Shooting into the sun...

          After talking with my friend, Erin, on the phone the other day, I decided to venture out and try a photo shoot with my camera on manual mode. So here is my first attempt at manually adjusting ISO and focus etc.. without the "help" of my camera! I have seen some really cool photographs recently where the photographer shoots into the sun to purposely get "flare" in the picture. I am LOVING learning how to take better pictures of my little man! Here is what I got...

This is one of my favorites!

Too bad he's upset!

Seriously, Mom? ... I get that a lot :)

I LOVE this one too!

Somethings not quite right with this one, but still cute :)

          In other news, We are LOVING having Jason home more! He has been working reserve 2 days on 1 day off, which means at worst we see him everyday either in the morning or evening! But, he has actually been home A LOT more than that! We are loving our family time in the mornings, and snuggling in our bed! Jacob is becoming quite the "Chatty Cathy" although we have no idea what he is saying! He did say "Dada" the other night at dinner, but I don't think he really knew what he was saying. However, I do think he is starting to recognize his name. Dr. D asked if we have a bunch of nicknames for him that we use instead of Jacob... which of course we DO (those of you who know Jason know he has a BUNCH of names for everyone)! SO, we are working on just calling him Jacob so he can learn his name ... this has been tough for both of us. I usually call him "buddy" or "little man" and Jason has a zillion names for him from "Dino Baby" to "Little J"!
          The ladies in the nursery at church have commented several times about how busy he is. Now that he is mobile, he is crawling all over the nursery to see what everyone else is doing! He is quite the social butterfly and seems to be very sweet with the other babies! But, he wants to play right beside them and talk to them! It is so cute!
          In the upcoming weeks, we are looking forward to heading home to Oklahoma City for Easter, My sister, Casey, will be there with her twins, and I am so excited to get some pictures of Jacob with his cousins. This will also be my FIRST time to get to hold those sweet girls! I am TOO excited!
          The week after Easter will be another very special week for our family. Jacob is getting dedicated at our church. Since the nazarene church does not baptize babies, this is a symbol of our commitment as parents to bring him up in the church and teach him about Jesus. This is a very special ritual in which we place Jacob back into God's hands, and ask our friends, family, and prayer warriors to pray for Jacob and us as parents. We are thankful to have an amazing family and group of friends that have already done SO MUCH praying for this little miracle, and his dedication will serve as a public testimony to our commitment to raising Jacob to fear and love the Lord. Well, that's all for now.... Hopefully more photography practice soon!

The announcements I sent out...

The message on the back ... I just wanted to send a picture and a note to friends and family