Catching Clouds

Day 17 - Clouds

 

 

Yeah, well these next two don't really have clouds, BUT they were taken at the same time as the ones above, and Annaliese and Sebastian were having lots of fun trying to catch clouds. And I just noticed you can tell that our trampoline is lovely and well kept. Those things don't seem to stay in good shape for long. Or is it just us?

A Photoless Post

 

"The danger of using photos as markers is that images appeal to our vanity. We become quickly obsessed with accumulating experiences, capturing them in photos, and publicly displaying our photos as trophies. If we aren't careful, our Facebook pages and blogs can become trophy cases of our own accomplishments: Me, on a church mission trip, lumped in with a group of smiling ethnic children. Me, presenting a paper at a conference to the wild, raucous applause of my colleagues (okay, okay, that didn't actually happen). Me at the altar with a man, and, nine months later, at different stages of my pregnancy.

When we revert to amassing moments and their accompanying photographs like trophies to stack in our own Facebook shrines, we treat the photograph as though it were more valuable than the event and those with us in that moment. This internally focused gaze hinders postures of service, gratitude and contentment. In our scramble to obtain that perfect photo, we have glorified the wrong person."

 

 

 

I stumbled across this article during the week and I suppose you wouldn't have to be a brain surgeon to figure out why it grabbed my attention. It's true isn't it? I can't say I've ever considered why I post my photos. Why I even photograph, despite the fact that I love it. Why do I love it? Is it because I want to keep that moment as an alter in time, to remember God's goodness and the beautiful moments we share together with family and friends. Or is it just a robotic motion now. We're celebrating a birthday, so I just pick up my camera and shoot, without thinking, without even taking time to enjoy the moment and fully live in it. And why do we post these images to our blogs and Facebook pages and Instagram? Is it to show off my ridiculously amazing talent with my camera and lens that cost x amount of dollars?

 

Now, I am not in the least advocating a ban on all photos on the Internet. I LOVE looking at pictures from friends' holidays and home life. I'm just looking at myself and asking me "why do I love to post pictures?" Because if all we posted was pictures, I don't think we'd show a true picture of ourselves. Pictures can show our lovely manicured smiles and clean faces, but it doesn't show the bitterness that might be eating away at our hearts, or the amount of times I flip out because I've told my sister a thousand and one times "that 5x2 DOES NOT EQUAL 174!"

 

So next time you're posting photos, just think about why you're doing it. Don't stop posting them, but maybe just try to remember we're not supposed to be glorifying ourselves here. All is grace, even the messy things.

 

You can read the whole "Snap Judgements" article here.

 

 

Note- of course the illustration was completely fictional because I would never in a thousand years flip out and of course we Robbos know that 5x2 equals 175.

Sad Eyes

Most of my family refuses to say any of these photos are cute. Not due to my lack of talent, because as you can see I don't suffer from that. Nor as you would also be able to see do I suffer from an overdose of humility. But even though they don't think my subject is cute and they won't understand why I like to post doggy pictures, I understand me. Plus I DO think they're cute. Sincere apologies go to any non animal lovers out there, or maybe we should narrow it down to non Cavalier King Charles Spaniel lovers. Or perhaps even further to non Genevieve lovers, which in this case will include everyone except myself and Annaliese

 

 

FMS Photo Challenge - Day 8

Animal x 4 

Starting the FMS Photo Challenge. AGAIN!!!

I picked up my camera on Monday because I was feeling a little guilty about leaving poor Mr. Dombey in the dark so long. I hadn't picked up my camera in a month. Shock!!! Horror!!! I've participated in the Fatmumslim photo challenges a number of times over the last couple of years, never sticking to it successfully. So this time, I'm using it as motivation to keep me shooting. Cause my favourite thing to shoot is people, anything else leaves me a bit dumbfounded and at a loss. So I'm hoping with specific things to look for I'll extend my creative juices without stressing, because I'm not intending on keeping up with every day, just mainly practicing on my free days.

So here's my day 3 and 5.

On my table.

Environment

Kinda a Two Month Catch Up

Ok well, there's no debate that I've been a slight degree slack in my posting recently. Mid-term 1 I started teaching at a local high school which has doubled my student total and I now teach a little less than 1 1/2 days every week. I wouldn't have thought I would have felt the time pinch with that added into my other commitments around home and other places, but it has and blogging has kind of been put on the back burner a little. Plus it didn't help that I had a ridiculous amount of photos to sort through because, yeah I'd let that slip too. But I do love teaching. I was a little nervous about teaching high school kids, and my first student was an extra tall year 9 boy which actually did leave me pretty speechless (hard to believe I know). He's a really sweet kid though, and once I got over "My word, what do I do with such a tall boy?" we've gotten along swimmingly! My first term I had all boys and so I was a little worried how we'd go when term 2 sprung me with girls, but they're all really sweet, and I think not having a massive age difference has been beneficial.

 

 

 

 Anyhow, back in March Sean and Cassandra went camping so Caitlin, Tegan, and I bombarded their house along with some lovely friends. Their house was still in renovating mode so it was almost half-camping for us too.

 

 

We played Bible Taboo Taboo Charades, half froze while eating pizza in the park, and squished onto a Queen sized mattress to play Bohnanza and watch Contagion while coughing being concerned we were all going to catch some deadly disease.

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-April the lovely Abbie and I went on a photographic adventure together. Caitlin and Grace came along to "catch up" but we made sure they didn't feel left out and put them to good use as tripod holders and subjects.



 

 

 

 

We also celebrated the upcoming arrival of Fiona's baby with a baby shower.

 

Caitlin and I were in charge of games, of which one was Ice Ice Baby. The first person to retrieve their jelly baby from its ice cube wins  and unfortunately the winner didn't take long so I wasn't able to take "people with frozen hands" pictures.

 

 

 

Fiona's mum organised a chance for Fiona to practice being a mum. We enjoyed watching her hang out the washing while holding a baby and talking on the phone.

 

 

 

And the nappy changing experience was good too!

Erin turned 8 on the first of May. We didn't do anything major and we do have bed hair and outfits in this picture, but I still think it's cute. It's so nice to see the joy kids have on their birthdays.

 



 

 

 

 

As an early birthday present Dad and Mum took me to Sydney to see the War Horse play. The play was magnificent and it was so much fun to wander around Sydney. We ate lunch and dinner on Darling Harbour and found one of Adriano Zumbo's outlets and had a look through. Next time we actually have to partake of some of his delicacies.

 

And lastly, we have photos of our Mother's Day supper that we ran at our church. I didn't do too much except a little baking and took photos on the night, but some of the others put a lot of effort in.

 

 

All the lovely decorations.

 

 

 

The dessert was run restaurant style and Tegan created menus. It all went well, except for the occasional person who's menu was somehow lost, but they were served their dessert in the end, it was probably just a little behind normal restaurant timing.

 

 

 

All the lovely waiters and waitresses with coordinator Elley.

Dessert tastes better when served by someone as cute as this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were gifts for the mothers which the children handed round.

 

 

 

My favourite gift-giver.



I had to choose both of these pictures because I love Miss Addie's face in the last one.

 

 

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

 

" 'You know,' he went on musingly, 'these days, when women just serenely ignore the question of children, or at most, as a special concession, bring up one or two- just the one or two whose expenses can be comfortably met!- there's something magnificent in a woman like your mother, who begins eight destinies instead of one! She doesn't strain and chafe to express herself through the medium of poetry or music or the stage, but she puts her whole splendid philosophy into her nursery- launches sound little bodies and minds that have their first growth clean and purely about her knees... Why, what good is learning, or elegance of manner, or painfully acquired fitness of speech and taste and point of view, if you are not going to distil it into the growing plants, the only real hope we have in the world? ...There's a higher tribunal than the social tribunal of this world, after all; and it seems to me that a woman who stands there, as your mother will, with a forest of new lives around her, and a record like hers, will find she has a Friend at court.' "

 

"Mother"

by Kathleen Norris

 

 



 

I love this book. It makes me cry. Tegan found this passage last week and read it to me. It reminds me of my mother, except that she has begun thirteen destinies!

 

 

Happy Mother's Day, Mum!

 

And the Winner is...

 

-as drawn by Miss Liese-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations! If you leave a comment containing your email, I'll take note of it without publishing, and will be in contact soon.

 

As I was writing all your names on paper I was like "Aww I hope this person wins, oh and this person, and this person." And unfortunately due to rules about hosting competitions and giveaways in the ACT, of which I have recently been made aware, I don't think I'll be doing too many, if any, giveaways in the future, so that's sad as I have enjoyed this.

 

Mary, I look forward to being in contact soon!