A Full Heart...

The washing machine is whirring and the dishwasher set to start next, the table cleared and wiped down, the floor swept, the dishes and pots and pans washed and returned to their usual spots... With full tummies and happy hearts, it's time to reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

I'm pushing aside my urge to tell you all how much I've missed blogging and moving right on to the importance of the day. I've thought so much about this post, it's been turning over in my mind for several days, if not a week or more.

I'm so thankful. It's not just the time of year or because it's the day to be thankful. I just am. When I think about all that God is doing in my life, all the ways He's using me, all growth that He's investing in me. Wow. It's humbling.

A list seems like a business-like way to attack this...

1.) Jesus. It all begins and ends with Him. I'm so thankful for a relationship with my savior, a relationship that began at the beginning of time, that the Maker thought me up (and you, and everyone you know and even everyone you don't know) and knew that when He gave me free will I would choose to go my own way. And when I chose that, He chose a sacrifice to cover that choice, at tremendous cost. And I live, in freedom, in right relationship with Him every day, because of that sacrifice. I am so grateful for His Grace, and His friendship.

2.) the Word of God. My ever growing dependency on it, learning to bury it in my heart, learning the words of life and wisdom and truth. I'm grateful to live in a time that I am free to study it, pray it over my life, and seek understanding. I have access to probably 10 translations sitting on my shelves and bedside table, not to mention Biblegateway.com or the volumes of translations and concordances in Rob's office. An amazing time we live in, isn't it?

3.) My dear, sweet family. I'll admit it. I love the Thoresons. Rob is, well, he's Rob. How else do I say that? He's everything I will ever need in a husband, and more. He is the love of my youth and the ever-growing love as we grow old together. He pushes me, supports me, corrects me, challenges me, provides for me, and most of loves me, which is a great gift unto itself. I am not an easy person to live with, I'm sure. :) Yet, he sticks around. And we have such a good time together.

Eli and Sarah. Two stinking geniuses, always lighting up our life with their humor and love and just general joy. They are so funny, so passionate, and it's a joy to behold them. (even though we have our rough moments, the good far outweighs the not-so-good) I consider myself so blessed (and mostly inadequate) to be their mom.

4.) the Ministry. God is so gracious to allow Rob and I to serve Him. We are both highly flawed people, but still He manages to use us and refine us in the process. I am thankful for His call on our lives and His perseverance to fulfill that call.

5.) Trinity. We love our church. We are so invested in it. We love our students and our congregation. We are grateful every day to be doing something we are so passionate about, and glad that Trinity is the place that God has called us to.

6.) Technology. Sounds dorky, but technology has really made my life better. I can't imagine life without the internet and Mac, and our Touches, cell phones. The connectivity really helps, especially living so far from family and friends. Productivity has been massively increased.

7.) Facebook. Silly, but yes, it needed it's own number. Facebook has changed the way we do ministry. It's such an awesome opportunity to connect with people, beyond that surfacey 'hey, how are you?' on Sunday morning. And to be connected with people around the globe at the type of a keyboard. I have several missionary friends in another hemisphere, and yet, I can know what they had for breakfast that morning. Plus, it's a great chance to be salt and light, being a positive voice that connects people to Jesus on a daily basis. I have lots of friends from high school who still don't know the Lord, but they are reading my status updates. What an opportunity!!

8.) My Nikon d90. You knew that was coming. This camera has changed the way I view the world and I love it!! Every time I pick it up I think how blessed I am to have it.

9.) ATP. God is really using this business; to bless families, to grow me in so many ways (spiritually, relationally, financially, even just in knowledge!) I've really had to step out and decide where it is going and I'm really excited about the possibilities. God literally dropped it in my lap and I'm still amazed that I'm working for myself now. Very cool. It really pays off to be a work-a-holic when you are self-employed, too bad I didn't figure that out years ago. Really, though, ATP has been specifically for this time in our life. I feel like it's my reward for staying home and investing in our kiddos those first 8 years of early childhood. Ironically, I thought they'd go to elementary and I'd return to college and then eventually go back to work. I never dreamt that God would rewrite my plans (again) and allow me to go back to work so soon. Very cool, and completely satisfying, even if it makes our life a little crazy.

10.) Good friends. I have three friends who continually feed my soul. These girls are available any time I call, and always prove to be good sounding boards, offering solid advice and prayer. I am so glad they are a part of my life.

11.) Our home. All 1288 square feet of it. I will never be dissatisfied with this house. Of course there are things I would like to improve (you know me, I have a list of someday projects), but any time I feel myself growing discontent, I remember the Ozark house. All 500 sq ft of it. And I'm fine then. God has brought us so far since 2005.

12.) Personal Growth. wow. I just perused back to 2005 to see if I had a blog post about our tiny house and I was so cynical, oh my! I guess I was just really in a bad place back then, but I'm usually pretty glass-half-full, so it was surprising. I can see how my faith has grown since then. God has really brought us through some trials over the years and I can see the character He's been working on so diligently. Thank you Lord!

13.) Our freedom. Even though, I often think the very freedom that this country was founded on will eventually become it's demise. I am so thankful for people like my brother Chris and my cousin John who are working so hard to protect our country, sacrificing so much. We are blessed because of them.

Well, that's a start. Now to include some pictures.

We drew on a tablecloth today, all the things we were thankful for. Making this a new family tradition. :)

Here are the results. Totally washable, cheap table cloth + sharpies.

Yesterday we kept an eye on Grace and Ethan while their folks made a hospital visit. I had already planned on making these cute pilgrim hat cookies. It was a lot of fun.

And then here is our meal as a family this afternoon. It was yummy! (a little irritated with these last two shots because I had it in manual earlier, set for the light in the kitchen at the time, and then forgot to reinspect the settings when we sat down to eat an hour later. The sun was lower on the west side of the house, brighter room on the same settings = blown out photo. rookie mistake. oh well.)

I also snuck a remote shot while we were praying, just cause I could. :) Funny, right after we were done praying Eli told me he had thought of it too! That's my boy!

Ten Minutes

I'm on break. :) I've been photoshopping since I finished my quiet time at 9 this morning. I'm trying to dig myself out of the hole I've made for myself these past two weeks. That's the issue that happens when you book more shoots than you have time to post-process. And with putting everything on hold for the anniversary this weekend, I'm 4 shoots and a wedding behind right now, about to go to a family shoot this afternoon, and then another one tomorrow. whew! But then I've got a little break (to edit) and to celebrate Thanksgiving in the Thoreson Household. We are really scaling it back this year, but I feel like it's totally out of necessity, I just can't take on anything else. Perhaps, 10 days from now, I'll feel differently, but as of today I'm planning very low key. :) Yummy, but low key. Can you believe that turkey day is already almost here? Can someone please tell me where 2009 went? I feel like it's been just a blur. It's almost time to do my recap already. Oh my.

I'm thinking in 2010 I'm going to need to re-prioritize a bit. Maybe even starting before then. I told you about the small-scale Thanksgiving (very not Anna).. Take a deep breath, but I'm not sending Christmas cards this year. (don't throw anything) I know they are a Thoreson tradition since the beginning of time (actually, I literally sent out hand-drawn Christmas cards as a high schooler, such a dweeb am I!), but this year it's being forgone. Perhaps next year I'll pick it back up, but this season I'm focusing on ATP, giving everything extra time-wise to church, and spending quality time with my kids when they are home. Besides, almost everyone I sent Christmas cards to is on FB now, so we have been more in touch with them this year than any year previously.

Anyway, didn't pop on to say all that. Really wanted to express the awesomeness of yesterday. We successfully pulled off our 90th Anniversary at Trinity. It was a huge amount of work, but such a cool result. I'm very excited to sift through the photos, but they are on the aforementioned waiting list. ;) I did pull this one out real quick, just to add a pic because what fun is a post without a picture??

Also, just wanted to ask y'all to pray for my friend, Lori, who is really struggling with morning sickness (really, all day sickness) and her husband is in dire need of a job. Such a discouraging situation. Rob and I have been praying, but I today I got to thinking about it and thought about the power of lots of people praying. They are good people who work hard, and got dealt a bad hand. They need a touch from God right now.

Ok, off to prep for my family session. They are missionaries to Portugal. How cool is that???

I was waiting for a client this afternoon and forgot to bring a book or a to-do list or anything other than my iPod, and even that keeps kicking off my downloaded translation of my bible. Normally I use that kind of 'waiting' down time to read scripture, or study my memory verses, or go over my calender and mentally prep for the things that lay ahead. But today, I was off my game and just sat for a few moments and thought. One of the things I thought about is how much I miss blogging on a regular basis. Life is just moving way too fast right now and I haven't even had a chance to write it down! Thankfully, I have been much more faithful to my quiet times, so at least I'm not losing my mind! :)

Photography has been busy. Church has been insanely busy. The laundry and dishes and housecleaning is piling up. I feel like a person (who is not a strong swimmer) standing in a swimming pool at the 5 foot section, a little overfilled, just barely keeping my face to the surface of the water, arched up on my tippy toes. Sure, I'm still technically keeping my head above water, but just barely!

This week we are finishing all the last minute preps for the church's 90th anniversary, the pictures, the cake decisions, the order of service, all the little extras. I'm also working on editing last weekend's wedding.

I had a senior session today, which was super fun. I ripped my last contact on Sunday though, and am condemned to wear my glasses (grrr) until my 'extremely unusual' prescription trial pair come in late this week. Shooting with glasses today was irritating, to say the least. Wearing glasses just makes me feel like I'm walking around in a fog, and I'm convinced they make me look tired.

Tonight I'm previewing pictures for today's session, and working on the church Christmas card which needs to be ordered by the end of the week. Tomorrow Rob is off (yay!) and the kids get out of school early, so we NEED to do something fun. I'm not exaggerating, sometimes I think our kids really get the short end of the stick and we need to do something about it tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe a park, or the beach, or a movie or even lunch. Not sure, but definitely need to do something!

Thursday I get my hair done, which I am so ready for! And we have parent teacher's conferences. Friday is scrapbooking with the girls from Trinity (yay!) and then prepping for the anniversary. Saturday is more anniversary prep and 2 family shoots that I'm totally looking forward to.

And so forth and so on until we get home from Youth Convention on the 21st, we'll do Sunday services on the 22nd and then it's one week of vacation for me and my favorite youth pastor. Man, I hope I'm caught up by then. Our house could use some serious attention!

Meanwhile.... I am so looking forward to some time with our kids tomorrow. And feeling like myself again with a fresh cut/color. And most of all, scrapbooking in the name of all things church. :) What a built in blessing! I can't wait to focus on something totally creative and unnecessary for a little while. I can't wait!

Everyone's doing good though. Eli's recovered well from his sinus/staph infection. He's still on antibiotics but his 'clicking' when he breathes has stopped. Sare's been a little cranky the past couple days, but last night and tonight early to bed seem to be helping. They are really looking forward to their early out tomorrow. Rob did a great job on the video 'history' of the church, I think the congregation will really enjoy it. I'm also really excited about his worship set for Sunday morning, he's doing a walk-through-the-ages type of thing, best songs from 1920-now essentially. I think it's going to be a beautiful service.

Ok, back to work so I can afford to play tomorrow. :)

Making Mom Happy

I noticed my mom missing the Halloween pictures of the kiddos in her weekly email, so I figured I better belly-up and get 'er done for her. I posted quite a few on FB last week, but I like to post 'em here too, because the blog is the family history book, you know.

I have a lot of family photos to edit from the past few weeks, but I've been really behind lately and trying to prioritize work first. Eventually I'll catch up, but it likely won't be until at least Thanksgiving in all honesty.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and spending Thursday with Rob, although we will be spending a good chunck of the day treating our house and cat for fleas. grr.

So a few Halloween photos. We did Trunk or Treat at church and this is our "Deep in the Heart of Texas" trunk. The lights lit up and we played traditional Texas music through the whole evening. It was pretty fun. There were a couple of bales of hay and a feed bucket to hand out candy with as well...
Eli wanted to be Jesus for Halloween. He was so sweet, asking each person if they knew Jesus. Such a bold soul. Both kids were both absolutely crushed when two people at the last two houses we visited said they didn't believe in Jesus. They came home and prayed for them right away, and still talk about it now 5 days later. I'm so glad they are so sensitive. Adults have been seasoned to be hardened I think.
Sarah was a bride for the Trunk or Treat and she was adorable, of course...


We did pumpkins on Friday night and the whole family really got into it. Rob did the Rebel symbol (from Star Wars) and Eli did the Imperial symbol (also from Star Wars), Sarah did her take on a traditional pumpkin, and I did a camera. It was very fun. Here are our lit up results...

The actual night of Halloween Sarah changed her mind on being a bride and went as a punk rocker instead.. We just dug through our closets till we found something that worked.

I've been having fun pulling out clothes that I bought on clearance at the end of our 'winter' season last year. This sweater is my new favorite. I like pairing it with this pastel blue and also a bold bright blue with a fun blue fabric flower pin I found on clearance last week..

Also, we did our staff photos on Saturday morning for the church Christmas card. Hard to believe it's that time of year already, but it is! Here's our best family shot.

Thankfulness and More

You've probably heard me say it a hundred times, but God is so good!

I say that and you probably think that I've got it all together and everything is coming up roses. Nope, not at all. Not even close! In fact, right now we are battling fleas on our cat (and have been since I got home from Iowa, so over a month already), Eli's got some kind of break out in his hair and is just drowning in snot from sinus issues, Sarah's teacher let me know that Sarah could use more rest, I'm completely overwhelmed with work/housework/ministry/personal growth tasks.... But God is so good and I'm so excited about what He's doing in my life and the ways that He is moving!

Brother Herb spoke this morning about being 'too blessed to be stressed' and I have to tell you that I am not there yet. But I know that I am immensely blessed. My kids are just amazing, I'm completely in awe of them as they are becoming these amazing little people going out in to the great big world, affecting it for Jesus, WOW, that is powerful to behold. Rob is my strength. He is so talented and forthright and just exactly what I need when I need it. He loves me in such a clear and consistent way, I'm so grateful to be hand in hand on this journey with him. I think about what he does on any given Sunday morning and it's incredible to me, his gifting and his calling. It makes me want to hold him up and help him anyway that I possibly can. And I do, we pray together before every service and post process afterwards and obviously I'm super-involved where ever he needs me. But I'm way amazed by him and totally in love with him at the same time. We are all growing in our household right now, and it's just really cool!

So blessed. Working on the stressed still. I feel like I have been in a constant struggle for balance ever since we moved to Baytown. It's been hard to find my place; with the kids starting school full-time and the seemingly ever-increasing demands of ministry and wow, running a household (all the mommies and wives know what I'm talking about there, that's a full-time gig all by itself) and then to add to it my photography business. But the photography thing is such an incredible blessing in itself. Not that it's been extremely profitable just yet, the start up and overhead costs have been far greater than I had initially anticipated, but so worth the effort. I love what I do with a passion I didn't know I had. There's such a thrill in working with people and creating with them. It's a natural high, let me tell you. I get such satisfaction when they are ecstatic about their results. It's just cool!

So as you can see, I'm not willing to put anything down. I love all that I'm doing. Every time I get to a point of 'overwhelmedness' I slow down long enough to think it through, pray about it, cry to Rob, and remember why I do all that I do. And then I move past overwhelmed right in to thanksgiving, God has filled my life with so many good things. So blessed.

Brother Herb also talked about being a blessing to others. I've been on this kick lately, having recently listened to lifechurch.tv and Craig Paschel speaking about 'Being blessed to be a blessing to Others' and it's really been a good challenge for me. I've been trying to give more in all areas of my life, just not holding back. God has been so good to me, it's good to give back even if it's simply out of thanksgiving!

Ok, well I'm tired. I've already written my to-do list for tomorrow and all I can say is oh dear. But it's Monday and it's going to be good. I'm excited for a new week. A big week. A family shoot on Friday and a wedding on Saturday, it's going to be great. Just around the corner is the 90th Anniversary and just beyond that is Youth Convention and then Thanksgiving. Rob and I are taking the entire week of Thanksgiving off and we are really looking forward to that!! Too blessed, let me tell you.

PS - I have all kinds of photos to share, but it's going to be a bit before I get that far...

25 Things

Feeling a bit bloggy this morning. I found myself mentally blogging in the bathroom while I was doing my hair and makeup earlier. Just realized it's been a while since I've really caught you all up. Got to thinking a 25 Things list might be a good way to do it...

1.) I'm ignoring the task at hand for the moment (extremely uncharacteristic) and choosing to blog instead. I should be researching Christmas card templates for the staff card. We are taking the pictures tomorrow. I just finally found the last article of clothing needed for our 'coordinated' outfits this morning. whew.

2.) The 90th Anniversary is approaching with light speed! I'm excited, but a little nervous about all the details. Ready to unveil the cookbook already!

3.) We are having 2010 Calendar Planning today, tomorrow, and then again 2 days in the beginning of November. I really struggle with this annual meeting because it's a bit redundant and drawn out. The good part is, at least it's away time with Pastor and Linda. I'm grateful for that.

4.) My best friend, Lori, is selling her house and moving after 4 months in it. Her husband suddenly lost his job and it has been so hard to watch this happen to them. We are praying for a quick sale and a good new job for him. I believe, from the depths of my being, that God is in control. It is the only way that any of this life is tolerable. In the words of my good Bible buddy, Job, "Though He may slay me, yet I will trust Him." God is to be trusted, in all circumstances. Rob and I have ridden out our share of storms, and even right now there's one on our horizon, but God HAS NEVER failed us. And Lori and Jay serve the same God, who has never failed them either. Please be praying for them though, it's a trial for sure.

5.) Ironically, that being said, it's raining right now. I'm in the sanctuary (on the Mac) and I hear the rain pouring on the roof. One of my favorite sounds in the world, right next to the sound of my husband's voice and my children's laughter. What a blessing.

6.) Speaking of rain, our subdivision flooded massively last Wednesday. To the point that we were trapped, all our entrances were covered in water. Made me feel a bit claustrophobic. One of our friends flooded their car and ruined their engine. They need a new vehicle now. So very sad. Pray for them too!

7.) And last, but not least, on the subject of rain... God reigned in our services yesterday. He just showed up and it was awesome to behold. I say services because I really felt His presence in me in Sunday School even. I've been teaching on worship the past few weeks. We were talking about authentic worship and I just really felt His presence and leading in my teaching. Very cool. Then our students went on to 'push in' during service and you could tell! Rob lead a strong set of worship songs and Pastor gave a wonderful message. They also had Pastor Appreciation, which we appreciated!

8.) A bunny trail of Pastor's message was about Noah and how he wouldn't leave his household behind. Rob and I talk with our children continually about their walk with the Lord, but this was a good solid reminder to check in on our progress in that department. I'm finding myself lacking and it's an area I'm going to commit to working on. If we've spent our lives (and I mean spent; used up every last ounce of strength and effort) in ministry and yet lost our kids in the process, then we have really missed the big picture!

9.) Photography has been awesome lately. Not that I'm just busting out with bookings, but it has been steady. More that I've been taking a class in Houston on Monday nights and it has been terrific. I'm feeling so much more confident - that being said there is still a TON that I know that I don't know how to do yet, but I'm learning! And that is really cool. I can see so much growth in my work and that's very exciting. I absolutely love what I do, it's completely satisfying and uniquely mine and I am completely grateful for it.

10.) Eli's going to be Jesus and Sarah's going to be a bride for Halloween. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

11.) We are doing a Trunk or Treat for the first time at Trinity this year. I've been asked to volunteer a trunk and ours is going to be "Deep in the Heart of Texas" complete with stars hanging from the headliner and everything. I'm borrowing a saddle and bales of hay and having a horse shoe toss. All the the strains of "the stars at night, are big and bright" from the speakers. Should be a lot of fun!

12.) I had an amazing conversation with my sister yesterday. I'm so excited about the direction our relationship is heading in. God is in the restoration business. Don't ever be convinced otherwise.

13.) Speaking of being convinced. Rob spoke about 'Satans' Favorite Lies' last Wednesday night and it was great. I wish I had recorded it. Wow. I need to at least share part of the pamphlet he passed out. It's a list of 55 lies that Satan tells us and it is VERY eye opening. I got a lot out of it, so did our students. And he was funny! So cool to see him come into his own with preaching. Pastor is going to be on vacation here in the near future, so Rob will be speaking in big church and I am excited for him!

14.) I am completely in love with my Nikon d90. It has been such a good camera for me. Perfect size, perfect ability, just right for what I'm doing. This was such a good purchase for me, I have no regrets at all. It's been so neat to grow into my cameras, and neat that this business has been self-perpetuating.

15.) My kitchen really turned out fabulous. It's so fun to work in now. In fact, I go home and walk in to that room and just feel refreshed. It's so cozy and warm, just a happy place to hang out. Now I just need to get back to work on the trim. But I haven't been home at all lately, so that makes it hard to get any projects done.

16.) Rob and I are good. Probably even great. I love this season in our marriage. Can't believe we are coming up on 12 years this May. But we are just happy, building each other up, not tearing down. Filling in for each other's flaws. Hand in hand in ministry together. Wow. So good.

17.) Eli and Sarah are rocking it in school. We got their report cards a week or two ago, and they are doing awesome! That has to be a God thing, because Rob and I aren't putting the effort forth that we should be. Eli is working on a huge project for school though, and we are going to need to find some time to finish that puppy up. So hard to do that kind of thing for some reason.

18.) I miss fall. It's been a lot better here the past week or so with the weather cooling down a bit. Today I'm wearing a sweater. (woohoo!) But I miss the changing colors. But I love that it won't get bitter cold, so it's a trade off.

19.) Pastor and Linda have been in ministry for 45 years. Trinity gave them a trip to Israel to celebrate. Isn't that the coolest?? They were completely shocked, it was awesome!

20.) That's all I really have time for this morning. Now I need to get to work. I have a huge week and shouldn't have spent the time, but sometimes a little self-care is necessary. Happy Monday!!

Sarah's Day

Eli has been away all weekend at a Royal Rangers Pow-wow type thing. Sarah has had mom and dad to herself and has been eating up every minute of it. Last night we had a bonfire with theLOFT and it was a huge success. The weather was perfect and the fire was beautiful, only to be outdone by the sunset. It was incredible. Sarah really enjoyed that. Then today I had a photo shoot in the morning, so she spent that time cleaning Eli's fish tank with Daddy, and then loafing about the house until I got home. Once I got home we went out so Daddy could finish his sermon. We hit Bath and Body works at the mall and Penny's. Ran a few errands and shared a starbooks (as she says it). Redboxed a copy of Hannah Montana and came home to snuggle with Daddy while Mom did her previews. Then it was back out for dinner at Double Dave's (kids eat free) and home for an extended bath and then a book and bed. It was a lovely day. I had a happy family shoot, that's always a plus.

A will is what we leave TO our children, a legacy is what we leave IN them."

Saw this quote on FB this morning, from Dr. Ivan Satyavrata a missions professor at AGTS. Makes you think hard, doesn't it?

Pumpkin Patch

Rob and I are horrible parents.

We haven't taken our kids to the Pumpkin Patch since we lived in Illinois. But you have to understand, our last trip was to an amazing patch, with corn mazes, mini golf, a petting zoo, a live band, and an apple orchard. It's pretty tough to top all that.

But this morning Jennifer called and said they were going and I said we'd love to go with. What a great opportunity! The kids had a blast and I had a good 45 minutes to practice some of the photography skills I've been fine tuning for the past two weeks of class. Very fun!

I loved that Sarah took the time to change and bling herself out for a trip to the pumpkin patch. Both kids were pretty psyched about the whole experience. :) I love how she has at least 3 rings on this evening. Eli was pretty into it too, but was far more intent on finding the perfect pumpkin over posing for pictures for Mom.

Rob was pretty cool with the whole experience too, very patient. I just love this family! :)

Jen and Bart's kiddos were pretty stinking adorable as well.

Things are going well. I'm tired, it's been a long day. I'm recovering from a sinus issue and I spent today cleaning house for a support staff meeting this evening. I've got quite a few shoots to edit and I'm hoping to catch up tomorrow. I also have a few detailed blog posts partially written in my brain, but am too tired to attempt anything that deep right now. So sharing photos and then calling it a night. It was a very good day.

Eli took this last shot for us. ;)

Just Shoot Me

I've been messing around with my camera at home lately. All brought on by a photography class I've been taking in Houston. It's been really fun, and I'm super excited about it. These pics are SOOC (straight out of camera) and shot without a white balance check. Normally, I shoot in RAW and adjust white balance in post-processing, but for the class I'm taking it back a notch to JPEG and not doing any photoshop/color tweaking. Need to take the time to set my white balance next time, it's a just a little old school for me. Our house lights are extremely yellow because they are those swirly flourescent ones, irritating as a photographer, but brilliant as a frugal pastor's wife. :) All of these were shot indoors, no flash.


Pretty impressed with my hubby lately. We've been putting a lot of effort into our house the past few weeks. Seems like we go in tangents. :) Hadn't done a whole lot since our roof last November and I'm always of the mindset that the house needs to be a priority (financially and timewise) because it's our greatest financial investment. Houses left to themselves move towards chaos, especially in our climate! So, we've been doing the big cabinet rehaul in the kitchen and baths, I just finished the final touch ups on those yesterday. I'm slowly (ever so slowly) making my way through the house repainting the trimwork. Such a process. Seems neverending, and our house is only 1288 sq ft! Today Rob worked on switching out the guest bathroom faucet. I found a deal on 2 brushed nickel faucets at Walmart the other day, so he's graciously putting them in for us. Meanwhile, I'm replacing the hardware (tp holders, towel racks, and such). We are still searching for new light fixtures (brushed nickel) for both baths. But they are really coming together! I'm so in love with my kitchen after all this work, it's a joy to work in. Yesterday I deep cleaned the living room carpets, I need to do Eli's still. Our hope for our next stint of cooler weather is to go ahead and start painting the outside, since we found that 20 gallon bucket of our precise color on clearance last year and it's been waiting in the garage since just after Ike. We still want to clean out our flower beds as well. Our final major project is replacing the living room carpet with pergo-type woodish flooring. We entertain so much that white berber has proved to be a terrible choice the previous homeowners have saddled us with. :) I'd really love the hardwood knock off in our main 'living' area. The tile has been such an amazing choice in the kitchen and baths, I guess I have to give them the crazy white carpet choice in the other rooms. And really, it's very comfy in the bedrooms. I'd be very open to anyone's recommendations for brand... We have about 5 or 6 vacation days left in 2009 and are thinking that would be a great use of it at some point here before Dec. 31.
Other than that, got a couple shoots coming up this weekend. The cookbook came in and it's awesome. Hoping to sell all 550 of them. (gulp) Maddie's been fighting fleas and I'm really sick of it. She licks off her medicine so we helped her out with a little muscle shirt. Rob and I are having lunch with one of our graduated students tomorrow, so that will be fun. That's about all that's new and exciting and fit to print. Thankful for a lot right now.

New Scrapbook Pages

Have a few pages to share tonight. Four of them are from my time with Lori, and the rest are from last night's scrapping session. Finishing up the journal on one last page and then I'll post it with my next batch. It's so good tor relax and scrap. Sarah and I went to Hobby Lobby today to pick out some paper and stickers for her to scrap with, so we should be doing that soon.

Fun pictures from our summer. We really enjoyed Pastor's pool this year! :)
A very simple page, but oh so true!
This was my favorite pic from the start of school session. These kids just crack me up. I keep thinking I should enter them in the GAP casting call. I'd totally be doing it for the clothes, you know.
This page is funny because when Eli was a toddler he would say "I'm feeling video gamey" and I think I did a page years back, but it's still true!!
Some fun with those old-camera picks Rob and I took on my cell phone a couple months back.And I love the idea of scrapping our faith, so this lift of an 'almost famous' page totally worked for me with this picture.
My favorite set of pages from last night. Eli drew all those ships in his free time at school. He totally cracks me up!

School Pictures

Playing catch up. Getting ready for scrapbooking tonight with the girls. Going to bake cookies cause the weather is finally turning. Loving today's rain.

Decided late yesterday that I didn't want to buy the kids school pictures this year. Rob and I pulled out the equipment yesterday and did them ourselves. Got a couple extra shots too. :)

Oh dear.

I was blogging in my head this morning, and suddenly (and quite painfully) realized how long it had been since I'd actually blogged. wow. I'm sorry. I hate that.

So this morning, even though there are dishes waiting on the countertop, the laundry needs folded and put away, my Bible hasn't been cracked open yet this morning, and bills need to be paid.... (along with another HUGE list of to-do's) I'm sitting down to blog. My bible study will be next. Me minus time with Him lately renders me pretty much useless.

Rolling back, I need to cover the past few weeks. We had Missions Convention at Trinity. That was pretty spectacular. I love Missions Convention because there is such an emphasis placed on reaching the rest of the world. Especially this year, our theme was Every Way and it was about spreading the Gospel in every way, whether you are a construction worker, a shift worker, a teacher, or even a photographer. I always enjoy getting to know the missionaries during the various meals we share throughout the weekend. This year did make me really miss my friend Autumn, who is serving in Thailand right now. We wrapped up Missions Convention on Sunday night and then Monday morning I hopped on my plane to Iowa. For some reason it was an insane amount of work to get out of town, just making sure everyone's needs were met before I was out of pocket for 5 days. I left stressed for sure, but felt all my stress melt off as we soared into the air and Houston shrunk in the distance. I so thoroughly enjoyed my flights (both ways), I love to fly and I'm not sure why. The almost two uninterrupted hours of reading probably really helps! But then, when we began to slow and descend from the sky, the fields of Iowa unfurled below and I was choking back tears of homesickness. It was so good to see the familiar.
I spent that evening in Omaha with my Dad, Mom and brother, Andrew. Wow, it was so fun. We hit a antique(?) store and then went for dinner in a beautiful little french cafe in Old Market. We actually ate outside (which was freezing to my Texas self and I wound up unpacking my trench coat half way through dinner) and I had the french onion soup, which was amazing and the first of my wonderful Iowa-food. After dinner Andrew had a class, so Mom and Dad and I wandered around Old Market and thoroughly enjoyed an absolutely beautiful autumn evening. The colors were so pretty and the air was so crisp. wow. We also stopped at Perspective Designs, the new home of the jewelry shop I had worked in just after high school. It was so good to see Matt, my old boss, and his son Chad. We had a lot of catching up to do. He also tweaked my head on my ring, which had been crooked for over a year now. I was excited!Eventually we headed towards Correctionville (my hometown) but Mom and I detoured for breadsticks and white sauce at Pizza Hut in Onawa. We stayed up way too late that night and then I accidentally slept in until 10 the next morning. We had breakfast with Dad and then Mom and I went to Sioux City to see FAME and visit Younkers. We were only there long enough for Taco John's, the movie, HyVee and a quick run through Younkers. Went home for dinner (Casey's Pizza) and a walk with Dad. We stayed up too late a second time, but I set my alarm for the morning.

Wednesday came and Dad and I made a quick run to Anthon to renew some plates for his vehicles. Then I loaded up the car and headed out to Fort Dodge to see Lori and Jay. The drive was so beautiful! My only regret is that I was so anxious to arrive I didn't stop to take any photos, and that is sad because I'm old and I'm sure my memory will dull shortly. It was breathtaking though. I was so excited to see Lori and Jay's house and their kids and their church, but most of all Lori, of course. We spent hours and hours talking, hanging out, even a little scrapbooking. I have not taken pictures of my pages yet, but I will eventually. We did do their family pictures that afternoon, which I have only just begun to edit and need to work on today. I had 2 other shoots scheduled in Iowa, but both wound up canceling due to the weather which changed drastically on Wed. night. We went to Lori and Jay's church and youth group on Wednesday and it was cool to see how they do things, pull a couple ideas for our youth group, meet their students, etc. Plus it was just really nice not to have any responsibilities! :) Thursday we hung out at Lori and Jay's, did a bit more scrapping, visited their scrapbook store and eventually hit Younkers for a HUGE sale. I picked up 6 shirts (all so cute) for a grand total, including tax, of $25. I told Lori that Younkers was just happy to see me again. They missed my business. We also found a couple of super cute shirts at Target for $2.48 each as well. Very fun.
We ended up at my mom's that night. Stayed up way too late (again) chatting with her. Enjoyed a fantastic breakfast with her in the morning and then we were off in our seperate directions. Lori towards home, Mom and I to Early and then eventually Omaha, with a Kohl's detour along the way.

Overall the weekend went way too fast. The best parts were the long conversations, the time outdoors and the FOOD, oh my, the food. My only regrets were not doing the shoots I had scheduled when I first got there, because the weather was incredible up until Thursday, and not taking more pictures throughout the week. My purse camera is broken and I really miss it! I did take quite a few on my cell, but that's not the same thing. I need to send in my baby Nikon because life is not the same without it.

It was good to board my plane and go home. I missed Rob and the kids so much. Rob had subscribed to me on Facebook, but that's not the same thing as him being with me. We talked a lot during the week, but I could tell the stress of being me was getting to him. I was so thankful for his arms around me when I got to baggage claim that night. And thankful that he took over my suitcase, which was barely squeezed shut after that Younkers sale! I missed my kiddos a ton too, and it was good to love on them.

So now we are back to our normal life, our normal pace. Which is exhausting. Today I have a reprieve, Tuesdays are generally a catch up day for me and I'm in dire need of it. I came home to 12 loads of laundry and an empty fridge, so we've been working on that. It was good to go, but it always makes coming home so sweet.

Random pics from my trip...

my hometown, Correctionville, Iowa.
the view from my parents home. Gotta love waking up to a cornfield. :)
sunset on the way home from Omaha Monday night.
My favorite grocery store in all the world. Man, I miss this store. Such good food!! and friendly service!
a sunset at my parents home on Tuesday night.
tromping around another HyVee in Ft Dodge.
The view from my plane window on the way home on Friday...

I think the big thing I realized on this trip is how grateful I am for my roots. I love my life now, I love all that God is doing, but I'm keenly aware of where I came from, and the influences He used to set me on the path of salvation and ultimately a great plan for my life. I will always love Iowa because it is essentially where my story began...