Thursday, June 25, 2009

Jamie: A Beautiful Mother, Wonderful Friend



Today is a very special day. It is the 6th birthday of an adorable little boy.....Jamie's oldest son Luke. Anyone that knows Jamie knows that there truly is no other woman like her. Her heart is the most pure of anyone I have ever encountered. Daily, I say at least once " Jamie would do it this way...." or "Jamie says......." It is no secret that in every sense of the word she is my hero.
This post is dedicated to her.
Not only is today the day that this eternal soul was born into this world, it is also the day that a mother was born.
Jamie is the kind of mother that I hope to be one day. I don't even think she realizes how wonderful she is!
When she talks about these 3 boys of hers, her face is full of delight.
Only the Father knows the countless hours that she has spent in prayer for them. And in prayer over the details and decisions that she faces as their mother. She listens for the voice of the Lord and seeks His wisdom.
If I could have chosen my mother.....I probably would have chosen her! But, then I would have missed out the beautiful friendship that we have.

So happy six years to you Jamie You are an AMAZING mother.
Happy Birthday to you Luke! I love watching you grow up. I pray that daily as you grow, that will grow even more into a man after God's own heart.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Beautiful Summer Day

Yesterday, in the early afternoon I went out with my camera in search for beauty. We have been blessed with so much rain in the last 2 months, so the flowers have bloomed beautifully!


Here are a few that I took and a couple of pages I made with them. Enjoy!



Capturing a bumblebee at work.......



Monday, June 15, 2009

June So Far

I noticed today that I haven't yet posted some of our highlights from this month. We still have a good bit of the month left but here is a review of the first half.


Wyatt Graduated Kindergarten

Our good friends Rob & Bonnie invited us to attend their oldest child, Wyatt's graduation. He is such a smart kid and a lot of fun to be around. The highlight the evening was him winning the award for reading (having read to him) the most books. He had over 700 books read to him in this school year. Everyone was so proud, but no one was more proud than him!




Of course we cant forget Ella ( she will not let you). What a cutie! She loves to have Shea "pin" her around. She has us all wrapped her around her well polished little finger.






Snake Drama

Jamie has a had so much snake drama lately and now I have had my own. A few days ago, Shea was playing outside with the dogs. While Mr. Mark and I were inside. We all of a sudden heard Shea yelling "Dad, get the gun.....it's a rattlesnake."

Mr. Mark grabbed his gun and I of course grabbed my camera. This boy was big!




That day I gained even more respect for Mr. mark. From 15-20 feet away he took this snake out with a head shot. Here is the picture as he shot the snake.




I am so grateful that everybody was okay. Shea said that Game actually discovered the snake. It took Shea a moment to realize what he was looking at, but finally did. He said that there seemed to be a natural fear in Game of the snake.
Hopefully it will be the first and last time we encounter one of these creatures.


Living the Good Life


Daily life around here is really very simple. School keeps me very busy. Married life is wonderful. Our daily life is pretty routine. What to some may seem boring keeps me quite content. Mornings are spent drinking coffee and for me just trying to wake up (I've never been great at that). We usually take the dogs on a long walk, followed by the entertainment of watching my dogs play in the kiddy pool.

I am trying to take more time out for photos. Not just ones of the dogs, but of my beautiful surroundings as well.

Here are a few...





Okay, well I had to throw in a few of these gorgeous boys.


Hope you are all having a great summer!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Wishing & Discovering

For the last 3-4 months as I planned my wedding, I was excited about many, many things.....but if anyone knows me well they know that the scrap booking to come was what I couldn't wait for. I have been saving ideas and inspiration for what I hoped would be the most amazing wedding book of all time. Each day since I received my photos I have gotten in Photo Shop, opened some of my favorite images, made a 12x12 format and then.....NOTHING!
I have had a hard time placing words with images and colors that match. Each photo is priceless to me and placing them on a page seemed to take away from the sheer beauty that I would hope to emphasize.
So, yesterday as I was playing with my wedding photos, I just had to go in a completely different direction.
Daily I look at Jamie's blog. I love to read of the daily adventures in Grastonland. Jamie posted these pictures of Jacob a couple weeks ago. It reminded me of my own childhood. I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents as a child. I remember a home they had where I played in the backyard. Unusually alone, or my grandfather would sit with me. He would challenge me to find the most 4 leaf clovers in a clover bed. I guess it wasn't a very well kept yard because among those clovers there were hundreds of dandelions. I loved to blow the petals off of them. I still do. I cant help myself. I wonder what it was that I wished for? As I look around now, in my tiny house, unfinished floors....and mountains of school work that I sometimes feel will never end. I have to believe that most, if not all of those wishes have come true. My life is beautiful. I am richly blessed. I am discovering in this season that there is a Father that hears the wishes of my heart. The ones that are unsoken and the ones that blew in the wind of my own breath as a child. He is a Dream Maker.
Today if I came across a dandelion I know that I would have to make a wish. I know what it would be for...but if I tell you may not come true, so I will hold it close to my heart.
I hope that Jacob wishes on thousands of these in his lifetime
.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wedding Pictures!

I got my wedding pictures a couple days ago from my photogrpaher. They are really good! I think she did a great job. I am so happy to have so many from her and from others that took a lot too.