Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

from where i stand- there's a bit of luck, a lot of hard work, lots of laughs and blessings, too. in the end, you have 5 children and a bunch of grandchildren that honor your name.

Congrats on one more year of adventure and happiness.

love you bunches!!!

First light at Elm Fork, Memorial Day weekend

i wanted to capture the amazing fields at first light-

i made my way at 5:30 in the morning, hoping that the rain would quit- that the sun would be seen as it began to rise.

i think it turned out fine- and more than that, it was a lot of fun!

Howard met me out there. He, too, thought it would be a fun morning- and the challenge of getting the light right at that time of day was a good learning experience!

Finally- a post!

This little group has been so great to teach. We had our graduation last week- and for each of them i make a 'annual' of sorts. the book includes a photo of each of their friends and is presented in the fashion of Eric Carle's book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Mine began, 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? i see Bryn looking at me.' and so it continues until you come to the last child who see her teachers- and then we see the class picture, which reads, 'Teacher, Teacher what do you see? I see a graduate looking at me!'

anyway- there is Tyler who is my Taylor all over again- so bright and happy and good hearted. and Bryn who wouldn't accept her graduation certificate during the ceremony until she could tell me that her mom promised that she could come to a summer camp- so that it wouldn't be the last time she could see me.

there is Rachel who cried in her sleep that she wouldn't be in our class anymore- and Jimmy who decided that i was supposed to be his Kindergarten teacher.

these children are near and dear to my heart- and will be missed!

here's an 'interesting'...

since i published my flds 'rhonda's view', and this post, there have been four visitors to my site that aren't family.

one from DC , one from San Angelo, one from Arlington VA, and one from SLC. the readers from DC, VA and SLC googled blogs that had FLDS mentioned- and i'm not sure how san angelo found me.

at any rate...

hey Beej... this does have a feel of Big Brother watching!

(i'm smiling as i'm writing this so in case there are hidden cameras, i'll look good)

crawfish aka 'mud bugs'

Lousiana is known for these cajun critters, but since i've lived here in texas, i've learned that if texas likes something- it becomes theirs, too.

lot of folks hold crawfish parties- and i have up to this point avoided it all.

last tuesday, that ended.

this shooter that we call 'doc' because he's a chiropractor, came into Jeanie's office to say 'hi' and to invite me out to meet his famous cooking buddy.

i went and was invited to stay for the feast.

i say 'feast' because you should see how they serve this stuff:

that's right, in a styrofoam bucket- 5 inches deep and a foot across by 10 inches. heaping full of legs, shell, eyes, antennas...all of it! ...with a side of corn, some crackers and half a roll of paper towels.

.

so i took a lesson from doc. you take the mud bug in your hands, snap the tail off from the body, if you have a stomach of steel then you suck on the body and finally, you pull the meat from the tail. at this point you devein it- and put the inch or so of meat into a dip not unlike thousand island, pop it in your mouth- only to begin the process again.

.

ummm...

.

i don't have the strongest stomach. especially when i'm man handling eyeballs and guts with the same fingers i'm eating with- but i hung in there and ate about 10.

.

they are good- but to be truthful, i doubt i'll go looking for the experience again anytime soon!

.

doc has pancreatic disease. he's the happiest man- even when he's wearing a patch for pain meds! i enjoyed sitting there having this meal with him- and when he left he kissed my cheek and told me how he 'enjoyed' me. read nothing more into this! he is happily married and brags about his bride the way every woman would love to be. i imagine they've been married close to 35 years. doc is also a veteran, surviving several serious injuries.

.

in the end- it was my mud bug pleasure!

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Mom, Happy Mother's Day!
To all of the mommies, too, you're admired and loved-!

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just a little busy and a whole lot of fun!

the slide show above has a sampling of a few other shoots i've done recently.

'Diva Day' was held at Elm Fork. the Divas of Dallas hold this event twice a year to encourage local women to become more acquainted with outdoor sports- so they offer BB guns, archery, cross bow, rifle, pistol, fly fishing and shotgun. the ladies had a 'blast'!

i also took Sarah K's senior photos in the studio. sarah loves to be crazy fun and always a big smile. she told me that i had to be her wedding photographer because i was so fun to work with. her mom told me that the photo she personally liked best was one of sarah being more thoughtful- and a VERY hard capture- but worth it- darlene cried when she expressed how thankful she was to me for the beauty of it.

i also worked with steph and luis's family. we spent 2 1/2 hours taking photos. the boys are young and needed alot of energy and effort to get good photos, but in the end steph said she loved the photos and that i 'really caught their personalities'.

i am so excited to know that people are touched by what i'm doing with their memories. it is such a rewarding experience and drives me to just get in and do more!

my FLDS view

living in texas as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (mormon) there are many opportunities to learn and talk about what's going on in the news regarding the FLDS.

first, i'm so irked that not only are they referred to as FLDS they are also called renegade mormons by the press. it leaves everyone wondering how we are all tied in. i have answered many questions regarding this- and i have no problem answering them, but at the same time, i am annoyed. according to wikipedia this group didn't form until around 1935 even though the LDS church formally abandoned polygamy in 1890.

there were several off shoots in those years- each with different names. lucky us (sarcasm in my finest snarky tone) that the FLDS is the group in the news- it's name is the only one close to ours.

onto the news at hand.

many children were taken. i don't think it was wrong for this to happen. i believe that if there is one predator living amongst a group that is living as a family- then all who are vulnerable should be removed. abuse is sick and i am not for taking chances with those too young or innocent to defend themselves.

on the outset, many wondered if the move was appropriate.

since- the facts coming out of this investigation are astounding to me.

the move to test for DNA was brilliant. not only does this help identify which child belongs to which parent (because there were children that didn't know which mom was theirs additionally there were moms lying about it!) it also is living proof of the underage sex that was taking place. they've come to find out that many of the teens either had had babies or were expecting them.

sidenote to BJ: i shudder to think about your concerns over Big Brother being too invasive over allegations that possibly could lead to a single abuse case. ive been for taking the chance on being wrong when it comes to protecting a child- yes, one single child. and in this case- we're now hearing about...

of 400 or so children: 41 with current/past broken bones or fractures. i've worked with 60 children this year. 2 of the children were treated for similar problems. 10 percent is outrageous!

of the 400 children, only 1/3 of them are boys. because many find that odd- there are now investigations leading into other sinister goings on. so far the 'lost boys' have been mentioned (again for that reason alone i am for being invasive because that, too, is abuse). a boy has no value in the community. several interviews i have heard talk about boys being used for blood atoning and slave labor. and the latest is that the boys are being sexually abused, too. BIG surprise-NOT. if abuse is accepted within a community- don't expect or fool yourself into believing that girls are the only victims.

abuse is not having boundaries. this is why verbal abuse often escalates into physical and why sexual abuse is not only about girls and women.

in the end- the FLDS brought this outcome upon themselves because they did not protect their own children. this is sad to say- being that so many of the people in this community have been programmed to think differently about society norms.

in other cultures around the world atrocities are 'norms', too. generations of families are living thinking that it's okay to sell children to have money to eat. that it's okay to mutilate or kill in the name of honor. the thing is- as long as one sane person is in their right mind and is able to act in behalf of someone who needs help- even if it is not wanted- it is the right thing to do.

(almost at the end of my rant) the men in that compound have had free reign long enough. if they were just about sharing consenting women and living polygamous lives- fine. honestly, i don't care.

there is a polygamous group that comes to the city center once a week. they disappeared when the news broke- until today. all of the moms and kids returned- the adult male did not.

if they are living otherwise law abiding lives then i'm thinking, 'let them be'. however, should i be given cause to suspect a child is being abused... texas better move out of the way, because i'm going to do whatever i can to help.

National Kidney Foundation of North Texas

it was my privilege this past weekend to work with Howard at the kickoff event for the kidney foundation.

we took the team photos and also many pictures of the event in progress.

i met a man who is a kidney transplant recipient. he now has three kidneys! i didn't know that if the kidneys were healthy, but not diseased, that it is perferred that the kidneys stay.

there were great stories- groups of people gathering together to walk in memory of someone that they loved or admired- and happily, survivors surrounded by supporters, too.

it was a great day. enjoy the sample of photos!

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Tay is an Eagle!

It was an amazing day- !

and it was even better because mom and dad were there!

i was so glad to have their support and love.

tay has the best memories. thank you!

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Taylor's 'Mormon Prom'

Prom, as i recall it, was a night to dress up and have fun- hopefully with someone that you liked a bit!
Prom here in Texas is an excuse for the girl's to wear as little as possible...everyone arrives drunk- and, it's expected that if you don't end up sick in the bathroom somewhere, you'll then be dancing very suggestively with your date.
Tay hasn't had any desire to be a part of it- and up to last year had not attended a single dance.
I can't believe that the adults around here can't do better than that- but it seems that most of the adults are in on encouraging their teens to look as immodest as possible and 'wink', 'wink' when they step out the door.
so... the mormons to the rescue!
they held this year's dance at southfork ranch- it included dinner- and had a safari theme.
the kids were excited and looked great!
tay gave julia long stemmed flowers (her preference).
enjoy the slide show!

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