying the other parents involved, or if I need to take further action and call Social Services. I still have not fully decided, and may seek legal advice. This has greatly impacted our lives with regard to childcare, transportation for Josh to and from school (he attends a charter school out of district, and other parents in our carpool use and intend to keep using the same childcare provider), etc... Also, Tracy's grandfather died this week, Tracy broke a tooth, my job has been very demanding at the beginning of this new project, etc, etc. It has been a very stressfull week for us, with both large and small problems arising. Tracy and I went and saw The Passion of Christ and it has reminded us that our problems are trivial in the grand scheme of things. After a week of turmoil and stress, we are now refocused on what is important in life. We still have problems that need attention and effort to resolve, but we are proceeding with a different attitude, relying on our faith and trying to base decisions on what is right and wrong.

"Matthew 6:25-34"
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

"Pray"
Praying that God will shed his light on me...

"There's work to be done..."
My wife has been wanting me to paint the gutters and trim for several years. I don't think I can put it off any longer. I bought a wire brush today to get rid of the peeling paint, then comes primer, then a final paint coat. I'm just glad our house is brick, so there really isn't too much to paint!

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #10

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #9

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #8

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #7

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #6

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #5 (BW)

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #4

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #3

Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #2

"Mr Sunshine"
Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel
Family Night Theater #1

"Two Girls"
I was invited by my church (Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel) to photograph their Family Night Theater. They serve dinner and put on a show once a month to promote family values. My shots of the show are fun, but the real winners were candids of the audience during the show! I will post more from this event later...

"Tracy's Pastels"
I was cleaning out some stuff in storage and ran across these. Tracy has a degree in Fine Art, and these were some materials packed away from school days...

"Cup Detail 2"
I am starting a new job at Intel with a different consulting group tomorrow. I don't think I will have time for photos this week, so I am posting several today. If I have the chance, I'll post more this week, but don't expect to have the time. I hope everyone has a great week!

"Me, Myself, and Eye"

"Canon"
This is my lens cap, and a four foot aluminum level... They are sitting on 'mirror' paper, which is shiny craft paper.

"Mike Wazowski!!"

"Wine Bottle"
This is my second PAD shot using this empty wine bottle. You don't have to look at me this time, though.

"Chapped Lips"
I am starting a new job at Intel with a different consulting group tomorrow. I don't think I will have time for photos this week, so I am posting several today. If I have the chance, I'll post more this week, but don't expect to have the time. I hope everyone has a great week!

"Cup Detail 1"
I am starting a new job at Intel with a different consulting group tomorrow. I don't think I will have time for photos this week, so I am posting several today. If I have the chance, I'll post more this week, but don't expect to have the time. I hope everyone has a great week!

"Reflected Faith"
I am starting a new job at Intel with a different consulting group tomorrow. I don't think I will have time for photos this week, so I am posting several today. If I have the chance, I'll post more this week, but I don't expect to have the time. I hope everyone has a great week!

"A Cup of French Press"
Tracy is a manager at Starbucks, so that is what we usually drink. Tracy's parents just came back from a cruise on the Queen Mary (I think that is the new one) that went through the Panama Canal. They brought us some Panamanian coffee, purchased locally while there. I made a french press (like making tea with coarsly ground coffee), knowing that I was going to use it for a PAD shot. Sooo... I used Tracy's cup and saucer that she brought back from England... Now how many of you are going to go and make some coffee???

"Leaf with Bottle"
I found this leaf and bottle in my office. I had put the leaf in the bottle last Fall, and never got around to taking any photos of it. Here it is months later, its patience all spent...

"Take Me to Your Leader"
Another action figure...

Another version of the same action figure...

"Action Figure"
This is one of my boys' action figures from the Planet of the Apes. If I remember correctly, this guy started off a bad guy, but switches to the good guy side later in the movie.

"A Crown for the Princess"
Today is my little sister's birthday! JoRenda is 12 years younger than me, so even though she is a grown woman, she will always seem like a little princess to me! Happy Birthday, JoRenda!

And another splash...

"The Blue Crush"

"Not a Dime"
Yes, it looks like a dime, but it is a Bicentennial 50 cent piece! The stacks are dollar coins, not pennies...

"E Pluribus Unum"
Still working with lighting... I saw a coin shot on www.fredmiranda.com that blew me away. I wanted to practice is some, and mine is nowhere near as nice. His was of a Liberty silver dollar, brand new with no scratches. I need to get me some of those so I can try it. This is the best I could do with what I have at home right now. Still, I like this money shot!

This image won a POTD at www.bestfoto.com on March 12, 2004!

"Farmer and His Herd"
Just playing with some of the boys figures. I'm trying out some lighting on smooth plastic for practice...

"Past Its Prime"
This is the Daffodil from February again... Now it is dried out and well past its prime...

"Lionfish"

"Bottles in a Window"
This window was actually four panes high, with rows of bottles on the top three levels. I shot this at Zios Italian Restaurant in Colorado Springs, CO.

"The Upper Three Shelves"

"The Gift That Never Made It"
I bought this little wooden sun box for my Mom while in Boulder, Colorado in 1995. It seems to have never made it to Indiana...