The Schafer Family

Forest Walk

We made an impromptu visit to a forest trail just off of Grand River between Williamston and Okemos. There were two Geocaches hidden here. We learned how to use my phone to help us find the right spot. The kids were pretty excited to actually find something. There was very little arguing and Lauren kept up with a minimum of complaints. We had a great time and look forward to doing it again!

Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe Emily is 1 already, seems like she will always be a newborn. She has developed her own unique personality complete with giggles, clicks, and shrieks. She loves to clap and shake her head, dance to a a beat, and chew on your fingers. Her day wouldn't be complete without her brothers to entertain her with their whirlwind of activity from precious moments of sharing a toy with her to the chaos of their wrestling matches. Most of all she loves her Mama. Her eyes twinkle and her face lights up whenever her Mama walks in the room. (Sorry, Daddy...it'll be your turn someday.) I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Dog Days

Abby and Tucker were the unwitting participants in my impromptu photo session.  It is so rare to catch them in quiet moments so that I can get some different shots, rather than the blur of their wrestling matches.  Abby's beautiful portrait shot was captured with a little help from my son and the promise of a treat.

Soccer Stars

Baby

Soccer Stars

Portraits of Summer

Baby

Butterflies

Visitor on the Deck

Bouquet of Colors

MSU Gardens

Flowers in the Field

ISO400 14mm  f/4.4  1/38sec  6/21/2010

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ISO800  14mm  f/4.4  1/100sec 6/21/2010

 

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We have 11 acres of mostly grass.  But scattered throughout the sea of green, there are small wildflowers, milkweed, and gladiolas that add a little bit of contrast.

Eavesdropping on an Angel

ISO 800  26.8mm  f/5.0  1/220sec  6/16/2010

What would a angel child be praying for?  The dreams on the hearts of children are simple and pure.  If only we could remember what they were after the ravages of time and heartbreak have weathered them away.

Beauty is in the Details

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I rarely stop to appreciate the intricate details in flowers.  I tend to glance over them, call them "pretty" and move on.  Boy, was I missing out.  These pictures reveal the mini-landscapes you can discover if you stop to look a little closer.

Beginnings in Photography

ISO100  5mm  f/3.5  1/250sec  BW  6/15/2010

I am taking a basic photography class.  I have learned so much in the last week I can't keep it all in my head.  The exciting part is that I will learn how to transition from thinking about "taking" pictures to "making" photographs.  Photography literally means "drawing with light".  Not only does that sound like a romantic idea, it is exactly the creative outlet I have been looking for.  In the short time that I have begun this journey I am looking at the things around me differently.  Whether it is actually stopping to look at something I have never seen or stopping to look at something that I have seen dozens of times and never considered how it might be represented artistically.  I have to consider what seems interesting to me, something I rarely take the time to think about.  I have to pay attention to lighting, patterns, textures, and combinations of colors.  All of these things are an integral part of what makes a photograph moving or thought provoking. Some scenes are more interesting in color, others in black and white.  Then there is the opportunity to improve an image with tools that enhance the camera's natural limitations.  With digital photogrpahy you can make mistakes with no cost, making the possibilities endless.  There is no right or wrong, just the impression left on the person viewing the picture.

Flowers from McDonald's

Spring has Sprung

And so it begins again. Spring has sprung and everything is dripping green. Not summer green where the occasional lack of rain leaves everything a pale, almost dirty green. No, this green is rich and dynamic, almost like you can feel the trees breathing as they come back to life. The flowers poke back out of the ground to see the sun return and soak in its energy. The birds are so very busy in their tasks as they chatter back and forth to each other. The spring babies open their eyes to see the world for the first time as their mothers watch carefully over them. The world is waking up. It stretches and yawns, ready for the challenge. It has been a good sleep, restful and refreshing. 

This is all so very "natural", obviously because this is the way life continues, with instinct and purpose. There is no argument or fussing. This is the way it works, so this is what must be done. 

But humans reject these notions. They fuss, they argue, they do so many things that are contrary to the way the rest of nature behaves. They don't sleep when they should, eat what they should, or do any of the other things that ensure a healthy relationship with their own bodies and the other organisms they rely upon and who depend on them. How has the human species survived for goodness sake? 

It must be that for as perfect as the design of creation (whether coincidental or divine) is, there is a range of tolerance for imperfection. And sometimes those imperfections are the raw material for new life.

I wonder if my own imperfections can be the basis for a new life. This is why Spring is such an inspiration to me.

The Statistics are Staggering

I found it difficult to watch the Today show this morning.  They featured Bristol Palin taliking about the new PSA campaign she is working on trying to educate teens against the perils of pregnancy.  They repeated the phrase "the statistics are staggering" more than once.  I thought to myself, what is so staggering about those statistics?  The fact that teenagers have sex and get pregnant should not really be so shocking.  What is shocking to me is that society sees pregnancies brought to term as the "heartbreaking" side of the coin.  What percentage of those teenagers grow into being albeit a young parent, but a parent nonetheless.  Yes they struggle to finish school, and some don't.  They struggle to find a job to support themselves, and some are more successful than others.  But just like the rest of a bell curve, there are those that successful in life despite any obstacles and they are stronger because of it.  Then there are those who are the bottom of the curve who never seem to catch a break and life continues to be one crisis after another.  Chances are their life would have been that way regardless.  Ok, so back to Bristol Palin.  Do teenagers need to be educated about the consequences of sex?  Absolutely.  From pregnancy to STD's to sexual abuse, they need to understand the physical and emotional consequences of their choices.  But to take the stance that the all teen pregnancy is a "tradegy" worthy of solemn looks and heavy hearts is to refuse to acknowledge that there just as many stories of young men and women who rose to the challenge, did the right thing, and their lives have been enriched by the child they brought into the world, not destroyed by it.

The Biggest Loser

So this has stayed with me for a few days.  I caught a few minutes of the show "The Biggest Loser" the other day.  This show seems to be a cross between "Survivor" and "Celebrity Fit Club".  They go through challenges and weigh-ins and get eliminated if they don't lose a certain percentage of their body weight each week as compared to the other contestants.  What struck me is that these people have put themselves up there to be gawked at like a sideshow.  Then they get upset when they don't lose a certain amount each week, as if losing something isn't good enough.  On top of that, they are upset when they don't lose upwards of 5-10 lbs. EACH week.  This is ridiculous.  Even if these people had perfect nutrition and exercise throughout the week, they shouldn't lose that much.  That's not healthy or sustainable, besides the fact that they are beating themselves up!  What took the "cake" for me was when the host declared to the contestant just eliminated, "I am sorry, but you will not be the Biggest Loser".  Are you kidding me?  Like she was supposed to say "oh, no"?!?!

Would You Look Down?

~from http://www.ransomedheart.com/

This picture is amazing to me.  I have never seen or been to a place like this.  I want to imagine what I would feel like if I were walking along this path.  Would I be terrified, exhilarated, or both at the same time?

From "Captivating" by Staci Eldredge

Unseen, Unsought, and Uncertain

I know I am not alone in this nagging sense of failing to measure up, a feeling of not being good enough as a woman. Every woman I’ve ever met feels it—something deeper than just the sense of failing at what she does. An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not enough, and I am too much at the same time. Not pretty enough, not thin enough, not kind enough, not gracious enough, not disciplined enough. But too emotional, too needy, too sensitive, too strong, too opinionated, too messy. The result is Shame, the universal companion of women. It haunts us, nipping at our heels, feeding on our deepest fear that we will end up abandoned and alone.

After all, if we were better women—whatever that means—life wouldn’t be so hard. Right? We wouldn’t have so many struggles; there would be less sorrow in our hearts. Why is it so hard to create meaningful friendships and sustain them? Why do our days seem so unimportant, filled not with romance and adventure but with duties and demands? We feel unseen, even by those who are closest to us. We feel unsought—that no one has the passion or the courage to pursue us, to get past our messiness to find the woman deep inside. And we feel uncertain—uncertain what it even means to be a woman; uncertain what it truly means to be feminine; uncertain if we are or ever will be.

Aware of our deep failings, we pour contempt on our own hearts for wanting more. Oh, we long for intimacy and for adventure; we long to be the Beauty of some great story. But the desires set deep in our hearts seem like a luxury, granted only to those women who get their acts together. The message to the rest of us—whether from a driven culture or a driven church—is: Try harder.

(Captivating , 6-7)

On Writing....

"I do want to work on writing, because writing's a skill. Writing is something that you can train yourself to know better. To know yourself better. And it's intimidating as hell. I mean, I definitely will always do what I've been doing. I've also started taking a lot of pictures, and they help the writing. The pictures help the writing. I mean, I want to make books. I want to take pictures and then write all over the pictures. And then I don't have to say a complete story, because I have the picture, and I have just a word."
~Kristen Stewart

Don't Forget the Focus

So I have spent a lot of time playing with different ways to link content to this blog. So much time in fact, that I haven't written anything until now. This is a pitfall I intend to avoid each day as I learn about this medium. As with any kind of technology, you can easily forget why you are using it in the first place. The use of technology becomes the goal in and of itself and the integrity of what you set out to do in the first place is lost. So basically, I could add a thousand widgets to this site and link it in a thousand ways, but if I don't write anything it was a big waste of time.

Sarcophagus of the Spouses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sarcophagus of the Spouses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Do you plan to stay with your spouse into the afterlife? Or do you plan to leave him/her here and call it good?

What do they mean?

Do dreams really mean anything? I've been told that dreams are just your brain's attempt to organize memories like a filing cabinet. Memories go here and there, shifting from short term places to long term places, being paired with other memories or being removed altogether. So the fact that dreams don't make sense should seem reasonable. The problem I have with that theory is that there are parts to dreams that are not based on memories. There are things that happen in dreams that have never happened in the waking world. They are clearly "made up" in your unconscious without your knowledge or permission. So the question remains, do dreams really mean anything? Why is your imaginative mind creating images that you seem to have no control over and at times would really prefer it didn't entertain? Are they windows into your deepest thoughts and desires that you work tirelessly to prevent from surfacing for fear of being exposed? Are they fluid metaphors that weave the real and the unreal into moving pictures like movies to be interpreted by the audience? I don't have the answer to these questions, I just wanted to know why I had to keep the dolphins in the bathtub because the pool was too dirty?? (I am nowhere near any dolphins and don't have an in-ground pool.)