Heather’s Birthday Weekend
November 9, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life, Relationships | 1 Comment
When Heather came home from work on Friday, she was greeted by the fragrance of some flowers just for her (I’m not much of a flower guy so she was very happily surprised!). On Saturday, we celebrated with breakfast (her favorite meal no matter what time of day) at the Farm House Cafe, did a little shopping, ran some errands, ate lunch at Spaghetti Works and relaxed all afternoon at home. It was a wonderful weekend that refueled our souls and made us grateful to be alive. We even took a spontaneous Fall family picture of out on the porch swing. Fall is officially here and things will soon start to slow down for us (which means we can get caught up on everyone’s albums!). Thank you to all our clients for patiently waiting for us and allowing us a couple days off once and a while - it gives us new creative energy to finish this year out strong!
Raining Nuts and Twigs
August 10, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life, Humor | Leave a Comment
A funny thing happened this morning… Our dog, Patches, was attacked by falling debris hurled by an angry squirrel. This little guy even yelled at my wife for a couple minutes and then posed nicely for me to take a picture of him. Stranger things have happened…
The End of an Era
July 27, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life, Humor | 3 Comments
My trusty f1.8 50mm lens died unexpectantly this Saturday. It’s been with me for six years and was the best cheap lens I’ve ever had. The funeral will be tomorrow just before the garage truck comes…
90 MPH Wind Storm
June 29, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life | Leave a Comment
Hurricane-like winds tore off the top of our tree and landed it on our fence this Friday in Omaha’s “non-tornado” storm. We were fortunate to not have any house damage. The oldest and largest tree in the neighborhood fell over in between two houses scrapping up the sides of both. A couple other neighbors had limbs poke through their living rooms. But one of them said, “We had this same thing happen in ‘77 and ‘88. We made it through then and we’ll make it through today.”
I remember the power going off, the sirens, and the storm pouncing on us within minutes! As soon as it was over, neighbors crawled out of the woodwork to inspect the damage. And almost as fast at the storm itself, people got to work clearing away debris and making sure everyone was ok. Thanks to the good will of our neighbors (and random strangers!), our fallen tree was cut into manageable pieces within a half hour.
Despite the head and heartache the damage brought, it also revealed a hidden strength we have with the support of our community. Thank God for His goodness in our midst.
Photo(s) of the Day
June 18, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life, Photo of the Day | Leave a Comment
I try to take one day off a week to refresh my creativity; it doesn’t always happen, but I try because it’s important to the health of my soul. This time around, my brother Jordan expressed an interest in coming along to learn more about photography. So we took a trip downtown to start with the basics in the Old Market and explore “depth of field.” The first image has a shallow depth of field or range of what’s in focus (f2.8 at 1/4000 of a second), and the second image has a greater DOF (f11 at 1/500) while still maintaining proper exposure. On the doorknob, the focus leads the eye right to the keyhole and falls off shortly afterwards. For the other image, both the light pole and the building maintain sharp focus even though they are much farther apart than the doorknob is to the door.
The Rice Eater
May 26, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life, Humor | 4 Comments
Or more specifically, “The Rice Eater and the Irresponsible Dog Owners.” Every morning, Patches jumps up and down and eagerly awaits her breakfast as the end of our morning routine (her reward for obeying). But this morning we discovered the dog food container was… empty. At a loss as to what to do for our poor dog - who is still jumping up and down at this point - we made Patches a breakfast of rice and crushed doggie treats. She looks a little sad, but that’s because she’s concentrating very hard at getting all that rice into her hair. 
Mother’s Day
May 12, 2008 | Filed Under Community, Daily Life, Family Portraiture | 1 Comment
For Mother’s Day, we tried to take Mom out to the Olive Garden - but it was an hour and half wait. So we headed over to Camille’s Sidewalk Café instead and couldn’t of asked for a better time together! I’m so glad we brought the camera along to capture our fun together - although the 20D is starting to show its age (darn that noise!) - the real treat is that Heather shot most of these. She’s keeps denying it, but I think she’s going to be a photographer someday.
Happy Mother’s Day! I’m really grateful for my lovely mother and all she’s done for me throughout my life (as well as the rest of my family!); I’m really proud to be friends with her now as we mature in years. And just in case you don’t hear it enough, Mom - I love you!
Pioneer Days
May 10, 2008 | Filed Under Community, Daily Life | 2 Comments
Last Friday, I went back to my home town of Waverly, Nebraska and spent the day with my little sister’s elementary school for the tradition of Pioneer Days. Everyone dressed up like old pioneers and the kids learned about the culture of the times. They made their own candles, threw horse shoes, learned how to knit, and ate pioneer lunches (a cup for water, sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, apples and potatoes - but no bananas or tropical fruit because it wasn’t available). It was cold and rainy but everyone had a good time. And after the old fashioned color treatment, the images really felt like a part of history.
Millard North Prom
April 26, 2008 | Filed Under Daily Life, Humor, Promo | 1 Comment
Tonight was Millard North’s Prom, and we got to send off Kameron’s brother, Jordan, and a few of his friends. There was a mob of parents armed with camera’s and camcorders. It was like paparazzi at a red carpet event with a steady stream of flashes… We were glad we got a few of our own shots before we got there!
We grabbed some quick shots in a Wal-Mart parking lot, complete with a shopping cart and an umbrella (cause it was cold and rainy again). We also had fun experimenting with a promo idea for our new favorite coffee shop, Fox Hollow Coffee on 115th and Blondo. We’ll be creating and displaying new artwork featuring their coffee cups in fun and different ways. If you get a chance to stop by, we highly recommend their coffee (and smoothies!).
Weekend to Remember
March 16, 2008 | Filed Under Communication, Community, Conflict Resolution, Daily Life, Engaged Couples | Leave a Comment
Sometimes, I am overcome by spontaneous laughter - an eruption of joy springs forth from the belly of my soul. It comes from a moment when life suddenly makes sense or from a subtle reminder I am loved or from a simple thought that God is good. And this weekend, I was given many more reasons to smile at life. Heather and I went to the Family Life marriage conference, Weekend to Remember. It was held at the 4 diamond Hilton Hotel next to the Quest Center so the lobby was filled with hundreds of Bruce Springsteen fans the first night (the guest speakers even met a few of the E Street Band members on a trolley ride).
The event was a wonderful and healing time for us. Mostly because it gave us tools and space to talk about a few small weeds that have crept into our relationship. Without which, I don’t think we would of noticed. It also gave us an inspiring vision for parenthood. Greg Speck, a speaker Heather saw years ago in Spain when she was a kid, brought me to tears when he talked about the good man his father was and the kind of father he has now become.
He used to always put the kids to bed and for the first few years he was annoyed because they wouldn’t stop asking him questions. He always wanted to rush through it so he could spend time with his wife. But something clicked one day and he realized he was missing out on a great opportunity to really get to know his children. For the little ones, he crawled into bed with them and started asking them questions like, “If you were an animal what kind would you be?” or “If you could get anything at Toys ‘R’ Us right now, what would it be?” and even deeper questions like, “Is there anything you wish Dad wouldn’t do?” For the older ones, he sat on the edge of the bed or grabbed a chair and talked about how they were feeling about various things in their life. During these interactions, rich moments were shared throughout the years, and his children never doubted they were loved. Wow - I want to be the kind of man my children could freely trust with their hearts.
The best part is that we could share this experience - a couple of our friends and clients came too!
