Hey, Hey Dragonfly

I was outside reading on the front porch swing last week when I spotted a dragonfly hanging out on our hydrangea bush. It stayed there for a while and let me get some shots :) While I was editing these, I had this song stuck in my head that my little brother loves...so I added it in for your enjoyment (or, more likely, for you to skip over :P)

Come a little closer, dragonfly

Settle down with me a little while

I'm turning off the phone and enterprise

I could use your company, all right

Hey, hey dragonfly

I'd like to stare into your big bug eyes

Get a closer look at your fine wings

Think about some fleeting, pretty things

Hey, hey, hey dragonfly

Come a little closer, dragonfly
Little sapphire slipping through the sky
Between the skaters and the fishing lines
My, my, my dragonfly

Hey, hey dragonfly
I'd like to stare into your big bug eyes
Get a closer look at your fine wings
Think about some fleeting, pretty things
Hey, hey, hey dragonfly

Come a little closer, dragonfly
I love the quiet air you occupy
I'm sitting down right here, right now, alone
To hear the river lapping at the stone

Hey, hey dragonfly
I'd like to stare into your big bug eyes
Get a closer look at your fine wings
Think about some fleeting, pretty things
Hey, hey, hey dragonfly

From the Sidelines

Friday the 13th was McMichael Insurance's annual customer appreciation night at the Akron Aero's game. I had the priviledge of being the photographer. Here are some of the shots I got :)

It's Personal

For those of you who follow the blog of Joe Griffith, you may think that I'm copying him with this post. And, in fact, I just might be. His most recent posting, which can be seen here, really got me thinking. I've been mulling over what he said for the past few days. The more I think about it, the more amazed I am. You know, in the early teenage years, and often into the later teens, many young people get all giddy over persons of the opposite sex. There always seems to be that one guy that all the girls adore. That cute guy at church or on the football team. You know how special it makes a girl feel when that one guy walks up and speaks to her by name. She runs back and tells her girlfriends "HE KNOWS MY NAME!!!!" But ponder something even more special; God knows my name. The God who created all things, oversees all things, and controls all things Knows.My.Name. The God who knows how many stars are in the sky, who knows how many pieces of sand there are on the sea-shore Knows.My.Name. And not only that, but He knows me! We often talk about how we have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior. But think about it from the other side. Yes, I know Him and love Him. But He knows ME and loves ME. And not only that, but He sent His Son to die on the cross for ME, for US! I'm not saying that ya'll haven't thought about that before...I know I have. But sometimes it's good just to take a step back and look at it all over again. Tonight I went out onto the back patio, layed down, and looked up at the night sky. I saw the stars and thought about how God placed each one up there exactly where He wanted it. I heard the crickets and thought about God giving them the ability to speak. And then I thought about me. Yup, plain old, boring me. Just a speck in perspective to this great universe and our great God. But that great God cared enough for me to put me in this great universe, and love me with His unconditional love. What an amazing God I serve!

Quality Cousin Time

Things that I am thankful for:

-people who build roller coasters
-cousins/siblings to go to Cedar Point with
-My awesome cousin Hugo who spent 3 weeks in Ohio (he lives in VA) and came to Cedar Point with us!
- that same cousin who stopped eating his pizza (and believe me, Hugo rarely ever stops eating!!!) to give me a neck-rub when my head started hurting from being jarred around on roller coasters all day, AND who let me just about squeeze his hand off when I had that awful head ache on the way home.
-beautiful sunny days
-camera phones which let us capture a few shots throughout the day

The guys







































































Not pictured is the roller coaster from which my trusty cell phone fell. I really don't know how it happened; my cousin Hugo and I were on the Magnum, which is a coaster that doesn't go upside down, so I really wasn't too worried about losing my phone. But someway, somehow, it managed to slip out of my pocket and out of our car. It is probably smashed on the pavement somewhere :P

It is in my humble opinion that roller coasters are the best thing ever...throw in cousins that you haven't seen in forever, and you have a wonderful, fun-filled day on the shores of Lake Erie!

Pencil-vein-ya

Beautiful country, lots of family-this past weekend was a great one! My family traveled to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to attend my dad's family reunion. Now, this isn't just any family reunion with a few cousins, aunts, and uncles; this is like 4 generations of family.
















I'm not sure how long ago it started, but as far back as I can remember, when my great-grandparents (Grammy and Pappy) were alive, we would all get together around Christmas. My grandparents, my uncles and their families, and my family are the largest portion of the over-all McMichael family that live out of state.
 The rest of my Grandpa's siblings and most of their family still live in the Lancaster area. So our family and the few others who lived out of state would travel to PA every year and join the rest of the gang for a weekend reunion.

On Saturday night we would all gather in a rented-out portion of the basement at the retirement home where Grammy and Pappy lived and spend the evening laughing, talking, eating, sharing photos and memories, and just catching up with one another. The main event for us kids was carpet-ball (if you haven't played it, you should!). We would line up and eagerly await our turns and as soon as that turn was over we would jump to the back of the line, only to start the waiting all over again. Every year at the reunion my great-grandparents would call each one of their children, grandchildren, and great-granchildren by name and give us each a gift of money and a choice of candy. It really was amazing to see the generations there. Almost 8 Christmas' ago Pappy passed away. The funeral was held on Christmas eve, and I'm so glad that we got to spend one last reunion with him only the week before. Grammy held on another year, but died the folowing Christmas. Just 2 weeks before she died, Grammy's very first great-great-grandchild was born. I'll never forget those two special people, and some of my most treasured memories of them are those reunions.

Although they're gone, the reunions continue on. They're different than they used to be- we've moved them to the summer, more and more of those in my generation have gotten married and we don't see them as much anymore. Many more little ones have joined our group. I don't know what the tally is right now, but Pappy and Grammy's legacy has certainly carried down through many generations. This year's reunion was a blast...here are some pictures, and further description of the trip is below :)

We played lots of games....ladder ball

...frisbee

and, of course, no McMichael family reunion would be complete

without a game of Rook-every good McMichael child over the age

of 10 knows how to play ;)

We visited...

and we laughed...

and we laughed some more...

AH, and the little kids were good at just being adorable!

<3

On Sunday morning my dad and I got up and went to church (the rest of the family was exhausted). AS I sort of mentioned on a previous post, our church installed a new pastor a few weeks ago (:D :D :D). The really neat thing is that he and his wife attended a church in Lancaster for the past few years. Dad and I went and visited, and I loved it! The church was HUGE (well, huge for a PCA church, that is). The really cool thing about this church was that as big as it was, it still managed to look like a church...and an old church at that. It kinda looked like something from the 1800's. The floors in the sanctuary were cobblestone, the pulpit had a staircase that led up to it, there were white pews throughout...can you tell that I liked it? :P

Anyways, after church we went to visit more family, but on our way, we drove down the street where everyone in the family used to live. The first farm on the road is an Amish farm. But the one after that is the farm where my dad and one of my uncle's was born. Every year when we head back there, I hear my dad's stories about that street, but I never tire of hearing them again. The houses after that first farm-house were where all of his aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents lived. He tells stories of how he and his cousins would run through the corn fields to each other's houses and how they would get scared that the old bridge would fall when they ran across it. Ya know, that "good old days" kind of stories. I love hearing them...

Well, enough of my rambling...but just in case you didn't notice from the pictures, I LOVE babies/little kiddos!!!! ;)