Justin and Amy...these are for you!

I have been a busy girl editing photos!! Here's a peek at a few of them (these are some storyboards that I made up that are 5x7's or 8x10's...I love them!) I'll try to post some other pictures soon!





(I also made one of these without the words...or you can add whatever words you want)





These are just a few of the hundreds of pictures from that day...I'll try to get them finished up by next week & get them out to you!

And for those of you just reading the blog...I'd love to know your feedback on these! See where it says comments below this? I'd love for you to leave me one (good, bad, ways to improve, etc!)

To prove it really is a cool program...

click on Jen Caputo's blog here and look at her pics. I don't know how to zoom in on my pics like this...but those pics on her blog really show how neat this program is! (I just wanted to prove that I wasn't making it up!) :)

I love photoshop...and neat image, too! (Thanks Jen Caputo!)

I helped Dad photograph Justin & Amy's wedding last weekend. He shot film, and I did the digital. I've been up to my eyeballs in editing...I've been spending HOURS on it each day. The lighting was really tough in the church and my pics were SOOOO dark and when i ran a photoshop action over them, they got really grainy. I panicked and them remembered I read something about a noise reduction program over on Jen Caputo's blog. I bought the program she recommended and man...it made such a HUGE difference. I don't know if you'll be able to tell much by these pics since they are smaller files, but in real life it's AMAZING!! All digital cameras leave you with some "noise" in the background...and this program fixes that! I highly recommend buying it at www.neatimage.com It was a lifesaver for me! Also, I have a bunch of actions from various places and they have helped fix the lighting problems in the pics. Check this out! You'll have to click on the pics to enlarge it in order to be able to tell a difference in the pics (And by the way...doesn't Aunt Tresa look beautiful?)

Original:


With "Lighten Up" Action:


After running neat image on it:


I obviously don't have everything "centered" and perfect, but I figured I wouldn't mess with that until we knew what sizes to crop everything to.

Edited to add...Ok, I realize that you can't tell a huge difference with these pics. But, take my word...that program will clean your pictures up in an amazing way!

Hmmm...can you tell a difference in these pics?
Original:


Lightened up:


Filtered:


I'll post some more of their wedding pics after I get them edited and pic out my favorites. Amy was such a GORGEOUS bride. She made taking pics easy! (And next time Dad wants me to help out at a wedding, I think I'm shooting the film and letting him do the digital...talk about a TON of work editing! But, it's fun to watch the progression from "before" to "after." I'm so thankful for photoshop!)

Pics you've been waiting for...

Here you go! (I've been a busy scrapper) :)


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Thanks Jessica for this sweet pic! Click here for more credits!


Thanks Travis for this sweet pic! Click here for more credits!

I'm in love with this page below. Gina Miller's papers are so pretty & worked great with these pis!!

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Hello!! It's been awhile...

Do I have any blog readers left? I am so sorry I've neglected you! I'll try to make up for it today! :)

First...in case you didn't know I was a dork already...here's some more proof. (and I'll go hide my head under a paper bag while you look). I did this layout for the Digi Dare Ya challenge over at www.thedigidares.blogspot.com You had to take your own picture, so that was pretty funny! I got to know my tripod and self-timer really well! :)

This layout uses a ton of stuff by Ashley Olson (more on her in a second), and other goodies by Gina Miller, Tiff Brady, Shannon Carlson
and Amy Martin.

Ok, I'll get the digital scrapbooking news out of the way (because I know you're really here to see pics of the kids). I realized that I never told you all some of my biggest news! I'm a member of Ashley Olson's Creative Team!! She sells her amazing stuff at www.thedigishoppe.com I've been on her team for a little over a month now and am loving it! She is great!!!!

Millie had her shots yesterday...four of them! She was not happy with me or the doctor and let us know it! She now weighs 20 pounds, 7 ounces, so it's time to upgrade from the infant carrier seat to a bigger car seat. I can't believe how quickly this is all happening. Wasn't she just born?

Last weekend we had our "Tacky Christmas Party" with our Sunday school class. We all had so much fun dressing up and then playing our white elephant gift exchange game...it gets vicious! :) Here's a pic from our night (yes, that's a poinsettia in my hair, and jingle bell earrings in my ears!):


We still have to do some Christmas shopping...we're going tonight to try to finish up. (And the kids are going to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa...thank you Kay & Lee!) I can't believe Christmas is only four days away!! It hasn't really felt like Christmas this year. We've been so busy!

Last night the youth group went Christmas Caroling at the hospital & then we went and visited Helen Cockrum at the nursing home. She was thrilled to get visitors and really seemed to enjoy hearing us sing (even if we can't hit all of the notes on Silent Night!) She sung right along with us. It was really a precious time with her.

Blogger isn't cooperating with me and letting me add any more images. I'll have to post again with pics of the kids! (You don't mind waiting, right?)

Just updating the old blog!

Well, things are still really cold around here, but we are supposed to start warming up tomorrow...40 degrees is going to feel like summer! Last night I made my mom's yummy homemade soup & made fresh bread...yummo!! Mason went to town on the soup...he loved it! Want the recipe? Ok...here you go!

Donna's Homemade soup:
1 lb ground beef, 1 c onions, 1 c potatoes, 1 c carrots, 1 c celery, 1 T Beef Bouillion, 2 cans tomatoes, 4 c water, 1/2 t basil, 1/4 t thyme, salt to taste, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 c rice, 1 c cabbage

Brown meat & onion, drain. Add remaining ingredients, mix, and bring to boil. Cover & simmer until veggies are tender...about 1 1/2 hours.

It's the perfect soup for cold days!

I've been scrapbooking (I know...surprise, surprise) and have a few layouts to show you! But first...I have some fun scrapbooking news to share with you! I was picked as gallery of the month at www.thedigishoppe.com Go to the site and scroll down and you'll see it! I was totally surprised and honored to be chosen, plus they gave me a bunch of goodies, too! YAAYY!! Also, Tiff Brady (from www.plaindigitalwrapper.com) asked me to be on her creative team this month as a guest spot (it's also her last month as a designer...and I'm so going to miss her goods...she makes such fun stuff!!)

I love this picture of Mason & Millie:

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Aren't they sweet??

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My little princess (This uses a ton of Tiff's stuff!):

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Welcome to the world Miss Lucy James!!

Congratulations to Corey, Stephani, Lily, and Libby!! Miss Lucy James made her appearance this afternoon at 2:18pm. She weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces, and looks absolutely perfect!! Lucy and Stephani are doing great! It's amazing how wonderful a newborn baby feels in your arms...she is so sweet!

Here are some pictures from today:

Mason & Libby in the waiting room:


Miss Lucy James:




Proud Daddy:


Proud big sister Lily:


Proud big sister Libby:


Proud Grandma:


Proud Aunt:


Am I not the sweetest thing?:


A foot picture (it's a little blurry, but who doesn't love baby feet?):

We'll miss you Grandpa!

Grandpa Malone passed away early Wednesday morning. We are all definitely going to miss him but we know he is having the greatest time up in Heaven!

Last week was the craziest week...Mason got the stomach flu on late Saturday night and then decided to share it with Tyler & I early in the week. Poor Kay, Lee, and Aunt Ruthie got it, too! Then, Grandpa passed away and the ice storm came the following day. Thankfully, everyone arrived safely that was able to travel. The funeral went really well...I think Grandpa would've been very proud of his family!

By the end of the week, we were all wore out!