Longings

If I could live anywhere I wanted it would be someplace where the weather is moderate year round(70 degrees is perfect!), beaches nearby(I just LOVE those sunsets), bike trials abound, most everday is suited to spending the day outdoors. That is the place my heart desires.

Add to that a new and challenging job opportunity that appeals to hubby and has NO travel for him(ok I'm the one that likes that idea).

What is the catch?  Well the cost of living is $$$$ and it is 2300 miles from family(30 hours of driving).

Are we just delusional and dreaming?  Or is this adventure within reach?  Should we really uproot and move cross country, again?

At the moment I can almost fell the ocean breeze...we will see where the Lord leads.

Thankful Thursday - A day late again...

What a busy week!

Busy weeks are full of blessings but not so much time to reflect on them.

I am thankful for....

1. A much needed haircut.
2. A much needed updated wardrobe thanks to GW Boutique(aka Goodwill).  I haven't wanted to splurge on new clothes since I still have some remaining baby weight, so I checked out the local Goodwill and found several cut things to get me by until I get this weight off.
3. One on one time shopping with my 8 year old son.
4.  Pizza Hut(made tonight's dinner a breeze).
5.  More GW finds for my kids...like $28 BDU pants for $4.50
6.  Dreams, Plans, Goals, Visions.
7.  Family
8. Friends
9. An evening home reading and playing with my little ones.
10. Bags of clutter cleared out. Reminder of our abundance.

I Clicked It Up A Notch Photography Contest - May Photo

May offered some wonderful opportunities for photography. I had the opportunity to do an air to air shoot, sunset aerials and many captures of my children. This photo of my youngest, shot the week before he turned 6 months is one of my favorites.  He had just begun to sit up unassisted.  I love how I captured his sweet, quizzical expression and his eyes that just light up our lives.

Sweet Shot BFF

This is my daughter and her sweet friend. They have known each other since they were mere nursing babes. They have really missed seeing each other since we moved. Last week they got to spend a few hours catching up and playing together at the park. I managed to capture a couple of shots of them together, despite their busyness and the harsh mid day sun.

Thankful Thursday - A Day Late

I'm sitting in the car, the fresh tilled black soil whizzing by, the aroma of raw earth circulating through the vehicle. The open fields of yellow flowers and rows of tiny corn plants waving in the wind speak peace to my soul and I take in the country side, admiring the farm houses dotting the plains. All of these sights remind me of my love for the Midwest, my home for nine years. Last Friday I sighed in contentment as I drove through the rolling plains headed home to the Midwest for a week of visiting. Today, a week later I take it all in again impressing the images in my memory as I head back south to the land of the scraggly pines. The wide open spaces and slower pace really fulfill my longing for margin in my life. Something I feel a lack of in the congested suburbs. Here are some of the things I am especially thankful for this week.

1. I am thankful for a lot of time at the park, catching up with dear friends while our children played. The parks there are so awesome and it was great to visit our favorite park.

2. I am thankful that when we stopped in to visit our old neighborhood the kids roamed the street calling on their friends and it felt like we never left...we were back home.

3. I am thankful for the day I spent in the country visiting a dear friend. We chatted in the breeze while our kids fed chickens and explored barns. At the end of the day we scraped manure from shoes before I packed up to head back to town.

4. I am thankful that my son was able to celebrate his birthday with one of his best friends.

5. I am thankful we were able to worship at our old church and spend some time visiting with the pastor and his family.

6. I am thankful for all the fellowship time God gave me. I was lacking in the deep fellowship and God filled my tank. We had evening family dinners with families, park time fellowship and mom's night out.

7. I am thankful for the deep friendships. There is a level of friendship where you relax, drop your guard, share your struggles and are encouraged. I am so blessed to have many friendships of this level and these are the friends I spent the week with. We were all blessed.

8. I am thankful that we had the opportunity to visit Isaiah's grave and put flowers on it. A part of my heart will always remain there because of him. The experience of loss is one of the things God used to knit me into tight fellowship there.

9. I am thankful for Hyvee Chinese take out. It is yummy, cheap and we miss it. We ate it 3 times this week.

10. I am thankful that God is an artist. This morning we pulled out before sun rise and as we drove across the plains I watched as the sun began to rise, the light reflecting in brilliant orange and pinks off the water, the clouds and sky. So beautiful and a great reminder of what our pastor said Sunday, we are to not only stand in God's light but to reflect it. Even the dark storm clouds on the horizon were illuminated by the sun' brilliant morning light how much more we can be illuminated through life's storms through the Son's light.

I am thankful this post is done because typing on an iPhone while zooming down the highway and surrounded by noisy kids is a bit of a challenge.

Thankful Thursday

Grumpy kids, sopping shoes, broken dishes, endless laundry, disobedience are all the trivial things that have attacked my joy this week, but God's love shines bright in the midst of this dark world and illuminates our lives. Sometimes it is hard to see the light because we focus on the hills and trials of the day, but experiencing His light is as simple as stopping to count our blessing and give Him thanks. This week has been a week of abundant blessings, taking it easy on Mother's Day and celebrating my 38th birthday with a sunset flight with my hubby and a quiet dinner for 2.

1. I am thankful for God's love. He has wooed me to Him, loving and nurturing me to become who He created me to be.

2. I am thankful for God's sovereignty. He works all things out for good.

3. I am thankful for God's lavishness. He gives me the desires of my heart and more. I can never ask for more than He gives.

4. I am thankful for God's faithfulness. When I wanted to run...hide...He NEVER left me or forsook me.

5. I am thankful for His forgiveness. He doesn't lecture but let's me pour my heart out and wraps me in His love.

6. I am thankful for God's grace. I need it in EXTRA LARGE doses and He continues to pour it out on me as I stumble and fall over and over and over and over and......

7. I am thankful that I am going home(back to CR) for a week to visit those friends who are dear, to see the brilliant sun set, to linger at the park, to remember the wonderful 9 years we had there.

8. I am thankful for my husband. He loves me, even though I'm grumpy WAY TOO OFTEN. He pampers me and does his best to give me the desires of my heart. He works hard all day and comes home to help me. He supports me in homeschooling. He believes in me. He gives me opportunities to fulfill my dreams. How blessed I am that God gave him to me.

9. I am thankful for my children. Each and every one challenge me to be more like Christ...love more, serve more, persevere more, be patient more, hope more, endure more, forgive more...which brings me to depending on HIM more.

10. I am thankful to be given another day in which to breathe, sing, laugh, jump, yell, scream, hug, fold laundry, take a nap with the toddler, nurse the babe, read stories, bath children, wash dishes, sweep the floor, clean the bathroom.

Just remembering that He has given me this day, helps put it all in perspective and reminds me that I should rejoice in whatever it is He bring my way.

Are you focusing on the trials of the day or are you rejoicing as you bask in His light and glory? Take a moment to stop and count your blessing and join up over at Curious Georgi

Scripture & A Snapshot

This morning as I was folding laundry and watching the sun rise, I began to hum this Psalm. What a great reminder that ALL day long from the time my eyes open until my eyes close in slumber at night I am to praise the name of the Lord.

When I looked up the reference of this verse, I read all of Psalm 113 and was reminded of all that we have to praise Him for.

Psalm 113

"Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.

Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.

The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,

Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;

That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD."

To see how others are giving glory to God through their photos please click below:

Thankful Thursday

1.  I am thankful that I was able to rise above suburbia and capture this sunset.  One of the things I miss most about the mid-west is the sun setting over the open plains.  Here there are power lines, hills, trees, and buildings blocking the sunset, but I found a way to rise above them all.

2.  I am thankful that God keeps giving me wonderful photo opportunities.

3.  I am thankful for my husband and that God has given us hobbies that we can combine and enjoy together.

4.  I am thankful for a Chick-fil-a birthday dinner for Mighty Mouse. 

5.  I am thankful for Mighty Mouse and celebrating her 3rd birthday.  She brings such sparkle to our lives.

6.  I am thankful to waking up to these sweet faces in my bed.

7.  I am thankful for this precious child.  His bright eyes and smile bring joy to my heart everyday.  How gracious of God to give us such a sweet, blessing.

8.  I am thankful for light and a enhanced awareness of it.  Developing my photography skills has increased my awareness of light.  I now find myself constantly looking for great light, watching the eyes for catch lights.  Every time we are at Chick-fil-a I think to myself how great the light is.  Last night since we were going for a b'day celebration I grabbed my camera and took most of the portrait photos there for this post.  I am also thankful for this smiling beauty and for the reminder of how we are to reflect Christ's light to a lost and dying world.

9.  I am thankful for this boy becoming a man.  Iron sharpens iron and we are both becoming sharper in our relationship to each other and God.  How blessed I am that God chose me to train him up.

10.  I am thankful that we are near family and that my children are getting the opportunity to be with their grandparents.  I am also thankful for my wonderful parents.

Linking up with at Curious Georgi

365/122 - Wings of an eagle

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31

Waiting upon the Lord, something I'm not always good at, but when I do His reward is worth it!  Monday evening I had the opportunity to go up and try my hand at air to air photography.   The above photo was taken with my 50 mm lens and is not cropped, to give you an idea of how close the planes were to each other.  At one point we were even closer, as this shot is of the plane as it was pulling out of formation and heading back to the airport.

I carried my d3000 with a 55-200mm lens and my d90 with a 50 mm lens.  We went up around 7:30pm but the clouds closed in and covered the sun making it a bit darker and causing me to run up the iso.

The plane I flew in had the back windows removed so that I could shoot out the side.  I loved flying with the wind in my face, camera in hand.  It took me just a few minutes to relax and get in a groove of shooting.  I shot around 500 photos between the two cameras.

I can see now why my husband(front seat aviator in above photo) loves flying so much.  There is such freedom soaring above the hustle and bustle, wind in your face, all your cares just seem to drift away. 

Flowers for Mommy

Sunday afternoon as I was doing dishes I glanced out the window and noticed my daughters picking dandelions. My camera was handy so I grabbed it and headed out the back door, adjusting my aperture as I went. Just as I opened up the door my daughter presented me with this bouquet and camera ready I captured the moment.

365/121 - Laying Sod