I moved...

My new photography blog is up and running (although not 100% completed). So if you're reading this in a blog reader, please update your settings for my blog. Or if you have me bookmarked, please update that too!

My new blog will have more of a focus on my photography work, but it will still be chocked full of personal stories and pictures of the kids, so please make the switch with me!! Thanks!

www.peterdavisphotography.com/blog

a little neglected...

I'm guessing my blog feels a little left out. And perhaps you do too, that is, my loyal fan base. My avid readers who wake up early to read my blog...my imaginary friend.

Anyway, I've been dying to write some new stuff, but my focus has been on my photography site. It just got a new look and it's taken some time to get it rolling. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

In the coming weeks, I hope to move my blog over to my photography site and start blogging more about photography and life over there. I'll probably stop writing about politics and such...I know some of you will be glad about that. My hope is to use my blog as a way for potential photography clients to get to know me a little better and a way to better showcase my recent work.

I'll let you know when I make the switch!!! Thanks for checking in...

growing younger...

I just hit 700 friends on facebook and I joined twitter tonight. I can literally feel the years shedding away. Now if I could just get rid of some of these gray hairs...

Happy Fifth Birthday Kyla!

I can't believe that our little Kyla is 5 today! I sat down to post a few pictures from the past five years and ended up with a huge slide show! I just couldn't pick the best three or four from literally thousands of images! Here goes:

recent pictures...

Here are a few recent pictures for my oh-so-neglected blog:

The other morning, Kyla told me she wanted yogurt for breakfast and she asked how to spell it. I sounded it out slowly to her and she brought these magnets over and spelled it out for me! I was very impressed! Sorry for the poor quality of the shot...it was early. I can't believe she's going to be five years old in a week.
Avery continues to love the park. She truly comes alive whenever we go!
We had a nice visit from Rosie and Jonathan and little Ian. We can't wait to have them come back again soon for Kyla's birthday!

life without TV???

It's been a while since I've written about politics. I guess it's partly because the radio in my car hasn't worked since I put a new battery in it and I can't get my usual dose of NPR in the mornings. But I did come across something that got my feathers ruffled and I'll try to put this nicely.

It's about the switch from analog to digital TV. This quick video explains it pretty well. The government has already spent $1.5 BILLION on making the switch (advertising, education, and coupons for free digital converters). Well, it seems that's just not enough because I guess there are some people out there who haven't been paying attention and aren't ready to make the switch.

So now the government is delaying the switch and is asking for $650 MILLION to make the switch. WHAT??? Just so people can have a prettier picture to look at? Can't those who aren't ready to make the switch just live without TV for a little while? How sad of a statement about our culture is that? A large school district in our area is planning 700 job cuts next year and some law makers want to spend $650 MILLION to make sure people can have access to TV, which will expose them to endless hours of advertising, which will make them want more of what they don't have because they don't have a job and can't afford it, so they'll put it on credit cards and end up foreclosing on their houses.

I read a quote by a politician recently that said something like this: If someone out there doesn't know that there is a switch from analog to digital, then they're probably not watching television.

And even if they are, let their boob tube go blank and then they'll figure it out. Sorry, I try not to rant, but if you know us, you know that our family is one of those weird ones that watches television for about a total of 3 hours/week. I'm done now.

a neighborhood wedding!

Sarah and I had the pleasure to shoot a beautiful little wedding right here in our own neighborhood this evening (only about 125 yards out the front door!). Here are two of my favorite shots so far. You can see a few more on my photography blog.

is this thing still on?

Wow, I feel like it's been too long. I've had a hard time as of late logging on and getting a chance to blog. This blogging stuff is therapeutic and I miss it! There's nothing like getting out deep thoughts for a million of your closest friends to see! Here's what's been happening:

1. I hit my blog-o-versary! That's right, as of January 13, I've been blogging for a year now. 181 posts later, I'm still running strong. When I first started, I thought this blog might end up getting trashed like a treadmill that someone buys and only uses twice. But like I said, I've found blogging therapeutic1

2. Photography is booming! That's actually the main reason I haven't blogged much recently. My free time has been taken up with photography - but I am certainly not complaining, I love it! I recently shot team pictures at my school, I'm shooting a wedding tonight (crazy story you have to read about!) and another in April. I've got a Bar-Mitvah lined up as well as a few other possible weddings in the spring and a few other gigs in the works. Not too bad for a side business. I truly feel blessed!

3. I'm planning out my first photography workshops! I've been having a lot of conversations lately with people who buy fancy new digital cameras but don't really know how to use them. So I've been cooking an idea of teaching several workshops this spring to help amateurs build their skills. I have a lot of it together except for the dates and the people! You can check the info out on my website. They're called Beyond the Snapshot: Surpassing 1,000 words with each picture and Going Further. If you'd like to attend or know someone who would, let me know! I hope to have it all hammered out by the end of next week!

4. The Philippines! We're still hoping to move this summer to the Philippines for mission work. We're putting as much money as possible from my photography towards our moving costs to help us get there. Our church, Next Level Church, also agreed to act as our sending agency and are willing to collect the money we raise! We did have one huge answer to prayer recently! Our good friends behind us told us that her brother is moving to Charlotte this summer and would possibly like to rent our house! Is that awesomely perfect God-like timing or what??? Keep praying!

new hobby...

The girls got some great musical instruments for Christmas and I think I've been having a better time with them than they have! I began by mastering the kazoo/guitar combo for a few days, then I moved onto the recorder where I sounded out "Stairway to Heaven" for a pretty rocking performance. My latest addiction, however, has been the harmonica. I quickly sounded out "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Oh Susanna." I later moved onto "Bad to the Bone" and other various blues tunes. In trying to find some new songs to play, I ran across this video which gives me a whole new motivation! This guy is crazy on the harmonica. It's Buddy Greene playing in Carnegie Hall. He's the guy who co-wrote the Christmas song, "Mary did you know," by the way in case you didn't know that tidbit of trivia. If you can't sit through the entire 4 minute video, at least skip to about 2:08 or so and watch through the end. It's well worth it!

a God-sized task...

We had a great meeting yesterday afternoon with one of the pastors and missions coordinators from our church! They have agreed to act as our "sending agency" in that they can accept any donations made for our move which will make the donations tax deductible! There are some other little things along the way that they'll be able to handle as well. We are so blessed to have landed in this church with such generous people who are willing to help in any way possible!

So that brings us to the question, "When are you going?" Like my last post, you can always go to www.therewego.org to find out more about our move to the Philippines for missions. But I feel like this question deserves a little more attention. The short answer is that if everything falls into place, i.e. raising enough money, selling/renting our house, etc, then we would prayerfully move sometime early this summer. But honestly, that is a big "if."

That's where God comes in. Our pastor made a comment Sunday morning about the tensions of following Christ. He said that many people who look at God see someone who places a lot of demands on you and asks everything of you. Others look at God and think that if you follow God, you're suppose to be super happy and joyful all the time. Well, in reality, there needs to be a proper balance to those tensions. God does ask a lot - time, money, control of circumstances - but He asks for those things because He knows when you give them to Him, you will be free and can experience unthinkable joy. That struck me because my humanness tells me that if we're going to move across the world this summer, I need to hit panic mode and start running around like crazy trying to make it happen.

But the way I picture it is that God has called us to this mission. At times through the process, we have tried to rationalize it away as way too big for us to do. We've explored other options and pursued plan B. But this just keeps popping up and crying for us to do. So we have excitedly agreed and said we'll go. So now we just open up our arms and say, "God we've agreed to follow you wholeheartedly, now we need You to provide and to clear the way for us to go." Of course, we will be working extremely hard and not just lounging around, but the stress is gone. The burden is on God, not our hearts. If this really is God's plan for our family to move this summer, then He will do it. If it doesn't happen this summer, we have a few options like going next summer to pursue. But for now, we're running wide open for the summer and we're excited to see how God will come through!

therewego.org

If you've got some time and want to check out the website we just launched about moving to the Philippines, go to www.therewego.org! Thanks and have a great night...I am up way too late!