Susannah loves the outdoors. Now that she is beginning to get the grasp of the English language, she is constantly making a beeline to our front door and saying, “Okay, okay, okay….” She knows that when mommy or daddy say to her, “You want to go outside?” she says, “Okay!” Now, she just doesn’t wait for us to ask. She just says, “Okay, okay, okay!”

I don’t mind. I love watching her explore the world. She sees the things in life that we adults have kind of forgotten about, and she just gets excited.

As you see in two of the three pictures below, she is exploring the flora, the greenery of our backyard. She eventually pulled up some grass and weeds, brought it over to me and handed it to me. “Flower,” she said in her best effort. She saw the weeds as a flower.

How many of us try our best to destroy those types of “flowers” in our yard?

I recently purchased a new camera for my Photography business, and I had to try it out. Wow, I really like this camera. I can’t say love. I reserve that cherished word for my wonderful wife and daughter…:)  But I really really like this camera!

I have been going through my Facebook links, and I have had the good fortune to reunite with a number of people from my hometown of Cadillac, MI.

Two of those people are Ken and Judy Nichols. It has been way too long since I have touched base with them. They were two of my most favorite people growing up, and I don’t think I ever told them that…but I am telling them now!

Judy was my seventh grade choir teacher in 1979/80, and I learned all the fundamentals of singing from her. I still remember the tricks she taught us about remembering various intervals within a musical chord. For the interval of a fourth she told us to hum the first few bars of the song, “Here Comes the Bride,” and you will always know the interval of a fourth. For the interval of a sixth, it is the theme song to NBC. Sing it and you’ll have a sixth.

And she was so patient with us crazy, bratty, immature seventh graders. I remember sitting in choir class next to Bob Wiser slugging him in the arm repeatedly for some sort of game of chicken. We would also play the slap game where one would have to move the hands away before the other slaps their hands. Ah, what fun that was.

She even very bravely let me sing a solo in one of our concerts. I think I sang “Yesterday,” by the Beatles. And then I knocked the microphone down as I left. At least that is how I remember it…:)

As I got older and into my junior and senior years on high school, I joined my church choir at Temple Hill Baptist Church and sang solos and duets many times. Judy was the Choir Director for Temple Hill, and she was always encouraging and uplifting, and never dampened my enthusiasm or my spirit.

About the same time, Ken needed help with his carpet cleaning business, so I gladly and gratefully jumped at the chance to make some money. It was the perfect high school and college job and Ken was the perfect boss. Very laid back and so easy to get along with. Well, he probably should’ve cracked the whip on me a few times…:) I ended up working for them on and off for around eight years.

I think the last time I talked with them was back in the late 90s, but I’m not quite sure of that. Way too long, to say the least.

Thank God for social networking, because I probably would’ve gone another ten years before being in touch with them, and I thank God for Ken and Judy Nichols.

Have you had a Ken and Judy in your life?

Susan and I go down to the oceanfront and walk along the boardwalk at least a couple times a month, and Susannah just loves it. She will jet down the boardwalk and run through the sand like she was born to live near the ocean.

The night after these pictures, I remember taking her shoes off and forgetting where we had just been. The sand just poured out all over our bed!

Susan and I enjoy getting Susannah out to walk and hike and enjoy God’s wonderful creation. And I am amazed at the fact that God has given man such creativity. We can recreate a dump into a beautiful and fun place to where people and birds flock.

According to this website, “Mount Trashmore Park is 165 acres, 60 feet high, over 800 feet long, and was created by compacting layers of solid waste and clean soil.” 

The lake you see in the second picture above is manmade, and it is a bit over one mile around.

When I can’t make it, Susan likes to take Susannah out there for a good brisk walk.

ZenniOptical.com is a site that looks promising. Glasses for very cheap! I checked out a report on the website by MyFox WGHP in North Carolina, and it was a wonderful report on the site.
They followed a family that has two children under the age of ten who needed prescription glasses. Mom got the prescriptions for each child from their eye doctor with the exception of the measurement from center of eyeball to center of eyeball across the bridge of the nose. The optometrist wouldn’t give away that information, but the Zenni website gave a tutorial on how to take the measurement yourself.
The report was eye-opening and worth taking a look at. Go to the link above and check it out. For some folks this may the answer to their eyeglass prayers!

Natural Bridge, VA is breathtaking and awesome. God is such a grand and creative Creator!

After climbing down about a hundred stairs and going past the snack shack, we arrive at the Natural Bridge. For just one attraction, it is quite amazing. Lots of people streaming back and forth beneath it.

Eight of our former US Presidents were born in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson owned the Natural Bridge at one point, and he probably invited George Washington over for a hike and a marvelous view.

They have a program at night called “The Drama of Creation,” and it comes with multi-colored lights on the rocks, a narrator and reading of scriptures. The benches are for the show.

Up at the very top of the last picture is a fence on top of the Natural Bridge. That is the privacy fence that hides Virginia Highway 11. The highway crosses right over the bridge. When we left, we drove across it, but you can’t see anything but the privacy fence. Bummer.

Okay, I know this is a little bit off the beaten Father thing, but I love Graphic Design and I am post-processing pictures constantly for my Wedding Photography Business, so this is apropos. The guy’s name is Deke, and he is a Photoshop guru of years. He decided to get back into the game, or at least get his name re-viralized (hey, a play on revitalized!).

Here is the link to the video:

I have been hunting down some great links for my site. I knew that my idea to create a blog about my life as a Dad wasn’t new. Well, I came across a very cool site that helps us men become better fathers and husbands.

Another post from another great site about buying a new car to save money. Interesting topic that is on a lot of minds these days.

Yes, I’m sure there is a reason why children love to play with balls. Susannah is no different. She loves them all. In our house, we have big balls and little balls, golf balls and tennis balls, bouncy balls and non-bouncy balls. We have them scattered throughout. She even notices balls in her books and on the walls in her room (we have a mural of a schoolyard on her walls that had been painted for the previous owner’s daughter).

Lately the first thing she utters is “ball!”

And I don’t mind one bit because Susan and I like balls too.   Look at that proper technique in the picture…:)

This was such a serendipitous  picture!

When I am driving around at night trying to find the location of a hotel or I am driving home down I-64 around midnight, and I don’t want to turn on the cab light because it is just too bright, and I need to know if I am on schedule. I need something that will give luminance just so I can see my watch face.
You have to check out these Luminox watches. They are the answer when you are out at night, and you don’t have access to a lit area, or you don’t want the area to be lit.
During the receptions at the weddings I cover, I also need to be discreet. I don’t carry a big flashlight, and I can’t leave because I may miss the most important shot of the night. I just look at my Luminox watch, and that does the trick! These watches use what is called Luminox Light Technology and it works.

I have used the web hosting services of Powweb for three years now, and I have nothing but good things to say about their services. They take care of me and my sites very well. Whenever I have a question, they are their to answer. If it is placing a trouble ticket or chatting with them 24/7, they have done their darndest to help.

I really love their admin backend tools as well. It is a very robust and easy-to-use backend with plug-ins and all sorts of other goodies.

I am able to run my Wordpress blog (this one here), a Joomla site and the option of many other plug-in platforms.

And all this is just $5.77/mo right now! No, wait, I just saw that if you are a new customer, you get the deal for $3.88 if you pay for the year. What a deal!

I actually pay more per month, but since I have been with Powweb, they keep offering great deals to new customers. However, I’m willing to pay a few bucks more per month for their service. I’d pay even more!

Take the challenge: Go check out Powweb for yourself!

Yes, I was there!

I got a call in late April or early May of 2003 from my sister and brother-in-law Janie and Jerry that their oldest son Joe was graduating from college.

I hadn’t been on vacation in quite a while, so I hopped on a plane and headed for Minnesota.

And I don’t think I have ever shared this video with anyone…or did I? I can’t remember…:)

Susannah has been walking without the aid of our center coffee table, and now she is starting to run. I am constantly slightly nervous when I watch her move her little legs because she is still walking a bit like a drunken sailor (no offense to sailors!).

And she just wants to investigate everything over and over and over again! She will visit and revisit everything and even though she knows that she shouldn’t be grabbing the padded corners we’ve attached to our coffee table, she still makes a weaving beeline to them. She then looks at us to see what we are going to say and/or do.

Oh my is that a challenge!

And yes, we have to tie everything down or she will pull everything and anything out.

We’ve bought and placed four gates into each bedroom and the kitchen so we don’t have to physically touch every single drawer and cupboard, but our house is configured so that she has enough room to walk and run. Just barely, but enough.

Susannah gets really frustrated with the myriad of gates we have in each doorway, but if not, she goes nuts.

I know that eventually she will start trying to climb over the gates. She is already starting to peer over the sliding crib railing into the hamper beside it.
What fun!

Click the picture below for a fun video of Susannah just being the cute little girl that she is:

I recently picked up a job designing a simple website for a Williamsburg, Virginia hotel called Colonial Hotel Resort and Conference Center.

It’s quite a coincidence because I was the Wedding Photographer for Dana and Joelle in Williamsburg last June, and they stayed at the same hotel!

If you are planning the perfect family vacation in Williamsburg, Virginia, then plan to join them here at Colonial Hotel Resort and Convention Center near Colonial Williamsburg. They are only 2.5 miles from Busch Gardens and 1.5 miles from Colonial Williamsburg.

They are right in the middle of the historic district between Williamsburg, the Jamestown settlement and Yorktown.

Susannah had my wife and I in stitches the other night. She has this thing about smelling. She loves to smell her blankets and clothes and fabric of all kinds. She puts these things over head and face and just loves to inhale the smells.

Susan and I were sitting on the couch reading a daily devotional called “Our Daily Bread” together. During this time, we let Susannah walk around and play.

One thing she really likes to play with is my feet. She will grab my toes and mimic the sound I make when I grab her toes. But lately she has wanted to take my socks off and stick her nose right up on my feet.

Of course, spending all day trapped in shoes and socks, my feet don’t smell like roses, so she began to make the funniest faces.

I had to take some pictures of the event.

Susannah got a full taste of how much fun a hot summer’s day can be last weekend. Friday after work, we decided to blow up Susannah’s wading pool, fill it up and see if she enjoys herself. She loved it. She wasn’t necessarily hanging out in the wading pool, but she loved just running around outside. She doesn’t stop for very long to smell the roses, or even the pool water.

Of course, I had my camera out. I took many shots and got a few really good ones:

Since Susannah has begun to walk on her own with no help (usually), that is all she wants to do. I’d think that with all the walking and falling and getting up and walking and falling and…I’d think she would be so tired that sleeping through the night wouldn’t be a problem. And I’d be wrong.

Last night around 4am I woke up, walked to the bathroom and poked my head into Susannah’s room. She was wide awake and talking to her animals. She saw me, and I knew I was going to be up for at least a half hour or more.

And my feelings are mixed here because even though I wanted to go back to sleep, I love spending every moment I can with my daughter.

I picked her up and changed her, and then I let her play on our guest bed as I laid at the end watching her.

That didn’t last too long, so I took her into the kitchen where she sipped some water from a straw, and then I rocked her a bit. She Still wasn’t ready to go back to sleep, so I made 4oz of formula and rocked her as she drank.

I could tell she was tiring again so I put her in her crib even though she cried for a bit. She and I eventually fell back asleep.

I loved every moment we had together, and those are the memories I will cherish when I am holding her during our Daddy/Daughter dance on her wedding day.

My daughter is growing so much. I can’t keep up! This month we’ve seen Susannah hold her own bottle, start walking without help, mouth multi-syllable words (yellow!) and I’m sure there are more things I’m forgetting.

Oh, yeah, she finds ways to stay awake as long as possible with Mommy and Daddy. We used to have a routine: Around 8:30pm, Susan would change Susannah’s diaper and get her into her pajamas. She would then get a bottle, her pacifier, her blanket and turn on the going-to-bed music. We dim the lights, turn the tv off and Susan rocks and feeds her.

That would usually do the trick. But she is on to us now. She will take the bottle and the rocking so much, but at about the middle of the bottle, she starts the squiggling out of our arms. And for a little girl, she is strong! If I am holding her, I have to hold her pretty firmly if we really want to get her into bed at that moment. Of course, she cries and puts up a good fit. Once she is down on the ground and able to walk or crawl again, the waterworks shut off instantly and she is all smiles. She is so funny.

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” —George Orwell on a BBC broadcast, April 4, 1942

This is a quote on the LA Police Gear website, and it fits nicely with their vision and goal. They sell all the gear that supports military personnel, security professionals, police officers and the general public.

They sell all kinds of protective and support gear such as rifle slings, eyewear, footwear and boots, and so much more.