December 31

Hope you've all been enjoying yourselves over the holidays. We've enjoyed having our son home for a few weeks, so have been having some family time.
The weather has been crazy! I hear of snow falling in Georgia and Arizona. Here in Michigan, it's unseasonably warm. The temps were in the 50's today and I woke up to thunderstorms this morning. It's been raining and overcast all day. This is the view of a lake near us when I drove past it early this afternoon.
I did hear that next week we will probably go back to normal weather - some snow and colder weather is predicted.
Happy New Year to all of you!

December 24

Oliver had found a little spot he loves to crawl into and peek out from. Maybe he thinks he is a gift!

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas, celebrating the birth of Christ who is the best gift ever!

December 20

Our tree, all lit up at night.
If you look in the shadows in the lower left corner, you can see Oliver sitting nicely next to it. This is unusual - he prefers to be in the middle of the presents!

December 17

I was driving home late this afternoon and the sky was so beautiful, I pulled over to take a picture. This color only lasted a short time, but it made for a nice drive!

December 13

Here's one of my favorite ornaments. My husband carved him, and I love his old fashioned look.

December 10

This pretty scene is just down the road from us. The hay bales usually don't stay out all winter, so it's different to see the snow on them.

December 8

Today we welcomed my niece Katelyn home! She spent the last 4 months in India, doing a social work internship. There were lots of family and friends at the airport, all happy to see her smiling face again!

December 5

It's been snowing today. When I went out to take some pictures, I saw the snow clinging to the grasses in our back yard. I love how those delicate tendrils hold the clumps of snow.

December 2

We had a long, beautiful Fall. We had no snow until December 1 when we got 5 inches.
This pile of leaves had blown up against the house, and I like the way it shows the two seasons meeting.

November 30

I took this picture from the third floor of our local museum, looking down over the main hall.
It looked beautiful, decorated for Christmas, and still displaying some treasures!

November 28

I have to tell you about our Thanksgiving surprise. This is our son Andy, who is in the Army. He told us he wouldn't be able to come for Thanksgiving as he is coming home for Christmas.
Imagine our surprise when the doorbell rang at 10 am and he was standing there!
He wanted to celebrate the holiday and my birthday.
It made my day!

November 24

So - it was my birthday today. And not just any birthday - it was my 50th!
This is a sampling of some of the lovely things I got. I also got Metamucil, skin revitalizing cream, icy hot gel... I think I'm ready!
I did get some nice things too - 2 bouquets of flowers sent to work, some chocolates, a few books and even some gorgeous jewelry from my hubby!
All in all - 50's not bad!

November 22

I took this picture a few nights ago. My nephew broke his wrist, and I went along to the ER to keep my sister company because ER visits are never short!
We left the hospital about 12:30 in the morning. This office building was all dark except the stairwell, and I liked the look of it.

November 18

Oliver fall asleep on my lap, laying on his back and I took advantage of the opportunity to snap his picture.

November 15

The weather is changing. Last week it was sunny and warm. Now the skies are gray and cloudy, and it's cold. Winter is coming, like it or not!

November 11

We had a fun evening at church tonight. A bunch of women got together and learned how to make so things that can be used as gifts.
When I came out to the parking lot, it was still quite warm, and it was just a pretty night. I don't often take pictures at night, but it looked so nice, I gave it a try.

November 7

It was a gorgeous day here today. The sun was shining and the temps were in the low 60's which is incredible for November.
This picture was taken in one of my favorite spots. I've been trying to get a picture of this in all 4 seasons, and I've had a hard time with Fall because the leaves were taking such a long time to change and I was hoping for a sunny day for the picture.
Although it's not as colorful as I would like, I think this will work for my Fall picture.

November 4

I've shown you this tree several times lately, but I so often admire it, and I think it's beautiful in all it's stages, so I'm showing you again.
This is a big old beech tree that I see out my living room window. It, and most of the other trees have lost almost all there leaves, but it's still a pretty sight!

November 2

The leaves have a different type of beauty when they are on the ground.

October 31

It was a beautiful Fall day here. The sun was shining, but it was quite cool. Many of the trees lost there leaves last week in the high winds, but a few are still hanging in there. These trees had actually lost a lot of leaves, but for some reason they look quite green in this shot.

October 28

This field is around the corner from our house and they recently did one last harvest. I like the way the bales of hay look against the last bits of color on the trees.

October 26

I took this picture a few days ago while I was working. The early morning sky was so pretty! About 30 minutes after I took this it started raining.

October 24

I left the house the other night and was immediately enthralled by a huge, full moon hanging in the sky. I pulled over to take a picture, and although my camera doesn't do too well with night time shots, this gives an idea of the view I had.

October 22

I took this picture yesterday morning at work. I was doing my morning med pass, when I glanced out onto the patio and was quite surprised to see that it was pouring out. The sun was shining brightly and the rain was pouring down.
I'm told there was a beautiful rainbow, but I didn't get to see it.

October 20

I was at my sister-in-laws house last night, and was startled to see something big fly in the back yard. Upon closer inspection, I found it was turkeys! They were flying onto the roof of their garden shed. They are a funny sight flying, and sitting up there!

October 19

It has been another gorgeous day today. I took this picture out of our living room window today. Every time I walked in that room, I enjoyed the colors and the sunshine bouncing off the leaves. I can't help but praise God for His creation when I see this beauty!

October 18

Another shot of the beautiful Fall we are having!

October 15

I love the back roads, this time of year!

October 14

Everywhere I look lately, I'm amazed by the beautiful colors.
This wooded area is always pretty, with the little stream running through it, but with the colorful leaves, it is spectacular!

October 12

This tree is in our neighbors yard. It's such a brilliant yellow. I love seeing it out of our kitchen window.

October 10

This past week the weather here has been just beautiful. Today was no exception, so we decided to go to a park near us for a picnic lunch and some hiking. We had never been here, but my sister kept telling me how much I would like it.
She was right! We spent about 2 hours walking through the woods and along the river that ran through the park. The colors in the trees are really starting to pop. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, the earth shows his handiwork."
Psalm 19:1

October 8

The maple tree in our back yard is starting to change colors. Although most of it is still green, some of the outer leaves are showing some nice color.

October 6

*husband Bob, son Andy, daughter Heather

Our son is on a week of leave, so we're enjoying having him around this week. Yesterday we went to Grand Haven and walked the pier. As usual, they were walking ahead while I stopped to take pictures. They all decided to jump, to see if I was paying attention. I made them do it again so I could get a picture!

October 3

I took this picture when I was in Grand Rapids for Artprize last week. I love the view of the old building, reflected in the new one.

October 1

Grand Rapids is having it's second annual Artprize. This brings artists from all over the world to show their art all over the city. There are more than 17,000 artists in 192 places in the city. This goes on for 2 weeks. It's so fun to walk around and see all the different types of art.
This piece is called Elephant Walk and is in front of the Children's Museum. There are 3 elephants standing there and their heads bob when the wind blows.
For more pictures of other pieces, visit my regular blog.

September 28

Another sign of the changing seasons - the geese are flying south again!

September 26

I showed you this photo of our front walk a few weeks ago and told you that we had lots of acorns this year. Well, I have to tell you it's only gotten worse! My husbad raked and swept them up a week ago and you can see what has fallen since then. We can't take a step in the yard without stepping on them.

September 23

Yesterday we had a car show at the nursing home I work at. There is an antique car club in the area that comes every year so our residents can see the cars. They all have such a good time looking at them. Some of the cars are years that the residents remember driving and it brings smiles to their faces to see them.

September 21

This is a view of Grand Rapids from one of the bridges that crosses the Grand River. Usually the pictures I take of the river are in a more country setting, near my house, but it's fun to see the river from this viewpoint too.

September 19

I came across this old tractor just sitting on a corner. Considering how old it is, I thought Sepia was a good look for it.

September 16

I frequently pass this old barn and wonder how it is even standing anymore. I don't think it will survive winter and snow on it's roof. It looks like it was once a really classy building and it's sad to see it look like this.

September 14

This is a little section of our front walk. As you can see there is no shortage of acorns this year. Every night we hear more acorns fall on the roof, and bounce off to the ground. Our whole yard is filled with acorns; more than I remember seeing in other years.
It's been said that lots of acorns means a bad winter. I sure hope that's not true!

September 12

My husband is good at watching out for photo ops for me. He came in the door and told me to get my camera - he had something for me to take a picture of.
He then showed me this bright green frog, who appeared to be taking a nap on top of an outside electrical box. He never moved while we stood there, but a few hours later he was gone.
Don't you think his markings and colors are pretty?

September 11

We went to the hospital to visit some friends last night. There are some big buildings going up there and one of them is this one, right in view of her room. I liked the way other buildings were reflected in the side of this one.

September 9

I've posted this scene before, in the winter. I took this picture a few weeks ago because I'm trying to get a shot of it in every season. This is the summer shot. It won't be long and these leaves will be changing!

September 7

While I was working today, it seemed that every visitor that came in was talking about how windy it was outside. When I left work, the DJ on the radio said the waves on Lake Michigan were 10-12 feet high.
So - when I came home, I picked up my husband and we made the 20 minute drive to Grand Haven. We weren't disappointed! It was hard to even walk to the beach, because of the wind, and when we got there, we were amazed to see the size of the waves.
If you look at the picture closely, you will see someone surfing right below the inner light. There were several people out there, but that's not water I would want to be in!
This reminds me of how powerful God is - this lake is small in his view - huge in mine and He controls the wind and the waves!

September 6

The day started off dreary here, cool and rainy. However, the sun came out this afternoon and the temperature is just right!
This chair in our back yard is still wet from the rain, so I wouldn't want to sit there, but it does look pretty, surrounded by flowers!

September 4

I have to spend this weekend, sitting with my foot up because I have cellulitis in my ankle. My daughter Laura was so sweet and stopped over with this flower arrangement. She found a place where you can pick your own flowers, to make arrangements. I think it's beautiful!
She also made a dutch apple pie for Bob, so we are both happy!
*For those who asked - cellulitis is an infection of the skin and sub dermal tissue. It can be dangerous as it can spread, so I'm following Dr's orders and keeping off my feet.

September 2

This huge beech tree is across the street from our home. I love to see it after it's been raining. It never seems to get wet all over; instead the water seems to run down certain areas and creates a pattern on the bark.

August 30

We had a beautiful sunrise today!