365 in 2015 - End of week 52

This is officially week 52! But my first week was only two days, so I have five days left of my challenge. I got a new camera lens for Christmas and have enjoyed playing with that as well. I'm hoping to end better than I've done the last few weeks!

Cheyenne's new dress (and matching one for her doll!) that she got from Grandma for Christmas. She was so excited to get up and get dressed for church! 

On Monday, my two big girls each lost a tooth! Paige lost her first tooth, and Cheyenne lost her third! (Yes, my kids are on the later side for losing teeth!)

Tuesday morning was insanely foggy when I woke up. I quickly got the kids up and out so we could take some pictures. This was one of my favorites!

One of many pictures we took at Freeman's Mill Park. 

Paige playing on the porch with my umbrella one rainy evening.

Jon's new apron. He'd mentioned wanting one with Kiss the Cook on it, and I thought this one was funny!

One of my new ornaments made by Mary from The Old Well House. 

365 in 2015 - End of Week 49

I'm moving into December pictures! So excited to be finishing up this project soon! I still have more to learn and want to learn more, but I'm at the point where I want to do it at my own pace, with other (different) projects thrown in between (like more sewing!). These are from the week of November 29 - December 5. Continuing with the thankfulness theme this week too. 

Silliness: Paige's new fashion style - tights on the head!

Cuddles: Shelby's cuddle time with Daddy.

Reading out loud: I wrapped up twenty-five books to open and read every day. Counting down to Christmas!

Little helpers: Paige helping decorate Mamaw's little tree. I just love the scarf on her head!

Beautiful colors: God's amazing artwork one evening!

Volunteering: I was so excited to get to work at the Operation Christmas Child warehouse this year! It was a very neat experience and I hope I can go back next year too!

Christmas memories: Cheyenne and Paige dressed up and ready for the Buford Christmas Parade (it was a chilly morning) with their American Heritage Girls troop! It was a sweet time together with our troop!

365 in 2015 - End of Week 48

I finally got a few minutes to work on another 365 post! I was hoping to get stay on top of these as well as catch up with my other pictures (I'm still working on July!), but I doubt that will happen. Oh well, life is more important than sitting behind a computer! These are from the week of November 22nd-28th. Continuing with the thankfulness theme.

Big Smiles: I love seeing my kiddos have fun and enjoy themselves! It's always a joy to see their beautiful smiles!

Determination: Paige was working hard to get this thing to move how she wanted it to!

Laughter: Shelby went to giggling when I asked to take her picture.

Christmas trees and decorations: We put our tree up before Thanksgiving this year because we were going out of town on Thanksgiving day for the whole weekend. I love having our tree up and decorated. It's so beautiful!

Visiting family: We went to Aunt Maxine's house in Atmore, Alabama for Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting with everyone!

Family pictures: I love getting pictures of all of us! 

Beautiful scenery: The morning view at Aunt Annette's farm.

Sparkling Lights

One of the first things I was determined to do was take a picture with my tree where the lights looked like they were twinkling. I couldn't even come close to getting that with my point and shoot, but I knew it was doable with the DSLR. I looked at a couple different articles describing how best to take Christmas tree pictures, and tried them both. I think they turned out decently well!

This one was taken with the lights off and a very low ISO. I also just used the end table to steady the camera.

This one was also taken with the lights off, but with a much higher ISO. And with a tripod instead of the table. I think it captured the tree well, but obviously didn't get Shelby very clearly. 

Same as above, but clearer with Clayton.

Same settings and still with the tripod, but Cheyenne wanted to actually snap the picture. She's really liked getting a chance to learn some with me too!