His coat is just as glossy as the day he came, and his eyes just as bright and shiny.  And his nose twitches just as much.  But he has matured; he is more patient with all the little children, who just adore him (at least most of them) and want to pet him.  I think it’s because when he isn’t in our studio, he’s back at his permanent home in Bowling Green, which is Miss Liz’s Pre-School classroom at the Wonderland of Learning.  We gave Whiskers to them after our first Chicks and a Bunnysession, and he’s been there ever since except for his annual trip to Cleveland.

All but four of the chickies have gone to their new home, too (no, not the Wonderland of Learning — they go to a feed store where they grow up and have babies of their own).  The four remaining are still peeping loudly in our living room, because we took them to Columbus last week to see my grandchildren (they love to travel) and the feed store was closed when we got back.  They will go and rejoin their friends sometime today, and the peeping will be gone for another year.

This year we had an unusual happening: the chickies got lost before they even got here!  You see, normally they hop on a plane in Cincinnati the day they are born (a Wednesday) and fly to Cleveland, where they are sped straight to our North Olmsted Post Office on Thursday morning.

But this year we got no call from the Post Office.  We called Cincinnati and were assured that they left on time.  Where were they?  We don’t know, but early Friday morning (7:00 a.m.) the call came: they are here now, come get them!  By the time we picked them up they were very hungry (no food for 24 hours) and very glad to see us!  Quickly they got used to their new home they were ready to meet the first of the children that afternoon.  And here’s a brief look at the next three days (click the “play” button).

Was all the effort worth it?  If you watched the video, you know the answer is yes!  Will we do it again next year?  Come next year and see for yourselves!

Well, normally not a lot — but when you have granddaughters named Olivia and Madison, both aged five and both graduating from pre-school a few months before Christmas … well, Graduation and Christmas were made for each other!

And of course I was right there for both graduations!  The second one (Madison’s) really threw me, because at the beginning, as the children marched in to graduation music, the school had a  little Powerpoint presentation that came on and announced “Welcome, Class of 2024!”  Wow!  I was not ready for that piece of news!

But it was at the first one, Olivia’s graduation, that I got the idea.  You see, I have a friend, also named Linda, who has a very unusual specialty: she takes flowers and transforms them into beads for a variety of custom-made jewelry pieces, like rings, bracelets, and necklaces.  I thought, “Hmm… Maybe the girls would like to have a keepsake of their very first graduation!”

Of course I had already planned to give each of my granddaughters a lovely little bouquet after the ceremony was over.  Here’s what those bouquets looked like back at graduation time, before I snatched them up to take home to Linda for transformation,

and here’s what they looked like as I was wrapping them up a few days before Christmas:

Aren’t they beautiful?  And don’t grandmas have the very best time of all?

P.S.: Please check out Timeless Moments to see the amazing things that Linda does with flowers!

Kathleen is much into the Internet, and is familiar with many opportunities that lots of us have never heard about.  She told us a story about how she and others — scattered around in Indiana — used the Internet to help out a friend.  We asked her to send us the information so we could share it with all of you:

I guess my job, my photography, is something I don’t have to work at because I love it so much.  It’s all about capturing moments to have them forever.  If I can do that, I am happy, because I’ve given a priceless gift to my customers.

I always advise them to have their images bound in an album I’ll design for them, because although tapes and CDs and video technologies come and go, books are forever.  Even so, videos are fun to watch in the here and now, so take a peek at some priceless Christmas family moments I captured at a customer’s home last weekend:

These children will quickly grow and change almost overnight, but Mommy and Daddy will enjoy them — when they were little — forever.  And for me?  Pure pleasure!

It’s just a short ride from Cleveland, about an hour, and what a wonderful place to visit!

They have a super collection of wild animals of all sorts, and a way for you to drive among them while remaining comfy and cozy in your car!

The animals love visitors, and come right up to be fed.  Of course they are all vegetarian, so fingers are not of interest to them (unless by mistake).  From the image above it looks like they’re just chatting, but it definitely gets more interesting!  Watch the video:

Here’s a link to the African Safari Wildlife Park, and one to the Mon Ami Winery and Restaurant.  They are both well worth visiting!  When you go there, tell them Madison and Caden sent you!

You can see all of the images on our website by clicking here.

Sunday Nov 13 ^th noon to 5:00
Mini Sessions with my new FUN backdrops!
Only $40 for a fun filled 20 minute session
2 – 5×7’s included and only
$13 for reprint units!
Call now – 440.570.3983

But often it’s also about honoring someone who has given of himself over and over again, who has been a bastion of strength when difficulties arose, and whose love and great humanity are an inspiration to all of us.

So it was last Sunday, at Uncle Jack’s 87th Birthday Party.  I think everyone felt that the party took us back to wonderful days gone by, and left us with a feeling of hope for the future.  At least it did for me.  Here’s what I saw: