"A Beautiful Life"

2011-06-16T22:22:00.005-05:00

This is my story of my journey through infertility and the amazing things I learned about my faith and God through it.

I have been married for 11 years and struggled with infertility for 10 of those years. 3 years into our marriage my husband and I decided to visit an infertility clinic and see what our options were. After a few rounds of Clomid and some other drugs I had had enough and really felt like I needed to take a break from it all. Shortly into the beginning of that break I became pregnant. So 5 years into our marriage I delivered our first child. We tried from then on to conceive again but it did not happen. Another 3 to 4 years went by and I began to seriously seek God about how He wanted me to fight this infertility. I felt strongly that God was saying the answer was in Him, not in the medical profession. As I began to dig into His word about healing I came across several verses that caused me to question why the body of Christ doesn't see more healings like those recorded in the New Testament. So I began digging further and as I did the Lord opened up the Scriptures to me like never before. I began to get revelation of His Word and began to put into practice many of the things He was showing and teaching me.

As I studied His Word I kept being drawn back to Mark 16:17-20..."And these signs will follow those that believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen."

I wrestled with those scriptures because I do not see these things happening today amongst the majority of those in the body of Christ. As I wrestled with those scriptures He led me to other scriptures such as 1 Peter 2:24, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed." And Mark 11:23 & 24, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

According to 1 Peter 2:24, Christ healed us, of every sickness or disease we would ever have, when He died upon the cross. So just as I accepted His gift of salvation through that very same death on the cross, I can accept His gift of healing too.

And as Mark 11:23-24 says I need to speak to my mountain. And my mountain was infertility.

These revelations were all new to me. I had never before seen so clearly what these scriptures were saying to all believers. And I certainly had not seen miracles and healings on a consistent basis. So why was I not seeing miracles and healings within the body of Christ and more importantly within my own life? God's Word is full of promises concerning healing and abundant life. So what was blocking the manifestation of healing that had already been provided for me at Christ's death? As I searched my heart I knew that I believed and accepted His gift of healing, so belief was not hindering the manifestation of healing. But I began to see that I had doubt that I would see the manifestation in my own life. And according to Mark 11:23 if you have doubt in your heart you will not see that mountain removed.

So I began to apply Romans 12:2, "....do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." I began transforming my mind by immersing myself in God's Word and applying what it says. This is how I began rooting out that doubt. James 1:6-8 says, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

According to God's Word, if we doubt it cancels out what we are asking for. When we doubt we are not exercising our faith. When we ask in faith we are believing that what God says in His Word is true and are asking knowing that we will have what we ask as long as what we are asking for is His will for us (1 John 5:14). And His Word is clear that it is His will for me to have children (Psalm 113:9; Psalm 127:3-5; Psalm 128:3; Deuteronomy 7:13,14; Exodus 23:26).

I began using the Word to strengthen my faith. As my faith was strengthened my doubt was pushed out. And I became victorious through the Holy Spirit working through me.

One day after, uuuhhmmm, my husband and I had been intimate I was talking with God about my desire to have more children and He spoke to me, in that still small voice, and said apply Mark 11:23 & 24. Speak to your mountain and command it to move! So with boldness of faith I spoke to my body, to my reproductive system and commanded the ovaries and fallopian tubes and uterus and hormones to operate in full health and to create life, in the name of Jesus!

And the most AMAZING thing happened immediately after I spoke that! I literally felt a warmth, a heat, in that area of my body, as if a hand was placed upon there. And I felt a very slight movement deep within that region of my body and I knew that life had just been created within me! At that moment God's Word became more real to me than it ever had been. Not because I felt God working but because I took a HUGE step of faith and put into practice what He had been teaching me.

And God, in His tender loving mercy, chose to allow me to see Him, or rather, feel Him work from the beginning of this child's life. It is still hard for me to put into words what I felt in my heart at that moment.

But what I know is this....that faith exercised without fear or doubt produces the signs and wonders that the New Testament is full of. That God wants us to step out in faith and believe BIG! That we all have our own personal mountains that need moving, but most of us are thinking too small and are settling for WAY less than how God ever intended us to live. God has heaps and heaps of blessings and healings to pour out upon each and every believer if we only apply the TRUTH of His Word by putting aside our fears and doubts and exercise our faith and speak to our mountains!

I pray that, by sharing what God has done in my life, someone out there is encouraged to look deeper in His Word for the AWESOME truths and step out in faith to move their mountain.

Blessings,

Holly

2011-01-28T22:50:00.006-06:00

This song has been on my heart a lot the past 2 weeks. Our Lord delights when we praise Him. Just as we delight in the children in our lives when they do something that warms our heart and blesses us, He too loves it when we lift our hands and voices and hearts in adoration to Him. I have been listening and singing to this when I am driving and have found myself lifting my hands in worship....one hand at a time that is! I prefer to drive cautiously! And then at home have been listening on Pandora and found myself breaking into worshipful dance before Him. There is nothing better than worshipping and allowing the Holy Spirit to direct it in dance and the lifting of hands. It is so freeing!

And my girls LOVE to dance and worship with me! Abigail LOVES it! She is calmed and soothed by it! And it provides a bonding experience that is so precious and beautiful. So take a little time to listen to the song and be blessed. Allow the Holy Spirit to take you to a place of intimate worship with your Lord and Saviour!

I'm Alive and well !!!

2011-01-18T22:39:00.003-06:00

Yes, I am still here. I know it has been a while since I last blogged, but I have been a tad bit busy...ok, more than a tad, I have been CRAZY busy. Somehow I thought having a 2nd child would not be that big of a change. I told myself, "you already have one and you manage quite well, adding another one will be a piece of cake. Yeah, you will be busier but you will handle it well."

Well, I am here to say it has been WAY harder than I ever imagined! I don't know if it is the fact that there are 6 years between my 1st and the 2nd therefore I feel like I am starting over again. Or if it is simply the fact that it is a huge change to go from one to two, or whether it is a little of both. But it has been HARD!

Abigail is now 5 months old and I finally feel like I am in a place where I can breath normally instead of feeling like I am running a race to get it all done. I am settling in to this babyhood thing again...getting used to the crying, to getting up at least once if not twice a night, getting no more than 6 straight hours of sleep, to doing an extra 3 to 4 loads of laundry per week......

So that is what I have been doing these past several months. And recently I have started to implement a schedule around here for the entire family, every family member having their own daily schedule. It has not been fully implemented yet but so far it is going well and we are accomplishing much more than we ever have. Which brings me to this blog. I have scheduled in to blog on a more regular basis. Maybe not daily but definitely a lot more than I have in the past. And I am changing what I will be blogging about. Before it was mainly photography oriented but since my priorities have changed in the past 2 years photography has moved low on the list, at least for now. From now on I will be blogging about what the Lord lays upon my heart to share with you all. Whether that be what He has been teaching me or sharing a recipe or money saving idea, child training encouragement, homeschooling idea or something funny that happened recently, it will be a mix of my life and what I feel He is impressing upon me to share. So stay tuned to see what He has in store!

2010-06-09T22:13:00.001-05:00

She has a this new thing with making houses and beds under tables. So she made herself a cozy little house under the table in the corner up against the chimney and the open door. She was busy playing and talking to herself when all of a sudden I noticed that there was complete silence from the dining room. So I went to investigate and found this....i couldn't resist snagging a photo of my sleeping beauty. She looks so innocent and angelic when she is asleep!

photo challenge

2010-05-20T22:40:00.004-05:00

A very dear friend of mine started a 90 day photo project challenge and since I have gotten out of the photography mode these past few months I decided this would be the kick in the pants that I needed to get back into the "mode".

I am getting in at Day 2 and I may not post every day but am going to post as much as possible.

5.20.2010

I can't believe that my beautiful daughter turned 6 last week!!! The time has literally flown by!!!!

a whole lotta excitement!!

2009-06-25T16:07:00.002-05:00

You think you've had a bad day ! How would you like to be the guy in this machine ?!

They have been demolishing the house across the street from us today. It was quite something to see them rip away at it and then to see the last part holding it all together go and the entire roof and sides come crashing down all at once! Kind of sad to see someone tear down a perfectly good house..... a house that probably took a crew of skilled homebuilders a good part of a year to build and that can be demolished in a matter of 3 hours.

The gas station across the street owns this house and lot. It will be interesting to see what they plan to do with the space now. Quite busy around here!!

Think on this

2009-04-17T22:02:00.002-05:00

Then Jesus said to them, "As you go throughout the world, proclaim the Good News to all creation. Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who do trust: in My name they will drive out demons, speak with new tongues, not be injured if they handle snakes or drink poison, and heal the sick by laying hands on them.

Mark 16:15-18

Have you ever stopped and thought, I mean really thought on this verse?

Have you ever asked yourself, "why don't we see and experience these things today in our relationship with Christ and in the body of believers that we worship with on a weekly basis?

I was reading this passage of Scripture this past Easter Sunday, pondering what Christ went through and gave for me there upon that cross. And God spoke to my heart and said, this is what my children, you and I, those of us who are in fellowship with Christ, should be doing still today. These scriptures were not just for "back then" they are still very relevant for us today!

why do we not see these signs today? It says here that "these signs will accompany those who do trust". Could it be possible that we say we trust but don't really, fully trust in the full sense of the word? I believe so! How many times have you heard someone say, " I am going through a really hard time right now, but I am trusting God that it is all going to come out okay in the end", but will you pray for me because I am really struggling with worry over this"? Stop and think about that for a moment. Haven't they just contradicted themselves? According to God's Word, yes they have! For if they were trusting they would not be worried!

I believe the reason we don't see these things happening today in our own lives and the lives of others around us is that we don't really trust God. We don't take what He says and believe it is for us and that we have the power through His Holy Spirit to make these things happen!

I believe the reason we don't trust is that we don't take the time to really get to know who God is. Think about this...when you were dating your spouse did you study them and find out what they liked and disliked? Did you make it a priority to know who they are? Most of us would say yes! That is exactly what we should be doing with God. He has provided His Word as our way of knowing who He is. But in order for us to do that we need to be really studying it, as much as we can!

I challenge you today to start digging into the Scriptures with the prayer of your heart being, "Lord, reveal to me who you are as I study your Word. Show me more of you so that I may come into the full knowledge of you and be able to honestly say that I trust you in all things."

oh, the joys of being 4 and creating your own fun!!

2009-04-17T00:12:00.007-05:00

I recently received a package and the box was filled with packing peanuts. Now, I DO NOT like these things! They stick to everything, are hard to clean up and fly across my wood floors and end up everywhere!!! I find them months, years and eons later when I am moving furniture to clean!!!

Well, Alannah decided to dump, uhumm, I mean sprinkle them all throughout the main floor of our home. She was creating a path! And then , of course, once we had the path made we had to run upon it! So she ran and ran and ran! And I, when I found out what she had been doing started to say, "Pick those up now! I do not want them all over the house and in smaller pieces than they already are!" But just as these words were about to fly out of my mouth, the Lord spoke to me and said," She is only this age once. She is creating and playing and is not hurting anything." My response was, "you're right and I think I will have her pick them all up too! So I let her continue to run and break them into itty bitty pieces with her new "splash boots"! Once she was done I instructed her to get a bag and pick them all up. She obeyed and tried her best , but after about 10 minutes she came to me frustrated because they wouldn't stay in the bag. "Mama can you help me pick them up?" So I got down and began to instruct her again, but this time we both got frustrated at how those little boogers were sticking to our hands. So I got an idea! I ran my hands under the water, shook off a little of it and went after scooping those pesky things up! And whadayaknow! They scoop up rather easily as long as your hands are dripping with water! So a couple more times of wetting the hands and we had it all cleaned up and had a fun time doing it!

And, yes, you are not dreaming! I have posted on my blog after a 3.5 month break!! The past 3 months I have been busy taking care of some much needed and long overdue home remodel projects, spending time training and teaching my daughter and helping my husband wherever he needs it. I have oftentimes wanted to blog but felt it more important to care for the needs of my family and to do what God has placed before me now. So in the future I hope to blog more often, but it will probably not be every day and sometimes not even every week. But I am feeling the need to be a little more consistent with it!

* Happy New Year!! *

2009-01-01T00:07:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve!

2008-12-24T09:58:00.004-06:00

* It's almost here! *

2008-12-23T09:36:00.002-06:00

2 days and counting! Are you ready? I'm not! Today Alannah and I are working on a few last minute things and decorating cookies. Then its off to do some celebrating with fun friends!

Happy Tuesday!

Silver Dollar City

2008-12-22T18:14:00.010-06:00

A month ago we took a trip to Branson, MO to attend Silver Dollar City's Christmas festival. If there is anything that will put a person onto the Christmas spirit it is a visit to this place. There are lights everywhere! Over 4 million of them! Christmas music is always playing, there's a chill in the air and on our first day there were snow flurries falling. It was the perfect holiday setting!

This 5 story Christmas tree is the highlight of the place. It's lights dance in unison to some awesome Christmas music!

Alannah loved snuggling up to Frosty.

We vacationed with these fun people! Chad (Greg's highschool friend), his daughter Madeline, his girlfriend Robin and her son Jonathan.

The kids had a very fun time!!

The 5 story tree in the daylight

ok, so we chose the wrong time of the day to have our photo taken......the lighting is WAY wrong....but we had to have a few photos of all of us!

mmmmmmm, a yummy cookie from the Silver Dollar bakery

* Randomness *

2008-11-09T19:44:00.014-06:00

I am still alive! It has been a very busy past few weeks and blogging took a back burner to tending to my family, painting business, paperwork and my home.

So here are a few shots from the past several weeks....enjoy!

***

I had the pleasure of helping decorate this wedding cake for some friends from church. They put me in charge of overseeing the decoration of 3o round cakes and this main cake. I had an awesome time of meeting and fellowshipping with the sweet gals that were helping and I had a blast decorating all of these!

The autumn colours have been gorgeous this year! I have enjoyed photographing them. Here are some of my favorites!

... And a beautiful Indian summer sunset ...

Day 2-Galena Trip

2008-10-21T09:18:00.014-05:00

Here are more photos from my girl's trip to Galena, IL. Day 2 we went walking around downtown, visiting the quaint little shops and having a fun time laughing and being goofy, as evidenced by this photo of Sarah....

downtown Galena

I love the contrasting colours of this building, so sharp and striking. But I thought it looked like it has a big nose (smile)

so picturesque

I really enjoyed the awesome, unique architecture that this town has

. Girl time .

2008-10-16T19:12:00.015-05:00

A couple of weeks ago my two friends, Sarah and Em, and I took a 3 day trip. The purpose was to celebrate our birthdays, which all happen to fall within the month (Oct. 2-Nov. 4) and to have some great girl time. It had been waaaay too long since all three of us had done anything together so this was the perfect thing to do!

Day 1 ~ Stopped in Dubuque, Iowa for some lunch and sightseeing/photo ops! We found lots to photograph there and had a great time!

.. a unique way to display a unique leaf ..

I looove old architecture and Dubuque certainly had plenty to choose from!

The camera freaks! You see, all 3 of us have digital SLRS and it was probably quite the site to see us walking around town looking like this.....

In fact, we had a lot of people ask us if we were photography students....well in a way, yes! We just don't have a teacher, we are simply teaching ourselves through trial and error!

The end of the day.......

our destination, Galena, Illinois...what a beautiful way to end a beautiful day!

To see more photos of our fun trip check our Sarah's blog, and here and here

WWWAT

2008-10-15T09:03:00.009-05:00

I have never posted for a WWWAT before. This was fun!

I love the architecture of my 108 yr. old house!

* fun at the orchard *

2008-09-22T07:45:00.000-05:00

A week or so ago I felt the urge to get out and make a trip to the orchard. It was a cool day and one could smell autumn in the air. The forecast was calling for rain for the next 5 days so I thought, "we need to take advantage of this day and spend time at this beautiful place!" So I inivited a dear friend and her 4 little girls and off we headed to Wilson's Apple Orchard in Iowa City! The girls loooovvved it! They ran and ran and ran some more! They each were excited to have their own little buckets to pick their apples off the ground. That is, until the buckets started to get heavy and then it was," can you carry this, it is too heavy." Or, "I don't want to carry my bucket any more." But all in all they did very well and played very hard! And us mamas, well we left feeling refreshed from the abundance of fresh air, the joy and delight in watching our children enjoy themselves and the beauty of God's wonderful creation!

These four girls are the best of friends! They play and squabble together like sisters.

cousins

2008-09-09T22:46:00.008-05:00

Alannah and I were back in Missouri visiting family a few weeks ago and we spent an entire day at my brother and his family's home. So it was a great chance for Alannah to play with the cousins, specifically Lorelei. Lorelei is 6 months younger than Alannah so they play very well together. It also helps that they both enjoy playing dress-up and talking and talking and well, talking....

Sister in-law Beth and I wanted to get some photos of all 4 of them...kinda a little photo shoot....but as it always is when the mamas are in charge of the picture taking, they tended not to co-operate as well as they would have for the professional studio photographer! But we did get a few really cute ones.

This is the only one where we came the closest to getting all of them looking at the camera at the same time...notice Alannah's hand on the top of Tanner's.

Tanner, Alannah, Rueben & Lorelei

Lorelei loves to pose for the camera

::: shepherding :::

2008-09-08T21:56:00.004-05:00

I have been meditating upon this week's verse....see right column.... from Deut. 6 quite a lot lately. These are some pretty weighty commands for those of us who are parents. But I also think it applies to those who are not or not yet parents.

What does it truly mean to love God with everything you are and have? I don't know about you but I find that is a very difficult thing to do in this busy and distracting world we live in. There are so many things that pull at our hearts, minds and time. Sometimes it is hard to sort out what is Godly and what is not. As I was thinking upon these verses I found it easier to take them verse by verse and form my thoughts about them. So here goes...I will attempt to share what is on my heart....

verse 6...."and these words shall be in your heart". If God's words are to be in our hearts then we need to be reading His Word every day. We not only need to be reading, but meditating upon them, memorizing them, doing whatever it takes to make ourselves so familiar with them that they truly are in our hearts. What we focus upon is what will overflow from our hearts, minds, lips and actions.

verse 7....I think that this verse embodies the whole of what it means to shepherd our children's hearts towards a love of God and His Word. I used to look at this verse and think, "wow, what a huge undertaking! How am I going to remember to do this all of the time? How am I going to do this amidst everything that is thrown at me every day?" But what I am finding is that the more of God's Word you have in your heart, the easier, the more naturally you can operate according to this verse. What I am also finding though is that it is much easier to obey this verse if you make a very concerted effort to simplify and slow down your life. For when you do that you are in a much calmer, quieter place to hear God speak and to then pass that on to your children. And that brings me to another point.....slowing down.....this is something that is so foreign to many of us in these days in which we live. But I feel that we are missing way too much that God has for us, way too many blessings because we fill our lives so full of stuff that does matter but also lots of stuff that doesn't really matter. We are so busy doing and going that we don't have enough quiet in our lives to hear God. And when I say "we" I am speaking of myself too. These are things that I feel God is speaking to me about, but I feel He is wanting me to share it.

When I first read verse 7 I felt like it was speaking specifically to parents but I think that it applies to all of us as we can use these principles to minister to anyone that we come into contact with on a regular basis. If we are applying these principles our lives will ooze with the essence of God. Isn't that exciting to think about?!! I definitely think so!! It makes me want to spend every waking moment of free time I have reading His Word! And I am not talking about spending hours and hours every day in reading His Word, because I know that as busy mamas and wives many of us don't have hours and hours, but I do think that we have more time than we allow ourselves to think we do.

Verses 8 & 9....."bind them on your hand and place them on your forehead"...."write them on your door frames and your gates".....this makes me think of placing scripture around my home, where, as I go throughout my day I see it everywhere. It is surrounding me. And in this technical age in which we live what about investing in the Bible on CD and listening to it as you are in your vehicle running this errand or the kids here or there? Or playing it in your home as you fold the laundry, make the meals, or clean the house. I often have praise music going in my home all day as I go about my daily routine. I have a 5 CD changer and so I load it up, hit the shuffle button and I am set up to have praise music playing for the next several hours. What I like about this is that as Alannah and I are colouring, working on school, putting a puzzle together or doing regular household chores, she will often hear something playing that catches her attention enough that she begins asking questions about what the song is speaking of. This gives me the perfect opportunity to instill the things that God is talking about in these verses!

So I challenge not only myself but all of you to take a closer look at how you spend your time, what you are teaching your children through how you do spend your time and where you can make the time in your life to spend more time reading God's Word. Also, try saying no to those activities that busy up our lives and make it harder to hear that still, quiet voice of God.

I would love to hear any comments you might have concerning these scriptures! And please feel free to share this with anyone you feel the need to.

Blessings......Holly

.. legends & yummy food ..

2008-09-05T21:45:00.009-05:00

ok, here are more pics from our weekend in KC.

I couldn't just choose one of the 3 "See the Legends" signs....they are too cool, reminding me of some old vintage signs from the 40's or 50's, so bear with me as I have included all 3.

awesome place to sit and relax

this was the best place to eat! Great gourmet style food!

They pride themselves in saying that they have the world's largest selection of draft beer. I would say they may be right. The list included at least a hundred plus! Now, I am not a beer drinker....don't really care for any alcohol at all.....but Greg enjoys his beer every now and then, especially when we go out to eat (which isn't very often) with just the two of us. So, of course, being the beer coniseuer that he is, he had to try out a couple of the beers. He says great beer, I say great photo!

I had the Southern fried chicken breast served on a bed of spinach-corn-mashed potatoes and covered in bourbon gravy. Mmmmm, mmmm! It was divine!

Greg saw the Onion Ring Tower and thought it was a good idea to get that too. Now, I am not an onion ring lover, don't usually care for them, but thought I would give these a try after I read that they are beer battered and sprinkled with parmesean cheese and served with chipotle ranch dip. Well, let's just say I liked them well enough to eat half the tower myself! yum, yum!! I was full by the time they brought my entree!

Ahhhhh, great ambience, great food, great fun!!

* textures and lines *

2008-09-04T07:12:00.021-05:00

This last weekend Greg and I spent 3 days in Kansas City celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary. We had a blast! He spent most of Sat. & Sun. at the Good Guys Rod & Custom Car Show while I spent that time in a variety of different ways......3 hrs with him at the car show, a little of it watching HGTV...we don't get TV at home so this is always a treat! and the remainder finishing a child-rearing book, spending a lot of time in God's Word and listening to some awesome Bible teaching tapes!

The evenings were spent walking an awesome outdoor shopping district, enjoying some great gourmet food and me always with camera in hand snapping photos of everything from the food we ate to the environment of the shopping district. I took about 500 photos in a 2.5 day period. I share some of those with you now and will share more in the days to come.

What an awesome time of r&r I had!

To me nothing is more relaxing than reading and photographing the world around me!

. ninth .

2008-08-28T13:00:00.002-05:00

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! Nine years! It simply doesn't seem that long ago that we stood at that alter in front of all our loved ones and before God committed our lives to one another forever.

Much has happened since then and yet much is still the same.

he still makes me laugh....

he still balances out the serious side of me....

he is still fun-loving.....

he is now a great daddy...

a wiser, more courageous person...

and a great husband!

We are off to spend the weekend together in Kansas City!

I'm looking forward to it since we have not gotten away for our anniversary in a couple of years.

It is going to be fun!

* tag you're it *

2008-08-27T06:41:00.005-05:00

my great friend Sarah tagged me so here goes.....

. 4 things I was doing 10 years ago .

I was 1 year into running my own painting business

was painting an entire mansion near the Kansas City Plaza

was finally okay with my life as a single woman

had just met Greg, my future husband!

. 4 things on my to-do list for today .

go to Iowa City, complete a whole list of errands

pick peaches at my father in-laws farm

work the peaches up

play with my daughter during all of the above

. 4 things i love about my husband .

he makes me laugh

he is mellow and fun-loving...the opposite of me, which makes for a wonderful balance

he is an inventor and a visionary

he treats me with respect and is a gentleman

. 4 jobs i have had .

Wal-mart photo lab technician

worked for a construction company as their painter

worked at a camera and photo shop in downtown Iowa City

currently own an interior painting business, which I participate in on a part-time basis

. 4 movies i have watched more than once .

Anne of Green Gables

White Christmas

Facing the Giants

Janette Oke Love Comes Softly movie series

(i had a hard time coming up with four as i hardly ever watch movies)

. 4 places i have lived .

St. Joseph, Missouri

Twin Peaks, CA

Marrietta Hot Springs, CA

Hills, Iowa

. 4 places i have been .

West coast states.....CA, OR, WA

Charleston, SC

Bird-in-hand, PA

Washington DC

(this was a hard one for me because i have been to 28 of the 50 states and like most every place i have been in them)

. 4 places i want to visit .

Northern Ireland

Hawaii

Canada

Germany

. 4 tv shows i watch.

um, i don't watch tv shows....we don't get any tv channels

but have watched via DVD

the Gilmore Girls

Dukes of Hazzard, we have 4 or more seasons

I Love Lucy

. 4 things you may not know about me .

i prefer vegetables over meat

i dream of being a free-lance photographer

i love to colour in colouring books

i take my family to a chiropractor instead of a general practitioner

. 4 people i've tagged .

emily @ e all of the above

laura @ marrs website

cynthia

siobhan @ on the border

. berries .

2008-08-27T06:17:00.004-05:00

Tis the season.....for berries

last year Greg and I planted blackberries, yellow raspberries and bluberries.

the blueberries never made it....very diappointing to us as we looovvvee blueberries.

but the raspberries and blackberries are florishing!

yum! yum!

it is so great to be able to walk into my back yard and pick all of these wonderful tasting fruits.

just look at this juicy little thing!.

each little round thing is filled with sweet, luscious juice!

pop one of these into your mouth, squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth and mmmmmmmmmmmmm

it doesn't get much better than this when it comes to garden produce!

.. salsa ..

2008-08-26T06:05:00.002-05:00

I love it when tomato season comes along because that means it is time for fresh salsa. Salsa doesn't get any better than when it is made fresh from garden fresh tomatoes!

Around here we eat it A LOT! Especially this time of year....we almost make a meal out of it. Not only does it have the tomatoes which are a wonderful food for your health, it also has garlic and onions which are beneficial to your health too. Add a little hot peppers to open the sinuses and you have an all around great health food!

So far this summer I have put up about 25 qt. Not nearly enough or what I desired to. But my tomatoes did not produce very well this summer so I am fearing that this might be the last batch I freeze.....unless someone has an excess of tomatoes and is willing to share......

I usually put jalapenos in mine but this year I planted salsa peppers and WOW are they hot! It only takes one long, skinny pepper to a large batch of salsa, any more and I had better watch out or it will be so hot we can hardly stand it! Anyway, I have an abundance of salsa peppers, so if anyone is needing any hot peppers let me know!

mmm, mmm, good!!

miniature golf

2008-08-25T06:36:00.003-05:00

Alannah and I were in Missouri last week visiting my parents.

One of our favorite summer activities to do when we visit is to go into town and play mini golf at this beautiful mini golf park.

There are 4 courses and it is always hard to pick which one to golf on this time. Isn't it beautiful!?

Alannah always gets instruction and help from Papa J.

* Fudgsicle Face *

2008-08-25T06:03:00.006-05:00

Alannah had been eating a fudgsicle and I walked into the kitchen to see it all over her face.

It made me laugh so I grabbed my camera and started shooting.

This one below was towards the end of the shoot....can you tell we are getting tired of hamming it up? I wanted this photo to be at the end of my post but I loaded them in the wrong order and I am not about to delete and reload as I was fortunate enough to get these loaded. And with my new IMac I can't seem to figure out how to move these photos around once I get them loaded....not like I was able to do with my Windows PC.

Anyway, I couldn't choose just a couple photos....I had to put half of them on!

Check out these faces!!

Simple pleasures and childhood treasures

2008-08-23T15:04:00.007-05:00

I love the innocence of it all

.. car show ..

2008-08-01T06:13:00.006-05:00

. my fun-loving husband LOVES vintage cars .

. in fact he has a project of his own that he works on when he gets a free moment and some extra cash .

. someday soon i will take some photos of it and share with you .

. anyway, last friday evening he and i went to the car show at sycamore mall in ic .

. now, in the past he has usually gone to these by himself....i don't mind them except for the fact that once i have looked at all of the vintage vehicles, i am ready to leave .

. well, that is not enough for him! .

. he wants to stand around looking at every inch and detail and then talk with the owner and discuss where they bought that part and how they did this and on and on and on! .

. i get BORED to pure insanity!! .

. BUT, this year some of that has changed .

. since i decided to pursue photography on a more full-time basis i have found that i can combine my love of photography with his love of vintage cars .

. so, we have this deal....i go with him to some of these and have the freedom to meander around at my leisure, with my camera attached to my face and he does what he usually does .

. THEN, when i have taken photos of everything i possibly can and am starting to get bored, i leave and he stays! .

. it has worked out wonderfully! .

. in fact, we are spending out anniversary weekend in august at the good guys rod & custom show in kansas city .

. lucky for me i booked us a hotel room, complete with a kitchen, across the street from the show!.

. so when i get bored, i am heading to our room to have some personal reading and pampering time, while he stays out in the blazing hot sun and looks at car after car after car! .

. and, in the end, he really enjoys looking at all my photos! .

. here's a little sampling....enjoy! .

. the owners of this little "bug" are close friends of ours .

. they restored it about 2 or 3 years ago for their father .

. it's a cute little thing .

. i think this is a 1949 Mercury woody .

. greg would know if he were here to consult, but he's not .

. the owners of this were from colorado and were traveling in it. they had the back full of camping gear, food staples and coolers .

. this has been on road trips all across the US .

. summer .

2008-07-31T06:35:00.005-05:00

. the joy and beauty of summer .

. wildflowers and bicycling the nature trail .

. my imac .

2008-07-30T06:15:00.004-05:00

~ i have now officially entered the world of imacs ~

~ a few weeks ago greg and i bought our first ever "new computer" ~

~ we have only ever owned 2 computers before the mac, the first being a used one we bought from a friends computer store and the second was a hand-me-down from my parents ~

~ so we are excited to have one that works so fast and smooth ~

~ what a treat! i am really enjoying it! and now i have a photo program that works, that i can edit with and a screensaver that displays all of my photos! ~

~ and, coming this friday evening, faster dsl service! like 10 times faster than what we have now! so that means i can post on this blog more often because i won't have to wait 5 or 10 min. for the photos to upload, while i run back and forth from my mac to the household task i am doing while i wait! i am very excited about that! ~

~ and one of the neatest things about my mac is that this is all there is to it ~

~ there is no harddrive tower, just the huge screen, the sleek keyboard and mouse ~

~ everything is located on the back of the monitor! pretty sleek, huh! ~

~ and all that means that my desk is a much roomier, cleaner area! that, makes me very happy!~

......" and frog meets dog "......

2008-07-23T07:07:00.009-05:00

.we recently spent a saturday afternoon at "grandpa hosties" farm.

.there are 2 frogs that live in his well pump, so every time alannah goes to the farm we have to pump the handle and get the water flowing so that we can get the frogs "washed out" and hence...proceed to play with them.....

" snoopy meet frog "

...alannah is not at all afraid of handling frogs or bugs....she is very curious!...

:: A Prayer ::

2008-05-28T07:59:00.003-05:00

The Lord has brought this song to my mind several times the past few weeks and I felt that I needed to share it with you all today. Let the chorus of this song be a prayer directed to your precious Jesus......

: Almost there, almost where I'm suppose to be :

It's not all clear, still you keep showing me

With every step the more my heart moves to your beat

Just like where I am headed, there's joy in the journey

:: Teach me to think like you think ::

Show me the things that are true

Finish the work that you have started in me

As I'm on my way to you

: Create in me a pure heart and make me new :

Less of me, Jesus more of you

here I stand, still drawn down to my knees

It's not my strength but yours that carries me

:: Teach me to think like you think ::

Show me the things that are true

Finish the work you have started in me

As I'm on my way to you

2008-05-09T17:54:00.002-05:00

Lilacs!!

I absolutely loooovvve my lilac bush. It is one of those rare colours that you don't see that often . So Alannah and I went out yesterday afternoon and picked buckets full of them. Last year my bush had very few on it due to a late freeze, but this year it is loaded and I am loving it!

And oh how I looovve the way they fill my entire house with their sweetness and beauty!

I have a vase full of them in almost every room.

Happy Friday!!!!

2008-05-05T15:49:00.005-05:00

: It's a new beginning around here! :

I spent much time outside yesterday in the awesome weather and greatly enjoyed photography the emerging birth of so much of God's beautiful creation!

: my strawberries are blooming :

: the "heaven's perfume" tree in my front yard :

: the view from my porch this time of year :

: crabapple blooms :

: one of the three crabapple trees outside my living room window :

I love this time of year!

The air is scented with the fragrance of the blooming trees and everywhere I look I see vivid colour against all of the new green grass!

I am so glad God created colour....

- Spring -

2008-04-24T15:28:00.006-05:00

: spring has definitely sprung around here! everything is in bloom and so green and beeeuuutiffuuuulll! especially with all the rain brightening it up! :

: my forsythias :

: dogwood bush :

aren't those red branches gorgeous!

: the "heaven's perfume" tree in my front yard :

i don't know what kind it is so I just call it my "heavens perfume" tree because when it blooms it gives off the most heavenly fragrance! aaahhhhh! it is sooo sweeeet & soft at the same time....mmmmmm, mmmmmmm

: tulip poplar :

aren't these the cutest little leaves! when fully grown they will be absolutely HUGE!

: crabapple :

2008-03-15T20:42:00.005-05:00

:: Splash Boots ::

It all started 2 Sundays ago when it warmed to 70 degrees that day. Alannah wanted to go for a walk. We had so much snow on the ground that when it warmed to 70 that day the water was running everywhere! And there was lots of it! So I had her put her winter boots on and off the 3 of us went. Wellllll.....she couldn't keep her 2 little feet out of the water! That child ran, and I mean, RAN through the water the whole entire time! That would be a total of 12-14 blocks! She had a blast!! And we had a blast laughing and watching her! Unfortunately, I had my mind so much on the wonderfully warm day and getting out in it to get some much needed fresh air, sunshine and exercise that it never occurred to me to take my camera.....
When we arrived back home her little boots were soaked, inside and out, as well as her socks. So I mentioned that as soon as Daddy got a job I would go out and buy her some galoshes. She got excited about that because we had just borrowed a book from the church library about a little girl named Sarah who had to give up her favorite boots because her feet grew too small for them. Alannah said," I can get boots just like Sarah's!"
So the next evening she and I go to Bible study and she saw my friend Sarah's red rain boots and launched into telling Sarah about her book Sarah's boots.
Well, Sarah....my friend that is, not the book Sarah.....came to visit a few days later and brought these.......

Alannah was so excited and said, "Splash boots!" So we had to take them out later that afternoon and run through every water puddle we could find. Although this afternoon it was much colder and there was not anywhere near the amount of water that there had been the Sunday before but never-the-less she still had fun, as the photos to follow will attest to!

~the first puddle she ran through~

~she loves playing with sticks, so we had to stop and pick up any stick we could find~

So the "splash boots" are a huge hit!

Thanks Steve and Sarah!

She has worn them almost everyday since. When I tell her to go put her shoes on she will most likely ask, "Can I wear my splash boots Mama?"

She wore them to the grocery this evening!

Watching her run through the puddles and have so much fun splashing has me wanting to do the same with her so I am going to go out and buy me some "splash boots" of my own!

2008-02-11T22:31:00.000-06:00

"Boogin Waggard"

Alannah has this phrase that she has said for months now and Greg couldn't seem to figure out what it was and I thought I knew but when I asked her she would say no, that wasn't right. Well, tonight we figured it out and it was just as I had thought.....so I must have asked the question in a different way this time for her to confirm to me what she meant......

the phrase is......

"boogin waggard"

and it means.....

the "boogy record". Translated.......it is a......"Manhatten Transfer Bop doo-wopp" record.

Her favorite song on there is "Baby Come Back to Me". So I thought I would share her boogying to this record and song.

It has also been known as the "do dat do dat" song.

For those of you who don't know.....yes we do have an old hi-fi that we listen to records on....all of the time! And we LOVE it! records are cheap at Good-Will and garage sales and we can get all varieties of music from Big Band to 80's rock n' roll to everything in between. Our most common and favorites are Blues, Big Band, and all of that wonderful gifted and beautiful music from the 30's & 40's.

A good laugh ;-)

2008-02-10T14:49:00.000-06:00

Children are such fun to have around! It seems that Alannah is always doing or saying something that brings out a good laugh or chuckle in us. Take for instance yesterday.....she was upstairs playing quietly in her room. Her huge Barbie house and all of her gaggillion Barbies and paraphanilia are up there along with puzzles and tons of books.....

Greg goes up to get something from our room and comes down carrying this.....

Now "this" is a puzzle piece to this puzzle........

As you can see this puzzle is all about learning how to zip, buckle, tie, button, etc. Weeelllll.....she certainly has the buttoning down well!

We laughed and laughed and laughed over this one!!

And then.....I had to take a picture.....because more and more I am beginning to learn that I need to document these times because, lets face it...we live in a very, very busy world where many of us can't remember what we had for lunch the day before let alone remember funny things that our kids do. So here is the documentary. I hope it makes you chuckle :smile

Have a great week!

2008-02-09T20:30:00.000-06:00

:: Cheery, not dreary ::

I have been fighting a cold the past 2 days and so today has been a "down" day. My dear hubby asked me this morning what I was going to do today and I said nothing, absolutley nothing that I didn't want to do. I am taking it easy. And that is exactly what I did! I have sat here at the computer for a good part of it, editing my photos. I had gotten behind on my editing and we have been having problems with our computer lately so I had not been able to do a whole lot of anything with my photos. But, thanks to a kind friend who came over last night and cleaned up our computer, we are running good for now and I am taking advantage of it while it lasts. And it may not last long.....basically its like this.....our computer is old....5 yrs. old and it is starting to slow WAY DOWN and do strange and funny things. We were told that this is just what computers do when they get OLD. Actually the average life of a computer is 3 yrs. And then after that things start "going south". It gets slow and loses its mind! For now ours is retaining most of its mind and is a bit faster than it was a day ago! My prayer is that it stays that way until we can afford a new one....which will be a while, quite a while.

Anyway, back to what I was sharing.....I came across some photos that I thought might cheer up a few of you who are bummed because of the cold and snowy weather we have been having....so enjoy! And please, feel free to share comments....I love to hear from you all! Just click on the comment link at the bottom of my post....and follow the directions....it's easy...

:::: These are from my trip to Charleston ::::

Isn't it gorgeous there !? I drank it in, like a smooth, creamy, iced cappucino.....

2008-01-29T21:58:00.000-06:00

OK, it is so windy and cccoooollllldd here that I had to start taking drastic measures to keep the warm in and the cold out! This is a very heavy winter blankie hanging over the door that leads to the porch from my kitchen. The wind was pushing so much air through it that when I hung it, it billowed out. Sooooo, there came the need to put something heavy on it at the bottom to keep the air from billowing under and out! Naturally I grabbed the closest thing I could find with weight to it....."Grammies good garden grown green beans". They did the trick and I found another use for farm canned produce besides eating!.....not near as good as eating them, but at least they are being kept nice and COLD and fresh!

As I write this though I am toasty warm sitting in front of my pellet stove.....great idea we had to put it in the Den....this room used to be freezing cold and our computer sits in the northeast corner so we always froze while using it. Now, with the stove right next to it we about sweat-to-death sometimes! Oh well, I am definitely NOT complaining right now!!! I just looked at the temp outside and it is ZERO!!! Which, with the wind, is probably about -20 or more!!!! Well I think I will go make me a cup of hot tea now.....ta ta for now.....

2008-01-27T18:06:00.000-06:00

What is it ????

Can you guess what each photo is ?? Please respond with your comment! Have fun!

b.
c.
d.

e.

2008-01-25T22:03:00.000-06:00

Pondering................

As I was quietly contemplating in front of my stove the Lord brought this to my mind.........

We as believers are like the glass on my stove. When it was new it was clear and I could see through it clearly, but as we began using it a film of ash built up and it became more difficult to see inside. Now, if we wiped this film off everyday it came off very easily, but the longer we let it go the harder it is to get clean and the quicker it builds up and the less we see.

Our hearts are like this......when we were new in our relationship with Christ or when we have had a defining moment of closeness with Him we can see clearly Christ and His workings in our hearts. But as time goes on and we live life, "ash" called sin, builds up and makes it more difficult to see what Christ has for us. If we deal with our sin right away it is rather easy to get back on track with God and see Him working. But if we let it go, the thicker the "sin wall" gets between us & God and the harder it is to "clean" away and the longer it takes for us to clearly see God again.

So sin is the "ash" that clouds our vision and by spending time with God each day we can clear away any "ash" [sin] that may have accumulated from the day before or week before or......hopefully it's just a film not a layer! :smile

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Cor. 7:1

2008-01-21T21:20:00.000-06:00

~~Alannah's first ever haircut~~
~21 January, 2008~

I trimmed the ends up and took off about a half inch. After I was finished I asked her if she liked her first haircut and she said,"It didn't hurt, mama, not a little bit!" I had never thought about that before, but to a little kid the fact of cutting something on your body would cause them to think that it might hurt, especially when we have always told her that knives and scissors can hurt you.

2008-01-21T13:31:00.000-06:00

::: A Christmas Wedding :::

I have been wanting to put these up since the beginning of the year but every time I would go to upload them the vertical ones would upload horizontally......but they are finally loading the correct way now.....
So, these are from my cousin's wedding that took place on the 22nd of December in the middle of a blizzard. Alannah was one of the two flower girls.....
I really liked the whole winter/Christmas wedding....the rich colours and sparkling snowflakes.....the dress she wore was made of white velvet, was her mother's and was made by my grandmother......it was absolutely gorgeous!

what a beauty!

2008-01-20T23:00:00.000-06:00

Since we are now living in the frozen tundra of minus 5 degrees as a high these days I felt we needed a little taste of Spring to remind us that it will not be this cold forever. Before we know it we will be complaining it is too hot :smile
Actually I am not minding this cold at all! I am using it as a reason to stay indoors and hibernate and get things done that I have long needed to get done. But for those of you who are complaining about the cold......and you know who you are :smile......here is a little taste of what is to come....

Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honour of His name, make His praise glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!

Psalm 66:1-3a

2008-01-13T17:56:00.000-06:00

Well, we had an eventful afternoon in our town today. The Chamber of Commerce building burnt........it is a complete loss by the looks of it. We walked to the scene and I was able to capture several images. I thought those of you living around here might like to see a few.....

2008-01-02T16:53:00.000-06:00

As I was reading my Bible this morning I was reminded of how much God loves us. Philippians 1:6 says, "the One who began a good work in you will keep it growing until it is completed on the Day of the Messiah Yeshua."

How encouraging to know that what God starts He completes because His love for us is so deep. It was a gentle reminder that I need to do the same, whether it be a project for a loved one, a friendship needing a little TLC or keeping my word. If I am to be an example of Christ I need to immulate Christ. So as this new year starts off I challenge you to do the same. And to take the time this year to enjoy the simple beauty that God has designed.

2008-01-01T21:05:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

Here we are beginning another year! I am excited to see what 2008 brings! Greg & I ushered in the New Year with our annual New Years Eve party in our home. This year our friends Chris & Em and Neil & Anne came. We had a blast laughing, eating, playing games, laughing, eating, laughing..... these 2 couples are always great fun to be with and it was a blessing to be able to spend the last moments of 2007 with them.

the spread

Chris making us laugh!

Queen Anne being Anne

Uno Attack is always a hit with our friends! We have a laughing good time playing it

Emily had a trade hands card and traded with me......funny thing is it ended up being an even trade...we had a good laugh and took a picture

Have a Happy New Year !!

2007-12-31T19:19:00.000-06:00

~ 2007 ~

I can't believe that it is gone! It seems as if it just started yesterday! I don't like the fact that the older I get the more time seems to fly by. It is sad and exhilarating at the same time. It reminds me all the more to take the time to cherish each and every moment. It is hard to sum up the year in just a short paragraph, but I will share with you one thing that comes to mind. One of the things the Lord impressed upon my heart this past year has been...relationships. Taking the time to invest in others' lives for the purpose of encouraging and edifying the body of Christ. And for sharing His love to those that do not know Him.

But the greatest thing I remember about 2007 is how God showed me, through a series of events, that He really is a God who cares about every little detail of our lives. I learned to pray with a faith and boldness that I had never had before and I saw big answers to those prayers. He showed me that I needed to pray as He instructed in Matthew 21:22, " And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

So, as 2007 ends and I sit back and reflect, I am encouraged by what great works I have seen God do in my life and the lives of those around me.

Our God truly is an awesome God!!

2007-12-25T15:18:00.000-06:00

** Merry Christmas! **

I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas! We have unwrapped gifts, played with a few and are now settling in for afternoon naps......gaining energy for all of the people that are coming over here this late afternoon and evening to eat, play games and fellowship.

oh, I had better go.....my sister bought a new game and we are about to learn how to play.......

Blessings from our house to yours this wonderful holiday season.

Let us not forget, amidst all the wrapping paper and gifts, what the real and true reason for this season is.....

the birth of our Saviour and Lord...

Jesus Christ!

Take time today to rejoice in thankfulness for God's glorious plan of salvation.

"...then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people..." Luke 2:10

2007-12-23T17:42:00.000-06:00

** Snowed In **

I can't post any photos because my parents only have dial-up and it took forever just to get this page up so that I could post! But if I could post photos I would have some of rippled snow drifts, looking like crystal in the sun.
Yesterday was my cousins wedding, held in a beautiful old church in a little farming town, in the middle of a Midwest snowstorm. It was quite a day! We got our van stuck in ice and blowing, blizzarding snow trying to get out of my parents drive. Once we were freed from that we had to drive 25 mph in white-outs for 6-8 miles to get to the church. I was the wedding coordinator/personal attendant and Alannah was one of 2 flower girls. So we get to the church and I have to wade through snow drifts and raging, blowing snow from the church to the reception hall, which was located about a block away. My dear husband went with me to be my body guard against all of that snow! :)
The wedding went off well with the handful of people that attended, which was mostly my aunts and uncles and those in the wedding party. Thank goodness all were living or staying nearby and didn't have to drive very far in the blizzard.
They shut the interstate down here, due to a 30 car pile-up. It was plain crazy out there! But when we left the reception hall and headed for home at 9:30 last night the snow had stopped and everything was bright and clear. Although we still had to brave the snow drifts getting home....mainly my parents drive! It always drifts shut so they said they would go first and plow through it with their van because it is taller than ours. Well, we were within site of their house when I spotted their flashing tail lights and said to Greg, "so much for plowing through". The story is that the snow was about 3-4 feet deep and Dad was out there moving the drift with a shovel!! Now that is a ton of shoveling! He was done with a large enough portion of it shortly after we arrived.....yes, we were sitting on the road too waiting to get in! Not a very safe situation being that they live on a narrow blacktop road on a curve! Anyway, after 2 tries Mom was able to push her way through it and I, now in the drivers seat, plowed us through it and at last we were safe at home! Whew, what a day! We all fell into bed exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in....for we knew we would not be able to get out of the drive to attend church this morning. But I was up early enough to go out and shoot some photos of the beautiful sunny snow covered world!
Now that the hustle and bustle of the wedding is over with we are chilling out and spending time with family. The cousin who was married yesterday, Heather, she and her husband are coming over here soon to play games and hang out for the evening. Tomorrow is Christmas with my brother, his wife and kids....here at my parents. Then on Christmas day we have a houseful of family and friends coming. So it is going to be a busy next 2 days!
I will have lots of photos to share once we return home and I can post them.
Happy Holidays!!

* windows *

2007-12-18T15:30:00.000-06:00

When I was in Charleston photographing the gorgeous architecture I decided to make a collection of window photos. I have always liked the simplicity of an old window....to me they have so much character and tell a story. I wonder who has looked out these windows.... what did they look out upon....how much has that which they looked upon changed?

So I share with you my collection......enjoy.....

" textures and lines "

2007-12-17T21:30:00.000-06:00

on our way home from the south we stopped in Indianapolis at the Speedway Museum. this had more to do with Greg wanting to than me. i thought i would be very bored, but was pleasantly surprised to find that with my camera in hand i found tons to photograph. there was a ton of texture and colour in there so the following are some of them......

what do you think this is? [in above photo]

i even stumped my car enthusiast huband with this one! Ha! and that is hard to do, for he is almost a walking encyclopedia when it comes to old car parts!

i really enjoy capturing different textures and materials on film. i want these to be something that someone looks at and says,"what is that"? i know i have a long way to go in capturing these things so that they are considered "art", but that is what i am striving for....the art effect.

* ice beauties *

2007-12-16T15:11:00.000-06:00

We have finally arrived back in wintry Iowa. We arrived home this past Mon. evening to a very cold and somewhat icy world. It had been 3 weeks since we had been home and a lot has changed in the weather since then. We left 70 degree weather for this...........

but I wouldn't change a thing about it. I like the 4 definite seasons that I get living here in Iowa. I think it is so beautiful and I enjoy looking out any window and seeing such beauty! This is the time of year that I like to cocoon inside my house and do winter projects. I have specific things that I do only during the winter months. One of these days I will share with you some of them but for today I will share some of the beautiful ice I have been enjoying all week.

2007-12-02T19:35:00.001-06:00

I know.....you all are thinking," when is she ever going to put anything new on her blog!" Well, hold on because I am putting a whole lot of photos on this post!

We are still in South Carolina, having a blast and getting to know and bond with family. We have been to the zoo twice....once to see the Christmas lights of an evening and the other during the day to see the animals. We have been to a swamp park, been walking in the outdoor mall to see all of the beautiful Christmas lights and gone shopping at a variety of different stores. And Greg, Alannah and I spent 2 days this past week in Charleston. We spent most of our time walking the historic district, photographing and discussing the different types of architecture, and browsing the art galleries and shops. We ended our time there with a visit to the beach at Isle of the Palms. It was a relaxing time! Now we are back in Columbia with Greg's sister and boys and are planning to take the boys shopping for their mother's Christmas gifts tomorrow and doing some more sightseeing the next few days. It is gorgeous weather here.....in the mid to upper 60s during the day and down to the upper 30s and lower 40s at night. The autumn leaves are gorgeous, the Christmas lights are shining on the houses and the pansies, snapdragons and other flowering shrubs are blooming! It is like having 3 different seasons all at once! It is awesome and I like it lots!!! No ice, snow or freezing temperatures! And there is still green everywhere due to all of the pine trees. The lawns are brown though due to the drought they have and are still in.

So please enjoy the photos below and know that there are many, many more coming as soon as I can get them loaded and posted.

these were taken at the beach

crossing from Charleston to the Isle of Palms

some of the architecture of Charleston

I really enjoyed all of the decorative iron work that is such a part of this town!
Take a close look at the reflection in this one

The Magesty of our Creator.....

2007-11-12T21:30:00.000-06:00

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations." Psalm 100:4-5

Happy Birthday Cynthia !!

2007-11-09T07:38:00.000-06:00

I don't have a photo of my dear friend. She is a missionary to Northern Ireland and we haven't seen each other for a few years now. But I am posting a photo that reminds me of her everytime I see it. And, Cynthia, since you love quotes so much and have instilled a love of them in me I will share some quotes with you, as my gift to you. I pray you are having a blessed time with your family while on holiday here in the States. I so wish I could see you before you head back to Northern Ireland, but since I am unable to, please know I am thinking about you and praying that God rains down His blessings upon you on this "your day". Enjoy the photo! I am going to frame this and hang it somewhere in my house because it speaks so strongly to me everytime I look at it "solitude". And it causes me to yearn for my quiet moments of solitude when it is just me and the Lord in the early morning hours before anyone else is awake in my household. It is a comfort to me and I hope that by sharing it with you that it will be a comfort to you too.

Happy Birthday Blessings to you C. !!

"In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us........"

~Virginia Wolf

:: :: :: :: ::

"A photograph captures and freezes in time that which is constantly changing and evolving."

:: :: :: :: ::

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person;

having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words but to pour them all out,

just as it is, chaff and grain together,

knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them,

keeping what is worth keeping, and then,

with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

~Marian Evans

:: :: :: :: ::

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One if Israel:

"In returning and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength......"

Isaiah 30:15a

:: :: ::

Lots of hugs! Love ya C.!

2007-11-01T22:49:00.001-05:00

A few weekends ago we headed out to the "Schlabaugh Ranch" as we tend to call it. It is the farm of our friends, Lee & Neil Schlabaugh. Greg has his "project" out there. A '53 Ford pickup. I decided it was time to do a photo shoot with it. It was later in the morning by the time we got there so I didn't get very many shots due to the noon lighting.......it was just too much. So we are planning another trip.....maybe this weekend........but for now i will share with you what I did get that day and hopefully there will be more to come!

2007-10-29T09:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday! Em!!!!

I pray your day is showered with blessings!
For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

"Our creativity may be our greatest likeness to God."

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. ~Abe Lincoln~

playing..........

2007-10-28T15:36:00.000-05:00

I have been playing around with different textures. It is great fun!!

2007-10-27T07:27:00.000-05:00

I used to not enjoy the coming of autumn. For me it meant that winter was right around the corner.......and I don't enjoy the cold of winter. My ideal weather temperature would be mid-60's with 50% humidity. I want it just warm enough to go outside with no more than a light jacket and no less that a short sleeve shirt. Well, as we all know, we don't get those kind of temperatures on a very regular basis here in the Midwest! So, I have come to enjoy autumn more and more. The crisp, cool air with the smell of harvest floating in it. The rustle of blowing leaves and the smell of them as one crushes them underfoot. A few more overcast days, when it is perfect to enjoy the outdoors without being blasted by the sun. The awesome full moons that light up the night sky and the darkness around me. The beautiful arrangement of colours all around, from the leaves on the trees to the gorgeous fall flowers, from the bright orange pumpkins to the different golden hues of the soybean fields. All around me the world bursts forth God's handiwork. There is no way that we, as limited beings, could have ever created such beauty on our own. I don't believe we were designed to think on such a large scale. Yes, God has given us much creativity and gifts, but they are but a small part of His image that we were created in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When I consider your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8:3 & 4

my thanks to my great friend, Sarah, for shooting the photos of Alannah & I. Great job!!!

2007-10-18T21:13:00.000-05:00

I was sifting through photos tonight and thought I would share some with you. These are from our trip to Topeka this past Sept. We went there to spend a few days with my sister, Alyssa. We attended a hot air balloon festival and toured the restored Topeka depot.

:: Alannah with her new "shades".
She picked these out herself and even paid for them all by herself! ::

:: Dancing to the juke box on display at the depot ::

:: This ceiling is all hand stenciled and painted! It was stunning! ::

Having fun!

2007-10-14T18:19:00.000-05:00

what beauty

I couldn't resist sharing this with you. What beauty God has made and how I so enjoy capturing it to be enjoyed for many years to come!

God's Beautiful Creations!

2007-10-05T23:02:00.000-05:00

Alannah Rose

Oh God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I declare your wondrous works. Psalm 71:17

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12:27

The heaven's declare the glory of the Lord, and the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

What beautiful weather we have been having! Alannah loves to be outdoors and so today she came to me and said, "Mama I want a picnic." I then asked what do you want for your picnic? She said, "I want picnic basket."

Ok, what do you want in the picnic basket?

"I want sandwiches, chips and apples."

And so we went to the closet and got down the picnic basket, packed it with our lunch & my camera and headed to the park. She absolutely loved it!! And I had fun photographing God's gorgeous creation!

2007-09-20T17:56:00.000-05:00

Usually nothing out of the ordinary happens here in our household, but this week is the exception.
Do you ever have those weeks when you feel like Satan is trying to attack you every time you plan to do something that is God-focused? This has been one of those weeks for us.

On Sunday we way overslept and barely made it to church not entirely too late.

Then last night as we were just about to sit down to supper, Greg reached into the cabinet for a glass, pulled one out with his right hand and as he did a smaller glass toppled over and out of the cabinet. At the same time he went to reach for it with his left hand it hit the glass in his right hand and shattered. The now jagged broken glass fell onto his outstretched hand and sliced the webbing between his ring and middle fingers. It sliced it from finger to finger and hit an artery, for blood immediately started gushing from him! UGH!!
As all of this is happening and he is in the bathroom putting pressure on it while holding it under the running water and writhing in pain, Alannah freaks out at her place at the dining table and she starts to cry. So now I have an injured, bleeding, pain-filled husband in the bathroom and a crying 3 yr. old, not to mention a kitchen spattered in blood from the counter top to the floor and across the kitchen. AGH!!!
And all of this is taking place as we are getting ready to leave for Bible Study. After 20 mins. of deliberation we opted not to go to the ER but to apply a butterfly closure, bandage it well, tape the two fingers together and deal with it tomorrow. By this time Greg is not doing so well and needs a diversion so I elect we continue with our plans and make it to Bible Study after all.
We did consult a nurse friend of ours on the way home from Bible Study and she said that what we had done to treat it was the best thing possible. Due to the area in which the injury is, she said it would be difficult to do much else. So we are treating it here at home.

As I think upon these events I become more determined to not let Satan win, but to press on and continue with what God has called me to do. And I get excited knowing that I must be doing God's will for the enemy to attack.

If you think about us I know Greg would appreciate it if you would lift him up in prayer.
And if there is anything we can pray for you about please don't hesitate to let us know.

2007-09-18T18:41:00.000-05:00

"Keeping in touch"..........Alannah talking to her Grammie

Welcome!!

2007-09-18T18:20:00.000-05:00

Please be patient with us as our blog is still under construction. We are not very computer literate so it takes us a long while to figure these things out. More posting soon to follow.........

"A Beautiful Life"

I'm Alive and well !!!

photo challenge

a whole lotta excitement!!

Think on this

oh, the joys of being 4 and creating your own fun!!

* Happy New Year!! *

Merry Christmas Eve!

* It's almost here! *

Silver Dollar City

* Randomness *

** Day 2-Galena Trip **

. Girl time .

WWWAT

* fun at the orchard *

** cousins **

::: shepherding :::

.. legends & yummy food ..

* textures and lines *

. ninth .

* tag you're it *

. berries .

.. salsa ..

** miniature golf **

* Fudgsicle Face *

Simple pleasures and childhood treasures

.. car show ..

. summer .

. my imac .

......" and frog meets dog "......

:: A Prayer ::

- Spring -

A good laugh ;-)

* windows *

" textures and lines "

* ice beauties *

The Magesty of our Creator.....

Happy Birthday Cynthia !!

playing..........

Having fun!

God's Beautiful Creations!

Welcome!!

Day 2-Galena Trip

cousins

miniature golf