Candids

A blacksmith busy at a historical forge and a policewoman directing traffic on a real street are two more candid photo subjects I liked.

More Outdoors

Another rainy day complete and the forecast is a bit better. Still looking through old spring and sun candids, here a fisherman on the cell phone and a conductor on a running museum train in Fox Valley. Golden sunshine!

More Spring Dreams

Perhaps a visit to Arizona for spring training . . . or a walk down a forest path. If I keep looking at photos of decent weather, it is bound to actually appear outside my window!

Looking For Spring

The rainiest April in 125 years is in its last week; I thought I would find a few candid photos that will remind us that we might actually see some sun and some weather suitable for outdoor fun. Let's all keep our fingers crossed!

Easter Fun

Grandma and Poppa had the fun of Easter when Gianna and Joey arrived (along with their parents, of course). Here they pause from plinking away at the piano keys to give Poppa a chance to add to his growing collection of grandchild images.

Easter!

Always happy to have Gianna and Joey at our house, any time, but especially on a holiday. Great day!

SUNDAY POSTER

SUNDAY POSTER. Have a Blessed Easter!

Do You Know Me?

At the Pool

Prior to the wedding, a couple of hours at the hotel pool gave the boys a chance to have a bit of fun.

The Flower Girls, Again

Two more views of our granddaughters, who call themselves twins when they are together, and who were so wonderful as flower girls a week ago at our nephew's wedding. Love those special dresses!

Dancing to the Music

The two flower girls, my two granddaughters, share a dance with the newest member of the family, Chris Gisler.

Joey

Joey, who will turn four in August, is the other little boy whose smile brings another smile to Poppa's face.

Bobby

Nearly two, his smile lights up Poppa every time he sees it.

Teenie Boppers?

Suffice it to say that, left to right, Joey is 3, Gianna is 8, and Carolyn will turn 8 next month. They sure do love playing with iPhones and Blackberries when they are allowed to borrow them from their parents!

SUNDAY POSTER

My Easter Card for LivingWell Cancer Resource Center.

Family Reunion

A joyous visit to my mother's home was a highlight of our family trip to Minnesota. Here she had a whole section of her family, with my wife and I accompanied by both children, our son-in-law, and all four grandchildren. She had a wonderful morning as you can see in this shot.

Flower Girls of the Year

This evening my two granddaughters, Carolyn (7) and Gianna (8) were honored to be flower girls at the wedding of my nephew. Needless to say, Poppa is proud of the two young ladies that impressed everyone with the excellence of their processional work!

Easter Image

Near the end of the tour of the Billy Graham Museum we see a wonderful image of Good Friday, here in preparation for Good Friday. Worth the visit in itself.

Crosses

A striking bit of architecture in the Billy Graham Museum is the cruciform hallway, seen here as you approach it. When you enter the hallway, you see through to the next room, with the hall framing the cross ahead.

The Queen and the Clouds

One more interesting photo at the Billy Graham Museum shows Rev. Graham with Queen Elizabeth and her family in England several years ago. In another area, a series of mirrors lets you stand in the midst of eternal clouds, a cute look at "heaven," and those mirrors had to tempt me to get a self-portrait up there.

Memorable Photos

Several memorable photos are featured in the Billy Graham Museum, including one that features the podium I showed in a recent post. Below is a photo of a special date in a Billy Graham crusade in Chicago in 1962. I did attend one of the sessions in this series, perhaps even this one.

Folks familiar with the current home of the Chicago Bears will not recognize this older, much larger arena on the same location. It seated over 102,000 people but very few in great seats. The current field sits mostly at the southern end of the stadium as pictured, which is the top of the photo. Dedicated Bear fans will realize that the photo is tagged incorrectly to be "Soldier's Field." The correct name has always been "Soldier Field."

SUNDAY POSTER

Mementos

Memontos of the long career of Billy Graham as an evangelist include a special podium, which traveled around the world for several years, and a microphone which carried his message out on the radio.

Famed Evangelists

Chicago, the song says, is the town that Billy Sunday could not shut down. Not many realize that the powerful evangelist was a major league baseball player for his first career. Dwight L. Moody founded the Moody Bible Institute, and I have a true soft sport in my heart for that institution. My Mother worked in their Registrar's office for several years before her retirement.

Colonial America

The section on Colonial America includes two preachers who can be found in any American Literature textbook. Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards turned sermons into essays and became well known for the power of their writing.

Edwards' best-know title is "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God."

Salvation Army Tableau

Part of the section of the Billy Graham Museum is a beautiful tableau on the Salvation Army.

Rotunda Hangings

The Billy Graham Center has a rotunda with several massive banners of historical religious figures. Here we see St. Francis of Assisi and Martin Luther, two giant names.

Billy Graham Center

On the campus of Wheaton College, the Billy Graham Center is one of the nicest, most interesting museums in the area. A cloudy, chilly Saturday afternoon gave a perfect reason to spend a nice hour there. We will look at some images over the next several posts.

SUNDAY POSTER

SUNDAY POSTER on the day after a wonderful visit to the Billy Graham Museum at Wheaton College. A beautiful museum and this poster has a quote from a powerful hymn, heard at the museum.

More Ballpark Fun

Two more images from Arizona and spring training 2010. The low-key approach of spring training tends to bring out the absolute enjoyment of the game of baseball, whether in kids getting to toss a ball in the outfield or vendors smiling and tossing balls.

Opening Day

You can't beat fun at the old Ball Park, and in honor of opening day, here are two spring training photos from the past two seasons. Fans and vendors alike getting into the spirit!