Click the picture to jump to the slide show of the 2007 Tishe Conference. Above — the famous West Cornwall Bridge, built in 1864. That’s one old bridge.



Why was I in rural Western Connecticut?



So glad you asked!



I was at the Trinity Conference Center, a beautiful little retreat in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains…



…photographing the Tishe Conference. (Click here to learn more about Tishe.)



I am not a big fan of setting up off-camera lights, but this picture is a great illustration of how they can really bring a room to life!



Here’s another one.



Attendees were divided into groups for the week, so I was asked to do a shot of each one. Not being a huge fan of the stand-and-face-the-camera group shot, I thought it would be cool to ask each group to come up with a fun pose to bring out the personality of the group. Above, “cheerleaders.”



“Charlie’s Angels”



“Home Alone”



Can you guess this one?

The answer’s in the slide show!

…winter’s coming.

So I took my camera to the Metuchen pool. That’s Gregory. He’s fearless. (Except don’t ever ask him to go alone to the basement where “George” lives — George is our “ghost” who rattles the ducts.)



Last summer, some of you may recall, I made a slide show of our trip to Dorney Park. I loved watching that slide show in the winter because, in case you haven’t figured this out about me, I DO NOT LIKE WINTER. I’m a summer girl. So, I’m spending just a little time this year capturing the DETAILS of summer. Above, I like how the water is in focus, but the lifeguard stands are blurry.



Here’s a closeup. That’s pretty much how I see things at the pool anyway with my glasses off. If a lifeguard blows a whistle and points at me to put on a swim cap or something and I make like “Huh? Who me?” — it really is true that I can’t tell if they’re pointing at me or the kid drowning his little sister 20 feet away.



I like the shimmering water in this one. Ahhh, summer.



Gregory can’t stand this picture of Bradley. It drives him crazy that there’s never a splash!



So here ya go, Gregory. Here’s some splashing for you. (Bradley looks like he’s 25 in this picture. Mike looks like he needs some goggles.)



…blub blub blub blub. I love summer. *sigh*

Oh yeah, I love fall too!

So, loyal blog readers, I need help. Bradley will be 13 on Halloween. He was born in room 13. This is a really big deal to him — the whole Halloween/13 connection. (Yeah, and as I was being rolled down the hospital corridor, and I heard the nurse yell out “Put her in room 13!” I was kicking and screaming back, “Uht uh, no you ain’t putting me in room 13!” But they did anyway, obviously.) So, what REALLY COOL AWESOME thing can I do to make Bradley’s 13th birthday extra memorable? Suggestions? Please? Because, every August, I think, winter’s coming, which means, fall’s coming too.

Click the picture to jump to the slide show of Sophie’s baptism. Above — I love it — Sophie’s big sister mimicks our attempt at a “GQ pose,” below.





This is my favorite picture of Sophie.



This is my favorite one of Sophie’s family. Look! Even Sophie’s looking at the camera! Yay!



I caught this one as the family was walking up to the church. The timing was perfect!



We were fortunate it wasn’t too horribly hot for some family group shots.



Later, we discovered a room in the Hilton, where the celebration brunch was held, with nice window light and air-conditioning!



Yay air-conditioning! (And I really love the light. So much more interesting than overhead sun.)



I love this shot of dad looking on during the baptism.



Smart parents. They brought their own little ball pit for the toddlers to play in during brunch!



I love the shots of Sophie’s sister and cousin playing too.

I’m doing another shoot with Sophie’s family in October in New York. That’s going to be so much fun! I LOVE fall! See you soon!

Click the picture above (taken by my 6-year-old assistant, Gregory!) to get to the VBS entry page. Let me know if you need the username and password. Enjoy!

It takes many hands to put together such a big week-long event with so many children. HUGE thanks to Nancy Leardi, our director, for doing such a fantastic job! Without her, none of these beautiful pictures of smiling children would have ever existed!

Also, a heartfelt thanks to all our area leaders — snacks, music, games, storytime and art. The planning that went into each of these areas, from every fish stuck on the wall to making sure your part reinforced the theme each day, was truly well done.

Of course, I have to thank the teachers for being such great leaders for the more than 100 children and youth volunteers. From where I was (and I was EVERYWHERE!), it seemed like the children were having a great time!

Last but not least, from the Assembly Leader area, I have to thank Gabe, Lindsey and Gregory for being great assistants, and of course, Bradley, for being the most cooperative Starfish I’ve ever seen! He worked really hard on his lines, and for this to happen in his “summer-of-unstructured-leisure” is just an a-maaaaaaa-zing accomplishment! Thank you, Nancy, for giving Bradley and me the opportunity to strengthen our bond.

Parents: please watch the VBS blog for an announcement about how to order prints. All proceeds from print sales will support the mission fund of the First Presbyterian Church. And, OF COURSE, thank you for lending us your children. I’m sure I speak for all the VBS volunteers when I say: We had a wonderful week at the Great Bible Reef! See you all next year!

Peace mon,
Love, Jelly

The highlight of Friday’s VBS schedule was clearly the watermelon. Ok not really. Our visit from the Metuchen Fire Department brought the loudest screams I’ve heard since the last time I took my little jellyfishes on a roller coaster. I LOVE the firetruck!

So while I work on making the slide show — with lots of fun pictures of our field activities — here’s a reminder of the five points of the starfish: care, trust, believe, listen and obey. Check back soon for the “Friday” slide show!
Peace, mon, and I’ll be seeing you all around town!
Love, Jelly
Personal Assistant to Mr. Starfish

Click the picture above to get to the VBS entry page. Let me know if you need the username and password! Enjoy!

If the show stops in the middle, that’s because it’s moving really fast and needs to stop to load more images. Here’s a suggestion to make it stop doing that. Start the show, then hit the pause button at the bottom left (looks like railroad tracks). Go get a cup of juice or fold the laundry or call your mom (waiting for the whole show to load), then hit play. Let me know how it works for you. I’ve never done a show with that many images that moves so fast before. FUN! FUN!

If you thought the “Wednesday” VBS show was ROCKIN’, you seriously need to hold on to your seats for the “Thursday” show! The children are totally getting the hang of this photo shoot thing! I LOVE it! I’m having the BEST time this week! So, while we wait for the “Thursday” show to go live, take a minute to think about today’s theme: LISTEN!

Cuz when the Thursday show goes up, you’re gonna need to turn the sound WAY UP! So check back soon! And don’t forget our Bible verse: “Listen to God’s voice today!” (Psalm 95, verse 7).
Peace, mon!
Love, Jelly
Personal Assistant to Mr. Starfish

Click the picture above to get to the VBS entry page. Let me know if you need the username and password! Enjoy!



Oh! And here’s a little trivia question for you. We were visited by a cat today at Vacation Bible School. Can you guess the cat’s name?

The “Wednesday” VBS show is still a work in progress — isn’t Gregory so cute? While we wait for the show, be sure to check out Monday’s and Tuesday’s shows, and I thought I’d take this opportunity to remind my friends of today’s theme: BELIEVE!

I’ll let you know when the new show goes up. You’ll LOVE today’s song! So check back soon! And don’t forget our Bible verse of the day: “I believe that you are Christ, the son of God.” (John 11, verse 27).
Peace, mon!
Love, Jelly
Personal Assistant to Mr. Starfish