Anyone that has ever tried to take a group shot can relate to this entry.
Earlier in the year, my mother and father-in-law went to Belgium on a missions trip. They brought back many nice things for the girls as keepsakes. Among the items were umbrellas made of lace. I promised to have a portrait taken of the girls with their umbrellas. Much time passed and having a baby took precedence over getting the portrait made. Now as summer has come to an end and fall is beginning, it is the perfect weather for some outdoor shots. Since I have taken such an interest in photography, not only to keep my scrapbooks filled but also to keep my flickr photostream at maximum upload capacity by the 15th of each month, I decided to take the pictures myself. So off we went to Shawnee Mission Park; camera, kids and umbrellas in hand.
I told the girls what I wanted and I also said I'd be taking some candid shots because some of the best shots I've taken in the past were candid. I had 34 pictures left in my memory card and after taking them all, I came away with 11 favorites. I've posted five here. The picture I've uploaded with this entry is not suitable for framing but it is so realistic, it will definitely make it into the scrapbook. The next shot is candid, and it is my absolute favorite. The following two are good, but they are single posed portraits. The last picture is (sort of) what I was aiming for (pun intended). Enjoy!

I read once that women as mothers have more impact on the future generation than any other factor in a child's life. I know that impacted me greatly when I read it, but I think once I walked away from that book or article, I also just stored that information in the back of my mind. I'm ashamed to admit that even though I believe that statement, I forget sometimes to apply that to my life as a mother. I'm not trying to lay some big guilt trip on anyone, or myself for that matter. I just have this on my mind now, mostly due to a conversation with a friend. Even an absent mother has affected their child, literally more than they'll ever know. I'm speaking from experience here; my mother abandoned me as a child on three separate ocassions. Thankfully, and by the grace of God, I've come to terms with that and have let it go, but I have two brothers that cling to that. They cling so tightly that they are literally and figuratively in bondage to this day. My brother, Tony, lives in Colorado. He recently escaped death from an asthma attack. He says he's stopped smoking now, but I have little faith in that statement, because he had started up after he got out of the hospital. There's much more that I could say about Tony, but I don't think it would be fair to him, to air his life on my blog. My brother, Eric, is currently in custody in a federal prison. Because my brothers have so held on to their past, they cannot seem to break free from the cycle of destructive living. Why am I sharing this? I guess as a reminder to all of us that even the simple act of hugging our children can make a world of difference. That's all they want: our love and attention.

Sorry if this is hard to read. I'm used to reading and writing from top to bottom and this goes from bottom to top. Maybe, though, people who are accustomed to reading and writing blogs know this already?? Please share with me ways that I can make this more reader-friendly.

Isaac

PICT0075
Originally uploaded by meldenham.

The Charmer.

Zoe

a flower among the roses-spring
Originally uploaded by meldenham.

My melancholy baby.

Equal Time

Tiblow Days DEPT performance
Originally uploaded by meldenham.

Center stage is Stevie Reye. Stevie is my 11 year old daughter. She is grace, poise, and passion. This picture is from her dance troupe performance at a fair in Bonner Springs. She performed most recently at Starlight Theatre in the preshow for the musical Hairspray. Every time I see her dance, I tear up. It's kinda like when you hear the graduation march or The Star Spangled Banner play; pride just wells up and lets loose as tears...or it could just be the hormones :) Nah, gotta be the kid-pride thing. Thank you, Lord, for loaning this precious gems to me!

apple orchard

apple orchard
Originally uploaded by meldenham.

This is the latest picture of my "darling" Makenzie.

Thanks for the comments via my e-mail. Thanks, too, for liking my picture.

These are what I like to call "Makenzie Quips" (Makenzie is my 6 year old; she is my strong-willed child and what she lacks in discipline, she makes up for in personality. She always says the "darndest things" and I've taken to recording them for posterity.)

We couldn't find her coat at church one afternoon. After looking everywhere that I thought she could have left it, her response was, "I think it's in the lost and fountain."

We made plans to go to Science City. All the while she awaited the day for us to go, she kept asking when we were going to go to 'Simon's City'. (There's just some things that you enjoy hearing, I didn't have the heart or desire to correct her.)

After having a glass of flavored carbonated water, Makenzie replied, "that water with a taste makes me burp".

While on a family walk, Makenzie was several feet ahead of us on her bike. When she got to an intersection, we told her to turn left. She responded, "I don't know my left from my rights."

Please share some quips from your kids with me, I'm always in the need for a good chuckle.

I took the plunge!

OK, I did it. I started a blog of my own. I'm not sure I know what I'm doing but I figure it's worth a shot.
Hmm, now what do I talk about...

Well, my latest "thing" is spending (way too much) time on flickr. I'm totally getting into the variety of photography out there. I've posted to some 80-odd pools; mostly sharing some cool shots of my kids. I've been having a blast. I've gotten comments from all over the world and for the most part, have been totally encouraged. Today was the first time I received comments that I thought were unfounded. The group I posted to was a scoring group. The five persons submitting photos after mine were to "grade" mine as a miss or a bliss photo. Here's the photo:



This photo received three misses. I was disappointed, to say the least. First of all, the scoring should not have a technical basis (although this shot doesn't have anything wrong technically, i.e., lighting, composition, etc...). Nor should the scoring be based on the photographer's experience. The scoring should be based solely on whether or not the viewer likes the picture. Now I want to know, what's not to like? I know, I know, I'm totally biased because these are my kids. But hey, this is a great capture. Not to mention that the chaps on my eldest were my dads. Of course that bit of trivia was not included in the description on flickr; I didn't want any mercy "blisses". Well, I'm going to just chalk it up to a bunch of "artsy-fartsy" critics! HA HA! :)