Seeing double

Mom and Dad decided that they want to train two puppies together so they went back and bought Sackett's sister. Her name is Echo and she seems to be adjusting quite well to life with our pen full of mutts. :)

~daughter of dog lovers

The Barbie Game

This post is for my Aunt Cindy and my cousin Kim!
To fully understand you must have some background. You see when my mom was young she had a board game called The Barbie Game. *Edit it was actually Aunt Cindy's game.* In it you have to do a bunch of things and eventually end up "Queen of the Prom" to win. My mom very much enjoys playing games and when she was younger Aunt Cindy played a lot of them with her :). Then one summer my cousin/mom's niece came to stay with them and every time (according to Grandma) mom wanted to do something Kim "wanted to play the Barbie Game". Grandma got so fed up that at the end of the summer she burned the Barbie Game!
Fast forward a few years and everyone gets a big kick out of remembering the Barbie Game and how they used to play it, Uncle Doug used to be "Queen of the Prom", that was all Kim wanted to do and how Grandma burned it. I grew up hearing these stories. Then they started to tell Grandma about how much it would be worth on ebay had she not burned it...LOL!
A few years ago Kim found a key chain that was a miniature version of the Barbie Game to give to mom. Then I found a replica of the Barbie Game while out Christmas shopping with Grandma. They were a fairly good deal so Grandma bought one for Kim and I got one for mom. They loved it!

I had actually only played the Barbie Game once in all this time we have had it but this morning mom asked me to play it with her. I am not really a game player like Suzanne but our morning job had just been canceled so I said sure. *Thankfully it does not take as long as Monopoly!*

This game is so far from reality it is crazy. Especially my home schooled, no dating, 21st Century reality! Allowance (whats that?) is $5, all the snacks and tickets and such are $1 and mom worries a little that it might be promoting a dating spirit. ;)

I got carried away and went I got the camera.

I won!! I am Queen of the Prom. *Mom liked that picture*

Mom wanted to take this one of me as the winner. She also got a lesson on holding my camera :)

So to Aunt Cindy and Kim, had you been around we all could have played the Barbie game together this morning. I hope you enjoyed the pictures...we love you!

~Queen of the Prom

Family

It is officially harder to take a family portrait when you are in it...I think I shall find someone else to be the photographer next time...

Puppies for sale!!!

We went to see some of Sackett's siblings tonight. They are so cute...and they are for sale!!! You can have one too. now wouldn't that be a ton of fun? Seriously though, they are very sweet and intelligent dogs. We are so happy with Sackett and everyone else who has a puppy from the same family is also pleased with their purchase. Let me know if you are interested. (They are from a litter of 14 so selling all of them has been a bit of a chore. :)

2008.05.29

Mom's favorite restaurant!

More party pictures...completely random...

2008.05.28

Anyone know why Picasa isn't pulling my photos in like it used to? I don't know what happened and I can't seem to get the setting right again.

~Christina

2008.05.27

Today I did not feel like picking up my camera. But I did.

Here is something I wrote today that kind of explains why....

Do I really want to be a photojournalist?
By Christina Glass

Yesterday I was at a point where I was, yet again, wondering if I really wanted to be a photojournalist. Photojournalism is hard!
It is so full up highs and lows, ups and downs, huge emotional roller coasters and hard work.
Anything done well can be difficult and I do want to do well.
Without charity (love) I am nothing and my pictures will be worth nothing. But loving is hard. It often just brings more opportunities to be hurt and to feel those strong emotions tied to images.

When I first started taking pictures of tragedies I wondered if I really wanted to get into it. But I didn’t have a clear understanding of where it might lead. I was drawn into the thrill of the moment and the adrenaline associated with emergencies and my name in print. It was all about the image. About documenting important moments in someone’s life.

At my photojournalism course I was faced with the truth that I will be shooting with a bias.
No matter what situation I am in I have some type of background and I most likely already view that situation or those people, my assignment, a certain way. I must learn how to use that to communicate truth. That bias however will make some assignments even more painful.

Last night I heard sirens. Lots of sirens. The thoughts going through my head took on so many different faces. There was excitement for the opportunity. Fear of the unknown elements. Sadness and the compelling desire to help because I knew that most likely someone was hurting, be it physically or not. Nervousness because I knew I needed to chase it.

Then I arrived at the scene. It was a very bad car wreck, no one knew what was happening and there were first responders everywhere. Then I understood that a helicopter was being brought in to air lift someone to the city. That is when I had wished I stayed home. Would it have been better if I hadn’t been there? What if that person died and I was just taking exciting pictures? It is when you realize that lives are involved, that is when it becomes real life and not just pictures. It is when you look around and see your community, people you know, live with and work with everyday, and you know that this is affecting their lives.

Reminding myself at first that it is my job. Pictures are how I can help. Now I need to stay. Smiling and staying out of the way. Forcing myself to get close enough to get the shot. Talking to police and firefighters. Finding out what is really happening. That is what I am supposed to do. That is how I can Honor God and possibly make a difference.

Coming home I had to kneel and take a deep breath. I prayed Lord, why did you give me this desire and gift of photography? Why me? Am I up to it? Can I continue to love and take images that are filled with emotion? Yes, the answer is yes. The Lord has given me these gifts, my “eye”, my camera, my training, and my desire and passion, for a reason. He knows the plans He has for me and He will uphold me.

Photojournalism is hard. No one will argue with me on that. The temptation is to become callous and to not let myself feel the emotions and hurt. But that would be wrong. I would no longer be able to shoot in a way that would best portray the moment. I would no loner have the passion that this requires and the adrenaline would not be there to keep me going. I pray that the Lord will give me strength as I drive and run into these situations.

Life must go on and I must continue to pick up my camera and shoot images with high emotional impact. I am drawn to photography and to say that I won’t do it anymore would be to give up because of fear. Fear that is not of God. Yes, photojournalism is hard but then again so is life. I must run the race and finish the course set out for me.

Just a quick side note: This was the end of a long day in which I had already shot 6 different assignments for the paper. Not everything about photojournalism is sad. I did shoot some varied subjects as well but they all had some type of emotion tied to them. From military flag services, to trap shooting awards, a protected tree threatening to fall on four homes and a float dedicated to a young woman my age who died in a car wreck. My feelings of being overwhelmed stem partly from this overload. This morning I did not even want to touch my camera but things were looking much brighter.

~doer of hard things

Memorial Day...

...is for remembering.


Today I cannot post many of my images because I am on assignment for the paper. In fact I am on five assignments. Yep, one down, four to go. As cool as the above shot is I don't believe I will turn it in so I thought I would share it with all of you. The flags were absolutely beautiful this morning. Blowing dramatically in the morning sun...oh my.

~patriotic photographer

2008.05.25

Sunday is a day set aside for worshiping the Lord and resting. In fact, it is a day that I have left open to take a break from my current challenge. Today however, pictures were a part of that plan and believe me when I say I am feeling very restful as I type out this post. :)

After our church service this morning Dad offered an open invitation to anyone who wanted to come over for a lunch of leftovers from yesterday's party. This was not a pre-planned event! I was so pleased that many came and we were able to share a delightful and easy meal together. Our front porch is beyond awesome...especially when it comes to meals and people.

A meal thrown together by our family who is learning how to better work together.

Some of our creative decor.

After everyone left we did a quick clean up and took naps! It was so nice because we all were so tired.
*Just a side note to the many whom I know are actually reading my blog: In our family the girls wear long skirts the vast majority of the time. We wear them because we believe in biblical femininity and modesty. We do however occasionally wear pants. Mostly for working or just around the house. Today when I changed out of my beautiful church clothes I did put on my one pair of jeans for my afternoon of napping and reading.

Me playing around with self portraits and trying to get my feet in the frame.

Taking pictures of what I love without worrying about the results is so relaxing.

How cool is it that I just sat on the porch rail to get that image?

Learning more about manual modes....I love the focus and light in that picture!

Guess what camera brand I have...

Josh posing for me before heading to the all you can eat chicken down the road...the two boys go just about every Sunday evening. I go mostly when someone offers to pay for me :D

Holding the camera to my face to try to capture what my eye sees. Didn't work quite like I wanted. Like I said we have like the coolest porch...it was so nice to finish my book out there on the swing.

~blogger who finally got the pictures in the order she wanted the first time

Happy Sunday everyone!

2008.05.24

Congratulations and Happy (early) Birthday Joshua! Its party time!

(2) Photo compliments of our parents

Party Hostess. Coordinator. Photojournalist. Friend. Family.
Those are all of the roles I played today. I actually managed to somewhat balance the party experience and being part of everything with the picture taking responsibilities. I did okay. Not spectacular but I am fairly happy with several of my images...especially with the emotional impact in them. I don't feel that I did a completely thorough job but I grabbed a lot more shots til the end.
I am especially grateful that we were able to work together as a family these past couple of weeks and put on an awesome party. I have been reading a lot about hospitality and have come to discover that it certainly has a lot more to do with love then entertaining. Even though this was somewhat like entertaining I still prayed that I would be welcoming and that people would be blessed by the opportunity to come our home and fellowship with our family.

~tired girl with swelling feet