Tampon Sword!

Tampon applicators are THE weapon in the fight against evil.  My three year old nephew constructed this beautiful sword in no time flat.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen.  This is what can happen when a toddler is extremely quiet for five minutes.  Right in the middle of the living room floor for all to see.  On a separate but related note, I don't think I ever thought I'd use the words "tampon" or "sword" on this blog.  Certainly not in the same post.

Thank you, Libby

Libby is a beautiful, red-headed, six year old girl that is fighting cancer.  She is the best friend of a beautiful, blonde haired, six year old girl named Finley who just happens to be the daughter of my very good friends, Kevin and Shari.

In the last two weeks, Libby has been diagnosed with a Wilm's tumor, has had her kidney (along with the three pound tumor) removed and has had open heart surgery to remove pieces of the tumor that broke off and lodged in her heart.  She came home on Monday and is starting chemo and radiation tomorrow.  In the meantime, Shari decided that Libby needed a coming home parade.  She somehow rallied the neighborhood and with the help of Kevin, spread the word to the news networks to get everyone out there less than 24 hours later.  Libby's entire school and many of the parents turned out to cheer Libby on.  You can read the story and see the video from the Dallas Morning News here.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the event.  I decided to take my camera along in case everyone else was too busy watching the parade to document it.  Here are just a few of the photos:

Little did I know that by bringing my camera, I would touch the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people when the pictures were shared with the world on facebook.  Telling Libby's story and spreading the love that everyone has for her can only lead to great things.  I hope that everyone who sees my pics decides to help someone in need, donate a little to their favorite charity or even just hug their kids a little tighter.

I never considered that I could do good with my pictures.  I always thought I was too amateur and too inexperienced to do something great.  Thank you, Libby, for helping me find a way to help others.  Even if I never do another thing with my photography, I can be happy knowing that I helped someone, somewhere by sharing Libby's story.

Camera Play

Sometimes I just like to take random pictures to play with my camera.  The more I play, the more I learn.  Here are a couple of random shots from this morning.

It might be time to clean the awning poles.

Oz taunts the dog next door.

After The Storm

It was a wild ride in DFW yesterday.  We had (roughly) 12 tornadoes blow through the metroplex between noon and dusk.  There were several that were level EF-1 and an EF-3 hit in Forney.  I wasn't close enough to any of the major weather to get any pics.  Nor would I have been crazy enough to stand outside with a tornado bearing down on me.  I did get a couple of sky pics after the storm, though.

Closer to Home

If only I was a true jet-setter and traveled more than a couple of times a year.  Alas, I have to sometimes be content with taking pictures right here in the heart of Texas.  My favorite shots generally involve the weather.  There's an old saying out here:  "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait three hours.  It will change."  That is absolutely true.  We can go from bright and sunny to hail and tornadoes in the span of an hour.  With our wide open spaces, there are some truly unique photography opportunities that people in larger cities just don't get.  Here are a couple of shots that I took while standing on my patio furniture this evening.  Don't tell my husband.  He knows my propensity for clumsiness and would surely tell me to wear a harness or something.