Little Red Tricycle

From Each Day....

Ahhhh, to be three again. WooHoo!

Carter has outgrown his tricycle.  I sold it in the garage sale a while ago.  While I actually thought long and hard about keeping it in the rafters of the garage, saving it for the "grandchildren". I thought better of it.  The tires were bald.

All three of my children wore that tricycle out.

I loved being able to buy my daughter her first  shiny red tricycle and I knew my children would like to be able to do the same.

From Tricycles to Bicycles

From little baby bottles to big boy cups,
From tricycles to bicycles, I've watched you grow up.
I savored your laugh, and answered your cries,
I saw your love deep down in your eyes.

I cherished the squeals of earnest delight,
I'll never forget when you slept thru the night.
I taught you to walk then chased you around,
Picked up the pieces whenever you fell down.

I fixed up bruised knees, and kissed away tears,
Made sure you felt loved, and chased away fears.
Every day I watch you growing taller, and taller,
The time you let me hold you growing smaller, and smaller.

From baby bottles to big boy cups,
From tricycles to bicycles, I've watched you grow up.
I hope I've done you right by the things that I have done,
Because I couldn't ask God for a more wonderful son.

~ Author Unknown ~

Forever Renovations

So this is what I did this Sunday. Finally started tearing up the floor in the kitchen/sitting room.  The snow storm has put a major damper on getting things done and I am starting to worry about getting the contractor back to the house to finish. So much time has passed. The sub floor has to come up next. It will be a lot of fun to remove because it is scewed down. Do you hear the sarcasm?

From Each Day....

The boys bedrooms are completed minus the quarter rounds. Sophia's bedroom is done, her bathroom is another story. The master bedroom is done, minus our bathroom. My dining room is half done.

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There used to be a counter here with a sink. Not anymore!

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The plumbing needs to be capped and the trim and wall board replaced.

This is my living room. It now has part of my kitchen, bedrooms, dining room and bathrooms and the rest of the hardwood flooring. Carter is trying to watch t.v., notice all the dust.

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It has been like this for over a month. Driving me crazy. I am an organized person and living like this puts me in a very grumpy mood. Everything has 2 inches of dust. It is going to take forever to get it clean and back into place.

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See the pianting in the back of the Norwegian Poet. My husband hates this picture. It is kind of creepy, but it was my grandmothers so I keep it.

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My dining room. The contents of my hutch are in the  living room, where the kids insist on playing "hide and go seek".

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The new bathroom vanity. See the top drawer? We have to permanently remove the drawer so we could get it plumbed. Going to have to glue it on the front of the cabinet.

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This is the new floor. Cannot wait for it to be everywhere.

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See this hole on the outside of the french doors?

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It caused this problem inside....going to have to replace the sub-floor.

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This is Sophia....reading her book.

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This is her bathroom vanity that does not fit properly. This is how they fit the original vanity. They measured the wall space properly.

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Sophia's room, she says it is clean?

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Cannot even comment.

Oh, how I wish was there.

I really could not handle one more snow picture. I can hardly even talk about snow.  My kids are finally going back to school on Wednesday with a 2 hour delay. 

I dug through my photos and came across the trip my husband and I took 2 1/2 years ago to the British Virgin Islands. We rented a sailboat for 2 glorious weeks. No kids. No responsibilities. No plans. We would wake up in the morning and have our cup of coffee on deck, check on the direction of the wind and decide if we wanted to sail somewhere. Usually it was to the closest tiki bar and beach.

This is a picture of the Boulders. It had great snorkeling and was the home of the best Pina Colada in the islands. Mad Dog. Good place. Loved that place.  Hmmm....YUM!

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My husband puttering around in the dinghy, our little run about.

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Sweet Cheeks, our home away from home.

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This picture is of Mosquito Island. The island is owned by Richard Branson. He had just pruchased the island and was going to convert it to a Eco retreat. While we were there construction/remodeling had not started yet but is was very strange being on the island. There were buildings and furniture that was just abandoned. We spent the day on the deserted island.

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North End on Dwellable

What has been going on...

Well for starters...we've got snow. Lots of snow.

The kids have been home so long I have lost count how many days it has been. It has been something like 12 school days missed. I have lost every bit of humor about the weather. I moved south for a reason, and this is not it.

I am day dreaming about sitting out in the yard with my husband and a Corona. Commenting about just how hot it is and what a beautiful sunset we are having. Walking barefoot in the grass and playing catch with Martha....

Suprising Interruptions

Interruptions come when we least expect them. Some can start out as completely frustrating.....

Bobby and I had been dating for about a year and a half and I was starting to get a little twitchy.  He had returned to school for a second round of college and graduation was just around the corner. We had been doing the same thing for a while, which was completely understandable. He was in school and working. I was working a job that I HATED. And did I say I was getting a little twitchy.

The weekend of December 13th was a busy weekend. Bobby was graduating from college, his birthday was that weekend and as a congratulatory gift we were going to a B&B for a night.

Being the twitchy girlfirend at the time I picked a fight, nagged or did somthing I don't remember.  What I did do though on that SAT. morning that we were going to the B&B was storm out of the house, get in my car and leave.  I was not going to the B&B. OK, so I drove around the block mad and parked just a few houses away. I did not have anywhere to "storm off" to. Storming off and then sitting in your car sobbing loses its impact after you have been there a while.

After staring at the house for a while I notice that Bob is loading the car with his things, he is going to the B&B  anyway. EXCUSE ME?  Not without me you are not! I'll teach him, I am not going to give him his graduation present, I am too mad, Humph! So we ride up to the B&B. Me, with red swollen eyes and stuffed up head from crying. Him acting kind of smug. M, feeling like a buttinskee for ruining our day. Him, kind of quiet. Me, staring out the window. Him, level headed and calm. Me, exhausted from crying. We check into the B&B, go out for dinner and then head back to the Inn.

When we got back he was quiet, things were not back to normal and I felt terrible for over reacting. So what does he do? He give me a gift. Now I really feel like a schmuck 'cause I left his birthday/graduation gift at home. And what does he ask me when I open the gift?  Would I marry him?

He had a plan. He knew what was at the other end of all the frustration. He had a plan that was going to change my life for the better.

Hmmmm. Just like God has a plan. God knows something we don't know.

I was impatient. I was frustrated. But Bob had a plan.

Interruptions can be good. They can be suprises. They can be intense. They can bring laughter during a stressful day.

Carter will come up to me while I am doing something "important". Interrupting me to give me a hug and to say he loves me. This allows me to experience God in a new way.


When feeling over whelmed God will suprise us with joy. Little reminders occur and when we hang onto God he will bring us to something amazing right around the corner.

This utube video is a great interruption. Take time to watch it. It is worth it.Dancing in the train station.

Life Interrupted

From Each Day....

How do you deal with interruptions? Do you get mad? Do you yell and scream in anger? Interruptions are a part of life. When the snow falls and school is delayed making you late for work, how do your respond? Your in a car accident, hitting a deer do you get mad at God because he is ultimately responsible? Interruptions come into our live, deal with it.  It is what it is.

Some interruptions are much bigger.. A death of a family member, a sick child, divorce. Responding correctly can be hard. You can blame GOD because he is the fault or cause but those interruptions can be an invitation from GOD to trust him. You can ask him why, but you may never get an answer. What you can do is lean in closer and embrace him or let him embrace you.
I have a very dear friend who is dealing with a very big interruption. It seams trivial to refer to it as an interruption because it is anything but trivial.  She is responding with grace. Embracing the interruption.

Our God can be trusted and he is bigger than any interruption. GOD has a plan and a purpose in all of our lives and if we respond we get to see that unveil. I think often about what Gods plan is for her and her family. She is touching people daily with dignity  and grace. Maybe his plan is to get her through this interruption whole glorifying GOD.

If we live in anger we will never see that invitation to trust. I am sure there is anger and frustration but he will get her through this with peace in her heart.

A myth is that if I choose to follow CHRIST he will bless me, nothing bad will happen in my life. Or if I follow CHRIST the devil will work his ways and terrible things will happen. What does happen is God invites us into HIS life, to be a part of HIS story and it will not go the way you think.


Exodus 3
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn."So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

God brings burning bushes to our life.

Expect Interruptions.
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  
Interruptions will happen , not if they will happen. Some are life altering, some are not and it is not likely that you and I will be asked to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.

Embrace the Interruption
James 1:3-4 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything
The interruptions will let you know what you are  made of and the way to get to maturity is through hard times. If it always comes easy you will never grow. That is what we do in the interruption and you know GOD is going to get you through it. Lean into GOD and trust him and he will carry you through the interruption and he will never forsake you.


What is the major interruption that GOD carried you through?
Will you do it differently next time?
How do you embrace those interruptions?

Interruptions can make you better or bitter. No one wants to be around a bitter person.

When the next interruption happens ask 5 questions.
1. What am I  doing? Are you standing on Holy ground like Moses?
2.What do you want me to do? Be an encourager...look around.
3. What do you want to do in me?  God controls your life. He is the Pilot. NOT the co-pilot.
4. God, who do you want me to meet?
5. How can God be glorified in this?

Sometimes GOD will wreak havoc with your plan because he has a better plan.

Mega Millions....WOOHOO!

From Each Day....

I have decided that I am going to win the lottery. It did not take me long to come to this decision but it did take me a while to decide which one I am going to win.

If I chose to win the $1000.00 a week for life my husband and I would keep working, things would pretty much stay the same. What would become easier is putting money away for our kids'college and for our retirement. Right now we are banking on scholarships and working until we are 90 years old.

The "smaller" lottery winnings would fall into pretty much the same category. Financial stress would be alleviated and that would be nice.

So, with much deliberation I have elected to win the Mega Millions Lottery in the 100 plus million dollar category. Hey, let’s go for broke right. I mean how many times do you really get the opportunity to win, right? I don't want to waste it on a scratch ticket.

Procrastination of my Resolutions

     I have been trying to formulate in my mind what I want to do this year. What do I want to accomplish? What can I accomplish this year? I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to have a New Years List of Resolutions.  

Here are some things I know I will accomplish.

     1. Get up every morning. I need that positive feedback knowing I have succeeded in something.  If I don't accomplish this one item the rest of the list is irrelevant and I have bigger problems to be concerned about.
     2. Have my morning coffee. Enjoy it in a wonderful mug that feels great in my hands and allows me to ease into the day. I love my coffee and always remember the coffee beans.
     
A few resolutions to be socially more responsible. 

     3. Bring my own bags to the grocery store. I dislike plastic bags immensely. I am not sure if I despise them more on sheer fact that the bag boys at the grocery store don't know how to pack a bag. Explain to me why you need to put a gallon of milk in a grocery bag. I love it when they say "I have to put it in a bag" and I say "no, you don't." They never know quite how to respond. Ikea has awesome bags that are made from blue tarps and are great for boxes like cereal. Also if I am only using reusable bags I want them to look good and that gives me the excuse to go to Crazy as a Loom and buy a bag from her store and buy one of her Rag Bags!

     4. I will not shop at Wal-Mart ever again.  That one should be pretty easy. I hate even pulling into the parking lot. For the longest time it was the only place to grocery shop.  Thankfully we have gotten a new Martins and it is SOOOO nice. I just read this article and it reinforces my decision. Although they have these frozen pancakes my kids love. Does it still count if  send my husband to the store to buy them? Hate Wal-Mart.

 The business side and everything else.

     5. I will work at growing my business http://www.kristamosbyphotography.com/ by being more aggressive with my marketing strategies and stop giving my services away.
     6. I will go to the gym. I have the membership and I will use it. I finally understand the having a membership does not actually mean you go to the gym.
     7. I WILL finish the 50 boxes of slides that I need to convert to digital for my in-laws.
     8. I will make rugs with the 8 large bins of sock loopers I have in my garage. I need the space for other things.

These may not seem like much but if I can do these 8 things it will be a stellar year!

Baby it's COLD outside

A rare shot of my middle child.

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Just a picture... kind of liked it.

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We all remember the scene ... Scarlett O'Hara, impoverished from siege of the Northern army during the Civil War needs to impress Rhett Butler so she makes a dress out the green velvet curtains from her beloved Tara. Carol Burnett's  portrayal of Scarlett  is still a classic.

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How many people can go to a Smithsonian museum in Washington DC and see items that were actually worn by your ancestors? It was exciting to me so be able to say to our children "Your great, great, great uncle John Singleton Mosby, AKA Grey Ghost, wore these items during the Civil War. I am simplifying this immensely but you get the idea.  Our last son is also named after him. Kind of cool!  My husband being the Mosby can spew all kinds of history regarding  the Colonel, I am just starting to recognize him by face.

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The portrait chair. My daughter commented that they always look so grumpy. If you had to sit completely still for 15 minutes to have your picture taken you'd be pretty grumpy too. If we still had to do that I would have no pictures of my kids, just big blurs.

From Each Day....

The Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of Oz.

     Dorothy wore the red slippers to protect her form the Wicked Witch of the West

     In L. Frank Baum's original novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy wore silver shoes.  The movie's creators changed them from silver to ruby to take advantage of the chromatic possibilities of the new Technicolor film process.

     It is speculated that there were seven pair of shoes made for the production, four can be accounted for. Thes shoes were sold at auction  sold for $15,000 (the pair now on permanent exhibition in the Popular Culture wing; The American History Museum; The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C..).

     In May 24, 2000 another pair sold at auction for $666,000!

From Each Day....

Kermit the Frog factoids:

     Kermit was born in 1955

     First appeared on Sesame Street on November 10, 1969

     Kermit's best friend is Fozzy Bear

     Kermit is the author of   Before You Leap: a frog's eye view of life's greatest lessons

     If Kermit had been walking around DC with us on sunday he would have needed one of these!

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After leaving the museum to go out into the freezing tundra, and let me tell you it was COLD. The wind was blowing like stink and this guy is out playing the "drums" like it was no big deal. People were dancing and my youngest was very intrigued.

Finally got her to wear a hat.

From Each Day.... This is a picture of Carter on the train, he thought he was big stuff because he could stand up by himself,  pretending that he was "commuting" on his own.

The Road of Life

From Each Day....

At first, I saw God as my observer,
my judge,
keeping track of the things I did wrong,
so as to know whether I merited heaven
or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized His picture when I saw it,
but I really didn't know Him.

But later on
When I met Christ,
it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
but it was a tandem bike,
and I noticed that Christ
was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was
that He suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since.

When I had control,
I knew the way.
It was rather boring,
but predictable...
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
up mountains,
and through rocky places
at breakneck speeds,
it was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, "PEDAL!"

I worried and was anxious
and asked,
"Where are you taking me?"
He laughed and didn't answer,
and I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life
and entered into the adventure.
And when I'd say"I'm scared,"
He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
gifts of healing,
acceptance
and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
my Lord's and mine.

And we were off again.
He said, "Give the gifts away;
they're extra baggage, too much weight."
So I did,
to the people we met,
and  I found that in giving I received,
and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him,
at first,
in control of my life.
I thought He'd wreck it;
but He knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up
and pedal
in the strangest places,
and I'm beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore,
He just smiles and says..."Pedal."
-author unknown

I have been cleaning house like a mad woman.
I have also been trying to figure out all the New Years Resolutions that I would like to do.
So between the cleaning and thinking I stumbled across this poiem (ok, poem. It drives my daughter crazy when people say poiem so I am doing it to poke the bear) in my Bible study stuff. It seemed like a good place to start, to help me put some things in perspective.

I have also cleaned up my hard drive on my computer and transferred over 5000 photos to my external hard drive which translates into have no pictures available to me quickly. This photo is of a girlfriend  that I went to middle school with in Minnesota. She is running away and her brother is "helping" her. Her father is Jim Brandenburg , he took the photo while hiding in the woods.. Jim is a photographer for National Geographic and now has a gallery in Ely, Minnesota. You really need to check it out, he does beautiful work.

Sunday Ride

The scenario: The temperature was almost 50 degrees and the snow is slowly melting. The kids have been home for nine days and I was starting to go a little bonkers. My husband was out in the garage putting together the basketball hoop that we Santa brought my daughter for Christmas. He was in the Left Brain mode. Focused. Methodical. Get 'er done mode. He gets like that, he is an engineer, he is Left Brain. So when I went out in the garage hopping from foot to foot saying lets go for a ride, huh, huh, wanna go for a ride. Let's go right now. Can we? Can we? And his response was "give me a half hour".  I felt like the kid who just lost his kite in the tree. Boy he must be focused because when it comes to riding he is like an addict, he will look for any excuse to ride any time of the year. Well two minutes later he came in wanting to go for a ride...hehehe, he is sooo easy! The planning: There always has to be a plan. I am always surprised that my DH does not pull out an actual written check list but then he may just have it memorized. Focused. Methodical. When I ride I like to know that there is a destination in mind whether it be a landmark, park or preferably a Starbucks thats all. I am happy with that. We picked our destination, somewhere close because we I knew it was going to get cold fast. My husband has the heated gear. Electric heated jacket, gloves and heated grips. Along with the pants, full face helmet...yada, yada, yada.  I have, hold on to your shorts, the long underwear I used to wear in middle school when I went skiing.  My daughter is actually wearing them now and I had to dig them out from under her bed.   The ride: It was clear, bright and actually pretty warm for December 27th, almost 50 degrees. Let me tell you though, that sun goes behind the trees and it is COLD! Even after dodging the occasional chunks of ice, the large broken jar, sand and gravel from the salt truck it was a nice ride. What we did see though was a HUGE BALD EAGLE. He had just swooped down in front of us grabbing something in his talons and then flew along side of us. How cool it that! We were gone for about an hour and a half.  A nice little break. We got home and the kids had not killed each other so that was a bonus.   And I turned 1000 miles on my bike. Yippee. Go me!

Half Broke Horses

Jeannette Walls lives somewhere close to me. Within a mile on one of the secluded farms with her mother and husband. When I am driving somewhere I will look at one of the horse farms and think, maybe it is this one.

The Glass Castle in probably one of the best books I have ever read. I ran the gamut of emotions from excitement to being completely depressed by the life that Jeannette lived. I was amazed that she has been able to write a book of her life and not come across as bitter or angry.

From Each Day....

Jeanette has come out with a second book that I am very anxious to read.
Half Broke Horses is about the life of her grandmother.
I received it as a Christmas gift and when my husband and kids head to
the beach tomorrow I am going to hunker down and wallow in it.

Christmas Day Dinner...

I am always impressed with the food postings I see on my fellow bloggers sites. Their photos that go with their blogs are always great. I have attempted food photos several times but have never hit the POST button. They were never worth looking at. I really think it has something to do with the round plates and square cropping of the photo. It always felt out of porportion and off kilter. So I thought hmmmm, get rid of the round plates. You have this awesome camera that will allow you to do some heavy cropping, do it. I was at the grocery store trying to figure out what to serve for Christmas dinner. Quite honestly I could not stomach the idea of eating any more turkey. Cornish hens are too close to turkey. The seafood department gave me the idea of King Crab legs. It was only going to be my husband, me and the 3 kids. How expensive could it be. Good Luck!  I chose to do it any way. One big 'ol bag a crab legs, 1 1/2 inch sirloins, baked potatoes, salad and mushrooms sauteed in butter and brown sugar. Yum. Oh, and red wine becuase it is good for your heart. From Each Day....

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Needless to say it was really good. The kids loved them and I ate way too much!

A letter from Santa Claus

From Each Day....

Hello boys and girls, Santa Claus here,

Writing a letter to you on the best time of year.

My elves are real busy making lots of cool toys,

which I will only deliver to good girls and boys.

If you want me to bring these great gifts to you,

there are a few simple things I need you to do.

Mind your parents and do what they tell you to do.

Be sweet to your friends; share your toys with them too.

 

Clean up your toys, put them all away,

to make room for new ones you'll receive Christmas day.

I'll be watching till the night I come to your house.

You will not hear me for I am quiet as a mouse.

 

Try to sleep through the night until Christmas day.

Then you can see what I brought in my sleigh.

I hope you'll be good, I hope that you'll try,

so until Christmas Eve, I must say good-bye.

Sincerely,

Santa Claus

P.S. Please leave my reindeer some carrots, milk and cookies for me

And I will place lots of goodies under you tree.

How I did the BIG pictures.

Ok....for starters I get confused if there is too much writing in directions so I will try and make it as clear as possible.


1. You need to change your blog template.
    a. go to Dashboard
    b.click on Layouts

    c. click on Pick new template
    d. choose Minima Stretch
    e. click Save

Sidebar note:
 Every picture you post to Blogger is stored in Picassa web album. When you upload a photo for a post it is automatically stored in Picassa.


In a separate window open up the Picassa link. This should show all your photos that you have uploaded to blogger.


2. Select New Post
   a. up load a photo like you normally would, but do not add it to the new post. You know how they            upload to the little window and then you highlight it in yellow to add it to the post. Well don't add it to the post.
   b. switch screens to picassa.
   c. the photos you just uploaded will be there.
   d. click on the photo you want to add to the blog.  It will open up real big. On the right hand side you will see a menu of items.
    e.  Click on Links to this photo
    f.   select size of photo.  This will change the embedded image information.
    g.  click on embedded image. the information will then be highlighted. Right click to copy the information.

Now switch screens back to blogger where you are typing you new post.
     a.select  Edit HTML
     b. right click on the screen and click Paste
     c. Your enlarged photo information is now in the post .  If you select preview you can see the enlarged photo. Close the preview window. Select compose and start typing you blog.

What is REALLY nice about doing it this way is when you add your photos it places them one after another, in order.

Simply Joyful Photos has taken screen snapshots if you need some visual help.

Hope this helps. I am so excited that I finally figured it out. Good Luck!