Meet Henry

I never thought we would get a dog.
I'm still kind of in disbelief that we have one.

However, he's worked his way into our hearts and now feels like part of the family. Henry is a furry, soft, bundle of love, who begs for affection any moment he can.

He's also quite quirky.
And living in a house with a 6 year old girl and an 8 year old boy, he if often forced to wear hats that he wouldn't necessarily choose for himself:

And more recently, as baseball season has enveloped our home, Henry is now the new #1 fan of Little League Baseball. . .

whether he likes it or not.

The Go-Kart

Once upon a time, about 25 years ago, there was a go-kart.  This wasn't just any old kart, but a beloved go-kart acquired by the S family.  The father of the family (Mr. S) and his 8 year old son Ryan, enjoyed working on the go-kart together, making it run as fast as possible, racing it around the church parking lot for hours at a time. Ryan and his best buddy, Nate, even put their names on the back of it.

It was cherished.
And really fast.

Several years later, after Ryan had grown older and moved on to other things as boys do, Mr. S decided it was time to sell the go-kart.  Although devastated to see it leave the family, they knew the go-kart would get more use and spread more joy being used by other children than if it continued to collect cobwebs in storage. The S's sold it to their friends, the P family, who had two young kids.  (Rumor has it that Ryan even shed a tear that day.)  The P family was grateful and spent several glorious years racing the go-kart and enjoying it just as the S family had.

As time went on, though, the go-kart became tattered and torn - years of riding and racing had taken it's toll on it's wheels, axles and paint job.   The stickers of "Ryan" and "Nate" even wore off.  As the go-kart grew older, so did the P kids.   And eventually. . . Mr. P decided he didn't need it any longer either.

Thankfully, even though all the children who had loved the go-kart were now adults, the P's and the S's had stayed family friends throughout the years.  As Mr. P toiled about what to do with the go-kart, he remembered the happiness it had brought to his son's life.  Wanting to pass that joy on, he thoughtfully remembered that Mr. S's son Ryan, now had a young son of his own.

Mr. S was thrilled with the prospect of getting the go-kart back.  In fact, he surprised Ryan and his dimpled grandson for the boy's five year old birthday. Ryan was close to shedding tears again, but this time, tears of joy.

Although the boy was too young to ride it at that point, Mr. S knew that the three of them, together, just might be able to love that go-kart back to life.

Four years later, that's just what they did.

Phase 1 of the restoration:

Disassembly:

 Look close and you can see the "R" to far left and Nate on the right.

Shiny new parts came in the mail.  (not spontaneously - they were ordered, of course)

 Mr. S and Ryan sanding it down

Stay tuned for phase II of the restoration. . 

The Glory of the Blue Egg - Teaching Kids the Real Meaning of Easter

Last year, at our local Christian bookstore, I saw something advertised called Resurrection Eggs.  Eager to try to come up with a creative way to talk to my kids about the Easter story, I picked them up and have loved them!

The eggs come in a carton, each one a different color.  Almost every egg is filled with something that represents the story of Easter.  Also included is a pamphlet that explains what each item represents along with verses from the Bible.

 For example, the first egg holds a donkey and the pamphlet refers to Matthew 21:1-9 of how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey before his death and resurrection.

The matching of the colored egg with each item is detailed inside the carton.

The spear, linen cloth and the stone at the tomb:

 Our family has quizzed each other on what each item represents as well as challenged ourselves to try to put the eggs in the right order.  It's been a wonderful, tangible way to talk through the death and resurrection of Jesus with our kids!!

Especially when you get to the blue egg. 

The last egg. 

Because it's empty.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Thanks for visiting my new blog!!!  I hope to keep this updated with photos from sessions as well as photos of life through my lens (translation = pictures of anything and everything!)

Mason

I photographed our friend Nick and Amy's first son a couple of weeks ago.  Here are some photos from our time together!!