Redeem The Time

I was at my sweet cousin's house in Northern Michigan last night, and taped to the windowsill above the kitchen sink was a note that read:

"The days are long
The years are short
Redeem the time"

She is a wonderful mom to five beautiful children and after I read that I thought, what a great reminder to enjoy every moment and use every moment for the glory of God! I started thinking about moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and grandparents and the godly influences we can all have on a child's life. It is so true that the years are short, they seem to pass by quickly.

This reminder also applies to every season of life, not just raising, disciplining and loving children. It applies to the college years, young married years and even years spent working a job and building a career. We must use every moment fully and to the glory of a great and mighty God.

Lord, redeem the time!

"There is always enough time, to do the will of God. For that we can never say, 'I don't have time.'"³ - Elisabeth Elliot

If God gives us something to do He will also give us the time necessary to complete the task. He will not frustrate us. Though everyone is given the same daily allotment -24 hours- God is very creative with the 1,440 minutes within.

 This morning a dear friend mentioned this very thing on her facebook status, stating:

"The Lord lovingly reminds me that it isn't about the amount of hours in a day or what we get done in a day BUT instead Whom we serve and how we love. Lord redeem the time... that it would be Your day and not ours alone!"                       -- Rhonda Phegley

 

 I believe the Lord is trying to tell me something here! The Lord is sovereign and it is no coincidence that this has been brought to my attention.


3. Elisabeth Elliot, Discipline: The Glad Surrender (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1982), p. 103

Fall Break Project Numero Uno - Complete!

Who knew painting and then beating up furniture could be such fun!?

I gave you a sneak peek in a previous post, and now the painting and distressing of the dresser is complete!



I wasn't on the ball enough to take a before picture of the dresser, you know, all together and in it's natural glory, but I did get one of all the drawers before I took the pulls off and another one with the black base coat. I'm going with tans, reds and whites in the second guest room/office so I wanted a red dresser, distressed with black showing through. Never done it before, but figured it would be worth the try! Okay, enough words, on to the pictures!

I borrowed the blue wall from my hallway for these pics since I still have yet to strip the two layers of wallpaper in the room this will go in. I kind of like it with the blue! Anyway, I love how this turned out! It is exactly what I wanted!

Now on to Fall project Numero dos! : )

Lists: Fall Break Fun!!

If you just heard a faint squeal slice through the air from the direction of Kentucky, don't be alarmed! It was just me celebrating the start of my week-long fall break from nursing classes! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I am learning and count it a tremendous blessing to be in the middle of second semester with only two more semesters to go before acing the NCLEX and being dubbed a full-fledged RN. But nursing school is like taking a drink from a fire hose...sooo much information in a tiny amount of time to have to digest and apply. It can be a tad bit overwhelming at times.

So, since I'm a list person and I have yet to officially lace my little blog with lists galore I figured the first list should be one of leisure and joy!

So what is on tap for my week of freedom you ask!?

• A furniture painting project (which I'm already half-way finished with!)  Check!
• Sleep! Glorious, wonderful, Tylenol PM induced sleep!
• Photography (both a family portrait session for my sweet cousin and her family and then whatever my eye fancies, both are fun and relaxing!)
• Some time well spent behind the wheel of my car
• Time with family!!!
• Sushi and time spent with someone special : )
• A deep cleaning of the humble abode
• A sewing project!!! I found the fabric below and LOVE it! It will hopefully be fashioned into a fall dress for a precious little two-yr-old.

• My cousin's wedding! I'm so excited for her!
• Some journaling, Bible reading, other reading and time spent in deep thought.
• And a few other things that may just be fodder for future posts : )

So, now that the list is complete, it's time to get started!!

Easy Fall Decorations

 Woah. I'm actually getting a post on here that I "hoped" I would post in a timely manner! That's progress kids! As promised in the last post, this one is about my fall decorations. They are out, they are complete and they make me smile!


Normally in years past, for the two big flower pots on my front porch, I would just put some mums in them, put some pumpkins around them and call it good. This year, I wanted something different. I found these pumpkins on sale at Hobby Lobby and I liked that they came in various sizes. My immediate thought was to stack them on top of each other to create a Fall time topiary to greet my visitors. Since they were made of styrofoam, I bought a dowel rod at Lowe's and used a hammer and chop stick to make pilot holes through the middle of the pumpkins. Then I just pushed the dowel rod through the pumpkins in the appropriate order, and viola! Stacked pumpkins.

I found the floral grassy stuff in the floral section and decided to just plant the pumpkin topiary in the middle of it.

And to finish it off, I bought some of the colorful beaded picks to stick into the pumpkins for some added pizzazz. Simple, fun and pretty! I hope that the sun doesn't fade the pumpkins too much so I can reuse them next year! But I'm thinking that if they do fade, I can just get creative with some spray paint to spruce them up!

I didn't leave out the mums this year, I just moved them lower into my flower beds and added some to some other pots from the backyard that I painted to match the ones on the front porch.

But seriously, now that my fall decorations are out, my mind has already turned to the Christmas decorations and call me crazy, but this year the front door will be painted to coordinate more appropriately with Christmas! Mandarin Orange is great for Spring, Summer and Fall, but it really just clashes with red!

And there you have it, nothing fancy, just simple yet festive. Fall!

And Daisy Lou is stopping by to make a visit with this special little outtake. My dog hates my camera. When I say hate, I mean when it gets close to her, she physically turns her back to me. I told her to stay and this was the look I got! I love my dog. Because just like me, she is a mess!

-------------------- Sneak Peek -----------------------

 I started a new project today! This is the hint and I will post when it is finished!

Fall: I Welcome You With Open Arms!

The image below makes my sweat glands quiver...

Popsicle anyone?? After suffering through the horribly oppressive summer heat that feels the need to bring a side-dish of humidity, I can't adequately convey in written word my enthusiasm for the fact that Fall weather has officially arrived in the Ohio Valley. Haul out the pumpkins, get the mums in the ground, open up the windows, build up the bonfire and crank-up the tractor for the hay rides because Fall is upon us! Yay!

Summer, I turn up my nose to you and your ridiculous heat. My sweat glands are personally thankful that your time on center stage is through. It's been real, but take a hike until 2011!


Okay, okay, enough with the drama, but seriously, it was one of the hottest summer's in recent history. But now that cooler temperatures are here, I have hit the outdoors to ready the flowerbeds for fall (which translates as pull the weeds that have taken over in my neglect due to medical microbiology over the summer and second semester nursing two weeks later.) Seriously at one point there was a weed by my front door that was nearly taller than me. And I'm 6-feet tall...it wasn't a skimpy weed!

So normally, I just skip decorating for fall because I'm too excited and ready to just decorate for Christmas, but I am taking a different approach this year. As I get older, time does indeed seem to be racing by even faster. I've thought a lot about this lately. My dad told me once, "Don't wish your life away." It was in the context of me whining about not being able to go out with friends or do the things my older brothers could do. I am quite certain it followed me saying something like, "I wish I was older so I could do that." I'm sure we've all been there. But my dad's wisdom was more than I understood at the time. I get it now. I don't want to wake up when I'm 50, 60, 70 or even Lord willing 80 years old and think to myself, "Why didn't I live more in the moment instead of always pining for the tomorrows?" Sure, it is wise to set goals and make plans (as long as one's heart stays open to God's plan even if it alters our own.) But I want every day to count. This summer was a stretch for me. I love to be outside, but I dread to be hot. And it was melt your face off hot, but I made the best of it. I think the most fun this summer was "Camp Amby." Every now and then I have the privilege of entertaining the various kiddos of my friends and family. And in addition to games indoors, I added to my kid-entertaining-arsenal a slip-n-slide, a sprinkler and some water guns. It was hot, but we stayed cool and had a watery blast in the meantime!

And so with summer behind us, fall upon us and winter ahead (insert childish squeal here!) I am planning to continue to make the most of each day. I'm working on new fall decorations and will post pics soon (I hope) of my creations. Until then, I'm posting some inspirational and "cooler" photos from the days past of my favorite seasons.

The picture below was a little gem I rediscovered when going through my photos from Alaska. I took so many pictures while I was there, I honestly forgot taking some of them! This one was on a tour of a native village set up for tourists taking the riverboat cruise on the Chena river. It has the feel of "ready for winter." Which speaks of my mood three seasons out of the year! Ha!


And I don't have high hopes for a good snowy winter like we had this past winter, but I'll keep my snowy pictures close by to remember the days of hiking in the snow with a frozen nose and joyful heart. : )

Morning Motivation!

Okay, I shouldn't use food as a motivator, but one of my favorite bloggers posted a favorite recipe and it had me at "blueberry!" *chuckle*

Okay, okay, it had me at "White Chocolate Blueberry Bread Pudding!" There. I confessed.

As my two eyes gleefully scanned the ingredients list I was thrilled to see that I had everything but the white chocolate. Easy fix! I scooped my flip-flops onto my feet, grabbed my keys and be-bopped to the grocery store!

Now this is wonderful providence that this recipe came into my life as I am making changes diet wise, and have been making an effort to have foods on hand for a good solid breakfast before starting my day. Mind you, I know that white chocolate and bread pudding for breakfast may not be the healthiest, but I made a few changes, as I usually do to any recipe.

I used splenda instead of sugar, used a smaller baking dish and only half a loaf of bread, I used Cinnabon brand cinnamon bread, white chocolate chips instead of breaking chocolate into chunks and added pecans. It is sitting in my refrigerator this very minute, awaiting it's 375 degree debut into my little toaster oven! Monday morning will be one that I'm pretty certain will not see the snooze button! I just hope it isn't too sweet as I can't do sweets in the morning!


(Screen Shot from Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska)

Labor Day Weekend: in Review

I have said it before, and I'll always say it again...

There is nothing quite like getting behind the wheel for a road trip!

Those that know me, know that I love to drive! (And if you didn't know that, you do now!!) Some of my best thoughts and revelations have come to me behind the wheel of the various cars I have driven over the years. Tears can be shed, songs can be sung, heart to heart talks can be had, prayers can be said, new roads can be explored....Ah! and freedom can be had on the open road.

So, needless to say, I was a bit excited to say the least when my mom and I planned a road trip for the long Labor day weekend with my two beautiful nieces!


Destinations: Chattanooga, TN and Cleveland, GA (to visit the fabulous Babyland General, birthplace of the Cabbage Patch Kids!)


If I made the time, I could scan the picture of me and my first visit to Babyland General. I was eight or nine and had some mondo-thick glasses on my face. But I was the hap-happ-happiest girl alive!!

Am I the only one that LOVES the new cabbage patch doll smell?? And I chuckle as I type this, because without an appropriate caption, the photo above just looks REALLY creepy!


So the drive to Cleveland, Georgia from Chattanooga follows the B-E-A-U-TIFUL Ocoee River. On the drive there, I was doing the best I could on those winding mountain roads to slow down so my nieces could see blessed individuals that had placed their lives in the hands of river guides while they went white water rafting. I'm sure the girls' eyes were just as starry as mine were. I adore being out on the water, well I don't even have to be on the water, being near it brings me just as much joy. I have been white water rafting once in my life, last year while I was in Alaska visiting a dear friend. It was beyond amazing! Moving through the gorgeous scenery with a beautiful blue sky above and the mountains of Denali National Park all around. The rushing frigid glacial waters lapping against me and the peaceful quietness of God's creation!

Yeah, I can't wait to do it again!

So I had another wonderful moment by the river's edge with two sweet girls who bring our family such joy. I think the three of us could have spent all day climbing on the rocks, running the trails and dipping our feet in the refreshingly cool waters of the Ocoee. At one point we sat on the rocks, chatted about life, watched kayakers and rafters go by and picked some pretty wild flowers for Nana who stayed in the car to take a nap while us girls ventured out to play.


That weekend getaway was just the break I needed to unwind, refresh and take in some of God's beautiful creation. And to spend some wonderful quality time with some really great gals!

Keep Your Hands Inside The Ride At All Times

Wow. So, it is late Wednesday and this roller coaster of a week so far has left me with the pressing urge, desire and want to run away.

I know I'm not the only one that has ever felt this way. When it all goes wrong or there are difficult tasks ahead or just in facing daily obstacles that slam you right in the face often times can make a person want to turn tail and run.

I've been fighting this the past few days.

Few things have gone right so far this week. And by right, I guess I should say "as planned." When my life gets crazy busy, I'm a planner. I make lists and even my lists have lists! But add to all the normal craziness a looming magazine deadline, illness, the beginning of the second semester of nursing, having to suck it up and take the heat for a situation that is someone else's responsibility....blah blah blah...words words words. Life.

Yeah, life is like that at times. I have found it so easy to be discouraged in these past few days and thankfully the Lord allows me to stop, take a breath and look at the bigger picture. Why am I discouraged and defeated? Because I'm focused on me. I'm focused on the problem. I'm focused on what that person did to me that I didn't "deserve." I was not focused on the One who held the problems, who allowed all of this to occur to grow me and teach me and bring me to the end of myself...again. To draw me nearer to Him. How wonderful to know I can turn to my Lord and His Word and find instant peace and comfort in knowing he's saying, "I got this." (as my friend Rhonda says.) God's got this!

"...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

My mind and my heart have been meditating on this verse from Joshua today. So many others have faced such greater trials than I could ever imagine. Yet from big trials to the small ones, we can be strong and courageous. We can carry with us, for those that know the Lord, that comfort and knowledge that God has gone before us. He directs our path. For His glory.

At this point I am just going to add my little disclaimer that these are late night ramblings. The overflow of an overworked mind and a burdened heart. No real purpose in this blog post tonight other than to give sentences and paragraphs to the continuous thoughts and meditations of my mind from the past few days. And basically to preach to my own heart these truths. If you happen to benefit from these words - to God be the glory!

Where my mind has been today is in fighting this urge to run. In grappling with the reality that running does not solve anything, more often than not, it adds to and complicates and invariably delays the inevitable.

And then there was the gentle reminder from the Lord that He is to be my refuge. No mountain top or snowy trail or secluded cabin can bring me the peace that only my Heavenly Father can.

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." 2 Samuel 22:31

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." Psalm 5:11

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

"The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:22

"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah" Psalm 62:8

Oh man! I love that one! "Pour out your hearts to him" What an invitation!

"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." Psalm 73:28 (emphasis mine.)

It is good to be near God. Such true and wonderful words.

So after reading those verses, running away to some secluded space doesn't seem to be such a pressing need for me now, when really what my heart desires is to run to Christ. Beautiful mountain views and birch wood forests are just that, beautiful. But there is such joy, life and peace in trusting and taking refuge of our mighty and Sovereign God.

Fellowship

I've been cleaning out my home office and I came across a little piece of tablet paper that had the following quote scrawled out on it:

"If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith and difficulty, if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ."

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoffer (p. 29)

That particular quote spoke volumes to my yearning heart at the time. You see I had just experienced a major life change. I had graduated college and moved a fair distance away from my closest friends - my "framily" as I call them. Not just my closest friends, but also an amazing church and church family that the Lord used so masterfully to grow me in my faith and personal walk with Him. Mountains were moved and the walls around my heart were painstakingly, yet lovingly brought down. The fellowship that I had enjoyed with my closest friends (the framily) and my beloved church family was so incredibly rich, that I thought I had it made. I knew what I would be leaving behind as I followed in obedience to the next steps the Lord had for me. But I think that I believed that in those next steps I would blissfully step right into new friendships that would prove to be just as rich, encouraging and like iron sharpening iron.

Those days, weeks, and months after the move proved to be quite a challenge for me. I 'll save the details of that time for my personal journal, but I found myself to be very lonely - stuck in a dry desert in a sense. I knew the Lord was with me, I never doubted that, but I was so incredibly homesick for the sweet and familiar fellowship of those I left behind.

I remember finding this book Life Together at a used bookstore. I greatly admire Dietrich Bonhoffer, so I knew it would be good and challenging reading. Oh, the conviction that gripped my heart after reading that one long sentence! I immediately knew that I was to repent of my ungratefulness. I began to have a new attitude toward where the Lord had me, and those he had placed in my life. And now that I think back upon that time, I believe I was able to let go of my bitterness toward God for taking me away from such sweet fellowship, and after that, I began to get plugged in. I led a wonderful book study out of my home for several ladies in the church, and the new friendships began to grow. Fellowship was increased as I focused on the Lord and less on myself and what I thought I needed in my life.

And nearly five years later I see the fruit of that time. Just today I had lunch with an amazing group of women who passionately love the Lord, love talking about the Lord, love praying together, laughing together and sharing our lives together.

Sweet, sweet fellowship in the Lord.

My life is such a contrast now compared to then. But that's what the Lord does! And then, He sends a small piece of tablet paper, with handwriting that was clearly made in haste in an eye and heart-opening moment in my life - just to remind me that He has indeed led me from the desert sands of my own sin to the life-giving springs of His grace.

And She Stabs Herself In The Heart...

So, in cleaning out my office and condensing two bookcases down to one (that's the goal anyway!) I came across my little green-velvet covered journal from 1989. The entries are sparse and my handwriting and spelling was atrocious but the words in the one entry I read, all four sentences, were nothing more than a dull jagged knife straight to my heart!

12-10-1989

It is my mother's birthday. She will be 35. She is getting pretty much over the hill. She has almost made it.

Love,
Amber

Oh! OUCH! How the words of my nine-year-old self have turned against me!!!! To think that at age 9 I thought that 35 was over the hill! One foot in the grave. Lifting the foot to kick the bucket. And here I am today, a mere 5 years from 35.

Sigh.

I will let it be known that I refuse to read anymore from that little journal. My 9-year-old self has kicked me enough for one day!

: )

Silent Retribution

I always knew it could happen...but NEVER to me.

My house lies in a constant state of "stand still" while I'm sleeping...or so I thought.

Perhaps they were just biding their time...waiting and stalking and synchronizing their fangs until the right moment they can strike.

And my last post was the straw that broke the camel spiders back. It was the confession that I use bug spray and Off! to kill spiders and any other vermon that would threaten my relaxation while camping and laying in my hammock.

I woke up a few days ago with a red bump on the inside of my upper arm. I gave it my best nurse's inspection (as I am 1/4 nurse now that 1st semester is behind me!) and moved on.

Day 2, the reddened area was four times larger and the center was blackish/brown. Fleeting thoughts ran through the recesses of my mind that perhaps it was the calling card of a nocturnal visitor...an unwanted visitor. I quickly shewed the thoughts away.

Day 3...cue doctor. Indeed my thoughts and fears were confirmed. My fingers gripped the arms of the chair as the words so flippantly poured past his lips. "Ooooh, let's take a look a that! It's a spider bite for sure." (Could this man seriously be enthused about this?! Does he not know what this means?! There was a spider. In. My. Bed. On me! While I slumbered. Navigating my person as if to be on a midnight hike through the tundra.)

Unacceptable!

I literally shuddered in the chair in the exam room as he continued to talk. I verbally notified him of my severe (and over the top) fear of all things arachnid. He tried to make it better by reassuring me that it was not a brown recluse bite. I would not have returned home if he would have said otherwise.

I'm sad, I know. But seriously, I killed three black widow spiders in my backyard in the past two summers. I can't take any chances!

I think I need a bubble suit to sleep in.

Summer Fun: Camping

Unfortunately, this camping trip is not a recent one. This dates back to summer 2009. A weekend trip with my brother, sister-in-law, two nieces and of course, a very, very excited Daisy Lou.


It is a favorite thing of mine to pitch a tent, hang the hammock, start a fire and lay or sit beneath the canopy of trees.


And a camping trip with any one from my family proves to be a fun adventure! We always know how to make things interesting. On this particular trip my brother Eric waged a contest to see who could get a fire going first. From the start, he didn't lay out any rules or mention items we couldn't use, therefore, I made my way to my hiking pack and pulled out the following items: My survival knife, fire starter sticks, and a lighter.

If my memory serves me correct, I do believe he gave me a hard time about the lighter and fire starter sticks once he saw them, and I politely reminded him that he never said what we could and couldn't use. His method involved tree sap and striking flint. (which I'll get to the tree sap in a bit.)


So guess who got a fire started first!? Yep. I was never a boy scout (for obvious reasons) but when it comes to the outdoors, I'm always prepared.

My brother had success with the tree sap, and Punkin sure enjoyed burning and charring things just because she could! But before long, with the combined efforts of all our flames and charred kindling, we had a blazing fire just perfect to start dinner with!


Another fantastic thing about camping in this family, is that you're sure to eat well! I can remember dad cooking up fried potatoes, eggs, bacon, and sausage for breakfast and roasts with carrots and potatoes for dinner, or pork chops...it was and is always a culinary delight!

My brother made a delicious Low Country Boil, minus the shrimp this time but chock full of cajun seasoning!

The picture above is proof of how much of a weenie I truly am...I must confess that although I speak highly of the outdoors and praise a Mighty God for His beautiful creation, the one thing that can send me running and screaming like the girl I am is a spider. Go ahead and laugh or chuckle or shake your head in disbelief, but before I can even get one foot in my hammock I spray the perimeter with bug spray. If not, I have these visions of laying quite comfortably in my hammock, swinging ever so slightly and watching the tree tops dance in the wind and it all being brought to a halt by eight legs and two beady eyes. So yes, I am a weenie. But I'm okay with that.

Okay, so now for the educational portion of this post. My brother taught me something, that my other brother taught him. Tree sap makes a great fire starter! Above is a picture of Punkin scraping sap from a pine tree. When lit, sap will burn for quite a while, and in the process will also ignite small kindling and leaves. Below is a shot of some sap burning.





And to continue on with the fun educational portion of this post, I also had to get a little inventive on this trip. I've reached the age where I can no longer sleep on the ground when camping, I (and my joints) prefer an air mattress these days. I had let a friend borrow mine so I searched my house for the next best thing. I have a self-inflating mattress, but it doesn't do the trick for me, but I found a pool float in my laundry room and figured I would give it a try.


I ended up sliding the pool float down into my sleeping bag to keep it contained and from shifting out from under me. I had a quilt with me to cover up with so it all worked out perfectly! I slept so well that night, that the pool float is now and always will be a permanent fixture in my hiking pack. Much lighter than an air mattress and takes less time to inflate too!

All this talk of camping really has me wanting to make haste to the great outdoors, but alas the school and work schedule will not allow it most likely until next summer. Reminiscing is the next best thing : )

CUT IT OUT

So...obviously I'm beating the heat by spending a bit of time on youtube...okay, okay, I've essentially wasted two hours. But here's another MysteryGuitarMan video if you need a quick break from the day!

Phone Book Samba Stomp

I came across this dude on youtube, not sure of his story, but his videos make me laugh! Oh, to have that much creativity! I wouldn't know what to do with myself...other than use my house to make videos for youtube all week. Anywho...here's a fun one....

Heat Wave Silliness

Since it is just about too hot to think here in the Ohio Valley, (although I did trim the hedges, plant two blueberry bushes and hit a photo assignment in this heat...) I've spent the rest of my day snuggled up to the air conditioner and cruising through youtube videos. Probably not the best use of my time, but my mind needed a break from all the thinking. I won't complain about my medical microbiology class, but I REALLY wish there would have been a way to avoid such scholarly endeavors in the summertime! Anywho, here is the final entertaining little video I came across. Sit back, rest in the coolness of the AC and chuckle along...or shake your head in disbelief that I can find such things to be entertaining! Whatever floats your boat!

The New Toothless Grin

Oh the sweetness of the six-year old grin!

And the sweetness of the six-year-old face in general : )

I walked into my mom's house where Little Lauren Bug scurried into my arms. We talked for a second and then I saw it. The square hole in her mouth where a front tooth once resided. With an award-winning dramatic flair, I dropped her to her feet, raised my hands in the air and asked, "What happened to your tooth?!?" "Where did it go!?" She giggled and then immediately realized she forgot to show her Nana her new toothless grin! As fast as lightning she was off to the other room calling for Nana.


Aunt Amby had to celebrate the occasion with an impromptu photo shoot of her precious smile. Because before too long she'll be sportin' braces and running with her middle school friends and no longer scurrying to jump into our arms.

I told my sister-in-law I wasn't sure where they got her, but she sure is fun! She is a character for sure.

Friday Night Photo Assignment

Gotta love these Summer Concerts in the park!

I was commissioned to photograph Skip Bond and the Fugitives as they took to the stage this evening. To my delight, these fellas are from Bowling Green, KY., a town dear to my heart as I lived there for five years some years ago. Great to talk about a town I adore with actual locals! : )



The concert was on an hour rain delay, but that gave rise to some fun umbrella shots. These ladies were fabulous and willing to wait how ever long it took to see the band. They are big fans.

And these are some of my favorite images! While standing in front of the crowd taking shots of the band, a nosey little bug made it's way down my shirt! I thought I kept feeling something on me but could never feel or find it so I didn't pay any attention and kept shooting pictures. Finally I cornered the little bugger between my hand and shirt and then it bit me! I quickly made an escape behind the stage to try to get it out and hopefully not be seen wriggling and squirming and looking down my shirt by all of Henderson! After I gathered myself I looked up to see this....


What is neat about these pictures is that you can see the rain falling when the picture is enlarged. I like back-lit silhouettes anyway.

So aside from the pesky wardrobe invader, it was a fun night! Now, off to piddle with the sewing machine and a dress that is in the works before hitting the hay and then another photo session tomorrow with one of my favorite clients!