Welcome

. . . in all seriousness, thanks for stopping by! This blog will no doubt evolve over time, and will include all sorts of content. My aim is to let you know what we're doing as a family, how I'm coping as the mum of a child with Cerebral Palsy, and a variety of other things too.

If you are the parent of a special needs child, I pray that you will find encouragement, hope and support within these posts. I'd like to get to know your story too, so be sure to leave a comment.

I hope you'll come back soon.



Thursday 26 July 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

I'm starting to get the hang of this photo a day thing, and quite enjoying coming up with photos for each day. Now I just have to get a life, so that my blog has a chance of being interesting!


Animal/insect/pet
Take a photo of a little critter or a big critter today.
Had a visitor in the office the other day - I'm not really a dog person (or a cat person for that matter).  The only reason I took any notice of the pooch was because I suddenly remembered that I needed a photo of an animal.  Don't hold it against me, I'm sure that there is something you don't like that I do :)

Eyes
Take a photo of eyes, on you, someone else, a pet or even a toy.
Cheeky little monkey - you can just see the mischief in these eyes.  Both of my boys have lovely blue eyes.

9 o’clock
Take a photo of what ever you’re doing at 9am or 9pm. Your choice.

Washing, washing and yet more washing to be folded and put away.  Sometimes it feels like this is never ending and that all I do is washing, dry, fold....


Upside down
Take a different look at the world.
Take a photo upside-down or of something upside-down.

Isaac loves it when Daddy throws him upside down.  Reuben used to, but has grown too big.


Mirror
Take a photo of a mirror, or your reflection in the mirror.

When Isaac has his music therapy there are various mirrors around the room so that he can see what his body is doing and so that I can see his reaction to the activities that he's doing.


A stranger
Be brave or sneaky. Take a photo of a perfect stranger.

There are some strangers in the background of this photo!  We took this while away on holiday at Christmas. Tiny town at Splash Planet in Hastings was a huge hit, as was the gondola and luge in Rotorua.  I think that the thing that I appreciated most about our holiday was that we were away for the 5.8 and 6.0 earthquakes that hit Christchurch again on 23 December 2011.

Heart
Take a photo of a heart.
When a saw this necklace a couple of years ago, and thought it was so pretty, I just had to get it.  Love it when the sun hits the glass and the colours in the refracted light shine through.

Friday 20 July 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

When I was getting prepared to write this post, I started getting really confused. The subject matter didn't correspond to the pictures I thought that I was meant to have. Turns out that two weeks ago, I couldn't count to seven! So this week I am intentionally adding an extra photo.

Letter
Take a photo of a letter, perhaps one you get in the mail, one you wrote or even a letter from the alphabet {in a sign, or in a book or somewhere else!}
Reuben's birthday ended up being spread over three weeks.  There's nothing like getting home at the end of the day and finding a package sitting on the doorstep.

Texture
This is a toughy! Take a photo of something with texture; carpet, wood, a painting anything that has texture.
You may have noticed Isaac wearing this beanie in other photos.  It was actually given to Reuben last
winter as part of an initiative where people around the country knitted hats/beanies for kids in Christchurch.

Open
Take a picture of an open sign, or something open; a door, a jar, anything that can be ‘open’!
"ROAR!" Watch out I'm going to eat you all up.

Building
Take a photo of a building you see. It could be a big or small building.
 Reuben decided that he wanted to put stickers on his shirt.  Not sure about the motor bikes and boat in the sky among the buildings, however the airplane was positioned perfectly.

Finger
Take a photo of a finger, yours, someone elses, a finger sign or even a toy finger or sorts.
 I will admit that I cheated on this one. When Reuben was a baby, we got some photos taken, and this one was just too cute not to include in this post.

Sign
Get creative! Find a sign {a street sign, someone doing sign language or even a sign of fate!}
Created by the amazing Rachel, this mosaic was made from broken crockery on the anniversary of the February earthquake. It is displayed in one of the windows in our church.

Your Addiction
What’s your guilty pleasure? What do you love? What are you addicted to? Share it!
I was having difficulty thinking of what to do for this photo, then I realised that one of the things that I enjoying a lot is hanging out at the mall.

Plate
Take a picture of a plate, with or without food on it.
Because we live near the beach, I have quite a bit of beach themed crockery.
Sorry that this post is a bit on the short side today, but it is getting really late, and I still need to get a few things done before I can call it a night.

Monday 16 July 2012

Slackness & a VERY late Through the Lens Thursday

I am slack, slack, slack! No posts in almost two weeks is not the way to win friends (readers) and influence people.

After a week in bed with the nasty bug that's doing the rounds and a week of trying to recover, get back to work and get the house operational again, I am starting to feel like I've just about returned to normal - well as normal as I can be! I'm so pleased that I had Reuben booked in for holiday program, and Isaac at preschool. Over the holidays, I try to let the boys have a bit of a sleep in in the mornings, so we're not out the door as smartly in the mornings as we are during term time, but on the other hand we can't just laze around home all day either.


Since I last updated you, Isaac has been doing amazing with his walking. Not only does he not use his walker inside the house any more, it usually gets ditched when he arrives at preschool (although it's good that he still has it if he needs it or is having a 'wobbly' day), Champion Centre he used it for walking into the building and walking out again - he flew solo the rest of the time, at the weekend we went to the mall (this time across town to Riccarton, which is significantly bigger than the others in the city) and he went the whole length, twice with his walker! I can tell you, he's been having great afternoon naps after all that exercise. He is getting more and more stable, and has figured out how to regain his balance if he's walking along and starts to loose it. I am just so proud of the little guy! His determination is inspiring.

Reuben has now lost his two front teeth (bottom ones), I guess mid-winter Christmas is nearly as good as Christmas.


Here's last weeks Through the Lens Thursday....

Fun 
Shoot a picture of something fun or something you enjoy doing
I could watch Isaac play for hours. He is such a happy content wee fellow. My heart just wants to melt when I think about him. And, if I think about what could have been, my heart wants to break. But we are making the best of everything, and are constantly asking the Lord for His strength to keep us going.

On the floor
Take a picture of something on the floor. Your feet, patterned tiles, toys, grass – what’s beneath your feet?
I had a lot of help from my sister and niece when I was sick. Reuben was also really helpful, one night he got Isaac ready for bed - nappy, pajamas, teeth, prayers. What a great big brother.

Chair
Take a photo of a chair you see in your travels or at home/work/school etc.
Sometimes as a special treat, Reuben and Isaac like to sit in Daddy's recliner and watch cartoons. There is just enough room for both boys on here, but this particular day it was Isaac's turn.

Garden
Take a photo of a garden, yours or someone elses!
Ok, it's a fence rather than a garden. Every time I drive down this road, I am astounded by how much this fence has sunken due to liquifaction (terms like this come up in everyday conversation in Christchurch).

Lunch
What’s for lunch today? Take a photo before you eat it!
Lunches are a bit of a production line around our place. Each night, the sandwiches, fruit, and snacks are lined up, wrapped, packed, and ready for the next morning. Sandwich content ranges from jam or peanut butter through to cold meat and salad. What goes into your lunch boxes?

Big
Take a photo of something big. Perhaps make it look bigger by getting down low and shooting it looking up?
As the city continues to undergo massive changes, there is more and more heavy machine coming in. Durham Street has only just reopened, and this is what I saw driving to work. That is one BIG crane.

Your favourite colour
What’s your fave colour right now? Take a photo of it.
Saw these in the shop the other day. Love the colour, and the style, am thinking I might need to make a return visit!

Thursday 5 July 2012

Through the Lens Thursday

I've spent most of the past week in bed ill, hence no posts. Haven't been this sick in many years, it even took a few days for the antibiotics and steroids to kick in.  Just as well it's only the athletes and not the staff at work that get drug tested after a match!

Bathroom
Share a bathroom - yours, a public one, a friends - can even just be the door
I knew that today's photo challenge was bathroom. Our bathroom at home is not very exciting, it's not modern, is a bit worse for wear (and earthquakes). So when I needed to use the bathroom at the mall I figured that I'd just take a photo of the door. I actually quite like the coloured frosted glass with stainless accessories. Wasn't until I went to upload this week's photos that I realised that the suggestions included public bathroom and that it could even just be a door.

On the shelf
Shoot a shelf and what's on it
No cupboard is complete without a cookie jar!  What does your cookie jar or cake tin look like?

Soft
What's soft? Is it your hair, a toy, a sofa, or something else?
Soft cuddly toys, for cuddly boys - and this is only some of the collection.  Some nights there isn't much room in bed for the boy.  Other nights the boys both get into bed together and there isn't much room for the toys.

A friend
Take a snap of a friend and share it.
It's so good to have Aunty and Uncle home. They've been working overseas for the past 9 months. Welcome home!

Self Portrait
A photo of yourself that you've taken (get creative, take a photo of your reflection maybe?)
Snuggles on the couch, and playing with the phones camera.  That was about all that I was up for.

Best Part of Your Day
What's the best part of your day? Your morning coffee? Seeing your kids or loved one? Going for a walk? Snap it and share it.
What a surprise I got when I went onto my blog and found that I've passed 2000 page views! That really made my day. There are people around the globe who are interested in what is going on in our lives, very humbling.

Busy
Take a photo of something busy - the street, your to-do list, people shopping, just something that represents busy.

It's been a bit difficult to get a shot of busy, and I've been thinking about having a go at using some of the various photo apps that are available.  I'd been wondering how some of the photos on other blogs looked so fantastic. Tints, saturation, contrast, as well as various effects within the different apps. Had a bit of a play and this is what I came up with:



Obviously different effects will work better on different photos, but I thought that this one of the cuddly toys was a good place to start.

What do you do with your photos?  Use them as is, or crop them?  Do you have a favourite effect or app?





Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...