Christmas 2011 | Family

Before church last night, my family and I got together for a little photo shoot! Of course we didn't get a lot of pictures, but we got enough to say we got a good one! :D I used my tripod, that I somehow got to work. I guess I'm a person that breaks things and then fixed them...yep, that me!

 I just love that one with my family! My mom didn't want the pictures to be really posed, she wanted them more relaxed, so that's what we did! Oh and this picture was taken when it was pitch dark out. I'm really impressed how well it turned out in terms of light.

 My mom and dad... they are SO cute, aren't they?

Now the picture above took a while to get... and even the other one took a while too. At one point I started recording. It was hilarious to see what we were doing in those short 10 seconds or so. My face looks really washed out and I edited it really poorly. :(

We had pancakes for breakfast this morning. I was going to wake up early to make them, but we all stayed up late last night, so I slept in. My dad ended up making them while I made two kinds of juices. 

Well there's the video... meet my awesome, yet weird family! And you're probably completely confused because you don't know what else went on before I pressed the "record" button.

 Yesterday, I finally had a chance to put up a few of my ornaments. I love this one because it represents what I used to love to do. I loved to dance. I'm not into dancing anymore, but I was! It's a glass ornament with a pink tint. I love it! And yes, it was almost too late to put up ornaments, but it wasn't!

 

I had my own little photo session yesterday, but the focus was a little off, so for this one, I didn't use my tripod and it turned out just fine!

 I love this picture! I'm sorry if you're tired of looking at pictures of me.. This one was actually in focus and it looks nice!

I hope you all had a great Christmas! It still doesn't seem like Christmas to me, but oh well. :/ It will come! I might have another post with some more pictures of us opening presents, but that's just a maybe. 

Do you have a favorite picture?

P.S. I got a new camera bag and I love it! It's a backpack that I can actually hold ALL of my camera stuff in. YES!

Lately

Merry Christmas Eve!

 Lately, I've been in a blog slump.

Lately, I've been stealing other people's idea for blog posts.

Recently, I've learned that teaching Kindergarten and 1st graders the game Sorry, is really hard.

Lately, I've loved bokeh shots... especially bokeh with many sides, not just circle bokeh.

Lately, I've been really wanting to show you all pictures, but I just don't feel like it's a good thing to. :/ It's complicated.

I would love it if any of you guys could think of something you want me to post about, and comment on this post what it is. I want my posts to bring inspiration and move you in some way, and with your help, I can strive to accomplish that.

Thank you!

Photo Dump

Well, last week was quite a busy one... with over 5 tests, two concerts, and days with volleyball practice, I was not able to have a nice quiet time to work on a post. I did take a lot of pictures though! Here are some random ones.

 Me before my concert... no makeup, no fancy hair. I showed this to my friend and she thought I looked even prettier this way.

 Last week consisted of cleaning around the fire place so we could make a fire! Yah! A fire is amazing on a cold Minnesota day, even though there is currently no snow on the ground.

 My Christmas tree bokeh. A lot of people are posting their Christmas tree bokeh. This is still just our little tree upstairs. Our actual tree that we decorate and put up is downstairs.

 Last week I got the focus fixed on my camera! Yah! And yes, it was broken because I messed with the settings again {yes...again} and turned the focus to automatically always we on manual. Woah, oxymoron going on there!

 Me singing during our concert. I let my mom use my camera. I put everything on the right setting and gave her a cheat sheet on how to put the lens on and what not. She said if I didn't make that cheat sheet for her, she wouldn't even know how to put the lens on. Haha! I love you, Mom! Anyways, 1/2 photo credit to my mom.

A {horrible} picture of me and my brother after the concert. I look really weird, but oh well, it's a picture.

P.S. The songs that we sang at our concert were Silent Night, Let's have a Christmas Celebration, and Halleluiah Chorus. For Halleluiah Chorus, we got a standing ovation. It was awesome. For our dress rehearsal we did... let's just say, not so great. So it was amazing that we did really well for our concert on Thursday night.

Holiday Kick-off

A few weeks ago during Thanksgiving break, that Friday to be exact, I went to my cousin's/aunt's and uncle's house. Not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving with them, but we went to a Holiday parade. I was so happy that I could go because it was their first time doing it in my home town. I only go back a few times a year and this was one of them. Here are some pictures of the parade.

 I'm sorry most of these pictures are kinda blurry. It was dark and cold.

 And remember this was only a few days after I had my camera, so I still had NO idea how to shoot in a manual mode. :D Oh and yes, that is a helicopter covered in Christmas lights.

 I happen to come from the 4th of July City of America. I'm not kidding. That's why they had that float.

Santa! Yep, that's him!

P.S. Thank you Emily for inspiring me to write this post! Go check her {better} pictures HERE.

P.P.S. I'm sorry if all of my Christmas posts are bugging you.

Signs of Christmas

Christmas is coming!!! {I sometimes love to state the obvious:)}

 We have lots of cold, snowy days, often dangerous (snow and cars don't meet), but kinda pretty.

 Icicles! Isn't that awesome?!

 These pictures were taken right after the first snow... with my camera. The actual first snow I didn't have my new camera, so this was the second big snow during the day. Sorry, I can be really confusing sometimes. So these pictures are all taken with my new camera!

 Bokeh!

 Christmas lights... Thank you Dad for putting them up so our house looks very jolly!

The "JOY" sign and the angel both light up at night. It's really pretty! 

What Christmas "signs" are you seeing?

Prezi

Hey guys! Do you guys remember THIS post when I posted pictures of the first snow of the year? Well, not only has it snowed a lot again (pictures coming soon), but in technology class we learned a lot of prezi.com. I made a prezi with those pictures and I thought I would share with you!



Snow in Minnesota on Prezi

Holy Bible #2

I took some more pictures of a rustic looking Bible and I'd thought I would show you!

 I think it's kinda funny that this picture is on green grass because where I live, there is no green grass. In fact, it's snowing right now. :D

 This is my grandpa's Bible. It's a disgrace to put the Bible on the ground, so I feel bad, but I love the green contrast. :/

This pictures are all with my new camera and at my grandparents' house. I love how they turned out.

Which one is your favorite?

Bible Verse of the Week #30

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is on great worth in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:3-4

This verse does not means it's wrong to look nice. Don't get me wrong, I love looking nice. This verse was to warn the Egyptian women that would spend hours on their hair and makeup. In the end it doesn't really matter. God wants to see us working on being beautiful on the inside: the beauty that lasts forever.

When I read this verse, I instantly remember that song. It is one of my favorite songs.

Beauty is more than skin deep. Covergirl makeup may cover up your skin and you may think you look pretty, but the truth is, real beauty comes from within. Think of it this way: It is better to be a plain, brown, paper bag present, with a fantastic present inside, than a beautifully wrapped present with nothing, or even nasty things inside. 

Just as C.S. Lewis says, God will make us beautiful in His eyes. He already did, when he made you.

"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a sunhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it."
C.S.Lewis

P.S. Today is my baptismal birthday! :)

Beginning of Christmas

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas by Bing Crosby

It really is starting to look like Christmas.. at my grandparent's house. We usually set our Christmas supplies out really late, but since we went down to my grandparents' house in Nebraska, we got a chance to help them put up their Christmas decorations.

At both of our houses {my grandparents' and my}, we set up a fake Christmas tree. Why? I don't exactly know. It is a lot less messy, but I don't care too much. 

I have to admit something: I love Christmas. Wait, I take that back. I like everything that happens leading up to Christmas; shopping, decorating, music, it's all so fun!

I took that picture and wanted to delete it, but then I thought about it, and look at it, and realized it's pretty cool! :D Thoughts?

How are you getting excited for Christmas?

Happy {Thanks}giving | A Must Read

Hey guys!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

I know I am having a fun week! :)

Today I just wanted to do a short post on what I'm thankful for. FYI, I am thankful for a lot of things. Only a few are actually on here.

1. God

2. Family

3. Friends

4. Food

5. House

6. Computers

7. My iPod

8. Eyes

9. My new camera (yes, you did just hear that!!!)

10. My blog followers/blog comments! :D

It's true I did get my camera. I got it on Wednesday. I love it, but I'm still completely lost on a few things.  I got a Nikon D3100 with a kit lens and a 70-300mm lens. I have a small, not stable at all, tripod. I also have 3 filters, a telephoto lens, and a macro lens. I bought an extra flash too. So I'm all set for a while. I've taken a lot of pictures, but since I'm not at home, I can't download them on the computer. That's why this post is picture deprived. :/ I'll be showing a lot of pictures soon though!

Have a great weekend!

~Madie

Bible Verse of the Week #29

2 Corinthians 9:15

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

I don't know about you, but I love thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow! I love this time of giving thanks. Today in chapel we had a guest speaker and he talked about how his grandpa always gave thanks. He wouldn't talk a lot about God, he wouldn't say much, but he would always remind his grandson to be thankful. 

I am thankful for a lot of things.

God provides me {and us} with so much! He has given me a house to live in, clothes {a LOT} to wear, parents, family and friends that love me, a computer to blog on, eyes to see, ears to hear, legs to walk... the list goes on! Sometimes I wonder why we don't thank Him enough.!? I mean honestly! He has given us so much, but we only celebrate that thanks once a year? That's crazy! We should thank Him with every chance we get! Those "gifts' He gives us are all around us! If you're reading this, you are looking at a gift. Your computer {or iPod or whatever device} is a gift! Say thank you to God right now! I dare you. :P Once you say thank you, why don't you read on with this little quote/prayer.

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow and be looking forward to some excited posts!!!

With Love,

Madie

First Snow//Right Now

The first snow is happening, right now.

Snow makes whiteness where it falls,
The bushes look like popcorn balls.
The places where I always play,
Look like somewhere else today.

~Mary Louise Allen

First snow to wash the autumn dust
First white to clean the gold
First beauty, only days to last
First change to fresh the old

 First light to kiss the gloomy day
First soft to mild the lawn
First clean to wash the dusty way
First cool to touch the dawn

 First pure to resurrect the sky
First soft to feel the sea
First dream to make the movement die
First snow to live in me.

First Snow from this website. 

Goodbye my beautiful flowers, until next year.

I'll miss you, but I'll survive.

Come back soon!

Goodbye perfect, round pumpkin.

I never carved you, but you looked pretty anyway.

Stay pretty for as long as you can.

I enjoy looking at you.

Goodbye, garden.

I enjoyed your yummy, delicious fruits and veggies.

For now, I'll plan out what to plant on you next year.

Hello, beautiful snow!

You are so pretty, but please don't hurt us.

Keep your beauty, but do not get in our way.

I'll enjoy you for while, but soon, your beauty will be gone,

and I'll be upset,

Hello snow, hi.

Have you gotten snow yet?

Bible Verse of the Week #28

Lately, I've been praying a lot to God. There's a certain thing(s) I've been praying for. I've been nervous and been asking for rest. I've been praying that I do well in school and in sports.

I am still nervous and praying more than I {usually} do. The thing is, I can find comfort in knowing that God sends His angels to guard me. Not only that, but the Creator of the universe watches out for ME, Madie. Why am I still so nervous?

I can't answer that question. I shouldn't be nervous, but I still am. When will this nerve racking time stop? There might be a time when I find peace because God listens and answers my prayers, but I won't feel completely perfect, until I go to heaven.

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Please pray for me. Please pray that I can continue to read the Bible to find peace and rest. I'm half way through the Bible, but I need more encouragement now that I've ever needed before. I'm excited about my success, but I want to know more about God and continue to finish the Bible.

Thank you!

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What are you nervous about? What can I pray for about you?

I pray that you find peace in your daily activities.