It's been a strange week in so many ways. I have a back log of pictures to go through, to tell this week's story, but it hasn't happened yet. It's been a very full week, both physically and emotionally. Our life is so that way, we just move from one adventure to the next with barely a few moments to catch our breath in between.
Yesterday Rob and I tried to shop for Sarah's birthday. I say try, because we really only bought a few things at the dollar store and hunted for the perfect charm bracelet, to no avail. We stopped for lunch and the school called to tell us Sare was sick. We picked up the kids and laid down for naps (Sarah slept in my arms) and then had to decide whether or not to keep our fishing date with Judy and Wendy. Sare seemed a lot better (the wonders of tylenol) so we allowed her to go. Oh, it was beautiful, the wind and the water and the sun setting and the stars popping out.... incredible. And I caught my first fish in probably 17 years or so. That was pretty awesome. But as soon as the sun said goodnight and a thunderstorm started to roll in to the north (what a light show that was!) Sare's fever came back (with force) and we needed to call it a night. Stopped at Walgreens on the way home for some medicine and went home with McDonald's for a very late dinner. Our house got lovingly vandalized by some of our wonderful teenagers and it was a great evening. Sare went to bed easily, but then was up several time in the night with fever and a sore throat. I'm sorry, whenever your child is that lethargic and complaining, that's a little scary. We slept in this morning and managed to get a 2pm dr appointment. I'm hoping it's not strep, but I'm unconvinced thus far.
We are supposed to have a youth swim party tonight (as anothere thunderstorm is building), 1st Communion pictures tomorrow night, a typical Sunday including life group at our house, and in 3 days we leave for General Council. And somewhere in and among all that, Rob needs to mow the lawn! :) It's always an adventure!
So, please pray that Sare makes a dramatic turn for the better. And that I find time to plan and pack for next week's trip. It's all good though. I feel so blessed. Oh, and Rob and I had a fantastic date yesterday, just great conversation. I love that man!!
oh, and I need to say that Eli loved fishing. He caught 2 fish last night and he was very triumphant. I do have pictures, of course, and sometime soon I'll post them. Off to prepare for a doctor's visit!!
Jul 31, 2009
Jul 29, 2009
Great Wednesday... and it's almost Thursday.
Wow. We had such a good Wednesday night tonight. We wrapped up our summer long Momentum campaign. Tons of games tonight. I need to post pictures, but I haven't even messed with it yet. Just basking in the glow of a good evening. I'm really starting to feel connected to our students and that's such a good feeling. We've got a really strong jr. high group now, and I'm excited about our future as a youth group!
tomorrow is Thursday. And it means something. Praise the Lord! Rob is taking tomorrow because he had a meeting on Monday so we get to spend the day together, sans kids. I can't wait.
k. tired. nighty. (ps - excited to return to FB world tomorrowish)
tomorrow is Thursday. And it means something. Praise the Lord! Rob is taking tomorrow because he had a meeting on Monday so we get to spend the day together, sans kids. I can't wait.
k. tired. nighty. (ps - excited to return to FB world tomorrowish)
Jul 26, 2009
Long Happy Sunday
Sundays in our house are a little insane generally speaking. Yesterday was no exception. But even in and around the insanity, I love Sundays in the Thoreson household.
I woke up in such a good place. Rob and I prayed together before we even set foot out of bed and it just charged me up. I often pray as I wake up or in the shower, and we always pray before he leaves for church on Sunday morning. We pray in the car on the way to work every morning too, but yesterday it was so cool to have that be our very first activity of the day. It really set the tone. I could tell that God was going to do something in service. Sunday School was well attended (praise God!) and it seemed like our students were 'catching' a lot yesterday morning. And then during big church, the spirit of God moved and it was awesome! I could barely stay in my seat, eventually I just had to go up to the altar simply to give God the honor that was due Him. Matt introduced a new song a few weeks ago from a church called Antioch Community up in Waco. This song is so anointed. It's available here for free download.
I am so excited for what God is doing in our church, and in my personal life. Rob and I have been taking a little break from Facebook for the past 5 or so days just to give us a bit more opportunity to press in and I can tell the difference. I personally have been really giving God my all lately and just asking Him to speak into my life and change some personal habits in me. I feel like I've been hitting a lot of resistance in that, but Pastor spoke about how when you press in, satan knows it and tries harder to derail you. That was just enough information for me! He also spoke the very verse that I've been memorizing all week, Romans 8:38. Amazing, because he only shared 2 scriptures with us yesterday, never even got to preach!
At the end of service we had a time of prayer and I just love that! It's so cool to get the opportunity to pray with people, even if all I do is stand and agree with Pastor and Linda. I've gotten to assist more with that in this church than ever before and I consider it such an blessing.
Then last night we had a concert and a missions auction. I always love a church social event. I guess that's just the pastor's kid in me. :) I love seeing all the ages of the church get together and love on one another. We have so many special people in our church, it's just a blessing to spend time with them. I love how having been here a bit longer now, I know the people better and know their ins and outs and their stories. To quote my favorite character in one of my favorite books "I'm especially fond of them!" which is an answer to a prayer my heart has been praying for the past few months. I want so badly to see people the way God sees them. To see their hearts, rather than guess about their motives and assume the worst. I have a very long way to go, but I am asking God for His help in this matter.
There is one little couple; he sings in the choir and she was in her pew, just beaming with pride. They've probably been married 40 years I'm guessing.... And he caught her eye and winked at her, right in the middle of the song. She melted on the spot. Just adorable! I would have missed that a year ago. :)
The bake auction was really fun. Our church is seriously hard core when it comes to missions and baked goods. :) Unfortunately Wendy's famous sugar cookies went about $80 to rich for my blood, but I did score a drum lesson for Eli. And one of our family's gave us the carrot cake that they bought because they had seen Eli drooling over it. It was very sweet.
Overall, I'm just excited for what God is doing. Excited to be growing closer to Him, and ready to experience an amazing General Council next week. It is a great time to serve the Lord!!
I woke up in such a good place. Rob and I prayed together before we even set foot out of bed and it just charged me up. I often pray as I wake up or in the shower, and we always pray before he leaves for church on Sunday morning. We pray in the car on the way to work every morning too, but yesterday it was so cool to have that be our very first activity of the day. It really set the tone. I could tell that God was going to do something in service. Sunday School was well attended (praise God!) and it seemed like our students were 'catching' a lot yesterday morning. And then during big church, the spirit of God moved and it was awesome! I could barely stay in my seat, eventually I just had to go up to the altar simply to give God the honor that was due Him. Matt introduced a new song a few weeks ago from a church called Antioch Community up in Waco. This song is so anointed. It's available here for free download.
I am so excited for what God is doing in our church, and in my personal life. Rob and I have been taking a little break from Facebook for the past 5 or so days just to give us a bit more opportunity to press in and I can tell the difference. I personally have been really giving God my all lately and just asking Him to speak into my life and change some personal habits in me. I feel like I've been hitting a lot of resistance in that, but Pastor spoke about how when you press in, satan knows it and tries harder to derail you. That was just enough information for me! He also spoke the very verse that I've been memorizing all week, Romans 8:38. Amazing, because he only shared 2 scriptures with us yesterday, never even got to preach!
At the end of service we had a time of prayer and I just love that! It's so cool to get the opportunity to pray with people, even if all I do is stand and agree with Pastor and Linda. I've gotten to assist more with that in this church than ever before and I consider it such an blessing.
Then last night we had a concert and a missions auction. I always love a church social event. I guess that's just the pastor's kid in me. :) I love seeing all the ages of the church get together and love on one another. We have so many special people in our church, it's just a blessing to spend time with them. I love how having been here a bit longer now, I know the people better and know their ins and outs and their stories. To quote my favorite character in one of my favorite books "I'm especially fond of them!" which is an answer to a prayer my heart has been praying for the past few months. I want so badly to see people the way God sees them. To see their hearts, rather than guess about their motives and assume the worst. I have a very long way to go, but I am asking God for His help in this matter.
There is one little couple; he sings in the choir and she was in her pew, just beaming with pride. They've probably been married 40 years I'm guessing.... And he caught her eye and winked at her, right in the middle of the song. She melted on the spot. Just adorable! I would have missed that a year ago. :)
The bake auction was really fun. Our church is seriously hard core when it comes to missions and baked goods. :) Unfortunately Wendy's famous sugar cookies went about $80 to rich for my blood, but I did score a drum lesson for Eli. And one of our family's gave us the carrot cake that they bought because they had seen Eli drooling over it. It was very sweet.
Overall, I'm just excited for what God is doing. Excited to be growing closer to Him, and ready to experience an amazing General Council next week. It is a great time to serve the Lord!!
Jul 25, 2009
Pool Time
Yesterday we got to spend a bit of time at Pastor's pool. Oh, and my d90 followed us there. :) Had some fun with the zoom lens. Don't worry, during the documenting of this evening's fun, no equipment was harmed!
This girl is cracking me up lately. That birthday looming on the horizon and even without looking at a calendar I could tell you. She's maturing by the day lately! She put this sticker on her (my) glasses to remind me that she was four, but only for a few more weeks, Mom.
This boy has become a fish this year. It's so suprising what a few swim lessons have done for his confidence level. He was jumping off the diving board in the 10 foot and swimming to the side with no floaties by the end of the evening. Of course, so was Sarah. :) But we knew she was fearless.
Sarah was riding this fun-noodle around like a horse, little head bopping out of the water.
Rob was pretty much a fish too. I used to be, but I don't like getting water in my ears anymore, it takes too long for them to recover. I really prefer to sit poolside, with a good zoom lens, capturing it all! But after about 15 minutes I put my baby away (in my waterproof camera bag) and joined in the fun.
Eli, however, has no problem getting really wet anymore. It's awesome to see him grow so much in one summer!!
And Sarah, as forementioned, is completely fearless. A little fear might do her some good. The photo right before this was of her taunting her father and the one before that she was dancing on the diving board. No kidding, she's a little diva.
We've spent a lot of time in the pool this summer, and you can tell just by looking at us! :)
This girl is cracking me up lately. That birthday looming on the horizon and even without looking at a calendar I could tell you. She's maturing by the day lately! She put this sticker on her (my) glasses to remind me that she was four, but only for a few more weeks, Mom.
This boy has become a fish this year. It's so suprising what a few swim lessons have done for his confidence level. He was jumping off the diving board in the 10 foot and swimming to the side with no floaties by the end of the evening. Of course, so was Sarah. :) But we knew she was fearless.
Sarah was riding this fun-noodle around like a horse, little head bopping out of the water.
Rob was pretty much a fish too. I used to be, but I don't like getting water in my ears anymore, it takes too long for them to recover. I really prefer to sit poolside, with a good zoom lens, capturing it all! But after about 15 minutes I put my baby away (in my waterproof camera bag) and joined in the fun.
Eli, however, has no problem getting really wet anymore. It's awesome to see him grow so much in one summer!!
And Sarah, as forementioned, is completely fearless. A little fear might do her some good. The photo right before this was of her taunting her father and the one before that she was dancing on the diving board. No kidding, she's a little diva.
We've spent a lot of time in the pool this summer, and you can tell just by looking at us! :)
Promised Pictures
ok, so the kids were hard to get to bed and I wound up editing photos rather than scrapping. Lucky you! Sarah had an impromtu 'session' with me the other day in and amongst playing Barbies in her room. The lighting was so soft and she was in just the right mood. :)
Eli got in on the action a tiny bit too. He's growing up so fast, it amazes me...
Today's Pages
I have been looking forward to today for a long time. I finally got some serious time to scrapbook. It was so wonderful, to focus on being creative. I didn't realize how much I needed it!! Rob was sweet to stay with the kids while I had a day away with the scrapbook ladies from church. I say ladies, but only one other gal showed up. No problem though, Mirna and I had a blast! I finished 5 pages and am hoping to finish up the 6th after the kiddos go to bed here shortly. And while planning and packing yesterday, I pulled together another 3 real quickly, so I'm going to share them too. Also, I have been shutter-happy lately (slow session-wise, but busy with orders and cds thankfully!) and it's been showing up at home. I have a slew of new photos to share, but that will probably be tomorrow...
Jul 23, 2009
Mental Health Day
I had to run to Houston today to the camera store for asome supplies for a client order... So I decided to take a few hours to myself. Started off with my Bible study at Roseland Park. That's probably one of my favorite places in Baytown to sit and talk with the Lord. It's beautiful. You can fee the breeze off the baby and watch the birds and it's really close to the church, so that's convienient. I go there often.
Then I headed to my favorite camera haunt in Houston and picked up the things I needed. Got to talking to the clerk there and turns out he's a Christian so we wound up discussing photographing church events, so that was fun! He also gave me few pointers on some of the special features on my new d90 and recommended a tutorial dvd which I bought. Looking forward to sitting down with that tomorrow!!
Then I wandered over to the Galleria. It's not my favorite mall, but it was close and safe and I was looking for a New York and Company to find a shirt to go with a sweater and a jacket I had bought earier this spring. General Council is around the corner and i'm begining to think about wardrobe. I did a very careful job of choosing pieces that will coordinate well with what I already have. (I'm growing up) They had all their clearance items 60% off, so I picked up a sweater that I'd been eyeballing for 4 months for $12!! Unfortunately I did not find the shirt I was looking for, but found some cute (cheap) things for Council. I also found a few fun clearance things for Sare at Claire's. Her birthday is right around the corner and I'm seriously unprepared!!'
On the way out tof the mall I breezed through Macy's to check out the new Lemongrass color of Fiestaware. Um, there has never been a more 'me' color!
Oh, and I had a fantastic ongoing confersation with Lori. It was a great morning! Now I'm off to pick up the kiddos and hit the library! Oh, and a quick client drop-off on the way. It's been a good Thursday, just miss spending it with Rob... Fall is almost here and then Thursday's will really mean something again!
Then I headed to my favorite camera haunt in Houston and picked up the things I needed. Got to talking to the clerk there and turns out he's a Christian so we wound up discussing photographing church events, so that was fun! He also gave me few pointers on some of the special features on my new d90 and recommended a tutorial dvd which I bought. Looking forward to sitting down with that tomorrow!!
Then I wandered over to the Galleria. It's not my favorite mall, but it was close and safe and I was looking for a New York and Company to find a shirt to go with a sweater and a jacket I had bought earier this spring. General Council is around the corner and i'm begining to think about wardrobe. I did a very careful job of choosing pieces that will coordinate well with what I already have. (I'm growing up) They had all their clearance items 60% off, so I picked up a sweater that I'd been eyeballing for 4 months for $12!! Unfortunately I did not find the shirt I was looking for, but found some cute (cheap) things for Council. I also found a few fun clearance things for Sare at Claire's. Her birthday is right around the corner and I'm seriously unprepared!!'
On the way out tof the mall I breezed through Macy's to check out the new Lemongrass color of Fiestaware. Um, there has never been a more 'me' color!
Oh, and I had a fantastic ongoing confersation with Lori. It was a great morning! Now I'm off to pick up the kiddos and hit the library! Oh, and a quick client drop-off on the way. It's been a good Thursday, just miss spending it with Rob... Fall is almost here and then Thursday's will really mean something again!
Jul 15, 2009
Feeling Blah.
Ugh. I even hate typing that. I don't like feeling blah. I suppose no one does, but I find it very inconvienient. The lack of motivation grates on me.
I think I miss Eli. We'll leave tomorrow to pick him up on Friday and I'm really looking forward to seeing him and hearing all about his week. I'm praying God has done something big in his life.
The time with Sarah and Rob has been really special. We've mostly just hung around the house and done catch up things. Organizing, cleaning, hanging things on the wall. It's a little overwhelming though, because I see how much actually needs to be done.
This afternoon I'm picking Sare up from school and we are going to share a little 'Girl Time'. I'll probably take her to split a Starbucks (that is her absolute favorite special treat with Mommy) and then it's off the special pedi chair that looks like a butterfly at AM Nail Spa. We've been talking about it for weeks now. She's ridiculously excited about it.
Also, I wanted to share this pic for those of you not on FB. Rob installed these lights in our otherwise dark and drab built in shelving. I love it. Just having it on when I walk by makes me smile, it's so pretty and PERFECT for this photo display. I think Eli's going to think it's really cool!!
And this is a terrible picture of my really lovely display at the Vendor Blender on Sunday. I loved the colors and it really made a statement!!
I reject blah and replace it with contentment! That's what I want to be feeling! :)
I think I miss Eli. We'll leave tomorrow to pick him up on Friday and I'm really looking forward to seeing him and hearing all about his week. I'm praying God has done something big in his life.
The time with Sarah and Rob has been really special. We've mostly just hung around the house and done catch up things. Organizing, cleaning, hanging things on the wall. It's a little overwhelming though, because I see how much actually needs to be done.
This afternoon I'm picking Sare up from school and we are going to share a little 'Girl Time'. I'll probably take her to split a Starbucks (that is her absolute favorite special treat with Mommy) and then it's off the special pedi chair that looks like a butterfly at AM Nail Spa. We've been talking about it for weeks now. She's ridiculously excited about it.Also, I wanted to share this pic for those of you not on FB. Rob installed these lights in our otherwise dark and drab built in shelving. I love it. Just having it on when I walk by makes me smile, it's so pretty and PERFECT for this photo display. I think Eli's going to think it's really cool!!
And this is a terrible picture of my really lovely display at the Vendor Blender on Sunday. I loved the colors and it really made a statement!!
I reject blah and replace it with contentment! That's what I want to be feeling! :)
Jul 13, 2009
Remember My Last Post??
I do not normally post on Sunday morning before church. In fact, yesterday morning was really strange and I actually had an extra hour at home before Sunday School. And I posted about that crazy lion dream.
Got to church that morning and this is the sermon Pastor preached. (my notes) He happened to use the precise scripture verse that was in my head when I woke up Sunday morning. Talk about confirmation!! Rob and I were in awe!
1 Peter 5:8
How To Win Battles in this This Life
1 Chron 20
Jehosaphat was one of 5 great Kings of Judah
Made a bad choice when he aligned himself with Ahab.
Life is a battle we need to know how win: intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, relational, economic, cultural, moral.
Stand on the Word of God.
Acknowledge that a real enemy would desire to destroy you.
1 Peter 5:8
Stand firm in your faith!
Trouble can become your servant rather than your master.
Ask God "how can I grow in this situation?"
When God is speaking the best thing we can do is listen and remember that He is sovereign.
Fear is one of the first things we experience when the enemy is near - He tries to defeat you with fear initially.
When you walk with God you begin to look and love and think like God, rather than the world.
When drifting to the world's ways, the less we trust God's ways.
The devil will back you into a corner but God can still save you.
Jehosaphat knew God as the answer, the solution for life's answers.
Acknowledge God as your ONLY source of deliverance!
Don't leave yourself unprotected - keep the Holy Spirit as a covering.
Hearing this sermon, so completely in context with my interpretation of the dream, wow, it was awesome! I was also reminded of this verse Acts 2:17
" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."
Not saying I'm an old man, but I've felt for some time that we are living in last days and I never realized God could use me this way. I spoke to Pastor after service and he felt like it was really a confirmation that he was right on that morning.
What I wanted to say yesterday (but wanted you to think about) is that I felt like the dream was reminding me how caught up in our daily lives we can get, how distracted by this world and all it's entrapment's. We can go about our daily lives and forget that a hungry lion is seeking to destroy us. But even when we are distracted and suddenly find ourselves trapped in his snare, our faith in God can still bring about our rescue. Even when we forget about Him, He never forgets about us, not even for a moment. He is waiting for us to call out His name and ready to rescue.
The dream was frightening, but what a wonderful reminder of what I truly need to live for!!
Got to church that morning and this is the sermon Pastor preached. (my notes) He happened to use the precise scripture verse that was in my head when I woke up Sunday morning. Talk about confirmation!! Rob and I were in awe!
1 Peter 5:8
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Ok, so here are my notes....
How To Win Battles in this This Life
1 Chron 20
Jehosaphat was one of 5 great Kings of Judah
Made a bad choice when he aligned himself with Ahab.
Life is a battle we need to know how win: intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, relational, economic, cultural, moral.
Stand on the Word of God.
Acknowledge that a real enemy would desire to destroy you.
1 Peter 5:8
Stand firm in your faith!
Trouble can become your servant rather than your master.
Ask God "how can I grow in this situation?"
When God is speaking the best thing we can do is listen and remember that He is sovereign.
Fear is one of the first things we experience when the enemy is near - He tries to defeat you with fear initially.
When you walk with God you begin to look and love and think like God, rather than the world.
When drifting to the world's ways, the less we trust God's ways.
The devil will back you into a corner but God can still save you.
Jehosaphat knew God as the answer, the solution for life's answers.
Acknowledge God as your ONLY source of deliverance!
Don't leave yourself unprotected - keep the Holy Spirit as a covering.
Hearing this sermon, so completely in context with my interpretation of the dream, wow, it was awesome! I was also reminded of this verse Acts 2:17
" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."
Not saying I'm an old man, but I've felt for some time that we are living in last days and I never realized God could use me this way. I spoke to Pastor after service and he felt like it was really a confirmation that he was right on that morning.
What I wanted to say yesterday (but wanted you to think about) is that I felt like the dream was reminding me how caught up in our daily lives we can get, how distracted by this world and all it's entrapment's. We can go about our daily lives and forget that a hungry lion is seeking to destroy us. But even when we are distracted and suddenly find ourselves trapped in his snare, our faith in God can still bring about our rescue. Even when we forget about Him, He never forgets about us, not even for a moment. He is waiting for us to call out His name and ready to rescue.
The dream was frightening, but what a wonderful reminder of what I truly need to live for!!
Jul 12, 2009
A Strange Dream
This morning, just before waking up... I dreamt I was swimming in a public pool, early in the morning. It wasn't crowded. I was really enjoying the cool of the morning and the cool water against my skin. Very invigorating. I finished up my swim, climbed out of the pool and walked out of the fenced in pool area towards my car. Right away I felt like something wasn't right. I could see people up in trees, and after a moment I realized the object of their terror - a tremendous hungry lion was out of his cage. I know this because he was dragging a big chain from a collar on his neck, along with a chunk of his iron cage. Of course, he immediately spotted me and I knew I was lion bait. Quickly, I assessed that running wasn't an option (he'd only be playing with his food before he devoured it) so I pulled my towel over my body and huddled on the ground as still as I could. I could feel him approach me, sniffing me out. I was terrified for a moment, at the sound of his pads approaching. I felt the lion open his cavernous mouth and place it over my head, literally encompassing my head is his open jaw. In this moment I was no longer scared, all the Bible stories of lions and salvation downloaded into my brain. I just whispered an internal prayer, telling God if it was my time to go and it was going to be like this, I was ready. But I also told Him I believed He could still save me if He wanted to. We hung there for an eternity, long enough for me to wonder if I had already passed from this life to the next. Then, the lion picked himself up and closed his mouth and walked away, distracted by some other more interesting food perhaps? As soon as he had left the immediate premise, I quickly climbed the nearest tree, which wasn't very tall and probably no trouble for a hungry lion. The rest of my dream was spent debating whether or not I should take the risk of changing trees or running to my car (several hundred yards away) and wondering why no one had called animal control yet. My cell phone was in my car...
Crazy, huh?
I see a lot of spiitual symbolism in this dream. Quite often God reveals Himself to me in dreams. I would love to hear what you think though!
Crazy, huh?
I see a lot of spiitual symbolism in this dream. Quite often God reveals Himself to me in dreams. I would love to hear what you think though!
Jul 11, 2009
I'm not even sure when I've blogged last... I realize that I often say how crazy our life is - but it's felt especially crazy these past few weeks. I'm not saying that to complain but just to explain. I love blogging and it saddens me when I can't keep it up like I'd like to. I hate the idea of swiss cheese holes in our life.
Everything is going good. I certainly have my moments of stress and even sheer panic - but I mostly just trust that God has given me all that I need and it will all work out.
I'm working on a ton of big projects right now, or at least it feels that way. I just wrapped up my second wedding. You can see the pictures on my photography blog... The editing process was huge! I guess it was last time but the kids were in school full-time and I wasn't as booked as I have been lately. (praise the Lord for that!). I had the hardest time just finding consecutive hours to sit down and work on them. Finally I blo med out Monday and literally edited from 9am until midnight. It was worth it though, I'm so happy with the results.
Sunday I am participating in a vendor blender and I'm really excited about it. I've spent a lot of time preparing for it and have some new details I am excited to reveal. Mostly I've pulled together some great new prints and I've found myself wondering why I hadn't done that sooner. I've since decided that a photographers home should be filled with prints of her work.... ;)
I've also been working on our church's 90th Anniversary Commemorative Cookbook, which has been a bit of a project in itself. Thankfully, we've pulled in all of our recipes, have them sorted and organized, and Nancy has drawn up a very thorough index and we are ready to ship it on Monday morning! Praise the Lord! So I'm off the hook on that project for 4-6 weeks until the proof book comes back in. Rob doesn't think I should proof it, after all, I'm a PRO-tographer, he doesn't think my proofing skills are up to par. I agree! Oh well, it's going to be such a neat project when it's finally done, it's really a compilation of 2 previous Trinity cookbooks and then now a third! There will be over 800 recipes in the final edition. I think it's ironic that I've been heading up this project because I've never even contributed to a cookbook before, let alone assembled one!
As soon as we get that puppy in the mail, my next Anniversary project is a commemorative video. I get to sift through 90 years of photos and compile them into a beautiful photo slide show. Should be fun! :)
I've also spent a lot of time thinking about our house lately, and how we can make it work better for us. I'm hoping to spend some of our vacation cleaning, fixing and organizing. Things tend to move towards disarray with our current lifestyle!
Well, I need to get back to work. I'm working on a few last details for tomorrow's event. I also need to finish packing up Eli's stuff for camp. He leaves on Monday, so I'm looking forward to a special week with Sarah.
Oh, and before I go, I have a few random photos to share from the past few days.
Sarah has been sporting this shirt lately, and I love it! So true. I need a matching one I think.
I've been wearing my charm bracelet a lto more lately and thinking about all the meaning each charm has. Sarah is about to turn 5 (in a month) and I'd really love to start her on a silver charm bracelet, only to be worn for Christmas, Easter, and birthday for these first 10 or so years. I think she'd be all over it!
Yesterday we went to Grace's 7th birthday party. This is the outside of her gift. I found wrapping paper at IKEA the other day with Rob for $1 a roll! I love it!
This is the inside of her present. I did this quick scrapbook page and then put it into a special 12x12 frame I found at Hobby Lobby. I've been spending way too much time at Hobby Lobby lately!!
I snapped this pic of Eli the other afternoon. This is his usual spot on the couch. (he's like that cat that way) Speaking of Maddie....
I noticed this happening. Sarah is studying a book about dancing, and apparently Maddie is too? So funny. This is my house now, all these personalities existing under one roof, it's a real hoot, trust me!
But Maddie is fitting right in. This is her favorite spot while I edit. Yep, that's my lap. Makes it hard to shift positions when I'm editing for hours at a time. :)
And this is Sarah's new favorited spot for Maddie to hang out. Notice the ever patient kitten zipped up into the puppy carry-all.... Maddie is so much more patient than I would be!!
Everything is going good. I certainly have my moments of stress and even sheer panic - but I mostly just trust that God has given me all that I need and it will all work out.
I'm working on a ton of big projects right now, or at least it feels that way. I just wrapped up my second wedding. You can see the pictures on my photography blog... The editing process was huge! I guess it was last time but the kids were in school full-time and I wasn't as booked as I have been lately. (praise the Lord for that!). I had the hardest time just finding consecutive hours to sit down and work on them. Finally I blo med out Monday and literally edited from 9am until midnight. It was worth it though, I'm so happy with the results.
Sunday I am participating in a vendor blender and I'm really excited about it. I've spent a lot of time preparing for it and have some new details I am excited to reveal. Mostly I've pulled together some great new prints and I've found myself wondering why I hadn't done that sooner. I've since decided that a photographers home should be filled with prints of her work.... ;)
I've also been working on our church's 90th Anniversary Commemorative Cookbook, which has been a bit of a project in itself. Thankfully, we've pulled in all of our recipes, have them sorted and organized, and Nancy has drawn up a very thorough index and we are ready to ship it on Monday morning! Praise the Lord! So I'm off the hook on that project for 4-6 weeks until the proof book comes back in. Rob doesn't think I should proof it, after all, I'm a PRO-tographer, he doesn't think my proofing skills are up to par. I agree! Oh well, it's going to be such a neat project when it's finally done, it's really a compilation of 2 previous Trinity cookbooks and then now a third! There will be over 800 recipes in the final edition. I think it's ironic that I've been heading up this project because I've never even contributed to a cookbook before, let alone assembled one!
As soon as we get that puppy in the mail, my next Anniversary project is a commemorative video. I get to sift through 90 years of photos and compile them into a beautiful photo slide show. Should be fun! :)
I've also spent a lot of time thinking about our house lately, and how we can make it work better for us. I'm hoping to spend some of our vacation cleaning, fixing and organizing. Things tend to move towards disarray with our current lifestyle!
Well, I need to get back to work. I'm working on a few last details for tomorrow's event. I also need to finish packing up Eli's stuff for camp. He leaves on Monday, so I'm looking forward to a special week with Sarah.
Oh, and before I go, I have a few random photos to share from the past few days.
Sarah has been sporting this shirt lately, and I love it! So true. I need a matching one I think.
I've been wearing my charm bracelet a lto more lately and thinking about all the meaning each charm has. Sarah is about to turn 5 (in a month) and I'd really love to start her on a silver charm bracelet, only to be worn for Christmas, Easter, and birthday for these first 10 or so years. I think she'd be all over it!
Yesterday we went to Grace's 7th birthday party. This is the outside of her gift. I found wrapping paper at IKEA the other day with Rob for $1 a roll! I love it!
This is the inside of her present. I did this quick scrapbook page and then put it into a special 12x12 frame I found at Hobby Lobby. I've been spending way too much time at Hobby Lobby lately!!
I snapped this pic of Eli the other afternoon. This is his usual spot on the couch. (he's like that cat that way) Speaking of Maddie....
I noticed this happening. Sarah is studying a book about dancing, and apparently Maddie is too? So funny. This is my house now, all these personalities existing under one roof, it's a real hoot, trust me!
But Maddie is fitting right in. This is her favorite spot while I edit. Yep, that's my lap. Makes it hard to shift positions when I'm editing for hours at a time. :)
And this is Sarah's new favorited spot for Maddie to hang out. Notice the ever patient kitten zipped up into the puppy carry-all.... Maddie is so much more patient than I would be!!
Jul 4, 2009
Go Fly A Kite
We were invited to Judy and Wendy's for lunch today. Wow, that was fun! They live right on Trinity Bay so we enjoyed lunch overlooking the water, with a healthy breeze keeping the otherwise hundred degree weather bearable. A bunch of families from church were there, including some of our youth. Then we headed out the pier to check out the fishing. We didn't catch anything, but Katie did! A hardhead, which, apparently aren't very edible, so he got thrown back. What fun though! Eli's interest in fishing was peaked and he's already begging to go back. When fishing grew tiresome (Sarah didn't like sitting still) we headed back up to the shore for some kite flying. I hadn't flown a kite since I was Eli's age, but it turns out I still have it! Plus, it was really windy (as it often is by the water), so I'm sure that helped. We all just had a blast. Oh, but that sun was bright and we came home looking like we spent time at the beach. :) We won't be forgetting today for years to come! Came home, showered and cleaned up for church in the morning, cleaned the house in prep for life group, and cooked up tomorrow night's supper. I'm exhausted, but ready for a wonderful Sunday.
Jul 2, 2009
It's Thursday.
And normally, Thursdays are my very favorite. However, Thursdays this summer have been less than ideal, since Rob is taking Mondays as his day off until September. We've enjoyed spending Fun-day Mondays with the kiddos, but we are seriously missing our Thursday dates. :(
Today went really well though. Rob officiated his first funeral, and I know I'm his wife, but he did an amazing job. I'm so proud of him. His message was so moving, so appropriate. It's premise was very simple; God is good. He can be trusted. And God loves you. But he wrapped it around several stories and personal examples, it was very good. And I didn't mess up sound at all, so that was really great! We made it home in time to have supper and spend some time on the phone with my sister, who is preparing to move to Boston in about a month. Then we got our suits on and went swimming with the kids for a bit before their last lesson. It was fun.
Tomorrow I have a couple early shoots, and then we are thinking we'll take the kiddos to the movies to see "UP". The summer is going so fast, I want to create a few memories before it's gone!
Jul 1, 2009
Introducing Our Newest Family Member...
Meet Maddie.
She joined the family about a week ago. She's about 10 or 11 weeks old, the sweetest kitten ever. She's fun, gregarious, loving, and generally a joy to be around. The kids absolutely love her!! And Rob is pretty fond of her as well! :) I think she's going to be a really good fit into our crazy household. Oh, and her name comes from 'the Suite Life of Zack and Cody' - the candy shop character played by Ashley Tisdale. It just fit her personality, fun and bubbly yet tenacious.
Also, just for laughs, this was at the bottom of a survey I developed on Facebook. I just cracked up, not that FB was trying to hook me up with 'hot singles' but that they had taken upon themselves to decide that Rob was just my type. Works for me!
So, that's it for me tonight. I'm completely wiped out. We've just been hanging on from our huge weekend. Rob is preaching his first funeral tomorrow, and apparently I'm running sound. That's code for pray for me, cause I've never done it! I guess we'll be learning together tomorrow afternoon. But then we've got a long weekend. I have a date with my Mac and hundreds of wedding photos to edit. We will pause to celebrate the beautiful independence we enjoy every day, thanks to good men like my brother, who is serving over in Afghanistan. I'm really looking forward to spending some down time with Rob and the kiddos. blessings, sleep well!
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