Archives for August 2014

Vacation Snapshot: Day at the Cleveland Zoo

August 11, 2014 by 6 Comments

IMG_0239I don’t want to let Summer Photo Fun get away from us without giving you a glimpse of one of our vacation days. This year Don and I went to visit his sister Emily and her family in Ohio. Since we’d never been to Ohio before, we took time to see several of the sights.

We spotted wildlife in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and around Lake Erie, but we also got to see the exotic animals making their home in the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. If you know me well, you can imagine how much fun I had snapping photos, trying my best to capture some real jewels.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our zoo day. Hope you enjoy a peek at some of God’s amazing animals we rarely get to see. Thank you, Lord, for the beauty and creative variety of your world!

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Partner to the lovely Lioness above and general all-round King of the Forest.

IMG_0289This beauty is an Egyptian Goose.

IMG_0513Oh my goodness, who wouldn’t like this Koala cutie-pie?

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Well, hello there, Giraffie-poo! :)

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Here’s some Cheetah beauty. What a gorgeous animal!

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Thank goodness this Gorilla was the strong silent type!

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The Red-crowned Crane likes to high step!

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The always impressive Grizzly Bear. That poor ear of corn didn’t have a chance!

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Just when I didn’t think I could be more amazed, he stood for us. Now THAT was impressive. Wowzers!

“Praise the LORD from the earth . . . you great sea creatures . . . wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds . . . Let them praise the name of the LORD . . .” Psalm 148: 7a,10, 13a

*What animals do you most enjoy seeing at the zoo?

*My photos

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

Filed Under: adventure, fun, nature, photo fun, travel, variety

Cute Idea for the Bride—Shoes to Match the Bouquet

August 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Mother of the Bride, here’s a great idea for the bride’s attire that will not only look stunning and fun on the big day but will provide a super cute photo op as well.

If your daughter has decided she wants a colorful bridal bouquet, why not suggest that she match her bridal shoes to one of the colors in the bouquet? Just think of the color possibilities and the sweet sizzle colorful shoes will create when they peek out from time to time. Or when the bride boldly flashes them just for fun—and for the cute photos that will be captured!

And yes, it’s okay to make wedding decisions based on the dynamite photos that may result. After all, you’ll have the photos forever. Might as well make them shine, right?

So, MOB, see if your daughter would like to color it up on her wedding day. If so, matching the shoes to the bouquet is a spectacular way to do it. Can’t you just see it now? Fun stuff, huh?

*You might also like to read  Rustic Wedding Bridal Shoes: Boots—What Else?, Bridal Shoes: The Cute Factor, Wedding Shoes Trend: Color Is In!, and Wedding Shoes: Sneakers for the Party!

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out last week. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by coco+kelley, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: appearance, bride, color, flowers, fun, Mother of the Bride

Three Tips for Working with Your Wedding DJ

August 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Mother of the Bride, have you thought about special instructions for the wedding DJ yet? Whether your daughter and her groom have opted to go with a professional DJ for the wedding party or whether a friend has offered to act as DJ, certain important aspects of the job need to be discussed ahead of time.

Here are three vital instructions to nail down with your DJ:

1) The pronunciation of the names of everyone in the wedding party. Prepare a list of with pronunciations and go over it verbally with the DJ. Have him or her read it back to you.

2) Instruct DJ to start playing background music as soon as the first guests arrive at the reception. You don’t want to get there with the rest of the wedding party to find the guests sitting in bored silence waiting for the party to begin.

3) Tell the DJ what kind of music to play. The bride and groom don’t have to select each song if they don’t want to, but some general direction is needed. If you leave it up to the DJ, he or she might play rap or hip hop when you all would prefer country or soft rock or jazz.

Other details (time, place, payment, etc.) need to be discussed with the DJ as well, MOB, but the above details are three important things not to forget to address. Now, look forward to dancing the night away!

*The current issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out Monday. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by cheriejoyful, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: advice, celebrate, Mother of the Bride, music, preparation

Bird Bonanza on Summer Photo Fun!

August 7, 2014 by 6 Comments

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You didn’t think I’d let Summer Photo Fun go by with showing you only that one little bird in my last post, did you?

If you’ve known me or followed my blog or personal Facebook page for very long, you know that I love trying to capture great pictures of birds. Summer Photo Fun provides the perfect opportunity to share some of my photos with you. How do you like the shot above of Daddy Cardinal feeding one of his young ones? (By the way, young birds are called juveniles.)

God’s creativity shines in so many ways in the natural world, and he really shows off through his birds. So many colors, sizes, patterns and markings, unique calls, and behavioral traits. If you haven’t taken time to notice some of these intricacies of our feathered friends, I encourage you to do so.

Some of the photos below are birds you’re probably very familiar with and some may be new to you. I’ll list the type of birds at the end of the post so you can test your knowledge as you scroll down. I’ll list them in order of appearance, making number one the first one below.

Hope you enjoy. Let me how many you got right or if any of them stumped you. Can’t wait to hear how many of you know your birds! :)

“And God said . . . ‘let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.’ So God created . . . every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:20-21

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How many did you guess right? 1. Tufted Titmouse  2. Mourning Dove (juvenile)  3. female Downy Woodpecker (left), male Downy Woodpecker (right)  4. Osprey  5. Eastern Phoebe  6. Carolina Wren  7. Northern Flicker (type of woodpecker)  8. American White Pelican

*My photos

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out the Monday. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

Filed Under: creation/creative/creator, nature, photo fun, victory

Bridal Portrait Idea: Windows Plus Great Light

August 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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Mother of the Bride, here’s an idea for some stunning bridal portrait shots—look for a place that has beautiful windows. Schedule the session when the light will be incredible, and you will end up with some amazing photographs of your precious girl.

Late afternoon sunlight streaming through the gorgeous windows at the Tulsa Garden Center was a winning combination for our daughter Kristin’s bridal portrait session. The windows and sunlight provided the perfect backdrop for our gorgeous bride-to-be. (I know I’m partial because I’m her mother, but isn’t she beautiful?!)

The real beauty, of course, is in the heart of the girl and the love she is feeling for her groom, but a beautiful setting adds a finishing touch that will make your sweet girl truly shine for these special photographs.

Try the windows plus great light idea, MOB, if you can arrange it. You won’t be disappointed!

Kristin Bridal full length

back shot in sunroom 2*You might also like to read Bridal Portrait Idea: Fun with Sunglasses, Bridal Portrait Idea: A Mirror Shot, and Bridal Portrait Idea: Watching for the Groom.

*Photos by Chris Humphrey Photography

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out today. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

Filed Under: advice, beauty, bride, Mother of the Bride, photo fun, variety
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