Tonight's Shoot

I feel that I have one of the best jobs, at least for me. It suits me well. As I work on stories, I meet new people, travel within the community and learn new things. A recent story took me to a local swimming pool. Now, I've been in some interesting poses during interviews: kneeling on the floor, kneeling in a chair and bent over sideways. During one of the interviews tonight, I ended up laying on a kick board so I could be as close to the camera (which was laying on the ground) when I asked the questions. Never a dull moment. Well, maybe a few, but the shoot went well. My co-worker put the camera in a fish tank so she could get some shots in the pool. She's so brave, slipping into her swimsuit for the shoot. I was not so brave (white legs need shaver). However, tonight's shoot did require me to ask 20+ parents if we could shoot their children taking swim lessons. I sounded like a broken record as I made my rounds. But thanks to the parents' permission, we were able to shoot some great video.

Ode to a Snotty Nose

Oh Snotty Nose
You really blow.
For the past several days,
My head's been foggy, dazed.

My lips are chapped
My energy tapped.
When will you dry?
I think I might cry.

Seriously, I've been blowing this snout for several days. These are some deep thoughts that have entertained me as I've pillaged tissue boxes:

• Where in the world is all this stuff stored?
• Can you blow your brains out through your nose?
• My upper lip looks razor burned. (My boss says I look like I've been kissing a bearded man. I say, "That sounds better than a bearded lady.")
• Red and chapped lips are money savers - who needs lipstick?
• Blowing my nose snd = puppy squeak toy snd.
• Does your head swell when you have a sinus infection? If so, do I look smarter when I'm sick?

Weekend in Review

We had another fun weekend with the grandparents. We hope you had a fun one too!

Self-Portrait Time

ThisPlus thisEquals this...finally we both seem to be in this one.

Black Belt Baby

A friend's recent post inspired me to find this picture. Aunt EE's HH recently had a mishap at Tae Kwon Do. I teased Aunt EE but also wanted to remind her that Jack already has a black belt so hopefully we won't have any black and blue feet around here...unless they belong to Mike and me.

Toothbrush Time

What's Jack's favorite time of the day? It could be when mommy says, "It's time to brush our teeth," and he runs like a dickens for the bathroom. What a cutie patootie!Poor baby Jack had a really bad butt rash tonight. Ouch!

Good Times

.We had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's house today. Jack hung out with crazy cousin Meaghan, read books, played with toys and also got into trouble with cousin Garrett. They're sure a handful.Reading Skippyjon Jones- Jack knew when to turn the books upside right.Cousin Garrett - he and Jack can't get enough of those legos.Crazy MeaghanJack sticks his tongue out!Cute CU!Me and my big boy - I tried to put my shoulder length hair in a pony tail. I think I'll resort to piggy tails next time. At least Jack looks cute.

Behind the Scenes

Move over Spielberg! There's a new director in town.

One of my video projects is due tomorrow and I needed some video so what did I do? Go see my folks and force them to shoot a couple of clips with me. During a break in filming, Jack seemed ready to take over.

Already a Teen?

Jack has been napping for the past 2.5 hours. Since he's sleeping, I thought I'd throw in a cute pic of him in his jammies. Aww....the best Valentine.

Wishing Warm Thoughts

Forget the groundhog. Even my snowman has spring fever! Brr...it's in the 30's here.

A Valentine's Treat

Jack received a jumbo Valentine's Day card from his birth mother and her sister, his Aunt "J." Aren't they the greatest! Jack is so loved. I hope we see his birth mother and her family soon.

Uh Oh

That seems to be what Jack is thinking. This is as good as it gets for my 15-month-old on picture day.

Weekend in Review

New pictures of Jack below!

On Friday, a co-worker and I set out on a shoot to film a storm preparedness interview with a city employee. We decided, or rather, she decided that we needed a tornado siren in the background. We drove around before finding one in the middle of fraternity/sorority row. It turned out that she thought the best place to shoot the interview was on top of a sorority's deck. Needless to say, I felt very out of place, but asked the mother hen if we could shoot the interview. To do so, we had to get a man up two flights, with mother hen shouting "man on floor," each time we landed. We also had to go through a girl's room. We had a lot of fun poking jokes when we were on the balcony. I sure hope the girls inside their rooms didn't hear since they were gracious enough to let us up there. That was the first time I've been in a sorority house and the last time. Next time, we shoot without the tornado siren.

We attempted to take pictures of Jack at a local studio Saturday afternoon. It was probably the shortest and longest shoot ever. Although Jack had a nap and lunch, he was in no mood to smile. Instead, he wanted to play with the balls he discovered in the studio. I'll probably post a few of the pictures that turned out okay once they're available on-line. Needless to say, that was the cheapest photo order I've ever placed.

We've turned into one of those people. Mike said we got a "look" in church Saturday night. I didn't see it. It's probably the same type of look I gave people before I had a child. Ironically, I think Jack behaved better than he had in a long time. He did squawk a few times but we were able to get him under control. I'm sure those people think we should use the nursery room. My concern is that he'll think that room is a giant play room. I'd rather he get used to being a part of the congregation. Besides, every other week I give out communion and it would be silly to have Jack in the cry room one weekend and out the next. He needs consistency and I need to feel a part of the mass.

I gave out communion at a retirement center today. Towards the end of my visits, I noticed that one host had an ant on it. Don't ask me how it got there. I couldn't tell ya. The last person I visited was sleeping, so I prayed for her before going home. When I came home, I consumed the host, without the dead ant.Osh kosh. We had such a great time outside today, by gosh.My little punk.Fun with daddy!

If it's February, it must be time to...

...mow the lawn. That's right. A neighbor was out mowing his lawn, more like dust, this afternoon. He must have really wanted to get out of the house.

Weird Things Heard on the Street

As a co-worker and I were walking to a meeting this afternoon, some dude riding on a bike kept muttering, "I hate hippies." Well, I hate people who repeat things over and over. Live with it.

Two for Tuesday

My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

My Agency with a Twist

After years of serving as a China-only agency, my international agency, CCAI, has decided to embark into Haitian adoption. I often wondered why CCAI didn't venture into other country adoptions but also understood the founders' passion for China adoption. After all, they are from China.

Haiti is not a Hague country and there are many difference between the two countries. Still, this may be an answer for some couples who are starting a family. It sounds like there are many children available for adoption, from infants to fourteen-year-olds. If we hadn't already been waiting 30 months to adopt from China, we might consider this program. If you're interested in learning more about Haitian adoption, check out this site, www.haitiadoption.org.

We have been very happy with the service provided by CCAI so, although there will be some unknowns and bumps along the way as they work on Haitian adoptions, I would recommend our agency to others.