Speechless

Speechless.

Yeah, that's what I feel like when I think about Christmas '08, which was by far my best ever. My grandparents from Michigan were here again for Christmas, which was very nice. (They stayed with us Dec. 12-26). I got many books and clothes, and below are just SOME of my gifts I received:

- An anthology of animal heroes which is really good!

-A new watch with more buttons on it than I know what to do with!

-A VERY nice train book from my great-aunt and great-uncle.

- Mom and Dad gave me a VERY nice set of 6 train cars which we can use for our layout. (By the way, we have actually started working on it now! We have laid the bulk of the track and are now working on the mountain and also the mine.)

-Mom and Dad also gave me my LONG looked forward Human Anatomy textbook. (I will hopefully start it in February J. Yeah, I know its 12th grade work, and I’m still only half-way through 9th grade, but the only prerequisites are Biology 1 (done that in 8th grade!) and Chemistry 1 (I’ll be finishing that hopefully next month. I am almost done with 14 out of 16 modules. I am studying/taking the Mod. 14 test this week.)

- I got a VERY nice Audubon Wildflowers calendar from my aunt in Spain. :D I REALLY like it A LOT! :D

- I also received a VERY funny book called "Food Play" from Lauren's puppy raisers. It is 350 pictures of food carved to look like different things-people, airplanes, fish, dolphins...you name it, they had it! Now I know what my food does while I've turned my back.....:D


- Okay....I'm almost done. I got two really nice music albums from my aunt and family in Florida. I got a CD of the Nutcracker, and a cassette of Jamie Jorge. Jamie Jorge is absolutely extraordinary! :D

-However, my favorite gift was…a DSLR camera! I was speechless when I opened this gift! DSLR stands for Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera. DSLRs are what the professionals use, and I’m only a teen! I just can’t believe it! I got the camera from my Uncle Brian in Arizona and his photographer friend John. John was buying a new camera, and told Brian if there was someone who’d use the old camera, he’d give it away…and so I ended up with it! I am becoming FAST friends with this camera VERY quickly! DSLRs are nice because if you want to have a certain effect when the picture is taken, you can buy and add a filter. (not doing it post-camera on the computer). Some things filters can do you can't do with computer software. Also, you can add or remove lenses-the things that zoom in or out your picture.

- I got money from both sets of grandparents. :D I am going to put most of it in my camp fund, to save and use the rest for a camera case for my new camera.

On gifts I gave: I gave Mom a photo calendar-mostly my creations. (see her reaction above!) I gave Dad a Jamie Jorge CD, and to Alison I gave 4 gifts: $1.00 in 85 pennies, 1 dime & 1 nickel. (so she had plenty to feed her piggy bank, "Squash"!) I gave her two Hot Wheels cars, an activity book, and a you-assemble-it wooden plane which she is trying to get Dad to help her at this moment!:D

Now, usually, people make New Year’s Resolutions, but I’m making an Old Year’s Resolution. My goal is to take 10,000 pictures this year-not such an outlandish goal since as of right now (12/28/08, 2:38pm EST) I’ve taken 9949 pictures! Just 51 to go…I think I can achieve my goal, since Dad and I are going to a New Year’s Eve party for my Youth Sabbath School Wednesday. I think I can, I think I can….. :D

Yesterday we had an exciting experience. We were on our way home from caring for some of our friends' animals. I had brought my DSLR (made by Canon) along so I could take some pictures. Well, on the way home we ended up behind a man with a carriage and horse. We passed them and pulled into the next available parking spot, which turned out to be the Apison Post Office. We parked, and Mom, Alison and I with camera in tow went to the curb to see the pretty horse. When Mom complimented him, he offered us a free ride! We gratefully accepted and enjoyed the ride thoroughly. Included with this article are some pictures from the past few days. Dad also took some of the photos included in this article.

~Photobug

^^Need I explain?!?

^^My first time composing a picture with my Canon DSLR.

^^Grandpa & Grandma W. on Christmas Day. This was one of the first photos taken with my Canon.

^^Horse + carriage=motion!

^^The very pretty horse that pulled us.

^^Alison with her tape and CD, courtesy of Aunt Christa and family in Florida.

Calendar worthy?...I didn't THINK so!

Just a quick note to say that I am still alive! I have been having lots of fun with my grandparents this past week. Not many important things have happened this week, so I'll just wait to post after Christmas, which can you believe is only 5 days away??

Actually, ONE exciting thing happened this week. Actually, TODAY! The Women's Ministries department of our church decided to make a calendar as a fundraiser this year. So about a month ago they asked in the bulletin if people could submit their photos....and I did! They ended up using two of my photos-on the front and back covers! I feel VERY humble and not worthy for this honor! However, I am very happy about it. :) Anyway, included in this post are the photos that the church used. Also My Wonderful Mother bought me one of the calendars, which was VERY nice!!!!!!

~Photobug ^^The photo on the front cover of the calendar, "For the Beauty of the Earth, 2009". You may also remember that this was the photo that won the "Flowers" category in the Fall Foto Contest this year.

^^This is the photo they used on the back cover of the calendar. Both of these photos were taken in my grandparent's yard this summer in Michigan.

Meeting "South Pole Santa" and Other Such Crazy Happenings in My Past Week!

Ahhhh....where do I begin?? This week has been so fun, yet so busy. And so I guess I'll, in the words in one of my favorite movies "start at the top and when we get to the bottom, we'll stop!".

This past Sunday our family went to Southern's annual faculty-&-staff Christmas time brunch. We went to it last year, and it mainly consists of great food, Santa's visit scaring me half to death (last year when he said "ho, ho, ho" I didn't know he was coming and just about jumped half out of my skin!! :P)

This year it was pretty much the same, except that we sat by different people and that I was able to hold on to my skin!! (This year Santa didn't have a microphone when he first came up!) However, this year Santa's visit was different as well. For starters, Santa has e-mail! Then, "Santa" read an e-mail from the North Pole saying that since with the economy the REAL Santa couldn't go everywhere and so he was "outsourcing Christmas!" So we got a visit from the "South Pole Santa"!

Monday night our family visited the house of my photography class teacher, Shirley E. For about 2 months she taught a once-a-week class at one of the local churches on Photography. Mom and I went and it was very good! So at the last meeting she invited the class over to her house in December for a meal and seeing Lannie's (another class member) pictures from Cades Cove (in the Smokies) of deer and elk. So Monday our family went over to her house and again had fabulous food, this time yummy soup and sandwiches. Then we saw some of Lannie's (as always) fabulous deer pictures (we didn't see all of them...there were a total of 1305! Hmmm...3 days, that many pictures....sounds like about 435 pictures a day!)

Wednesday we went shopping, and on Thursday I went to Dad's office to study while Mom & Alison went to Wal-Mart again to get some last-minute items. AND the electricity went out on Thursday for about 2 1/2 hours due to a bad rainstorm. Thankfully, after 3-to-3-and-1/2 hours the power came back on!

Friday was exciting as well. In the evening at about 5:45 my grandparents from Michigan arrived to stay for 2 weeks (including Christmas). They are "snowbirds" and camp out in southern Florida for the first 3 months of the year to escape the cold and yucky weather.

Last night Gpa, Gma and I played my new game of ADRA-OPOLY. It was a lot of fun...even if I had lost! As it turned out, I got practically all the $$$ and 13 out of the 20 properties, which meant 4 monopolies with some others....anyway, it was fun!

Today Alison went up in church in the Adult Sabbath School and sang songs, etc. with her class. She even answered a question! Unfortunately, my testing isn't done....but somehow I'll manage!

(HOPEFULLY!....if you don't hear from me within a week or two....you might wanna send out a search party for me....I might be trapped under an avalanche of schoolbooks! :P)

~Tennessee Photobug

Christmas on the Promenade!

Last night my mother, sister and I went to the yearly Christmas on the Promenade celebration hosted by Southern on their Promenade. If you happened to not be there, don’t worry: add up a dark night; all sizes and shapes of people dressed like snowmen; in addition to pretty music and happy moods, you get Christmas on the Promenade. Of course, don’t forget the WONDERFUL hot chocolate, donut rolls, and peppermints!

It was pretty much the same this year as last-same music groups, plays, manger scenes, food, etc. with the one exception that Santa moved his seat so instead of going up stairs to see him, you went down stairs! At the end of the Promenade there were pretty lighted snowmen and Christmas trees (picture), which of course were fun. Some of the music groups were the local SDA academy band, SliverBrass, Southern Jazz Ensemble (were they ever good!) and A.W. Spalding String Ensemble. Plus in performance there were One Praise Gospel Choir, a bell group named “Southern Ringtones”, and the drama group (I think!) was Eternal Reconcile.

The only problem was that it was super-cold, so we just walked the Promenade and went back. Still, we saw many of our friends, which is always fun! Actually, we got there at 6:30(when we THOUGHT it was beginning) and saw practically no one there, and the people that were there were just setting up. So we walked all the long way back to Dad’s office (we had walked nearly the whole Promenade), and "cozyed" up there until about 7:00pm, when we snowmen (& women) went back out into the cold and had a great time at Christmas on the Promenade.

~Photobug

P.S.-Yesterday I also took some pretty cute pictures of my sister giving her “school report” to Mom. :D Enjoy them (below).

P.P.S.-Sunday our family put up our Christmas tree and decorations. I might post photos of the tree sometime....though I am a very busy high school student!!

Fall Foto Fun!

Hi again, Everyone!

Thanks so much to ALL of you who participated and voted in the final poll in the Fall Foto Contest! I guess this is a good time to bring the contest to a close, anyway, since it's not exactly fall anymore! Now it is winter all around us, and cold weather has set in for sure. This past week we have gotten a record 15 votes! Again, thanks to everyone.

The winner in this contest took the world by storm, as it (shown above) took 11 out of the afore mentioned 15 votes. Photo #3 (the flower) had 3 votes and Photo #1 (Alison by her slide) took 1 vote.

Congratulations to My Wonderful Mother for taking this winning person/animal shot!

On a different note, since I have been lazy in posting just plain fall photos (not for the contest), here are some "Fun Fall Fotos" I have taken this past month. You will notice the lack of captions, however I feel that they are pretty self-explanatory.

~Photobug

^^(above) Mom's favorite shot out of all in this photo shoot. Really, it was very easy to get these pictures-rake up some leaves, tell your sister to play, and shoot some pictures!

^^Our family "portrait" Mother-Nature made. (add in a tripod, camera, and a few smiling faces, and you get the photo above!)

11 Years of Woofer Wisdom & Wonderfulness

Well, today my absolutely wonderful service dog Lauren turns 11 years old.

She was born this day in 1997, then trained for two years to become my service dog. For most of her training she was with two wonderful people called "puppy raisers" who fed, potty-trained, and taught basic commands (all out of their own pocket!!) to her before turning her into to CCI (Canine Companions for Independence) "College". Really called Advanced Training where professional trainers who taught Lauren to (if need be) pull a wheelchair, flip a light switch, and open and close doors-including the refrigerator! We still keep in contact with Lauren's puppy raisers. They are the sweetest people!

To these people, and the Lauren's Advanced Training trainers I am eternally grateful for. Really, my handicap (my right side is weaker than my left because of a pre-birth stroke) is a blessing in disguise. I have my wonderful service dog Lauren of 9 years which has, even though not in a wheelchair, helped me tremendously. Instead of being "that strange kid with a brace" I am "that cool kid who gets to take his dog everywhere!"

Especially when I was younger, I had a high chance of falling over anything. So therefore, I didn't want to go anywhere, even my own backyard. (I got Lauren when I lived in California for 7 years as well, though CA is pre-Texas!) But with Lauren, I HAD to go outside and besides the good fresh air, I had a companion now. I also would trip all the time over mats stores would place in front of their doors. With a handle placed on Lauren's cape, I wouldn't trip nearly as much. That dog has saved me from many a fall! As I put it, Lauren "is like a cane, but of course you can't pet a cane!"

Even in my older age-(yes, I'm getting old too-I got Lauren when I was 6!) she is still a valued companion and friend. Even though my balance is better, and I'm not afraid of going outside anymore, Lauren is still a most valued asset. When our family is merely on vacation, or moving to a new location, Lauren is a HUGE social breaker. When we're at church, (yes, I take her there too. She can go anywhere her master needs to go.) I stand out and am easily remembered. This helped tremendously when I was younger (as mentioned previously). Kids were still attracted to me, but now for a positive reason, instead of a negative one!

And so in closing, Lauren has arguably been one of the most (if not THE most) positive change in my life. And even at 11 years, I hope to have her for many more.

~Photobug

P.S.-If you would like to learn more about the wonderful organization that trained Lauren, check out this website: http://www.cci.org/

The Grand Finale

At last, the time has come! You, my faithful blog readers have voted your 4 favorite photos out of the 18 pictures to choose from. Good job! Now is the time to vote for your all-time favorite-and the photo you choose will be the winner of the Fall Foto Contest!

Before I show you the 4 final photo contestants, I must make a few comments on the previous poll. Even though I was disappointed by the record-low number of votes (6), You definitely had a strong choice. Photo #5, the photo my mother took of my sister holding a butterfly-to be plain, stole the show! Out of the 6 votes, 5 were for Photo #5! (see winner pic. above).

Anyway, good job! Below are the 4 final pictures. As always, the poll is in the sidebar.

Photobug

^^Category #1 (People) finalist. A picture I took of my sister Alison, by her slide. Photo #1^^A picture of a stream my grandfather in Michigan took. Category #2 (Scenery) finalist. Photo #2

^^ A picture I took of some bleeding hearts in my (Michigan) grandmother's garden this summer. Category #3 (Flower) finalist. Photo #3

^^A picture my mother took of my sister holding a black-swallowtail butterfly. Category #4 (Butterflies) finalist. Photo #4

The Most Beautiful Blossom Wins

Welcome back to the Fall Foto Contest! Thank-you to everyone who voted in this past "Flowers" poll. This has been a very exciting poll as the winning photo (above) has risen, fell, and again rose in votes. The above photo (#4) got 5 votes, while Photo #1 got second place of 4 votes. Good job, thank-you so much for the record 12 votes this poll got. (By the way-did anybody double-vote??)


Before I introduce the next set of photos, I want to tell you about some new additions on this blog. First of all, I have added "Reactions" to my blog. That means, when you get to the end (or bottom) of any post, you can rate how much you liked it, from "Not 2 Good", "OK", "Good" and "I Love It!" I hope you will enjoy this feature and use it, so I can know what you do and don't like about my posts.


Also, I have added this week a crossword puzzle at the very bottom of my blog. How do you like it? Did you know about it before? I will not always do such hard puzzles, the current one was just a test. I was thinking that I could have one new puzzle a month, and the words (besides the clues in the puzzle) would be randomly scattered throughout the month's post on this blog. These words would be colored in red. Anyway, if you have any comments or objections, just contact me in some way, shape of form. ;)



OK, okay! Onto the photos. As I was lying in my bed last night trying to think what category of pictures I would post next, I decided on Butterflies. Below are the photos.


Enjoy, and Happy Voting!


Photobug


^^Photo #1

^^Photo #2


^^Photo #3


^^Photo #4

^^Photo #5 (my wonderful mother took this great person/butterfly combo shot! I came accross this shot after I posted the original 5 pictures. All contestants are the same, except for the above shot, which replaced the blue butterfly.)

A Sneaky, Surprise Win!!!

"Hi Everyone! Welcome back to the 3rd weekly edition of the Fall Foto Contest! As I watched the seconds tick down (literally) on this week's poll, I was amazed!

Yesterday there were 3 votes for Photo #2 (the pink flowers/branch) and 2 votes for Photos #1 & 3, while Photo #4 (the mountain & fence) had one vote.

However, when I checked today on the poll's progress, there were 10 votes, while there were 8 yesterday. Photo #3 (the river) pulled ahead with 4 votes!!! Yesterday it only had two!!!"

OK, okay, maybe I am getting a little too carried away with things, reporting it like a TV station...but well, I AM really amazed! I don't think I've ever had so much voting in the last 24 hours or so! So the winner is (above) the river photo (Photo #3) my grandfather took in Michigan. Way to go, Grandpa!! Way to go everybody! Thanks so much for the interaction! Keep it up!

Anyway, so much for all the excitement. Below are the next set of photos-the section of "Flowers". Trust me, this is going to be a hard one because I taken several nice flower pictures this year! In addition, I couldn't narrow the selection down to 4. So you have 5 pictures to choose from. Still, I think you can do it! :) These photos are either taken by myself at my grandmother's house in MI, or here in TN.

Happy Voting!

Photobug ^^Photo #1

^^Photo #2

^^Photo #3

^^Photo #4

^^Photo #5

Happy Reformation Day!

Happy Reformation Day! Today, almost 500 years ago Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg, Germany church. This act, among others kicked off the Reformation.

If you would like to read a very good book about Luther, it is: Luther the Leader, by Virgil Robinson. I will post a link to it in a day or so.

Anyway, what this article is really about is posting the next set of photos in the Fall Foto Contest: Scenery. Again, the poll is located in the sidebar and will be up on my blog for a week. I want to point out and say that I'm very happy with how many votes came in. Bravo! Keep it up! ;)

Above is the winner of the People section: the picture of my sister! Alison got 3 votes out of 7; however Grandma came in with a close second of 2. I really thought Grandma and Alison would tie! Andrea and Grandpa each got one vote.

Below are the next 4 photos for consideration, along with credits of who took them.

Happy Voting!

Photobug

^^A sunset photo I took this past May at about 8:30 PM. Photo #1

^^A photo my friend Stephen took. (I would think this past spring!) Photo #2

^^A photo my grandfather in Michigan took. (the same one who was featured in the People section of the photo contest). Photo #3

^^A picture I took while I was a wonderful Cohutta Springs Youth Camp this past summer. I really liked the fence and mountains! Photo #4

Messiah's Mansion

This afternoon my family and I went to see a most interesting replica. It was the Messiah's Mansion, a full-scale replica of the mosaic sanctuary.

It was very interesting. We started our 75-minutes tour with learning about the different temples/sanctuaries. Then we progressed to the courtyard, holy place, most holy place, and finally exploring the meaning behind the high-priest's clothing. I took some pictures, and my best are included here with explanations.

Photobug

P.S.-learn more about Messiah's Mansion at their website: http://www.messiahsmansion.com/ , or click on the link to their website in the sidebar under the "Learn About..." links section.

The alter. When an Israelite had committed a sin, he/she would bring a perfect lamb to the tabernacle, he would kneel down, lay his hands on the lamb, symbolically transferring his sin to the lamb. Then he took a sword and killed the lamb at the throat, afterward separating the fat from the animal's organs. Then the priest would take the blood collected from the lamb and sprinkle it on the corners of the alter. This symbolized Jesus, the True Lamb of God, dying and saving us.

The table of shew bread. Each week the priests baked new bread, and then ate all of the old week's bread. Jesus is the Bread of Life, and we "eat" him through reading His Word. A relationship is a two-way deal, so the bread plus the alter of incense (not shown) represents prayer. Those two combined, God can mold us into a beautiful new creature, like the lamp stand, below.

The Ark of the Covenant, in the Most Holy Place which contained the 10 Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded and produced nuts, and a bowl of manna.

Our tour guide, Temple. (no pun intended.)