On July 14th, 2007 our exchange student arrived from China. He is 13 years old. He will be staying with us for 3 weeks. We are really having a great time with him. We are teaching him American culture. He is teaching us the Chinese culture. What a wonderful experience. Our food is very different from the food in China but I think he likes a lot of it. As the weeks go by I will up date the blog sharing with you the things we do together. Tonight we went to the batting cages. That was fun. Here are some pics of the host family and student picnic.

This is Owen our exchange student from China

summer flowers

Okay so its not a vineyard. Its a grape vine . But we have put a lot of love into these little grapes. This is the first year in three that it produced grapes. We don't expect to bottle wine yet but a few for the eating would be nice.

I think someone else would like to sample these grapes. Its the little guy on the vine. We are trying hard to save our little grapes from these nasty creatures. Wish us luck! Another day another challenge. Anyone who can give us advise on keeping beetles away please post. Thanks

The Vineyard

Samantha, Our miracle baby

Big Sisters, Little Sisters, Someone to watch over me

Theses shots were taken the morning after my first photography class at MCCC. My neice told me about the class. It sounded interesting so I decided to go with her. I need as many classes as I can take. Since I got my camera I have only taken shots on auto settings. It is so much fun and very challenging taking manual shots. There are so many things to learn. Photography teaches you to look at things differently. You learn to appreciate beauty while enjoying quiet moments in this fast paced life. "Stop and smell the roses".

capturing nature