A walk with the dog and my camera.

Took the camera for a stroll, oh yeah, and the dog. Figured I could see if I can manipulate the focus…yeah, still working on that one. Oh well, got some interesting pictures I guess.

Queen Anne’s Lace always reminds me of the farm {where my dad’s dad lived.}

Snap dragons.

I like the sunshine around the leaves and flowers in the one above.

Did you know the population of bees is declining because of cell phones. {No joke, check it out here.}

 

Pollination expert.

A little antique photo editing.

Vibrant purple.

The fence of the tennis court.

Our tennis court has RULES. Not to mention that some old man in a side apartment has the key to it, and you have to sign it out in order to unlock the well-maintained courts.

 

I liked the small palm-like leaves in this one.

 

Can you tell what this is? Moss on the bark of a tree.

His favorite pastime outdoors – chewing on a stick.

 

Espn’s schnoz.

The tip of the fence surrounding the concrete-filled pool behind our condo. 

More iron fence with the sunrays.

We encountered a cat on our walk.

They didn’t really hit it off.

Buds. {Ha, this made me think of my brother-in-law, who I nicknamed BUD after an episode of the Cosby Show!}

Epsn decided to wander off  while I looked the other way at a flower.

 

My pup & me.

{Photo submitted to…}

Pizza on the grill.

Eugene & I decided to try to grill our pizzas last night for dinner. We played sand volleyball for a while in Cedarville, and then by the time we got home we were starving & ready to try out the new pizza. I used the Bisquick dough recipe I made a while ago, but I think next time I’m going to try a recipe I just read today in my new cookbook {thanks, Dad!} I added some Italian seasoning/spices to the dough also. Then, I covered the dough with Olive Oil, and we pressed out our pizza crust. Then, Eugene sprayed the grill with cooking spray, got it nice and warm, and then we placed the dough on the hot grates.

 

We both agreed that next time we need to make our dough thinner – it was good, but definitely more deep-dish ish.

Eugene watched them carefully, and when the bottom was seared with nice brown marks, he flipped them over.

 

Next came the toppings, and I read a tip online that when it comes to grilled pizza toppings, less is best. {We also found this to be true.}

Added sauce, cheese, pepperoni.

Then, we shut the lid to the grill and let it cook more {remembering to check it frequently to make sure it didn’t burn.}

Soon enough, they looked like this, and we popped ‘em off the grill and onto our plates. We used a melted butter with garlic in it as a dipping sauce, which was fab. Yum. Not to mention the huge plus that we never had to turn on our oven so our house didn’t get 100+ degrees…praise!

Oh, and just for kicks. Remember me saying the dog likes to sleep completely under our bed?

Last night he tried to get himself under the loveseat to sleep too! Goofball.

 

A proven Father.

Eugene & I spent the evening yesterday talking through various job decisions we have to make. It’s been an extremely stressful year when it comes to employment for us, but each day we’ve been provided for – thankfully – and we’ve learned to never take that for granted. We’re facing choices, opportunities, risks, sacrifices, and the unknown. But I read yesterday:

“To recognize God as Lord is to acknowledge that he is sovereign and supreme in the universe. To accept him as Savior is to accept his gift of salvation offered on the cross. To regard him as Father is to go a step further. Ideally a Father is the one in your life who provides and protects. That is exactly what God has done.

God has proven himself as a faithful father. Now it falls on us to be trusting children."

This is by Max Lucado, Safe in the Shepherd’s Arms {bold script is my added emphasis.}

The next chapter of the book is on how God leads us. Um, yeah, it’s written for me and for this moment in my life. {Thanks, God, for the words!}

“He leads us. He tells us what we need to know when we need to know it...

God is leading you. Leave tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow...

God is not going to let you see the distant scene either. So you might as well quit looking for it. He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future (Psalm 119:105). We only need to know that he leads us and "we will find grace to help us when we need it" (Hebrews 4:16)...

We need to hear that it’s not over until he says so. We need to hear that life’s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight."

“Sitting tight” is not my thing. I don’t enjoy it one bit. But, it’s what I need to do, and it’s what faith does.

Oh, and my precious pup melted my heart last night. I was being my pitiful self and was crying last night, and do you know what, my pup walked up to me {I was sitting on the floor} and licked both my eyes! He wiped the tears from my eyes…literally! Made me smile instantly. {Wondrous thing.} My pup’s a real blessing.

  

A day date.

Saturday, Eugene & Dillan filled in for me at work as our bar tenders. They did such a great job & I really think they enjoyed it entirely too much! It was a nice, responsible crowd at the wedding, so that always helps the evening to go well, and my evening went so much quicker spending it with my husband. Here’s a picture from the wedding…for once, nothing went wrong, no minor detail, no huge problem {like a 100 year old man breaking his hip on the dance floor like last week!}

Sunday, we went to church and left a bit early because Eugene’s dad gave us free tickets and a parking pass. It was nice to have a day date with just the two of us – we don’t do that very often.

The sun was beautiful and the temperature was Hot Hot. We’re talking 90s and above. It felt amazing to spend the day outside soaking up the rays…even if I was drenched in sweat. When we finally got some ice water in the 7th inning, it seemed like the best darn iced water that had ever touched my lips. Eugene looked at me and said, “now that’s what I call refreshing!” {You had to hear his tone…I promise, it was funny in person.}

We stopped for another birthday party on our way home. The birthday girl’s on the right and her cousin, Ava, in the yellow next to her. They both offered me their candy simultaneously. Cuties!

Speaking of cuties, Eugene fought over who got to wear the princess crown. He can be very aggressive as you can see.

At the party, I got asked to shoot Ava’s pictures sometime and my sister-in-law also asked if I would do her senior pictures. Guess I’m picking up a side job as a photographer…sounds like fun to me! Hope they don’t mind rookie pictures!

Lastly, on a more serious note, if anyone besides me reads this blog, can you please say a quick pray for Eugene’s aunt Jennifer? She recovered a while ago from breast cancer, but yesterday they found masses in her lungs and pelvis. She and her husband have two little boys, and I’m sure would covet your prayers for her. Prayer is so powerful. {Thank you.}

Typical busy Friday.

Again, I was too busy to blog earlier today. Setting up for a wedding at one venue and a reunion at our other. Busy life, but for once I was thankful that I was busy today – took my mind off missing my sister &  baby Cate & Dale. {Can you believe that out of all those pictures, I never got one of Casey & me?!}

It was such a blessing to have those 10 days with them here in Ohio. Oh it was so wonderful.

At least I have plenty of pictures of the beauty to stare at all day! ;) I’m so proud of my sister & her husband. They’re making great parents, and as always, they’re great friends to Eugene & me.

Another wedding to work tomorrow….and so on and so on.

The feeling you get holding a snoring baby.

Yesterday, I didn’t have the chance to blog because I worked in the morning in Urbana setting up for an event for 300 guests, and then took off the afternoon to spend time with Casey & Cate. We enjoyed lunch at my place, then met Miss Julie for Mom’s haircut…laughed at Julie’s stories of paleontologists, and then headed back to my parents’ place for dinner.

Casey asked me to do a last photo shoot before they head out on Friday morning. What a pretty baby Cate is, and what  a beautiful family Casey has. :) Makes my heart smile.

These are three of my favorite people & I’m so grateful for the days I’ve had with them here in Ohio!

Her daddy is the best at making her laugh!

Kisses.

Showing off her Tiffany’s bling.

Even her tootsies are perfect.

Her momma’s an OSU alum. and her daddy’s a huge fan. OH…!

I think she looks absolutely peaceful & precious in this last picture. Love it & love her.

Eugene held her late last night before we left. She fussed for a minute then he was able to walk her to sleep. She snored while resting on his shoulder, and we decided that might just be the best feeling in the world.

God did a great job with baby Cate. It’s amazing really.