Now that My Phone Is Smart...

...I can take pictures whenever I have it!  :)

But let me back up...

When we lived in California and then in Israel, I had a cell phone; but when we moved here to Virginia, I decided to not have one for a few reasons. First, I spent most of my time at home, and our home phone worked just fine, whereas coverage for a cell phone was spotty here at home, so what was the use of having one?  Second, I didn't think we needed to pay the extra expense of a cell phone for me; Jeff needed it for work, but I didn't need it, and a penny saved is a penny earned.  Third, I was tired of being tethered by a cell phone and was glad for a chance to unplug and not be reachable all the time (and yes, I am an introvert).  :)

Well, about ten and a half years went by, and I finally got to the point of realizing that life would actually be much simpler in some ways if I had a cell phone.  But I didn't want a fancy one, and I didn't want us to have to pay a lot per month for it, and I certainly didn't care about all the bells and whistles.  When the screen of Jeff's phone cracked and he needed to get a new one, it was the perfect opportunity for me to use his old one--cracked screen and all.

It was then that I discovered one of the nicest advantages of having a modern cell phone: the camera!  :)

There are many times when I don't have my good camera along, but I spot something I'd like to have a picture of.  What fun to whip out my phone and take a quick pic!  :)  I also discovered, especially during the weeks we were raising puppies, that it is as easy as pie to take a cell phone pic and upload it immediately to Facebook, and so I did that--a lot!--with the puppies.

The pictures I take on my phone are definitely not as high in quality as pictures with my good camera, but I'm grateful for them anyway.  And so, because I've been taking so many pictures with my phone, I have officially run out of storage space on the phone.  Time to delete some!

But before I do, let me capture them here.  These random moments I've photographed during the past weeks and months may be the little stuff of life, but there sure is a bunch of sweetness included in the little stuff.  ;-)

Like the dear lady, Miss Janie, who cared for Benjamin in the church nursery yesterday...

And my friend Judy, who I very unexpectedly ran into in our local library on the day before Easter (she lives in North Carolina, so it's not a common occurrence to see her around town!).  When she came out to our house later that afternoon, I caught this moment between her and Benjamin; they share the same birthday, so this picture is extra special.  :)

That same day, I took some pictures during the visit of Jeff's brother Mike and his wife Karen who were here from California.  As we drove around town, we were noticing all the crosses which had black cloths on them (which would be changed to white cloths on Easter), and Mike wanted to stop for a picture.

He wanted a couple people in it, so David and Tobin got to hop out of the van and stand by the cross.

Later on our drive, Mike wanted to photograph some cows.  :)

The day after my birthday, our piano got tuned, a process that David and some of my other kids found very interesting.  It was easier to snap a discreet picture with my phone than it would have been with my big camera.  :)

And of course, lots and lots of puppy pictures are on my phone.  :)

Puppies and kids.  That's what most of my phone pics are of.  But who can resist the cuteness of moments like a big sister entertaining a baby brother in the nursery?  :)

 I resisted having a cell phone for a very long time, but I'm glad I finally gave in.  Pictures like these go a long way towards convincing me that it was worth it.  :-)