Not Limited.

Creativity is a way of living life, no matter what our vocation, or how we earn our living.  Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.  Several women have written to me to complain about A Swiftly Tilting Planet.  They feel that I should not have allowed Meg Murray to give up a career by marrying Calvin, having children, and quietly helping her husband with his work behind the scenes.  But if women are to be free to choose to pursue a career as well as marriage, they must also be free to choose the making of a home and the nurture of a family as their vocation; that was Meg's choice, and a free one, and it was as creative a choice as if she had gone on to get a PhD.  in quantum mechanics.

Our freedom to be creators is far less limited than some people would think.

- Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water, p.90

Orange.

Yesterday morning I woke to find Penny's face Oompa Loompa orange where it should be white.  It was all over her paws, too.

1.  Shock and confusion.

2.  Immediate certainty one (or more) of my children were to blame (i.e. last winter's incident when Bella emerged from nap time with absolutely no whiskers at all).



Ten minutes later it dawned on me.  This wasn't Marker Fiasco #126 in our house.  This was, in fact, Penny's own doing.

Penny has been sniffing the lilies.

Student Shots

I have been missing friends in Zambia terribly this week. 

I've been meaning to sort through the nearly 1,000 images my students took at camp, and finally did so today.  I cried a little, but laughed too. 

Every image below and in the slide show was taken by one of my students last December in Macha, Zambia.  I left every shot as-is, but did convert a few to black and white today.  Enjoy.

Quoth the Ravenclaw, "Pottermore"...

As of yesterday, I've confirmed 4 Harry Potter converts since I read the series last winter. 

For those of us in our 30's who missed the Potter craze because we were busy in college, a bit "too" old to have read the books when we were young, it's not too late to be won over.  In fact, I'd argue that while excellent for adolescents, they are perhaps even better as an adult.

Bonus, we don't have to wait 10 years to get some resolution.

Last February when I was up to my ears in Hogwarts, Polyjuice Potion, and owls, I could not put those books down.  That meant I was the mom at swimming lessons reading a 5 lb. Harry Potter book.  Alas, until now, digital reading wasn't available.* 
Pottermore promises to be that, and so much more.  I know that because Rowling is at the head of this, it will not only be very smart marketing business, it will also be, from first click, full of excellence and class.



*I do, by the way, completely agree that this is a series to be loved and read in print firstly, but, e-readers are SO CONVENIENT, especially when travelling. I'd also mention that Jim Dale's reading of the audio books is incredible, and no doubt they are available at your local library.

Braver than we think

We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are, to see through plastic sham to living, breathing reality, and to break down our defenses of self-protection in order to be free to receive and give love.
                                                   - Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

Wonky.

This is the wonky bush we don't really take care of. 

Right now, it's a little out of hand.

Trim it?  No way.

Shoot it?  Yes.

Summer Nights.

Remember this?


Movie Nights are back!

In Your Face.

Lily, your hair is always, always, always in your face.

We tame it, we braid it, we clip it.

And it always falls out, back where it wants to be.

I've made my peace with it.

You certainly never minded it in the first place.

It's become a bit of a trademark for you- who am I to take that away?



Chillaxed.

It is ridiculous how much animals get to relax.

I'm just jealous.

Thank You.

potatoes.

Jim, thank for everything you do to make our garden grow.  You put so many hours into it, you know what you're doing, and things are starting to happen out there.

Soon we'll have more flowers to bring inside, and more tomatoes than we can eat, so we'll freeze them.

Every year I'm thankful for that.

Childhood.

My skin is kind of sort of brownish pinkish yellowish white. My eyes are greyish blueish green, but I'm told they look orange in the night. My hair is reddish blondish brown, but it's silver when its wet, and all the colors I am inside have not been invented yet. ~Shel Silverstein

It takes little imagination for me to call up the scent of a new box of crayons, and I'm instantly 7 again.

Upcoming Class Dates

If you live in the Sioux Falls area, and want to learn how to use your DSLR, or how to take better pictures with any camera, here are this month's available classes:

DSLR Basics
Tuesday, June 14

Learn the core basics to understanding your DSLR camera, how it functions, and how to gain control to begin using it to it's full potential. Grow in confidence and skill with this hands-on informative class. This class is appropriate for anyone with a DSLR who does not yet shoot in Manual mode with confidence. If possible, bring your camera's manual for reference along with your DSLR.


Basic Photography
Tuesday, June 21

Almost everything that makes a photograph great happens before you click the shutter. We will cover the technical and creative basics you'll need to take great photographs with any camera. Bring your camera, and the manual, if possible.

 Natural Light and Portraiture
Tuesday, June 28

We'll learn the basics of portraiture and how to harness and maximize available light in your photographs. Bring your camera to practice your skills, and learn how to take better pictures of the people in your life. Model provided.


Participation in the Basic Photography class prior to this session is highly recommended.



All classes begin at 7 PM and are held at the Museum of Visual Materials, 500 N Main Avenue.
Contact Jessica at (605) 271-9500 to reserve a spot, and contact me if you have any other questions, megankoch@yahoo.com.

Just a bit.

Several of my friends have had babies this month. 

I think any mother who has had children who have all grown up into walking, talking, reading, socializing, driving (agh!) young people or adults will know what I am talking about.

The bittersweet and precious moment when I pick up a new baby, tiny and absolutely precious- there is just a bit of womb ache. 

It comes as I remember my own children, extremely small and helpless, especially in light of how very far they've come since the fleeting days when they were new.

It's knowing I can never have that back.

It comes in light of how much they've changed, and how much more complex mothering becomes as I raise a house-full of unique people, as we spend incalculable amounts of time, energy, focus and prayer growing up together.

Every time I had a new baby after Grace, I savored the simplicity.  Is a new baby exhausting, sometimes confusing?  Sure- but oh, oh, the simplicity.  Just love and time, that's what they need.  Everything else gets figured out in the end. 

Swiftly they grow, and the things that were so overwhelming as a new mother, are smoothed out and made clear with the hindsight- and you just ache to know what you know, to go back, and to listen to all the women who told you to relax, to just roll with it, and to just rock that baby and know everything else will be fine.  I thought I was listening to those women, but looking back, I didn't listen quite enough. 

I'm always trying to savor my children, whatever stage we are in, but I know, no matter what, I'll look back and know I didn't relax and savor enough.  That is the way of it.  I take peace in knowing I'm not meant to know now what I will know in 10 years- that's not how this works.  Also, this is what grandparents are for.

So, there's just a bit of ache for the time I can't have back, but it's incredibly sweet, too, as I fondly remember my girls and Hudson, so small, new.  And I am filled with hope and heart-pride at how wonderful it is to watch these people grow up.  It's an incredible privilege.

So I don't want to start time over and go back, ache or not, because it's so exciting to keep moving forward.  I'm grateful for sweet memories and priceless pictures of my children to remember what was, and I'm grateful to have enjoyed life when they were small, foggy as those days were, with four babies in as many years.

And though I've loved every stage, I can't help but absolutely love the days we have now.  We can go all day and no one needs to stop for a nap. We're all learning and reading and discussing, enjoying the diversity that comes with a house of individuals. Diapers are a distant memory and I have been enjoying uninterrupted sleep for the last 3 1/2 years. 

Today I will take my own advice and try even harder to just live in it, in the right now.

In the Chaos.

I think it should be noted that all kinds of creativity happens when you've got open eyes in ordinary situations.

For instance,  when you're out fishing, and you have to stop for some of this...

You can grab a few shots of some of this....

It's all about isolating something wonderful in the middle of the chaos.  In this case the wonderful was a sparse patch of flowers in the trees, and by chaos I mean nasty bugs biting me, tons of prickly weeds to walk through, and a son who is taking forever to just "go" already.

Did you notice how much warmer the bottom photo is?  You can do that in-camera by adjusting your white balance- and you can learn about that with a Google search or in your camera's manual- OR- I could show you on Tuesday night.  (It's not a shameless plug when it's on my own blog.)

Have a great weekend. 



A Note...

I like to take a break from blogging, when I feel like it, which is this month. 

Then, somehow, eventually something will spark me up and I'll begin again.  Children, I promise I'll get back to writing down stuff that happens to you... sometime. 

But I had to interrupt my summer hiatus to say a few things in bullet points to anyone else reading:

• If you live in Sioux Falls, you should go to the Queen City Bakery with a friend.

• ATTENTION ANGLOPHILES:  You MUST watch Downton Abbey's first 7 installments in their entirety, they are an extreme treat, beautifully shot in gorgeous, pure light, and full of everything you love about English culture.  Oh. My. Word. 

• I got my girls one of these spiral-making kits and I confess, I played with it for about a half hour this afternoon, hoping no one would come and take it from me.

• Jimmy Fallon you are so insatiably upbeat and likeable.  In the middle of cleaning my house this morning this video popped into my mind and I had to stop and watch it, right then.  And this one remains one of the most entertaining and quality things I've ever seen on late night.

Speaking of rappers.  Kids will go through phases when they're learning to talk, and occaisionally, they'll make some funny speech faux pas, and sometimes, those slip-ups sound like expletives spewing out of their sweet cherub mouths.  Patie went through that phase when she was 2, every time she saw a truck.  And now it's Hudson's turn.  With his work bench, which he calls his bench, which actually comes out, "My b*tch".  All the time, every time he says it.  He's like a pint-sized Jay-Z.

Oh, and one more thing- You should send me book recommendations, as I'm nearing the end of my reading list, and have a little extra time during these long, lazy days.  Email, comment, whatever, I love everyone's suggestions. 


While I'm on that thought, here's some things I've read recently:

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua


Bossypants, by Tina Fey

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle

And that's all.

9.

Jim,

Today is our ninth anniversary.

We met at 19 but we grew up together.  Married at 20 and 21, we were thrown into jobs and mortgages and new cities and children- we jumped in with both feet, and it was hard.  Which was good.  And life with you is good. 

Every year loving you gets less complicated, and more complex.  It gets deeper, easier, and more fun. 

We get each other- our strengths and our flaws.  It's incredibly easy to be with you, because there's nothing hidden, and nothing we can't work out in the end.

I don't expect you to make me happy.  And you make me incredibly happy.  This is how it works.

Tonight I was in the middle of chopping onions for dinner when you called.  It was hard to hear you over the sound of four children playing Wii karaoke in the background.

We'll go out this weekend- tonight, well, it will look like most any other night, but, you made a point to ask me if I'd like to drink some wine and watch Glee. 

Yes, please.


Thanks for loving me,
Megan

Upcoming Workshop, or, Go West Young Woman

The details are set!  I will be in Rapid City on July 23 for a three-part beginner's photography workshop, hosted by my friends at Fountain Springs Community Church.

If you've never taken a class with me before, let me tell you why I think they are so important:

1.  Learning photography can be intimidating, particularly if you're working with a more accomplished photographer in-person.  These classes are very informal and relaxed, we work step-by-step together in a fun, supportive group, and I am very ordinary.  I promise I will not freak you out with my coolness at any point, because there is none to be found. 

2.  I work with natural light only, and almost exclusively use examples from my everyday life in my classes.  These classes are geared toward everyday photographers who want to be creatively inspired and technically equipped to take excellent shots in everyday life, without purchasing extra equipment or software.  This isn't a workshop for aspiring professionals, nor is it a class for people who want to learn how to use Photoshop (though I commonly answer editing-related questions in class).  These classes are about getting excellence in your straight-out-of-camera shots, and that is extremely important to me.

3.  Anyone who has ever taken a class or workshop with me has access to ask questions via email, skype, or phone at any time in the future- and I mean that.  This is just a starting point.  As you go and apply these skills in your real life, you'll have questions, and I'm here to help.  Past students really do take me up on this.  You can too.

4.  Your session fees are tax deductible, and 100% of the profits will be used to support Poetice, and to fund travel expenses as we travel to Zambia in November. 



You can read more about Poetice, and our part in it here.


Workshop Details:

When: Saturday, July 23

Where:  Fountain Springs Community Church in Rapid City (directions here).


This workshop will be held in three parts.  You may book a spot in one, two, or all three sessions. 
Note that space is limited.  There is a cap of 15 participants per session.


Session 1: DSLR Basics

Learn the core basics to understanding your DSLR camera, how it functions, and how to gain control to begin using it to it's full potential. Grow in confidence and skill with this hands-on informative class. This class is appropriate for anyone with a DSLR who does not yet shoot in Manual mode with confidence.  If possible, bring your camera's manual for reference along with your DSLR. 

Session Time: 9 AM
Cost:  $25 minimum donation (see below)


Session 2: Basic Photography

Almost everything that makes a photograph great happens before you click the shutter.  We will cover the technical and creative basics you'll need to take great photographs with any camera. Bring your camera, and the manual, if possible.

Session Time:  10:45 AM
Cost:  $25 minimum donation (see below)


Session 3:  Natural Light and Portraiture

We'll learn the basics of portraiture and learn how to harness and maximize available light in your photographs. Bring your camera to practice your skills, and learn how to take better pictures of the people in your life. Model provided.
Participation in the Basic Photography session in tandem with this class is highly recommended.

Session Time:  1 PM
Cost: $25 minimum donation (see below)


Feel free to email me with any questions at megankoch@yahoo.com.

Ready to book a spot?

To save a place in one, two, or all three sessions, send me an email indicating which session(s) you'd like to reserve, and send your tax-deductible donation to:

The Ransom Church
700 N Main Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57104


Make your check out to The Ransom Church, and please put KOCH ZAMBIA in the memo line.

In order to reserve your spot, please postmark your gift no later than July 9.*

Any available spots after July 9 will be open for purchase on the day of the workshop, for a minimum donation of $35 per session.  Book early to guarantee a spot! 

*Life happens!  The last date to cancel a reservation for a full refund is July 9, via email.  After this date, cancellations will receive a 50% refund.

If you live in the Rapid City area, or know someone that does, would you please let your friends know about the workshop?  Send them this link, or post it to your facebook wall.  You rock!

Interested in hosting a workshop?  I am available to travel within SD and the surrounding area through August 20.  Email me for more information.

Peace out,
Megan

Leaves.