Week 5: Shooting With Soul Challenge- Books

This week's Shooting With Soul exercise was a photo of Books.

I decided to go with the books that have been ones I've been reading (and using) lately.

My MacBook - see what I did there?! Yes, I am reading on it! The course I'm taking to become a Breastfeeding USA Breastfeeding Counselor has the textbook available as an e-book for free for the time it takes you to finish the class. I plan on buying it to have in my library, but I haven't yet.

The Developing Person Through the Life Span - required text for the Lifespan Development course I'm taking this semester.

Shooting with Soul by Alessandra Cave - for this challenge of course!! I do love growing my photography. If only I could google how to make my brain be more creative!

My Bible and Study Notebook - for my spiritual development. I'm enjoying my reading as I started over in my reading schedule. I'm also working my way studying through the book of John using the SOAP (scripture, observation, application, prayer) method of studying.

The Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson - I'm slowly making my way through it. It's an easy read, but I find myself getting distracted by thinking of my own strong-willed child. It goes without saying that I have not made it very far.

One fun tidbit about this photo: this is straight out of the camera, not edited, not cropped!

Check out Hannah's book post. Be sure to use #shootingwithsoul and #theevereclectic when you posting to Facebook or Instagram. I can't wait to see yours!!

Shooting with Soul: Week 4: Something You Collect

This weeks exercise in the Shooting with Soul challenge was a photo of something you collect.

As I discovered trying to shoot the above picture: it is hard to take pictures of framed pictures! These pictures (and frames!) however, are so special to me. They represent the places we've been, memories we've made, some as a family, some just Chad and me. 

Whenever we start to plan a trip, we always say to each other, "we need to make sure we find a frame". On the way to our destination, "where do you think we should take our picture?". We enjoy hunting for the perfect frame, the perfect spot, and looking back through the photos for which photo we should display in our frame.

When we were visiting Niagara Falls a few years ago, we were in the elevator after one of our tours of the Falls, deciding that our next stop would be the Official Falls Gift Shop to look for a frame. We were talking about how many frames we would accumulate over the next 50 years. I got (and am getting!) choked up thinking of the new places and new sights we would explore together, hoping that these photos and the photos of the future would mean as much to the kids as they do to Chad and me.

Be sure to check out Hannah's collection of earrings, and tag your collection photos with #theevereclectic and #shootingwithsoul!

Shooting with Soul: Week 3: Your Shadow

This weeks exercise was a picture of your shadow. This week, I had several different ideas run through my head- we had snow on the ground most of the week, and a bunch of snowy days, but every time I tried to take one of by myself it wasn't what I really wanted. Then later in the week, I was finished with my run and walking back home and noticed that if I stood in the middle of the street, and the way the two streetlights are situated, it would cast 2 shadows.

I had Chad help me, and he just snapped a quick pic with my smartphone. I like how it turned out! The two shadows, but also since the lights are behind me, I look like a shadow.

Link up your shadow pic using #theevereclectic and #shootingwithsoul. Be sure to check out Hannah's shadow pic (and she featured my pic from last week!!)

Photo Challenge & Update

What a busy busy fall! I'll get more into that later, but first, the reason I'm joining you again after months of silence.

I'm so excited to announce that I will be taking part in a photo challenge hosted by my friend Hannah over at The Ever Eclectic. You can check out a into to the project here. And the post of her first exercise here.

Each week, I'll post a photo as it relates to the exercises found in the book Shooting with Soul.

Stay tuned for the first exercise: "Glimpses of You" later this week. I hope you guys link up too!

************************************
Now, I'm going to give a little catch up of the last few months. You can stop reading, if you want, I won't be offended. Or just scroll through the pictures. I do this more for me, than for you - I like going back and remembering too.

I started (and finished last week!) some classes online from a local community college. I'm working on the requirements needed to sit for the IBCLC exam.

Of course, the kids started back to school. 5th and 1st grade. How does that happen?

 

Lydia turned 2:

I ran my second half marathon. It was quite possibly the most difficult thing I've ever done, except child birth x3...That's a sore subject, so we'll leave it at that.

I registered and started training for the Myrtle Beach Marathon on February 14. Just under 9 weeks to go. Training is going great. Maybe someday soon I'll share my training schedule.

We had our first snow day!

We had a student of the month:

We had our first ever (of many!) band concert. Fifth grade band is about as good as it gets, haha!

The last few weeks have been busy with the big kids basketball schedules. Juggling 2 schedules is hard sometimes. Thankfully, we have very few games that overlap. So while I will be doing a lot of driving between now and March 1, I will get to see the majority of the games.