Day 29 - April 29th

It just wouldn't be a "Picture a Day for a Year" album without expressing our deep love of Chipotle. Russell introduced me to Chipotle about a year ago. We LOVE this place. We visit it about once a week! They don't have much on their menu, but that doesn't matter because we always get the same thing. A Chicken burrito with black beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, a little lettuce, and a dribbling of the hottest sauce. It's SOOOO good!! We eat it there, we eat it at home, we eat it in the car, we've even sneaked it into the movie theater. We went there after our wedding too. Chipotle put our picture up on their website. http://www.chipotle.com/. I don't know why we are addicted to it, we are and it's ok with us. And, we had it for dinner tonight!

Day 28 - April 28th Russell's Birthday!

Today is Russell's 32nd birthday! Happy birthday my wonderful Handsome Prince! You would think I would have a picture today pertaining to Russ' birthday. Nope. Maybe next year. Russ wasn't feeling too well so Ging and I let him take a nap while we mowed the lawn. She helped push the mower for the first time and loved it. That's a good thing, because mowing is in her future! While mowing we found a little Garden Snake. I thought at first I knicked it with the mower, but I think it's probably starting to shed it's skin. Ginger was fascinated with the snake and had lots of questions. She finally touched it, then put her hand around it and felt all the muscles move when it tried to get out of her hand, but she wouldn't hold it. She's fascinated with critters, when she was little she used to bring me spiders that she found. That freaked Mommy out a little. She loves, spiders, bugs, snakes, frogs, all sorts of fun stuff...but that doesn't mean she has to touch them, or so she says.

Day 27 - April 27th

I am in the beginning stages of forming an intense relationship with the new Elliptical machine in my once-before office. So far, Ginger loves it far more than I do. She loves the fan in front of her, it makes her go faster she says. I couldn't choose between these two pictures. The first one is her exercising with her "exercise face". The second one is Ginger going "faster" with the fan blowing on her. Ginger is way more fun to watch working out, therefore pictures of me exercising will never make it to the "Picture of the Day".

Day 26 - April 26th

Before we headed back home we stopped at Ripley's Believe it or Not. That place is wierd and full of "Currioddities". We fit in well. It's so hard to pick a picture for today. Not only do I have a ton of pictures from Ripley's but also a couple of shots from when Russ taught me how to drive a stick when we got back home. I'm a natural...a natural on letting it die. More practice and I'll have it down in no time, 10 months tops.

This is a picture of me. There were so many shots to choose from that I opted for a boring one. You'll have to see a few more on Facebook. This is me. Me in an OLD diver's helmet at Ripley's. It was very heavy and while inside it, I couldn't help but wonder how many people have had their heads in this thing and how often this thing is probably not sanitized.

Day 25 - April 25th

We spent the day at Silver Dollar City! We LOVE rollar coasters!! We waited a long time to ride the Powder Keg and LOVED it!! It was so fast! Russ' hair stuck straight back when we were finished. We had so much fun! We walked all over trying to find Ginger the perfect gift. Russ found it! It's this umbrella! He had a woman hand decorate it and write Love Daddy on it. She also wrote, Ginger, Princess, and Silly Putty on it. It's beautiful. The only catch was it had to stay open to make sure it dried. That was fun! I would have carried it, but the pictures of him carrying it were way more fun.

We also went to the Showboat Branson Belle that night. Great food! And a great show with dancing, singing, comedy, and a talking dog! So fun! When we finally got back to the hotel, our feet were so sore and we crashed hard. If it weren't for the ice machine outside our room, we would have slept all through the next day.

Day 24 - April 24th

SURPRISE!! It's Russell's birthday weekend and after a couple of weeks of planning and deceiving, I pulled it off!! I surprised Russell with a weekend trip to Branson! I was so prepared and everything worked awesome! I didn't forget anything (except my personal unmentionables) but I got all his stuff, including his computer (in case work called) rearranged plans, let "fake surprise plans" slip out to throw him off, and I even let his office know he would be gone all weekend. I DID IT!! I totally surprised him!

You probably thought I would have a picture of us in Branson for my Picture of the Day didn't you? Well, this was one of the first things we saw when we drove into Branson. It was just too good not to put it on here. (The rest of the pictures can be seen on Facebook). This is an OLD guy wearing a Striped Suit, with a Striped Tie, eating an ice cream cone, and driving a little tiny bright yellow Corevette race car. It gave us the giggles.

Day 23 - April 23rd

Traffic was slowed down, not because of this wreck, and not because I wanted to take a picture of it (I pulled into a parking lot), but because everyone else passing it thought they should slow way down to assess the damage of the cars. I don't believe anyone was hurt in this wreck. Every time Ginger and I pass a wreck or see an ambulance we pray for angels of protection, healing, and peace.

Day 22 - April 22nd

This is the beautiful dress Papa bought Ginger for Easter. I wasn't home on Easter morning to take pictures, so I asked Ginger nicely, then bribed her to let me take some pictures. Can you see the compromise? She's got the dress on, but her hair is a mess. I was hoping for a "natural" look. I think it worked great. Go to my Facebook page to see more of these pictures. This is my favorite one! Isnt' she beautiful? When did she grow up? I promise I've watched her everyday of her life, but somehow, I missed her growing up.

Day 21 - April 21st

It's my two favorite people again! Ginger is so facinated with magic tricks. It just shocked her when she learned there really isn't magic, only tricks that are hard to figure out. She has been doing "magic tricks" since before she was 1 year old. Her first trick was pulling her hand in her sleeve and pushing it out fast when we couldn't find it. Way too cute!! This is her latest accomplisments. String tricks! She knows tons of them! She picks up on these things really fast too. And she does the tricks so fast, I'm not sure how her fingers don't get tangled up. This is her teaching Russell a trick. It couldn't have possibly been a stall tactic for delaying bed time...No, not my child. It took several tries, but Russell was finally able to do it once. But, only one time. She's pretty proud of herself.

Day 20 - April 20th

I work with my sistor, Joy! (Yes, I know I misspelled "sister", it's how Joy and I spell it) But not only that, we share an office! It's fun! We can talk about anything we want too at any time. And if someone is standing close by, we just email back and forth. Joy has done a great job of avoiding being in my "Picture of the Day". But today was the day, I didn't want to hear any more excuses. This is my view of Joy. Over the top of the partion wall on my desk and to her monitor. Yep, seeing my little sister all day is great!

Day 19 - April 19th

A quiet Sunday without photoshoots! I love photography!! It's my passion! But my shoulder HURTS!!! It's time to rest...complete with a Sunday afternoon nap. When I woke, Russ and Ginger had cleaned the living room, Chuck was over for a visit, and Ginger was in the shower with her swimsuit on! What a surprise! After a quick Steak N Shake dinner, Ginger went to bed and we started planning our 2nd annual trip. The three of us went to Eureka Springs last year. After we grew tired of Priceline.com and sixflags.com we watched The Three Amigos (another first for Chuck) and made this poster. Chuck had some friends flying home that were getting in late tonight. We decided they needed a sign so it would be easy for them to find Chuck at the airport. I'm sure it's very busy at 11:47pm at the Tulsa airport. Their last name is "Peck".

Day 18 - April 18th

Some of our closest friends got married today. Melody and Don. Also known as, Meladon. I was honored to photograph their wedding. Besides a couple of "minor" set-backs, just as every wedding has, Melody was quite calm and peaceful on her day. Even when David's Bridal lost her dress, she lost her veil, and it poured rain on their outside wedding. No obstacle thrown at them made them loose site of the reason of the day...the marriage, not the wedding. It was so beautiful and I loved shooting their wedding. (It's also our 6th month anniversary today!)

Day 17 - April 17th

Senior picture day! I LOVE being a photographer! This is Jake and he's graduating from Claremore High School next month. This is his horse, Buck. Buck is Jake's roping horse. Jake is a cowboy through and through and he loves his horses. This is one of my favorites from Jake's shoot today. Besides the transmission going out on Jake's truck, getting drenched in the carwash, and the storms that were on and off it was a great shoot.

Day 16 - April 16th

This is a first for me in a Hobby Lobby store. It's a first for me in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma for that matter. A lady was pushing around her two babies while she shopped at Hobby Lobyy. I asked if I could take a picture of her puppies and she acted like I was the strange one! She said she didn't mind then tried to get "Brother" and "Sister" to look at the camera. She told "Brother" (the one in the tie) to move over because "Sister" (the one in the dress) wanted to be in the picture too. Brother was a camera hog. Sister just looked at me like her owner did...I was the strange one because I wanted to take a picture of the puppies dressed up and shopping in the craft store. They were cute...but, Seriously?!

Day 15 - April 15th (Tax Day)

Did you see the sunset today in Tulsa? It was absolutely beautiful. Ginger went to church tonight with her cousin and I was driving to pick her up. I was listening to the radio about all the "Tea Parties" going on and wondering if I had time to get to one of them for my picture of the day. Then I noticed the sunset. I pulled into a parking lot and got my camera. God is such an amazing artist, His use of colors and shades are breathtaking. When we see something that causes such an awe, Ginger and I say, "Good job God."

Day 14 - April 14th

I went to the doctor today. I love my doctor, Dr. McBride, she's awesome! I wanted to take a picture in the Xray room, but I wasn't in there long enough. I had an Xray done on my shoulder. I've injured it somehow. The Xray showed no bone damage, so now I have to go to Physical Therapy and schedule an MRI. As a photographer, I need my shoulder and holding my equipment really tortures it right now. I'll just add it to the list of "Amber's mysterious ailments". I usually fall under the category, "Most common in men over 60 with Aids". (That actually is true for one of my past mysterious ailments.)

Day 13 - April 13th

Again...I forgot to take a "Picture of the Day". It's not that I forget, I keep my camera with me all day long and wonder creatively what I could capture. Of all the things I consider through the day, I always think, I can do better. So here we are...10pm and I don't have a picture. Chuck and Russell took over the "Picture of the Day" today. What can you tell about a person from their eyes? Do you know who's eye is whose? And if so, is that Russ' real or glass eye?

Day 12 - April 12th (Easter)

Well, I didn't make it home in time for Easter morning. But Russell did a fabulous job getting Ginger ready in her new poofy Easter dress. We drove all day from Memphis to Tulsa in heavy thunderstorms. We could barely see the road, much less the cars in front of us. We did see however, several cars that had hydroplaned off the road. Stefan (my car) slid around a little bit, but angels held us securly on the road. Before heading out of Memphis we stopped by a genuine old diner. It was adorable! It's been there for years and years! And probably the best hamburger I've ever had! This is a picture of my mommy and the best coffee she's ever had!

Day 11 - April 11th

We made it to Graceland! After tire trouble and spending all morning to get the air valve fixed in Jackson, MS, we made it to Memphis just minutes before it closed! There is a huge wall in front of Elivs' huge house that people have signed for years and years. I signed it too! I signed lots and lots. I put Joy's name and some lips because the last time she was there the only thing she had to write with was lipstick. So I permenantly put her lips on there with a Sharpie. I put lots of my friend's names on there too. I noticed that most people put, "I love Elivs". I decided to put "I love Russ". This is the Sharpie used down to the nub after all I grafitied on that wall.

Day 10 - April 10th

I miss my husband so much that I kissed a fish. Ok, not completely. The fishy wanted an open mouth kiss, and I'm just not that kind of girl. This picture was taken on Pensacola Beach! There was a man fishing and he had just caught a 7lb Sheep Fish. I tried to pick him up for a photo op, but he was one stinkin' slippery sucker. He started giving me a look that said, "You stupid out-of-town girl." So the man came over stuck his finger right up his gills. I am NOT doing that.

Day 9 - April 9th

I'm in Florida!! My Uncle Cletis passed away a few days ago and my mom drove to Florida to be with the family. I flew to Florida this morning to meet mom so I can drive back with her to Oklahoma. We are staying with my Cousin Kathy and Willis Harper! They are awesome! They live in the woods about an hour from Pensacola. I didn't even know Florida had woods. But their woods have a sand ground, not a dirt ground! It's so fascinating to me! We went out on their back deck to look at the full moon and to see how the moon made the sand shine like snow in the darkness. But I was too fascinated with the moon shining through the trees. This is what Florida looks like to me tonight!

Day 8 - April 8th

This is a photo of a circuit board that didn't quite work the way we had planned at work. Basically there were too many watts going to it and it smoked and pretty much blew up. Usually the stuff we do at work doesn't blow up, which makes for a more successful company. This board was for our one of our power supplys for our LED street lamps. Oops, this one had too much juice going to it during a test.

Day 7 - April 7th

Ginger and I went for a walk today. The weather was perfect for a nice leisurely Ginger-on-her-scooter-as-Mom-tries-to-keep-up walk. It was perfect! Our neighborhood is quite old...very old, and somewhat on the side of run down. But on our walk, look what we found! Tulips! My favorite flower! Aren't they beautiful? Ginger was not too excited to stop so I could take some pictures, but these flowers won't last long. It's hard for me to pass up tulips! Thank you Lord for showing me some beauty in what I thought was such an ugly neighborhood.

Day 6 - April 6th

This is one of our greatest bestest friends ever, Chuck!! We love Chuck and having him around, it's always fun when he's there! We've helped Chuck experience lots of "firsts" in his life. Most are not loved and never tried again, but a few have passed the Chuck Test. He's always a willing subject and pretty much will try anything once. These aren't foreign things we insist on Chuck trying, just our loved foods that he has never tried before. To give you an example, we helped Chuck experience S'Mores and Tomato Soup for the first time. He was not impressed with either one of them. And let me tell you, he has the BEST facial expressions of anyone I've ever met, especially when he doesn't like something! Although, I'm determined to get him to try S'Mores again...over a real campfire, not from over the gas stove during the ice storm of '07.

Today we got Chuck to try a little bit of our crack! Reese's peanut butter easter eggs!! We knew Chuck was a fan of the Reese's peanut butter cups, so we were sure that he would like these. And he did!! A little too much...he started eyeing the HUGE Reese's egg he brought for me. There was about to be a brawl. You don't mess with a girl's Reese's peanut butter egg!

Day 5 - April 5th

Ok...when I got in bed Sunday night, I realized I hadn't taken my "picture of the day". I got my camera and started trying to figure out what I could take a picture of from my bed. I took pictures of feet, the ceiling, the window, then once I decided on the feet under the blankets shot, I quick turned the camera around and took a shot of us in the dark. I like what came out. So we spent the next 1/2 hour trying to get the best shot...least skin exposed, best smile, and just trying to look like "me" without makeup on. Turns out...after 30 minutes, the first one we took was my favorite. But there were lots...there's enough to make a scrapbook page of it's own.

Day 4 - April 4th

These are my two most favorite, most handsome men in all my whole world. And not because they are fixing my dishwasher that flooded part of the kitchen floor one night. Russell is in the hat and that's my dad, John.

Water likes to squirt out of funny places in my house. Russell had just fixed the bathroom sink pipes after a flood happened in there. Dad came to help fix the dishwasher. I wish water stayed where it's supposed to. It's not a bad 40 year old house, just old. What a grand Saturday morning.

Day 3 - April 3rd

This picture may be a, "You had to be there" picture. On Friday, April 3rd Ginger was practicing her ski jump abilities on the Wii. She just couldn't get the air she needed to get the high scores she craved. Jokingly, I told her, "Maybe it'll work better if you take off your pants." She hopped off the wii and dropped her drawers. Right there. In the middle of the living room. In front of us and Baga (grandma). Hopped back up on the Wii and doubled her ski jump score!! So next time you need a boost in your score, maybe you should drop your pants...maybe not.

Day 2 - April 2nd

This is Breah. She's honored to be in my Day 2 picture. I met Breah while teaching pre-school. Yep, we were pre-school teachers. She has since moved on and graduated from makin-people-purdy school and works at A Wild Hair Salon. She cut my hair today. Like it? Looks the same? My hair is so stinkin' thick and won't do the cutesy do's, but I love what she did to it. She cut the bottom layer off. I love my long thick red hair. It's my favorite feature about myself. And no matter how much I tried to convince him, Russell was fine if I would have come back with really short chopped-off hair and different colors. I think he was "fine" with it because he knows I would actually never do that.

Day 1 - April 1st

What better way to start my "A Picture a Day for a Year" than with my two most very favorite people in the world! Russell is my handsome prince, my night-in-shining-armor, the love of my life, and way more than I ever thought possible. He is a blessing and a gift from God. We've been married for 5 1/2 whole months now!!

Ginger is my angel, the reason I laugh, my gift from God, and my mini-me. This kid is funny and full of life and love. She has compassion and a yearning to want to understand everything. I keep telling myself, "Amber, it's good she asks so many questions, she's learning." But you know what...this little thing will argue with a wall. I swear she loves to hear herself talk...about nothing.

We have a bedtime ritual every night. That's what this picture is. We race to bed. We start at the designated spot in the living room and listen to "On your mark...get set...Grow!!" Then Ginger pretends to run in attempt to trick us, but this happens several times...every night. We still get "tricked". Finally we hear, "On your mark...get set...Go!!" And for the most part we all make it to Ginger's bed without getting hurt. Occasionally a leg gets bumped on the edge, a head gets banged into the top bunk, or a head gets smashed on the wall. Then we laugh and tickle, sing and pray, kiss all the toys, agree on an alarm clock time of 7:04am, and enjoy the occasional ritual of blowing up Russell's nose. We always leave with a kiss and the refusal of licking the ceiling, kissing a light bulb, or taking the butterflies off the wall.

Yep...every night. And I wouldn't want to change it for anything. I know she'll grow and it will change, but I'm going to hang on to it now for as long as I can.