Christmas in Indiana

Christmas at my parents' house was wonderful. All of my family was together, and we had such a great time spending time with everyone. Caleb especially loved "Mamaw's house." He was often the center of attention due to his being the only grandson/nephew. His vocabulary exploded with essential new phrases such as "Go Boyers!" and "Go Coats!" ** And, he received more presents than I can describe. My parents are amazing. Thanks, Mom and Dad.



He loved building towers with his new alphabet blocks with "Gam-pa..."



...and loved destroying them even more.



He received a set of golf clubs from Uncle Patrick and Aunt Hannah and did the only thing he knew to do with them...use them as microphones. :-)



But then he got a new guitar with real strings!



And of course he had to have a few jam sessions!





And the boys did what they do every Christmas...gamble away their Christmas money. :-) Well, not really. They do what they call "Cross betting." They never really call up the debts. They're so cute.





** Translation: "Go Boilers (Purdue)" and "Co Colts"

More Family Black and Whites

I have taken countless pictures since we have been traveling, but I am not uploading any of them to my computer. Unfortunately, I have completely filled my computer with music and photos...and am having a hard time getting the files backed up. So, the only recent pics that are actually on my computer are those I am using for projects.

These are some of the pics I took for a Christmas present I did for my parents. And to answer your questions, Angie, I use natural light and place them by a window with indirect light. I usually place the velvet (I think it's two and a half yards long) on a wall at a ninety degree angle from the window...and just try to get it to stay up however I can. This time I attached one corner with the binder clip to the top of some blinds and stuck the other corner into my parents' wall with one of those corn on the cob holders. Yay for improvisation.

I really have no idea what I am doing. I am just figuring it out as I go along. But I did want to answer you. :-)


MIKE (my brother who is two years younger than me) and his girlfriend of two years, MELISSA

He is a lawyer in Colorado Springs and loves hiking and photography. So, he's always fun to talk to. Melissa I met for the first time this week, and she is such a sweetheart. She fits so well in our family, and I hope to get to see lots more of her over the years.



PATRICK (my brother who is 4 years younger than me) and his wife, HANNAH

They have been married for almost four years now and live in Indianapolis. After many years in the army including service as a medic in Iraq, he is in school at IUPUI and is beginning his studies to be a doctor. He got all A's and a B, and I am so proud of him. Hannah is wonderful and an amazing wife for him. She is a property manager, so they get their housing for free. Pretty sweet deal.



BRANDON and ME

I think that, if you are reading this, you know who we are. :-)



JEFFREY (my brother six years younger than me) and CALEB

Caleb loves Jeff, so I thought that I could coax Jeff into getting his picture taken by having Caleb pose with him. But, Jeffrey is purely nocturnal and never seemed to wake up until Caleb was down for his nap. And by the time our little man was up, it was dark outside and I could no longer get the picture I wanted. So, in the end, we used a bounced flash, a bribe of chocolate and some Colts jerseys. :-)

More Indiana

These pictures are for my dad.  He asked for them.   Their house has all sorts of wonderful natural light.  Caleb wasn't very cooperative, however.  

Caleb was fascinated by my dad's treadmill.  

He loved spending time with his grandparents. 

Caleb loved spending time with his Uncle Jeff...one of two.  :-)

We went to a Jimmy Buffett concert.  My brother had tickets, and I love concerts and my family.  I  still am not much of a fan, but I had lots of fun with them. 

This is Chicago through our airplane window.  My little boy was yelling the entire time I took this, and the woman next to me ended up taking him from me to calm him down.  What kind of mom tunes her kid out like that...for a picture?  

There were finger prints all over the window, and I didn't realize it until we had passed the city.  I love that town.  

p.s.  Em and Laura, Caleb and I waved at you down there.  Em, I thought I saw your house.  :-)

Good Times

We had a wonderful time in Indiana.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!  Flying with Caleb was an adventure as always (as seen in Caleb's pants-less picture).  Spending time with friends was so much fun...though I would have loved to see more of them.  Being without a car makes it hard to see everyone, but I will take what I can get.  Caleb (and I) loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.  We look forward to seeing them again at Christmas. 

Brandon was super busy over the week we were gone.  I will post some pics of his work on our house as soon as I get them uploaded.  :-) 

Back Home Again in Indiana

While I absolutely love the beauty of the Southwest, I have been surprisingly blown away by the loveliness of my home state.  Normally when we come out here, we drive across the country so the transitions in the landscape are more gradual.  This time, Caleb and I flew...so everything is just shockingly green.