Hometown Tragedy

So, here I sit.

I just got home from a house fire. I am the photographer for the fire department.

The house is gone, and there were two little girls that did not make it out. They were 3 and 5.

As the fire was raging, the father came racing home and tried to push his way past the firemen to get into his girls. He was crying and screaming and the firemen and police had to work to hold him back. He almost made it to the door before any realized what was going on. It took all they had to hold him.

The mother was home with the girls and she made it out.

The fire was so hot, so intense, and the smoke so black that the fire fighters just couldn't get to the girls. They tried and tried and couldn't find them.

The temperature here is about 5 degrees today with the windchill taking it below zero. The water was turning to ice. We were slipping all over the scene. The firefighters were coming out with ice incrusted bunker gear.

It was a very emotional fire. Many of the firefighters were having a tough time knowing that the little girls were in there.

When it finally got under control and they found the little bodies, the fire marshall said I could go in and take some pictures of them for the department.

I did.

And now, here I sit.

Little precious girls... Savannah and Bailey.

Please say a prayer for these firefighters that are sitting in tears today and please say one for me.

Recap - April 2008

April, April...

What happens in April???

Oh, yeah, that's right... My BIRTHDAY!! :)

How's that song go? "And, whadya get, another year older and deeper in debt" hahahaha

And now we will move right on along to another topic, before someone asks me how old I am!!!

One of the projects that I worked on in April was the 46th Annual Ice Show here in Jefferson City. The skaters in the show really amaze me! They can turn and jump and spin and move so beautifully on the ice. ( I still wonder if they get dizzy when they do those long spins! )

To each skater and coach in the Ice Show - WOW!! Thank you for an amazing performance!

I really enjoy being the photographer, and I am looking forward to the 47th Annual this year!

Recap - March 2008

hmmm....

I don't seem to have much that I remember in March. LOL

I guess it was a pretty uneventful month for me.

I will tell you that March 16th would have been my Mom and Dad's 45th wedding anniversary!!

But, my Dad passed away three months earlier in December 2007. He had a very short, and very hard battle with lung cancer.

( If you have ever thought about quitting smoking, I am asking you to do it. )

Anyways, my Mom and Dad's anniversary... Can you believe it? 45 years!! WOW!! Thank you Mom and Dad!!

Here is a VERY OLD picture, I think about 20 yrs old, but it's all I can find right now.

Recap - February 2008

Quininahuin, Chile, South America

That's where I headed to in February!!

It was an awesome trip! There were about 12 of us in the group. Some were already friends, and after two weeks of mountain isolation... the rest became friends. :)

No internet, no TV, no radio, no phone (well, it only worked once, and we had to walk a mile to get to it). We had an awesome time! It was alot of hard work - we were a construction team that went high into the Andes Mts and worked on a school for the local Mapuche Indians.

We also hiked to a waterfall (that was farther than it appeared!), and down to an old swinging bridge, we panned for gold, we had to reroute a mountain stream so we would have water to use, and one of us (not me) went by horse to Argentina!!

We had a lamb prepared for us for dinner one night.

hmmmm....

It was a good thing that none of us named that baby sheep that was next to the kitchen.

We met a young man, "George", that tugged at our hearts and he will be kept in our memories.

Each of us found some of our own strengths, and weaknesses.

It was a humbling, amazing, faith building experience.

SO....

Owen, Van, JoDonn, Steve, Mike, Shelly, Larry, Laura, John, Bonnie, and Nina

Thanks to each of you!

Recap - January 2008

January of 2008 brought me an awesome wedding in St Louis

at the Botanical Gardens.

It was great to get out of the cold and into a tropical climate!!

(except my camera gear took a little bit to adjust)

I tried to keep my gear as warm as I could, but the drastic climate change from freezing to humidity was just too much.

So, we had to wait for the lenses to defog. :)

After that, it was awesome!! It was a beautiful wedding for an amazing couple!

Hey! - Happy first anniversary, Shelly and Mike!!

Here are some pictures - I have some more of my favorites on my website.

Highlights of 2008

I think over the next few days I will post some highlights from 2008.
I am off to try to remember what happened last year.

Check back and see what I choose for each month.

The newest little Fitzsimmons - Chica

We added a new little girl to our family! Isn't she the cutest thing!! She is so itty bitty, teeny tiny. We named her Chica.

Well, actually her name is... Chica Pepper Frankie Belle Lilly

hahahaha

You see we each had a name and it was really hard to get everyone to agree on the same one. But, we finally came to the conclusion that Chica would work. For anyone that has never taken Spanish, does not have any Hispanic friends, has never been to a Mexican restaurant, or maybe just doesn't know....

Chica means little girl.

She is only 8 weeks old and of course we are working on potty training. ( ugh )

Boy, do I have a story for you!!

The first day we brought her home, I see she is getting ready to poo poo on our floor. I race over to pick her up and run her outside. I'm just a little too late, the process was already in motion. Here I am with her in one hand and IT is starting to come out of you know where.

Hmmmm.... what is the natural instinct when something is getting ready to fall and hit the floor???

Yep!!! I stuck out my other hand and caught it!! YUCK! So, now I have a puppy in one hand, poop in the other, and I'm kicking the door open with my foot to go outside. Once outside, I throw the dog and set down the poop. :) OOPS... I mean I set down the dog and throw the poop.

The joys of puppies, right?

2009 - The start of a New Year

This is the start of a New Year!!
So, I thought it would be a good time to start (again) on my blogging. :)

First, let me say Happy New Year!!
May this year bring you happiness and may the sun continue to shine on you. Even when life brings you a few days of rain, may the sun peek its way out of the clouds and pour it's rays over you.