My Current Situation...

This summer, I was truckin' away on this blog....making new friends, working on my new photography hobby/business and having a good ol' time!

THEN....I was hired as a part-time teacher.  I wasn't able to take my photography class.  I haven't been posting on this blog.  It's CRAZY!!  

My life now consists of my family, the Deaf ministry at my church, my part-time job as a Video Relay Interpreter and now......

I am teaching 4 high school classes:  ASL 100 (2 classes), ASL 200 and ASL 300.  Yep.  And do I know exactly what I am doing?  No.  Not really!  Ha!  But I'm getting there.  It takes me a LONG time to create lesson plans, mainly since we do not have a set curriculum. 

That is what my current situation is at this time.  I miss my blog world though.  And my new bloggy friends :(  

After things settle, I will be back!  


Blessings!


~Bethany :)

Busy, Busy...

Where have I been...?  (you may be saying to yourself...or not!)

Oh...just doing photo shoots of these lovely people!

And editing them...(not the people, the photos!)

And then taking more shoots of other people that I haven't posted...because I haven't finished editing!  In fact, I am behind 3 photo shoots!  lol  I can't complain.  I am having FUN with it :)

Photo Fun

So, Brent Riggs (Riggs Family Blog) posted on his Linky Tools Blog this picture (see above).  The object is to take this photo (which is Brent's) and make it better!  In the process, all who participate will learn a thing or two about photo editing (hopefully!)

This picture is my edit.  Basically, I just went into Lightroom 3 and clicked on some of the presets to get an idea of what I'd like to do....I clicked on 'yesteryear' and my husband (who was sitting behind me) said, "Hey, that looks exactly like a picture my dad would have taken on vacation in the 70's!".  SO, I kind of ran with it :)  I adjusted the saturation of the blue to get the sky to stand out a little more and the yellow...to pop the flowers out some more.  I put old fashioned corners on.  Done!  It's simple, but it does remind one of those old photos, eh?

Blessings!
~Bethany :)

Intern

So, we are all into photography now...right?  Well, my stepdaughter has taken it upon herself to follow our creative lead!  She took this all by herself...with a tripod and a fan :)  Not too shabby, eh?

Selah Photography

Just in case you haven't noticed my pretty aqua link on the sidebar that says 'Selah Photography', I'll fill you in! 

I have been dreaming of being a photographer for many years.  I LOVE to take photos because I love people.  I am the kind of person that also needs to see progress; something happen from start to finish.  With photography, I can be with people, capture their life moments and also use my creative mind to see a beautiful photo come to life! 

I've only just begun, and I still have much to learn!  I plan to take an online course this fall and I continually study information from the Net and various established photographers. 

Check out my photoblog HERE and let me know what you think!

Blessings!
~Bethany :)

Sam's Mission Trip...and Other Notes of Interest :)

SQUIRREL!  (This isn't part of the mission trip-ha!  It was supposed to go on the bottom of the post...sigh)

This is Sam, Katie and Drew....

Mark and I went to a special 'Parent's Night' during the week of Sam's trip.  It was neat to be able to see all the kids....most mission trips aren't this close to home! 

This is Sam and Joe....Joe is the middle school pastor and was Sam's small group leader last year.

These are cool!  They are little bags with each kid's name on them.  When another student sees someone doing an act of kindness or doing an act of service above and beyond, a note is written and dropped in their bag.  It shows them affirmation and gives them encouragement during the week. 

More singing!  Side note:  At the church in Detroit, Sam was able to sing and play his guitar for their worship time! 

This is when the group went in front of the church for prayer....  Sam is in the plaid shirt, looking away :)  You can't tell from this, but there were around 135 kids altogether!

This past weekend, we went to see a colonial reenactment.  Did women and children really go on the battlefield?  I'll have to research that!

Alex (blue shirt) went on a bike adventure with some of his old friends from high school!  They rode 70 miles altogether (they camped for one night).  Oh, to be young again! 

I guess that is all for now :)  
I have been a little sickish due to an RA flareup.  My Dr. is prescribing a new infusion drug, so hopefully, that will help!  
I'm doing a family photo shoot today and a high school Senior tomorrow!  Woohoo!  


Blessings!
~Bethany :)

Mission Trip!

Sam is smack dab in the middle of 'Citiweek'....a mission trip right in our own state!  There are over 100 students serving in Detroit this week.  Sam is on the far right, wearing a hat :)  This is his 'team'.  Can't wait to hear how God uses them all!

Back from CAMP!

J., the 8 year old, just returned from his first camping experience!  Here are some pictures taken while he was there....I am pretty sure he had a BLAST!

The cabin.

Near the charter bus (they took FOUR charter buses!!).  As you can see, J. is in 'Team Squirrel'.

The whole gang :)

Beautiful! 

I think this sums it up quite nicely, don't you?

 Blessings!
~Bethany :)

Picture of the Day :)

Beach Practice

Check out my beach pics of Gabe!

Comparing Notes...

Gabe to Girl:  "So...um, how did you break your arm?  Is that waterproof?? I broke mine in an inflatable accident."

Girl to Gabe:  "Oh wow...really??  Yeah.  It's pink and waterproof.  I broke mine on a ladder."

Blessings!
~Bethany :)

Summer Vacation ~ Part Four

First of all, I'd like to share one of my favorite pictures of Gabe.  I took it a few nights ago while doing a photo shoot!  Gabe was my first model :)  Just so you know, I've created a separate blog for my photography habit (not yet technically a business).  Go here!  It's is very NEW...so there isn't much there yet.  There will be though...just wait and see!

This is the 'Historical Entrance'.  It had a frigid breeze flowing out from the inside....

See what happened to Josh's glasses when we came back out?? 

Our tour was called "Frozen Niagara" and you can see why!  It's amazing to see the inside of a very old cave!

Mark and most of the kids....Alex and Sam were not with us for this portion of the trip.  Sam was with his dad for a rare visit and Alex was working at a church camp as a counselor.

Here is Mark and some of the boys...overlooking a...well, an overlook :)

Summer Vacation ~ Part Three!

For the 3rd segment of our vacation memoir, here are pictures from when we went to the Cincinnati ZOO!  

I love that Raffi song..."We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo...how about you, you, you?".  Have you heard it??

Blessings!

~Bethany :)

Now...about that award :)

Thank you Lindsay at Looking for Strawberries!  She was kind enough to think of me and my new, little blog :)

Part of this award is to share 7 things about myself.  Here I go!

1.  I've lived in 8 different states. 

2.  I'm a nationally certified Interpreter for the Deaf and Deaf/Blind.  

3.  My BA is in Interpreting and my Masters is in Secondary Education.

4.  I have 3 sons, 2 stepsons and 2 stepdaughters.

5.  My husband is a bicycle mechanic and a college student (and a wonderful dad, I might add). 


6.  I love singing, photography and all kinds of art.  (I sing in the choir at church and also on the worship team a few times a year)


7.  I am content being in a blended family...although it has it's challenges, I can truthfully say that God has blessed us more than I could ever imagine! 


Now, I need to pass this award on to 15 bloggers that I have recently discovered.  Um...the thing is, I only have found about 5!  It's not that I don't want to find more, it's just that it takes time...and I either don't have much time to search or I get distracted!  

I'll try!


1.  Amy Horne Photography
2. Pixel Perfect 
3. The Paper Mama
4. Sailor & Company 
5. Life With All These Crazy People, Me Included!
6.  Sound Mind, Sound Body
7.  Brightsides
8.  The Redhead Riter

So...these are the only blogs I visit!  So far :)  I also like to read Mckmama, Bring the Rain & Kellys Korner.  I'm pretty sure they have all gotten this award plus many more.  

Give them ALL a visit!  You know, when you have time :)


Blessings!


~Bethany

My Very 1st Blog Award!

Here it is!

More to come later....my hubby and I are going on 'date night' for the 1st time in like...2 months!  

Blessings!

Random Thoughts....

I was thinking last night, while I sat at my Aunt and Uncle's pool, watching the kids play as the sun set....isn't summer wonderful??  Swimming, a little traveling, time with friends & family....heck, the warmth alone is enough for me!

Yesterday, Mark and I took all the kids (ALL...even Alex!) to my Uncle Bob's and Aunt Janella's.  They live out in the country and have a big garden, an inground pool and my Aunt always makes us a spectacular meal.  My Uncle is 76 years old now and a retired pastor. He has many stories to tell!  My Dad was there too, but he could only stay a few hours (he's 'semi-retired'!).  

It was so nice to be with my family. 

I think about people that don't have family.  Or kids.  Or a husband.  Or single moms and dads.  There were times in my life that I didn't have anyone but my kids.  It can feel very lonely.  Here in Michigan, I don't see my family that often, but it's sure nice to have them!  With my Dad and Uncle in their 70's now, I feel that these are our last years with them....and I want to make sure that we enjoy them and not take them for granted. 

As for other news....

Sam was asked by our Youth Minister to go see HILLSONG UNITED (http://www.hillsongunited.com/)
tonight!  I'm so jealous :)  The cool thing about it is, Jerry only asked 10 kids to go with him.  10 kids that are involved in worship arts.  For now, Sam sings and plays guitar...and is currently taking guitar lessons.  He hasn't actually been on stage at church yet, but Jerry knows that he wants to do that in the future.  It was so nice of Jerry to think of Sam.  What a blessing!

Gabe gets his cast off this Friday.  He can't WAIT to swim again.  Yesterday, my Uncle set up the sprinkler for him while the other kids swam in the pool.  G. is such a sweetie...he never complained or pouted.  I love that kid :)

My hands are kind of numb and stiff right now.  My RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) is flaring up and work is not much fun.  I've found that running hot water over them on my break helps!  Thank goodness I am getting an infusion tomorrow.  And I'm off work too.  Double bonus day :)

I still need to post Part 3 and 4 of our vacation!  I'm getting behind!

Blessings!

~Bethany :)

Machine Gun Preacher

Mark, Gabe (my 7 year old) and I were EXTRAS this past Tuesday in a movie being filmed called "Machine Gun Preacher".

How fun is that?? 

This movie is based on a true story (and a book).  The real Machine Gun Preacher is Sam Childers.  His story/website is here:  http://www.machinegunpreacher.org/

It's an amazing story. 

Anyhoo...while we were there, for 12 hours I might add, there was a scene filmed that was a sweet little girl singing "Amazing Grace". I have NEVER heard a child sing the way Rhema did!   The hardest part was to sit there in complete silence (with 200ish other extras, cast and crew) until the director said 'cut'!  God surely did give her a beautiful voice. 

Check out her music video here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDDlxmsciqY

Yes, it was an exciting day.....   We had to be on the set at 6:30 a.m. (did I mention I'm not a morning person?).  By 1 p.m. or so, Gabe had decided to take a nap, right before Rhema sang.  My worst fear was that she'd be in the middle of her song and Gabe would wake up...crying or whining about where he was!  Oh my.  That would have been embarassing.  He didn't wake up though...through two 'takes'.  And the assistant director (or 'AD' as they are called) came and sat with us for awhile...asking Gabe how he broke his arm and such.  Everyone on the set was respectful, kind...nothing at all as I imagined a movie set would be.  Not to mention getting my hair and makeup done several times throughout the day! 

Very cool :)

So, when MGP comes out next year, look for us!  We'll be in the church congregation where Sam Childers (played by Gerard Butler) gets saved!

Blessings!
~Bethany :)

Summer Vacation ~ Part Two ~ The MEGA Reunion

Our vacation was SO much fun!  First, we went to Grandpa's farm, then we went to the MEGA Southland Youth Reunion....which was a wonderful day of mingling with old friends (and my beloved Youth Minister, Brewster!) from my youth group years at my home church in Kentucky.  The only downer of the day was that my youngest broke his arm on the inflatable slide!  He's okay now....but parenting is such a RIDE, isn't it?  :)