Blog Step-Child

Since we have a blog for the kiddos and one for photograpy, this blog has become somewhat of a red-headed step-child. That's really a terrible analogy. I never really thought about that one before.

Okay, anyway, I'm going to start posting more about us personally on the Prints Charming blog, which you can find here (Edmond, Oklahoma Photographers)

I hope you'll swing by from time to time and check out what we've been up to. My entire personal life is tied up in photography. Many days I work on it from the hour I wake up until the hour I go to bed, so I think it will be a good fit to have that blog become more personable as well as professional. I just posted a good personal blog on it this morning, so if you have time, go check it out.

Many thanks to all 3 of my regular readers. =)

New Zip Code

Hey, we're not moving, but the Post Office, bless their hearts, have created a new zip code for us since our area is growing so much. It's going to be 73012 effective July 1, 2007. Just wanted to let everyone know!

The Smoking Tree

I captured this photo literally just moments after the rain stopped this afternoon and the sun pierced the clouds. Five seconds later, the tree stopped steaming like this...


It was amazing to have been there at precisely that moment with camera ready in hand. We were there shooting a high-school senior but were in between locations when I spotted it.

Click on the picture to see a larger version of it where you can see the steam better. Hope you enjoyed the photo!

Thanks for stopping by!

Today's PSA (Public Service Announcement)

Here's a little tip for drivers living in or visiting Oklahoma:

Beware puddles in the road that have chunks of asphalt around the edge of it.

That's simple wisdom, there, but oh so helpful.

Gray Hair

I'm getting gray hair on my chest.

(*Always a great conversation starter over coffee*)

We're thinking about homeschooling

It's funny... seems the same month Addie (our first child) was born, people started asking what we were going to do for school. Um, we still have like 5 years to decide, don' t we? Well, Holly was homeschooled and my brother and sister were even though I went to a private Christian school for the sports. We all had good experiences with it and so we're thinking we'll do that with our kids, too.

Today on Facebook I ran across this interesting research on Homeschooling and thought I'd pass it along. Very interesting info!

Homeschooling Research

11:37pm Tuesday, Feb 27

A non-profit research group has released results from a study of adults who were homeschooled for at least 7 years. A small portion of their findings:

• 74.2 percent had attained some college courses or higher in their education. In the general U.S. population in the same age range, the number is 46.2 percent.

• 71 percent of the former homeschoolers are participating in an ongoing community activity, compared to 39 percent of all U.S. adults.

• The degree to which the respondents thought they could understand and affect society and government was also addressed. For example, fewer of the home educated (4%) than the general public (35%) thought that “politics and government are too complicated to understand.”

• 1.7% had ever been convicted of a misdemeanor.

• Taking all things into consideration, 59% of the subjects reported that they were “very happy” with life, while 27.6% of the general U.S. population is “very happy” with life.

Some more info...

***Academic Performance

The home-educated typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests.

Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income.

Whether homeschool parents were ever certified teachers is not related to their children’s academic achievement.

Degree of state control and regulation of homeschooling is not related to academic achievement.

Home-educated students typically score above average on the SAT and ACT tests that colleges consider for admissions.

Homeschool students are increasingly being actively recruited by colleges.

***Social, Emotional, and Psychological Development

The home-educated are doing well, typically above average, on measures of social, emotional, and psychological development. Research measures include peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family cohesion, participation in community service, and self-esteem.

Homeschool students are regularly engaged in social and educational activities outside their homes and with people other than their nuclear-family members. They are commonly involved in activities such as field trips, scouting, 4-H, political drives, church ministry, sports teams, and community volunteer work.

***Success in the “Real World” of Adulthood

The research base on adults who were home educated is growing; thus far it indicates that they:

participate in local community service more frequently than does the general population, vote and attend public meetings more frequently than the general population, and go to and succeed at college at an equal or higher rate than the general population.

And a few more notes for the uninformed...

There are about 2 million homeschool students in the United States. There were an estimated 1.9 to 2.4 million children (in grades K to 12) home educated during 2005-2006 in the United States.

Families engaged in home-based education are not dependent on public, tax-funded resources for their children’s education. The finances associated with their homeschooling likely represent over $16 billion that taxpayers do not have to spend since these children are not in public schools

Homeschooling is quickly growing in popularity among minorities. About 15% of homeschool families are non-white/nonHispanic (i.e., not white/Anglo).

A demographically wide variety of people homeschool – these are atheists, Christians, and Mormons; conservatives, libertarians, and liberals; low-, middle-, and high-income families; black, Hispanic, and white; parents with Ph.D.s, GEDs, and no high-school diplomas.

Source: National Home Education Research Institute

What a Sunset!

Did you see the sunset tonight and the massive clouds moving in? It was awesome. If you didn't see it, here's a glimpse of what you missed.


Click on it to see the high-res version of it. Pretty awesome colors!

I am currently...

... Retouching pictures, checking text messages and email, checking the weather for upcoming shoots, talking on the phone, eating Oreos and reading a book entitled, "The Ragamuffin Gospel." In this crazy day of multi-tasking, I really am trying to slow down and do one thing at a time, but when I have to wait on the computer, I fill the time with other things and try to increase my efficiency.

Anyway, here's a good quote I just read from "The Ragamuffin Gospel." Thought some of you might enjoy...

"Gerald May, a Christian psychiatrist in Washington DC writes: 'Honesty before God requires the most fundamental risk of faith we can take: the risk that God is good, that God does love us unconditionally. It is in taking this risk that we rediscover our dignity. To bring the truth of ourselves just as we are, to God, just as God is, is the most dignified thing we can do in this life.'"

"Lord Jesus, we are silly sheep who have dared to stand before You and try to bribe you with our preposterous portfolios. Suddenly we have come to our senses. We are sorry and ask You to forgive us. Give us the grace to admit we are ragamuffins, to embrace our brokenness, to celebrate Your mercy when we are at our weakest, to rely on Your mercy no matter what we may do. Dear Jesus, gift us to stop grandstanding and trying to get attention, to do the truth quietly without display, to let the dishonesties in our lives fade away, to accept our limitations, to cling to the gospel of grace, and to delight in Your love. Amen."