Thankful Thursday

Hello! I know it's been about three years since I've done a thankfulness post. It's not that I haven't had good things happen, I've just been busy and distracted and posting pictures of my nephieces. You know--you were there! Anyway, here are some goods:

1. My runaway niece is home. Thanks for your prayers!

2. Jury duty was short and sweet! Today was the first time I've ever had to go to the courthouse for jury duty (I've never made it past the evening phone call before), and I was dreading it. I know some of you are interested in being on a jury, but I am not. Anyway, I was settled in for hours of waiting around, but was excused before 10am! It was a very happy moment. :)

3. My Kindle. I was so glad to have it with me at the courthouse, and I just like having it around in general. I've been reading a lot more since I got it, and it makes any waiting situation seem more desirable. Also, I just downloaded Scrabble for it!


(You know you wanted to see my Kindle's new outfit! It's not an orange cover, as it seemed online, but I still like the brown.)

4. Cool nights. We're in a bit of a heat wave (90s--for us that's hot, especially in September), but it's been cool enough at night that I haven't really suffered much in my non-air-conditioned home. It's so different from a couple of years ago when I felt like life had to be put on hold until it cooled down.

5. Things to look forward to. I have a couple of fun events coming up (a weekend excursion this month, and then my parents are visiting me next month), plus I always love October. Yay fall!



6. My place. I know I've said this before, but I LOVE where I live and am so fortunate to have found this place, with an awesome view, in my price range. We're coming up on a really pretty time of year (not that summer isn't pretty!) with incredible sunrises that I can enjoy from my back deck.


7. Getting better at shooting into the sun. I practiced a little more. I'm having a little more success, though I need lots more practice.

What's the happiest thing that happened to you today? Or this week, if today wasn't great.

Portraits - my niece, N

We've come to the last of this series with little N, who is 4 (and a half) and enjoys killing people with cuteness. I should warn you that her post is going to have a lot more photos than the other nieces and nephews, and yes that's totally lopsided and unfair. Little kids have it made.


I could've narrowed it down farther, but she was being so hilarious and cute (not to mention cooperative!) that I wanted you to see some of the silliness that I caught. Most of these poses were completely her idea. I only guided her on locations and then she kept holding poses for me and my camera kept snapping photos like it had a mind of its own. Can you blame it, though?


Keep going to read her little interview.




She's so funny! Look at her little model poses. I don't know where she learns them.


What's your favorite part of school? Playing games on the computer.

(Preschool is a little different from when I was a kid! PS She's showing us a little pebble she found.)



I told her to put her hand on her hip in that left photo, but I think she was distracted by her posing ideas and it looks more like she's scratching her side. ;)


What's your favorite thing about your mama? Hugging her. (After answering, she hugged the air in demonstration.)


What's your favorite thing about your daddy? Loving on him.




How do you feel about ladybugs? I try to catch them for Mama because she loves them.


What kind of pet do you want? A dog that's named Pluto.

(?)


Sister L joined her for this one.


N, you're ADORABLE and I'm pretty sure you know it! I wish I could take pictures of you every day!

Project 52 (11)

I was outside waiting for beavers, but didn't see any. I saw this instead.

I have to say, I had certain expectations of myself on this project and I'm failing to meet them. I had intended to try different sorts of photos than my usual style, and this photo (and many of the others) isn't different. At all.

Part of the problem is I haven't been giving the project enough thought, so by Saturday I'm just choosing from what's on my camera for the week. I need to be more intentional and challenge myself. (Although, this week has been challenging enough on its own. :P)

Anyway, I'll try to do better. How was your week?

(PS Please pray for my niece S, who ran away from home Wednesday night, and her family who misses her. See my sister's blog for slightly more info.)

Quick info

>> I finally got fairly caught up on comments here. I basically went back and checked all of my August posts and left responses on most of them. I'm sure there are many posts in the past where I didn't respond to your nice comments (or even questions!) and I'm sorry about that. Anyway, if you subscribe to the comments, you'll see them in your inbox. Otherwise, you may want to check back if you were wondering if I'd respond.

>> I was asked about making my blog more mobile-friendly for those of you using smartphones and iPads. Well, I think there are more complicated things I can do for better results, but for now I added a link at the top of my blog that takes you to a small list-version of my blog entries that is apparently easier to manage on a mobile device. I don't have a smartphone or iPad, so I wouldn't know if it's very helpful. :) It doesn't seem to help with commenting at all, so probably not.

>> Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I really appreciate it.

>> Tonight I saw three baby beavers swimming by! But they were too fast for me to photograph.

>> Happy September! September begins Birthday Season, since I have soooo many friends and relatives with birthdays in the next couple of months. I once read October 5th is the most common birthdate in the US, so I guess it's no surprise that this time of year is popular. (Fun fact: I don't know anyone born on October 5th.)

>> Is birthdate one word or two?

>> Here's a photo to liven up this post. Kind of.

Portraits - my nephew, C

C is 6, but a very young 6. :) He's small and silly and a very outgoing and affectionate little boy. He has a bit of a temper and sometimes it's hard not to laugh at his outbursts. He sometimes seems to think the world exists to be amused by him, which has made for some funny stories about his interaction with strangers. Since most of his poses here are things he came up with on his own, his personality comes through in these photos. Be sure to read his answers to the questions I gave his mom, R, to ask him.


What's the funnest thing to do/play? Have fun with my family and going to Disneyland.


What's your favorite TV show? (He raised his hand to answer for some reason, even though he's the only one here being asked questions. -R) Oh! America's Funniest Home Videos! It has funny stuff like a big man -- a really strong one -- him just doing a funny thing (he's dying laughing trying to tell me and he's very animated as usual -R) and him's chest going bump, bump, bump (older brother walked in overhearing him and said, "Oh, that was America's Got Talent ... the guy was flexing his pectorals." -R).

(I had to include those notes by his mom!)


What do you like to cook? I like to cook brownies and cooking with Daddy and cooking for other people like a baby shower. And my family, too.

(He recently helped his dad cook for a baby shower, hence the reference. :) Also, you'll notice his wet pant legs because right before picture time, he decided it would be wise to splash in a puddle.)



What's your favorite sport? I have two sports: Kung Fu and baseball. (He proceeded to demonstrate "air-versions" of both sports in some kind of combination I don't really understand ... must be a boy thing. -R)


I wish I could've heard him answering those questions! C was one that seemed annoyed about having his portraits done until we actually started. Then he kept trying new poses for me and wanting to do more after his session was over.

One more nephiece portrait shoot to go! I'll post it in the next couple of days. Thanks for reading.