Practice

After we got home from Springfield this week I started really practicing editing techniques in Photoshop Elements 9. I actually watched/listened a 2 day Webinar about editing. It was live stream and very cool. When I couldn't take anymore I got up and walked around. I also got to practice while she talked. (I watched on one computer and played/worked on another. :D)

These are some of the edits I came up with. 

One of the most awesome things I learned was how to brighten eyes. Sometimes my eyes in photos are just too dark. I also learned about Actions. 

Actions are presets that someone else has made. All I have to do is load them on my computer and run them on a photo. The Action takes over and adds the layers. I can them go in and tweak them if I want. 

Textures was also covered. Textures are very cool too.

I will keep adding pix as I edit/play them.

Springfield Road Trip

Yesterday, DeWayne, Mom, Jim and I, took a short road trip to Springfield, IL. After viewing the Indiana state capital building, I felt very guilty for not seeing our own LOL! So we took off for the day.

These are a few of the pictures that I took while we were there. 

I was doing some experimenting with my camera all day. I am trying to use the Manual mode to take photos. This allows me to choose the light and the shutter speed myself. Some of it still overwhelms me but I am getting it.

While we were in Springfield, we saw the capital buildings (new and old) and toured the Lincoln museum. The Museum is really wonderful. A lot of information. I could probably do two or three more trips and still not take in all the info.!!!

We Skyped with Evan this morning. She was doing really well. She spoke a little Russian for us. I was glad to see her face. :)

On Evan Leaving...

Today is June the 3rd. It is the day after DeWayne and I dropped Evan in Indianapolis. Today she starts her training before heading off to the Ukraine for the summer.
All day yesterday I reflected on her growing up years (and Dane's too).
When Evan was about 2, Star Church held its first ever Baby Dedication service. Evan was older but she was still considered a baby. I remember the day well because the other children were still babies being held by their mommies and daddies. Evan was big enough to walk and talk. She DID NOT want to be held. She DID NOT want to stand by us. She laid in the floor and threw and fit. :) Just a little stressful for a mom who was trying to have the "perfect" Christian family. It wasn't until years later when I was a MOPS mentor at Little Chapel that I truly understood the words that we said that day. DeWayne and I are her parents but God is her true Father and the way we have pointed her her whole life. She has made so many decisions in her 21 years that have reflected that walk that I am beyond proud.
I did not cry when we dropped her off and prayed with her before we left. (Very unusual for me!) My thought all day was: I gave her back to God when she was two and have tried to be a good steward as her earthly parent since. Have I aways been perfect? Heck NO! That being said, I have placed my trust in God for this summer. He is in control and it's up to me to trust Him. Am I going to miss her? Oh, Yeah! Am I sad that I can't just call her and talk to her anytime I want. You bet! But, God has a greater plan for Evan in the Ukraine.
When Dane was 20, he went to Minnesotta for the summer to work at a church camp. Not that far and still in the US. It might as well have been the Ukraine! He had no cell phone service and only sketchy internet. We did see him for a couple of days that summer which helped. I would call his cell phone just to listen to his voicemail message and hang up. :D He went back to camp the next summer too. Not as hard the second time around but my heart ached for wanting to see and talk to him. I just missed him! I still Just  miss him and he only lives in Elizabethtown. LOL So I am kind of knowing what this summer will look like. :D
My sister, Marsha, who's daughter died when she was three, will sometimes with a heavy heart say: "I just miss her!" I am sure that heaviness will come for me and it will come at the least expected moment. Good thing there is email and Skype and Facebook and Twitter and Blogspot. :D
To keep up with Evan this summer you can check out her blog:
http://evansukrainiansummer.blogspot.com/

Evan & DeWayne at the Indianapolis Museum of Art