School Pictures

School pictures are so much fun to take. It's a neat thing, if you really think about it. I'm sure there are many kids that would never get their picture taken if it wasn't for the annual school photo! I can't imagine why a parent would not want to purchase their child's picture every year (and not just because I'm a photographer!). Seriously, kids change so fast and it's so important to have a picture that records this history.

When I started doing the school pictures here at GBS, I also did class pictures (as a group) for the elementary grades. These pictures are some of my favorites. I had a class picture when I was in school and still have them! I love looking back at them and remembering all my classmates and teachers.

Here's a few from this year.

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Aaron is 31 today! He hasn't felt like getting out since his surgery, so Matt and Erika came over last night to celebrate his birthday.

We had stuffed chicken for supper. This is a delicious recipe - that is pretty simple to make. The recipe can be found here if you are interested.

I ordered his birthday cake from Marianne Brown. She did such a good job and the cake was delicious!!

Here's a few catch up pictures.

Aaron got to ride in the electric cart at Wal-Mart (this was before surgery). I think he enjoyed this a little too much. He would go zooming past me and then back up just so he could hear the very loud BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!

Right before surgery - he still had a little bit of a smile.

Post - surgery picture. He was really nauseated from the anesthesia, but the doctor said the surgery went very well.

Hope this doesn't gross anyone out, but I think it's kind of interesting. :-)
About 17 staples - ouch!

OK - I've been tagged!

Okay - since I've been tagged by 4 people now, I guess it's time to share 7 random things . . . 

1. I love dill pickles and eat 2 whole ones nearly every day.  I have done this for several years.  (The best price is at Wal-Mart - they have the gallon jars of whole dill pickles for $3.88.)  Literally, my mouth is watering as I type this.

2.  I've passed out twice in my life.  Once in high school while giving blood and once in college while picking up my sister, Dana, after she had her wisdom teeth removed.  When I woke up, Dana was in the chair and I was on the bed she had just been in.  It was scary then, but hilarious now.  (I almost passed out seeing Aaron after surgery last week, but somehow I managed.)

3.  My dream is to have my own photography studio some day with lots of cool photo areas inside and out.  

4.  I love traveling and am always ready to pack my bags and go somewhere, especially overseas or to places I've never been.

5.  I am frustrated with people that don't like change or never venture out.  My pet peeve is hearing, someone say "But we've always done it that way."

6.  Butterfinger is absolutely my favorite candy bar (no others even come close)!

7.  I've attended five different colleges: Cincinnati State (Business), GBS (Church and Family Ministries), IUPUI (Photography), Wilmington (more business) and Liberty University (grad classes in Mgmt).  Whew!  I plan to stop after December.  

Happy Birthday, Jana!

Happy Birthday to my sister, Jana!
Hope you have a great day!

Too busy to blog

Someone said I needed to update my blog. Here are some reasons why I haven't had time recently:

• I am immersed in the hardest graduate course I have ever taken. It's called Executive Leadership and Management. Great topic - but tons of requirements. We are in teams of 5 people to complete this huge research project. One of the teams members is in Iraq and so we can hardly ever communicate with him. Another group member just dropped the class tonight, so the 3 faithful team members had a 3-way call tonight for over an hour that just ended at 11:30 PM. We have to divide up the drop-out's assignments, which means more responsibilities for all of us.
  

• I am teaching a 3-hour college class here at GSB on Thursday evenings. Love the topic (Office Procedures), but takes a lot of time.

• In the last 2 weeks I have photographed over 400 people for school pictures (GBS & UBC). Loved doing this, but now proofs have to be printed, photos labeled, etc.

• GBS is preparing for an evaluation visit with the accrediting team from the Higher Learning Commission. Preparation for this visit has meant a lot of extra work in the office.

• My husband has a torn ACL and MCL and has to be driven to and from work and to and from school for night classes (I'm very thankful that we live so close to Christ Hospital and to UC).
  

Since Aaron's ACL surgery is tomorrow (Friday) and since we have to be at the surgery center in about 8 hours (7:15 AM), I'm off to bed. I will post again sometime, when things slow down a little.

Touchdown!

Last night we enjoyed watching my nephew, Drew Englund, play football. These 6th graders were fun to watch! It was Lakota (his team) vs. Indian Hill. Drew's team won 24-6! I've always liked football, but can't say I've ever totally understood everything about the game. I should know the rules since I was at every single home game during my 4 years of high school (I was distracted though, since I was in marching band. You can't play the trumpet and learn football at the same time, right?). Anyway, Aaron very patiently answered my many questions last night and now I am "educated" in the rules of football.

Drew is # 5.



I know this is kind of blurry - but it is an "action" shot. Way to go, Drew!

"Good game, good game . . ."

Two Happy Couples!

Saturday morning I had the privilege of taking engagement pictures for two couples: Faith McManaman & Josh Avery and Dana Englund & Phil Vernon. It was great weather for outdoor pictures! We had fun at Ault Park and the studio shots were fun too.

Faith and Josh are planning their wedding for July 2008 in New York. Faith use to work in the Admin Building when she was a student at GBS - her desk was diagonal from mine. We had many good talks and fun times!

Since Dana is my sister, she has no other choice but to use me for her photographer :-) (with the exception of the wedding - I don't do weddings for family). Dana and Phil are getting married in Missouri on October 27, 2007.

What a Little Man!

Last night I got to take pictures of my nephew, Camen Englund. He is 15 months old and did a great job letting me do what I needed to with him. We had such a great time and got some incredible shots. Here's just a few of the many I took. I always get carried away - especially when I have really cute subjects!

I love this one of him in the fire truck!

Not every picture was "tears free" - but I still think this is absolutely adorable!

When Camen needed a break, Kaley was ready and willing to step in!

Turning the Tables (and Aaron's knee)

Now it's Aaron's turn to be the patient. Thursday night while Aaron was playing softball, he injured his knee. He was running from 3rd base to home, stopped and turned, and heard a loud pop (NOT a good thing)!

We found out that he has an ACL tear and an MCL tear. One ligament would be bad enough - but it's two! We saw two different orthopedic surgeons today to discuss the options. The plan for now is that he will have physical therapy for about 3 weeks and then surgery will be scheduled after that. I know that sounds backwards, but they want the swelling to go down first and also want to increase his range of motion in the knee which will get rid of some of the stiffness before surgery.

The biggest pain right now, Aaron said, was trying to maneuver on crutches. They certainly look a lot easier to use than they really are. He almost fell twice when he used them for the first time. Jeff and I were trying to stifle our laughter. When we went for his doctor visit today, I got a wheelchair for him and had quite a time trying to push him around. I was laughing so hard at one point that I was afraid they were going to admit me to the psych floor. It's harder to push a wheelchair than it looks, too! When I came home from church on Sunday, there was a grocery bag on the bed. He had wanted a drink and something to read, so had gotten up, found a plastic grocery bag, put a can of Coke in it with a newspaper and then tied the bag to his crutches to make it back to the bedroom. That would have been a funny sight! He's ready to invent something that will let you carry stuff around while you are on crutches. :-)

Kevin Moser (who has recently had ACL surgery) came over to look at the MRI images. It was certainly "all Greek" to us, but we sure tried to figure them out.

Aaron is very thankful for wireless internet. He's been surfing all over the place since he has a lot of time on his hands and can't get around as easily.

Kevin let us borrow this ice pump. You fill it up with ice and water and it pumps the ice water around Aaron's knee. It's been a life saver and certainly makes his knee feel better while keeping the swelling down too.

Aaron and I are getting a lot of practice taking care of each other. I didn't think this was supposed to start until we were old - but we'll certainly know what to do when we're in our 80's! I guess we're making lots of memories (although I prefer the less expensive memories). :-)

What a Nice Family!

Last week the Lum's had their family picture taken. It was so much fun doing all the different family groups. Even Chief (the dog) was included. Here are some of my favorites!

Timeless portraits are still favorites. John and Julia's eyes look great in this photo with excellent choice of clothing color.

The entire gang + Chief. :-)

Zachary was not too thrilled with having his picture taken (notice above photo), so we took a break and let him watch out the window for a while.

It worked! I was able to snap a smile that quickly came and went! What an adorable little boy.

Sometimes pictures that "just happen" are some of the best. Zach's sisters joined him at the window. Even Chief had to go take a look to see what was going on. I just love this picture!

Wes and Missy's baby, Emilie, is 5 months old and is absolutely adorable.

This is definitely a treasure - Wes is leaving for Iraq in September.

If you want to see all the photos, go to www.pro-album.com. Event name: "Lum Family" (no quotes). No password is set for the event and a date is not required.

A Week with Cameron

Cameron stayed with us this week for his annual "summer visit." He played lots of computer games during the day while Aaron and I were at work and even helped me set up my photography equipment for a photo shoot one night. It's so nice that my job is just right across the street so I was able to come home and fix him lunch every day. I even took him to the Revolving Restaurant one day for their lunch buffet (which is really good food - and tastes even better since we have a diner card for 50 % off).

We tried to take him to some of our favorite places around Cincinnati - one of which is Teak - the BEST Thai food ever! Mr. Glick introduced Aaron and I to this great restaurant, and now we are addicted. Cameron loves it too!

We tried out our new grill - and broke it in well with T-Bone Steaks . . .

. . . and roasted corn! Delicious!

And of course, no summer is complete without homemade ice cream!

Cameron had never played dominoes before. I said it was high time a 14-year old boy learn how to play Dominoes!

It was a fun week. We're taking him back to Indiana today and he starts high school on Wednesday. Bye-bye summer!

A Must GO!

Yes, the Creation Museum is definitely all it's cracked up to be. If you haven't been - GO! We went Saturday with Aaron's parents and Cameron and we all enjoyed it immensely. The displays were very well done and the technology they use for the special effects theater and the planetarium was absolutely incredible. It was really crowded, but I am thrilled that they have been so busy.

The Cain and Abel display - the people look so real.

The ark was really neat! This is only the miniature display, but they had a whole room that showed how it was built and all the different areas.

Looking real enough to jump down from there and get us!

Even the grounds on the outside of the museum are amazing.
The lake is very pretty and has beautiful flowers and bridges around it.

Apparently, this girl thought it was a pretty place too - pretty enough for her wedding!
We walked out of the museum and were amazed to see a wedding going on. It would certainly be a great place for pictures!

In case you can't tell, I sure was impressed with the museum. :-)