Tim’s Family Blog

Posted By Tim on December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope that your day was filled with the magic and love that Christmas brings each year. We had a great time starting with tracking Santa on Christmas Eve. We went to the 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve servie and then we came back to the house to put the cookies, milk, and carrots for Santa’s visit. We woke up bright and early to see that Santa did stop in for a visit and left us all kinds of presents under the tree. Here are some pictures from the last few days.

Christmas Eve - Ready for Church

Goodies for Santa and the Reindeer

Christmas Day!

The adults even got some gifts this year!!

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Posted By Tim on December 20, 2008

We celebrated Christmas a little early with the Mitzel family since they will be heading to Florida for their Christmas vacation. Here are a few pictures from having them over.

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Posted By Tim on December 14, 2008

We made a Gingerbread house today and it appeared that more candy was eaten than put on the house. Oh well…it’s all part of the fun! Here are some pictures from the well-constructed house.

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Posted By Tim on December 6, 2008

We were able to get out and get out tree this weekend and luckily for us, we also got to run into Santa!! It was a cold day but we braved the weather and had some fun. Here are some pictures from being out at Shower’s Farms and seeing Santa out in Gettysburg.  We got home and had some warm cups of hot chocolate and put up the tree, strung the lights, and put the ornaments on.

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Posted By Tim on December 4, 2008

Here are some picture letters, but I am not so happy with them. I will have to take some more for the official K-R-A-M-E-R frame!

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Posted By Tim on November 29, 2008

I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog but figured I would at least post some pictures from our Kramer Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration. 9 adults + 6 kids = Chaotic Fun!! It’s fun to see the little ones running around with all of their cousins and wish we had more times like this. Scott and Lyssette hosted this year serving up grilled Turkey and a spread of gourmet sides and desserts. Eveyone asked for the Pumpkin Tirimisu recipe, which was a new dessert we were introduced to this year. Looking forward to Thanks-Mas 2009!

Here are some pictures from the celebration:

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Posted By Tim on June 27, 2008

Fenwick Island

The Kramer family headed back down to Fenwick Island this year and we had 8 adults with 6 kids under the same roof. We all survived and we are looking forward to the next trip down there. Julee, the girls, and I stayed for about 4 days during the week. We went to the beach, went to the pool, played mini golf, rode a merry-go-round and had a great time! Here are some photos of everyone down at the beach.

Beach Pictures

At the Pool

On the Playground

On the Merry-Go-Round

On the Putting Greens

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Posted By Tim on June 14, 2008

We took the girls down to Cunningham Falls State Park in Thurmont, MD today to hang out at the lake and get them ready for their big trip to the beach. Not many pictures of them…I just wanted to hang out with them and get them to swim around a little bit.

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Posted By Tim on June 8, 2008

We were getting ready for church and the girls decided that they wanted to do some dancing and twirling around before we left. So here they are with their ballet style moves!

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Posted By Tim on May 22, 2008

So it is finally here…Sydney graduates from Kindergarten! I can’t believe how time flies and how I have to accept the fact that she will be going to 1st grade next year. I am sure reality will hit once she gets on the bus for the first time an off to elementary school. Her graduation had a “band” theme and her teacher made their shirts and hats for them. The lighting was pretty bad in the sanctuary at her school and my flash was just not cooperating with me so some of these shots are a little dim. We had Mimi and Papa down for the big day and Sydney wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse afterwards for her graduation dinner.

The graduation ceremony

Getting Gifts

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Posted By Tim on May 11, 2008

A lot has been going on lately…Avery is in her big girl bed, Sydney is getting ready to graduate from Kindergarten, summer is coming, and so much more! Well, certainly a fun-filled weekend for us this weekend. We had Caden’s 3rd birthday party on Saturday and then of course, Mother’s Day today. To celebrate even more, Robin gave birth to Brooke Elizabeth this morning around 4:26 a.m. Joel called me to tell me the wonderful news and he sounded pretty tired…although I think Robin did most of the work! We are very happy for them and can’t wait to meet the newest Kramer! Congratulations Joel, Robin and Reese…can’t wait to see Brooke!!

So that makes May a very busy month for us:

Birthday’s: Joel, Luke, Caden, Tim, Brooke
Anniversary: Scott and Lyssette
Holiday’s:  Mother’s Day, Memorial Day

I’ll post some pictures of everything that has been going on later. I am worn out…I guess that’s what happens when you get old!!

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Posted By Tim on May 4, 2008

Grandma Kramer passed away and went to Heaven on April 28th, 2008. Her funeral service was on May 2nd where friends and family came to pay their last respects. We had the opportunity to say a few words at the service and I had to break the news to all of the grandkids that I was the favorite! Her service was held at the same place as Grandpa’s and Pastor Dick conducted the service. It was hard to say goodbye to here but we can be comforted in knowing that she is now in Heaven with Grandpa.

Julee and I went to the cemetery after the service was over to visit Grandpa’s grave. I know that the two of them are at peace and are rejoicing together in Heaven. Grandma Kramer was the last of my grandparents and I remembered all of the good times that we had together and the times that we got to spend afternoons walking, going to lunch, or just sitting on the front porch and talking. I remember the time that we went to see her in the nursing home where she sat there and smiled at me. It’s nice to have that as a memory of her. We will certainly miss her!

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Posted By Tim on April 15, 2008

Sydney, Madelyn and I headed out to Codorus State Park with Chris and Bray for the Spring Into Action Day on Saturday 4/12/2008. There were all kinds of stuff there like a rock climbing wall, nature hikes, face painting, and so on. The weather turned out to be sunny and warm and it was a perfect day to be outside. We hung out by the lake where the kids were mainly just throwing rocks in, but they seemed to have some fun. Sydney and Madelyn did some face/arm painting as well as make pine cone bird feeders. Here are some pictures from our day out.

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Posted By Tim on March 30, 2008

We headed down to MD to visit with Uncle Scott, Luke, Jake, Goma and Pop. Aunt Lyssette was gone but we’ll see her another time. Oh and we can’t forget about Cielo and Lady. We met for lunch at Uno’s and had plenty to eat there and then headed back to the house. Little did I know on this trip I was going to be put to work! Scott had a new playset for Luke and Jake waiting in the back of his truck for us to unload and start putting together. Dad was the supervisor and read through the directions for us. We got the base of the one side completed and it will be another day for the rest of the playground to be assembled. It was a nice day and we had a nice visit. Here are some pictures from the house.

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Posted By Tim on March 24, 2008

Sometimes it’s just nice to have a night to hang out in the basement and run around. Sydney, Avery, and Julee had off today so we went downstairs to run around and burn some energy. And as you can see, Sydney and Avery are singin’ and dancin’!!

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Posted By Tim on March 23, 2008

Happy Easter everyone! Here are some pictures from today. We woke up and found that the Easter Bunny left some baskets filled with small gifts for Sydney and Avery. He also hid a bunch of eggs around the house that were filled with jelly beans and money!

After having peeps and chocolate for breakfast we headed to church. Then we came home for our Easter meal of ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and a special angel food cake dessert. It was a nice surprise to have Goma stop in for a visit before she heads down to MD to visit with Scott and Lyssette.  Sydney and Avery even helped me vacuum this afternoon - gotta get them started young!!

All in all, a very Happy Easter for us here! Here are some pictures from our day.

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Posted By Tim on March 22, 2008

It’s hard to believe that we are coloring Easter Eggs again…how time flies! We lost a few good eggs in the process, but they sure were tasty! Sydney and Avery seem to love hard boiled eggs, so these will make for the perfect snack. Here are a few pictures from getting the eggs ready.

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Posted By Tim on March 21, 2008

We were just discussing why it is called “Good Friday” rather than “Bad Friday” or something along those lines. Here is a nice explanation from from Rev. Ken Collins:

Calling the day of the Crucifixion ‘Good’ Friday is a designation that is peculiar to the English language. In German, for example, it is called Karfreitag. The Kar part is an obsolete word, the ancestor of the English word care in the sense of cares and woes, and it meant mourning. So in German, it is Mourning Friday. And that is what the disciples did on that day—they mourned. They thought all was lost.

I’ve read that the word good used to have a secondary meaning of holy, but I can’t trace that back in my etymological dictionary. There are a number of cases in set phrases where the words God and good got switched around because of their similarity. One case was the phrase God be with you, which today is just good-bye. So perhaps Good Friday was originally God’s Friday. But I think we call it Good Friday because, in pious retrospect, all that tragedy brought about the greatest good there could be.

I can see virtue in either terminology. If we call it Mourning Friday, as in German, we are facing reality head on, taking up the cross if you will, fully conscious that the Christian walk is seldom a walk in the park. But if we call it Good Friday, as in English, we are confessing the Christian hope that no tragedy—not even death—can overwhelm God’s providence, love, and grace. Either way seems fine to me!

So there you go! This is the day that we commemorate the crucifixion and death of Christ, knowing that in 3 days He will raise from the dead.

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Posted By Tim on March 20, 2008

I think that it is important to remember that today is Maunday Thursday and we remember this as the day of the Last Supper.  It is the night that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and established the ceremony  known as The Eucharist.  It is also the night that He was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.

There has always been the debate on whether or not the musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar” is an appropriate musical for Christians to enjoy.  Mainly because the original version did not have Jesus raising from the dead on the third day.  Well, I have seen adaptations where they take the song, “Could We Start Again, Please” as the finale and they have Jesus walking with Mary and the disciples.   Either way, the music is really powerful and I always find myself listening to it around Holy Week.  I like the Andrew Lloyd Weber version but I have really grown to love the version by Etablissement Ronacher & Orchester Der Vereinigten Bühnen Wien.  The song, “I Only Want to Say/Gethsemane” is phenomenal.  So if you can access an online music store, you can’t go wrong with this one!   I have heard many different singers do this song and I would have to say this is hands down the BEST version of this song.

So, remember why we are here and remember that tomorrow is not just another ordinary Friday.

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Posted By Tim on March 20, 2008

What a pain!  Each year I say I am going to get taxes done way before the deadline and each year I put it off.  Having to do the whole Federal, State AND County taxes really bothers me.  I mean really…don’t we pay enough taxes through the year?  Why can’t someone figure out for me how much I should be taking out of my paycheck rather than worrying about getting a refund or owing more at the end of the year.   Quite the scam in my mind!!

At least I have the Fed and State done for this year.  I still have to do the County stuff and that is really just a small form to fill out.  Maybe this weekend I will finish them, but since it is Easter I would just feel like doing taxes is somehow sac religious!  I have been feeling lazy and unmotivated to work with the lenses on the camera but hopefully this weekend I will be snapping away.   OK, time for bed!  Yes, it’s only 9:40 p.m. but I’m old and get tired easily!

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Posted By Tim on March 19, 2008

Well, this is going to be a lame post!  I really don’t have anything to say and no pictures to share.   Easter is coming up soon so I am sure I will have plenty to say and lots of pics to share this weekend!!

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Posted By Tim on March 18, 2008

I was fortunate enough to receive an old Olympus 50mm lens with the original OM mount with an OM to 4/3 adapter from an online forum that I belong to and have been playing around with it trying to get the focusing and settings correct. I have relied to heavily on DSLR technology and the camera basically doing all the work for you. With this lens, I have to make sure that the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings are correct as well as rely on 100% manual focusing. To some, this may come as second nature, but to me it has been a challenge. The nice thing about digital photography is that you can snap away and take a bunch of bad shots before making sure all the settings are correct.

Here are a few shots of the actual lens

So, once I had this thing mounted, I needed to take a few pictures. What better still life than Optimus Prime? He’s a good, colorful subject that will pretty much just stand there and get his picture taken over and over again without moving!! You can see in this first shot that the middle part is completely focussed, while his hands and head are slightly out of focus.

In this second shot, I opened it up a little more to get more of the entire body. It’s much more crisp but there are still a few soft spots that I notice. It’s probably due to the lens and not to me!!

In this third shot, I was trying to get really close and focus in on just his top portion but you can see that I did not achieve the goal I was going for. The camera is focusing to the rear and the edges are really soft. I had my shutter speed set to 1/100s with an ISO of 400. I think the aperture was set to 2.8, but I am not sure. Anyway, the point is, it came out wrong!! I need more practice.

These final three shots are me playing with the lighting and shutter speed. The first is set to 1/60, second is 1/250, and the third is 1/800. All use an ISO of 400 but the results are different. Again, it’s understanding the shutter speed, available lighting, aperture, ISO settings, manual focus and a whole bunch of other stuff! It’s fun to experiment and learn and hopefully over time I will continue getting better with this old OM lens.

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Posted By Tim on March 17, 2008

Tonight was my soccer team’s play offs and it was single elimination.  The winners keep going until the Final and we were eliminated 5-1 tonight.  So frustrating to go out like that, but it happens.  What really surprised me is the team we played tonight was the same team we beat last week.   What happened?  I think that they brought their ‘A’ game and we settled for playing with our ‘C’ game.  There were times where I was faced with a 3-on-1 or 2-on1 situation.   When faced with those odds, it’s not good!  Oh well, it’s just a men’s over 30 league.   When we come back in the Fall, we will be better and faster…at least I like to think we will be!!

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Posted By Tim on March 16, 2008

Today we went to see the movie, ‘Horton Hears a Who’ with Aunt Lynette, Madelyn and Caden.  The movie was really good and I think everyone had a good time.  The adaptation of the story was good, computer animation was excellent, and Jim Carrey and Steve Carell were both good choices for the voices of Horton and the Mayor.  Good movie, good company, and where else can you spend 40 bucks to watch an animated movie?

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Posted By Tim on March 15, 2008

Well, today was busy, busy, busy! We had another really nice day and wanted to take advantage of being outside rather than staying in. The girls got to do a lot of activities today and it all started with hanging out on the deck and blowing off some steam. Sydney needed to get a kite to take into school so she picked out a Hello Kitty one and Avery picked Winnie Pooh (well Sydney picked Pooh for her). After we got home we went outside on the deck and enjoyed some sun.

Once we ran around for a while we headed out to lunch to Hoss’s. Sydney ALWAYS wants to go to Hoss’s, which is fine because she usually eats lots of salad while we are there. We headed home after lunch and Avery headed up for a nap and Sydney and I went up to the high school to do some hard core bike riding. She wasn’t really in to the riding today but she was up there long enough to make a few loops around the parking lot.

After riding bikes we headed down to the playground so she could get some more outdoor time. It was nice because when we got there the park was completely empty so Sydney had all the slides and everything to herself!

One would think that she would want to go home and rest after a day filled with being outdoors, but she wanted to play with Moon Sand before dinner. We got home and Avery was waking up from her nap so we headed back out to the deck to play with their Moon Sand. Of course, she had to log in to her WebKinz first! This Moon Sand stuff is kind of like Playdough, but it’s sand. No need to add water or anything to it, but you put it in molds and it holds its shape. At least until one of them smashes it! It’s not assolid as playdough, but what do you expect with working with sand? Fun stuff and the girls seemed to really enjoy it.

So, a long day indeed for us today! And I can’t forget to mention that we ended on a high note with Avery pooping on the potty!! Go Avery!!

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Posted By Tim on March 14, 2008

Remember those days when you were a kid and you went outside to just run around? It was the perfect day t