KL senior shoot

a pretty young girl with a bright future.
a fun photoshoot for her senior year. 

moments + kiddos

two photos from Labor Day...

they wanted me to stay away with the camera.

and tried to tell me not to put it on my blog.

(don't put it on your blog, but really meaning, do put it on your blog?)

i think they were just trying to be funny.

hunter on the other hand was glad to smile for me.

something lighthearted to share =)

because October is on track for another whirlwind of a month...

condensed/mixed thoughts

Because I want to remember what I feel these days -

"You've Got a Friend"

Jesus is the dearest friend I have.
Because people just can't be there all the time;
they have their own busy lives, cares, worries.


Galatians 6:5
For every man shall bear his own burden.

I don't feel like sharing all the time,
so I have had to bear a lot of my burdens on my own.

But I do have people in my life who have prayed for me,
cared about me.  And I felt their prayers, heard their encouraging words,
as they carved a special place in my heart.




Thank you Lord for all the people who pray for me - who remember me -
who take time out of their lives for me.

strength in His word

I am trying to clean out my inbox some tonight;

 I found this email from about a month ago from someone very dear. 

Loved the places emphasized.

Psalm 34

 ¹I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

 ²My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

 ³O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

 ⁴I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

 ⁵They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

 ⁶This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of ALL his troubles.

 ⁷The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

 ⁸O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

 ⁹O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

 ¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

 ¹¹Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

 ¹²What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

 ¹³Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

 ¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

 ¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

 ¹⁶The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

 ¹⁷The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

 ¹⁸The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

 ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

 ²⁰He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

 ²¹Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

 ²²The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.


thanks Livy! =)

one heartbeat at a time

If you ever call my cell or hear my phone ring -
the chorus of this song will play.
I looked up the full lyrics not too long ago...
They are inspired by a mother's love,
but everyone has the chance to make a difference.

the words by steven curtis chapman ...

You're up all night with a screaming baby 
You run all day at the speed of life 
And every day you feel a little bit less 
Like the beautiful woman you are 

So you fall into bed when you run out of hours 
And you wonder if anything worth doing got done 
Oh, maybe you just don't know 
Or maybe you've forgotten 

You, you are changing the world 
One little heartbeat at a time 
Making history with every touch 
And every smile 

Oh, you, you may not see it now 
But I believe that time will tell 
How you, you are changing the world 
One little heartbeat at a time 

With every, "I know you can do it" 
And every tear that you kiss away 
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed 
They're just like the drops of rain, over time they become a river 

And you, you are changing the world 
One little heartbeat at a time 
Making history with every touch 
And every smile 

Oh, you, you may not see it now 
But I believe that time will tell 
How you, you are changing the world 
One little heartbeat at a time 

You're beautiful, so beautiful 
How you're changing the world 
How you're changing the world 

You, you are changing the world 
One little heartbeat at a time 
Making history with every touch 
And every smile 

Oh, you, you may not see it now 
But I believe that time will tell 
How you, you are changing the world 
Oh, I believe that you, you are changing the world 
One little heartbeat at a time 

Hey, you're changing the world

writing memories

I have so much "stuff" that I need to work on....including stacks of paper, misc. items.

To condense some items, I decided to take photos.

My mama's handwriting and Emma's (i think?)

When I organize my scrapbooks, I hope to go back and find my own writing samples.

Life is so short - and it changes so very fast.

20/30

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, 

and his glory from the rising of the sun. 

When the enemy shall come in like a flood,

the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

Isaiah 59:19 

He loves me

Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong, They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me,

Yes, Jesus loves me, The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me, He who died, Heaven's gates to open wide,

He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me, loves me still, Though I'm very weak and ill, 

From His shining throne on high, Comes to watch me where I lie.

Traditional, Words By: Anna B. Warner 

pain.

tired.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. 
Proverbs 18:10 

  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1

much fun

this is quite a fun game!

19/30

Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; 

neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 

Isaiah 59:1

18/30

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, 

he is God, 

the faithful God, 

which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him

and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Deuteronomy 7:9 

17/30

I will say of the LORD, 

He is my refuge and my fortress: 

my God; 

in him will I trust.

Psalm 91:2

16/30

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee,

O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, 

Fear not: for I have redeemed thee,

I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

When thou passest through the waters,

I will be with thee;

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:

when thou walkest through the fire,

thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Isaiah 43:1-2

15/30

…Thou art my servant; 

I have chosen thee, 

and not cast thee away. 

Isaiah 41:9 (partial)

14/30

Finally, my brethren, 

be strong in the Lord, 

and in the power of his might.

Ephesians 6:10 

13/30

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

baby feet + encouragement

Love wrapped around two little feet.

Ten little toes.

A mama's hand holding close.

The exquisite sweetness.

No wonder people say "I love you to the moon and back."

What words are good enough to describe the grasp of loving a child?

I want to love with all I have.

Today 9/12/11 is National Day of Encouragement.
These words below from Dayspring make me smile -
read them and think of it from me.

In this great big world, you make a difference.

I'm so thankful that one of the many lives you've touched is mine. 

I pray God multiplies back to you the blessing you are, many times over.

You can change the world.

(through Christ!)

Every little heart beat is a chance.

(more on that later...)

12/30

Hebrews 10:35-37 

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 

 For ye have need of patience, that, 

after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 

 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

(The Lord is an "on-time" God; He will come to our rescue!)

11/30

But the God of all grace, 

who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,

 after that ye have suffered a while,

 make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 

1 Peter 5:10

9.11 thoughts

remembering 9/11

As a 16 year old in high school,
I went through a day where it felt like
my world rocked,
the axis shifted,
it didn't make sense.
Fear, shock, disbelief.

I'm not sure how much school work was accomplished that day.
I remember going to a prayer service at my church and talking
with my sister about the serious nature of the time.
Such a surreal feeling - the first time I remembered "war" to touch the USA.

No one had made preparations for that day. (except the terrorist.)
We were caught unaware here in the USA.
Not ready.
How will it be when time shall be no more?
I pray that I have made my preparations.
I want to be ready!

I am so thankful though for God's mercy on America.
For the soldiers, the rescue workers, ALL the heroes of our land.
This land, I love - the stars and stripes!
I am grateful for each drop of freedom that I have.

cracker barrel

For Zac's birthday on 8/27, we went to Cracker Barrel.

I sat with the little girls. :)

The little bottles of syrup are a hit!

Emma poured all of her syrup out at one time.

(All the kiddos at our table ended up eating some of Emma's pancake plate.

They switched chicken and fries for something sweet.)

My meal - probably my favorite choice from Cracker Barrel.

(I think this is the first thing I ate from Cracker Barrel 

back in 2007 on a vacation trip to DC, PA, etc.)

Zac's face is red because they are singing Happy Birthday to him.

He does not like to be in the center of attention.

But - he did get some dessert, a trade-off for the embarrassment.

Paige and I worked on this booklet...she is quite smart.

Everyone hung out for a while - watching Zac open presents, talking,

enjoying the rockers (I love the small ones, but not the price tag.)

Barnes & Nobles gift card for the reader.

Some Odyssey to fill the time.

Sweet moments as all kids crowd around - 

presents are exciting for kids (grown-ups too, I think!)

Trying on the jacket from his new suit.

Ross takes a photo of the porch scene.

Glasses and an easy hair-do from one of the "sick days" in August.

Zac finally finished up the gifts and we headed our separate ways.

10/30

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. 

Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

James 4:8 

more AUG celebrating

On August 15th, my parents reached the 36 year milestone.

Lovely cake made by my sister Andrea.

That scrolly work on the side is super cute!

We actually were at a fish fry at church that Monday night of the 15th.

So we had another celebration the next night.

The parents with their gifts.

We also celebrated for Marcus' birthday two weeks late because Chloe arrived on his birthday.

Here are the two August 2nd babies. ;)

I forgot to take a photo of all the good food from the night 

- roast, potatoes, carrots, rice, mac n cheese, (?other sides), cake, brownies, cookies, etc -

but I did take one of the rolls in the oven.

These Rhodes dinner rolls are fabulous!!

I kind of took an awkward photo, but I loved that little denim skirt with tennis shoes.

Chloe at two weeks old.

Now I am off to hopefully finish August photo editing...

9/30

Being confident of this very thing, 

that he which hath begun a good work in you 

will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. 

Philippians 1:6

8/30

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, 

whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 

 whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, 

whatsoever things are of good report; 

if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8 

sip n see

Back in June, I saw the "Sip and See" that Kelly's Korner posted about.

I passed along the idea and Allison had a "sip n see" for Chloe for family/friends.

Although the one at KK had more food, Allison almost went strictly with the "sip" theme.

The orange punch with peach sherbert 

and the sangria [def non-alchoholic :) ]

were both good!

Using the same blocks from her other baby shower - 

but switching out the 6 from the due date to the 2 for her birth date.

Levi and Em used a lot of breath to help with the pink balloons.

Gifts for little miss Chloe.

Another recap from the eventful August month.

I am still working on a senior portrait photo shoot from last month also.

The busy never ends...

7/30

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: 

but God is faithful, 

who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; 

but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 

at church

Chloe's first Sunday at church...8/14.

With her mama...
 

With her brothers...
 

And with big sister...

Daniel is laughing about the way Chloe is held...



She didn't seem to have a problem with it...


And these two pretty girls were styling in green.


We always had "church" pictures while growing up...
the tradition continues.

6/30

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

1 Peter 5:7

What a comfort!

What a promise!

and the rain came down...

One Saturday in August, a summer storm hit.

Thunder rolled.

Lightning flashed.

Rain poured.

Water flooded.

And...

my camera snapped.

The "lake" in my front yard...

The waters filled up the ditches...

Flooded my mulch...

I love rain - not so much the stormy part.

And I sure did stand in my door 

(even then the rain blew on me some)

and practiced camera settings to capture the rain drops.

Water - peaceful and still - strong and powerful.

I prefer the peaceful and still, 

but Jesus can build our faith through the stormy waters

and then give us rest by merely speaking "peace, be still" to the waves.

I love that He has all power!