And in the event you would like to see the kind of humor that I referred to in my previous post regarding my beloved "Mote"...
please see:
The girl is HA!Larious...
Love. lurve. LAAAAVVVVEEEEE HER!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Photography on the side – TAKE ONE!
I did my first “official” photo shoot in January with one of my very dear friends…
AMANDA (who I very affectionately will ALWAYS call “Mote”), went to Africa with me in September, has been in Hot Totties for years, goes to my church, is so hilarious that my cheeks always hurt when in her company, and is a country girl thru and thru – bottomline, I love her! Like, literally, A.D.O.R.E. her zany approach to life!
She’s Fun. Outgoing. Thoughtful. And… GETTING MARRIED on June 13th!
The day after she got engaged, Mote called to share the wonderful news. While on the phone, I asked her if I could take some “engagement like” photos of them to help me learn more about my “style” and “quickness” in utilizing the gazillion(!) functions on my camera. She was quite enthusiastic about my request and couldn’t wait to get it on the books (which, came as a complete shock!).
After one failed attempt due to bad weather, we set out on a Sunday in 30 degree weather to capture the love of Amanda and Brian.
After one fun, yet, very C.O.L.D. afternoon – ONE thing that I know for SURE regarding my “style” and camera “quickness”:
I certainly begin the adventure of "photography on the side", with the BEST COUPLE EVER!!! Capturing their “love in a lens” was INCREDIBLY humbling to me!
Brian and Mote… I can’t thank you enough for sharing that afternoon with me! You set my heart on fire EVEN MORE(!) regarding my desire for photography (which I didn’t even know was possible!!). You helped push me out of my comfort zone and try out this idea of “photography on the side”! I had SUCH a wonderful time…
One thing is for certain: I believe in your love!
Can’t wait for the wedding! Xoxoxo, E*
Late evenings and then EARLY mornings...
Are NOT good for me!
Last night we had our life group over to watch the Super Bowl. We had an ABSOLUTE blast… not only did the women hang out in the kitchen w/ the food (which is my kind of party ANYWAY!…) but we LAUGHED the majority of the night! It was fabulous…
What WASN’T fabulous was the stinkin’ alarm clock going off at 4:30am reminding me that my butt had to be at work at 5:30 this morning!
Because I was busy being a social lite last night, this day is “somewhat” dragging into oblivion!
But on the bright side there is only 73 days to go until I get a full week off…
AND get to go to my baby sister, Lisa’s bridal shower in VA!…
73 days… AND COUNTING!
Last night we had our life group over to watch the Super Bowl. We had an ABSOLUTE blast… not only did the women hang out in the kitchen w/ the food (which is my kind of party ANYWAY!…) but we LAUGHED the majority of the night! It was fabulous…
What WASN’T fabulous was the stinkin’ alarm clock going off at 4:30am reminding me that my butt had to be at work at 5:30 this morning!
Because I was busy being a social lite last night, this day is “somewhat” dragging into oblivion!
But on the bright side there is only 73 days to go until I get a full week off…
AND get to go to my baby sister, Lisa’s bridal shower in VA!…
73 days… AND COUNTING!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Molly’s on the wagon AGAIN…
This weekend the following conversation occurred between Molly and I... But before I go into any great detail -- Please note that the majority of my "NOTABLE" conversations with the children occur AFTER John leaves the room for some strange reason??...
You can probably guess what happens next...
EXIT JOHN STAGE LEFT...
ENTER MOLLY STAGE RIGHT...
Molly: When you have a baby, I’m kicking Mack out of our room and I’m going to share my room with the baby.
E: (hands in soapy dish water) Mol, what are you talking about? There IS NO baby, thus, there will be no kicking Mack out of his room?
Molly: (hands on hips) Eeeeeeeeeeeeee, you saidddddddddddddddd when you were 30 you would have a baby~~~!!!!!!!!!!
E: Molly! That ISN'T what I said. I told you that when I was INNN my 30’s Daddy and I would maybe TALK ABOUT IT!
Molly: (hands in smart aleck questioning position) WELL. WHAT. ARE. YOU. WAITIN’. FOR???… GET. TO. TALKIN’. You aren’t gettin’ any YOUNGER!!
E: Deer In HEADLIGHTS… (wondering if this is what an out of body experience is really like and thinking to self - Hello??? Is this conversation really happening??? Did my 9 YEAR OLD just SAY THAT I'm NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGERRRRRRRR???? This is yet anotherrrr situation of "new territory in parenting" - HOW THE HECK DO I HANDLE THIS ONE????)
And with that final thought, I look at her with the love of ANYYYY aging mother of wisdom and say, "Molly, why don't you go and talk to your FATHER about this! I'm sure he'll be able to talk about it with you!!" Hee hee... HA HA HAAAAAA!!!!
What happened to the days when people didn’t discuss MY UTERUS???
Lately I feel like thats all anyone wants to talk about?
I'm catchin' it from all sides -- even from. my 9. Year. Old. KID.!!!!!!!!!
Good. Grief. People.
Can SOMEONE PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEE send this kid a baby doll??!!!
You can probably guess what happens next...
EXIT JOHN STAGE LEFT...
ENTER MOLLY STAGE RIGHT...
Molly: When you have a baby, I’m kicking Mack out of our room and I’m going to share my room with the baby.
E: (hands in soapy dish water) Mol, what are you talking about? There IS NO baby, thus, there will be no kicking Mack out of his room?
Molly: (hands on hips) Eeeeeeeeeeeeee, you saidddddddddddddddd when you were 30 you would have a baby~~~!!!!!!!!!!
E: Molly! That ISN'T what I said. I told you that when I was INNN my 30’s Daddy and I would maybe TALK ABOUT IT!
Molly: (hands in smart aleck questioning position) WELL. WHAT. ARE. YOU. WAITIN’. FOR???… GET. TO. TALKIN’. You aren’t gettin’ any YOUNGER!!
E: Deer In HEADLIGHTS… (wondering if this is what an out of body experience is really like and thinking to self - Hello??? Is this conversation really happening??? Did my 9 YEAR OLD just SAY THAT I'm NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGERRRRRRRR???? This is yet anotherrrr situation of "new territory in parenting" - HOW THE HECK DO I HANDLE THIS ONE????)
And with that final thought, I look at her with the love of ANYYYY aging mother of wisdom and say, "Molly, why don't you go and talk to your FATHER about this! I'm sure he'll be able to talk about it with you!!" Hee hee... HA HA HAAAAAA!!!!
What happened to the days when people didn’t discuss MY UTERUS???
Lately I feel like thats all anyone wants to talk about?
I'm catchin' it from all sides -- even from. my 9. Year. Old. KID.!!!!!!!!!
Good. Grief. People.
Can SOMEONE PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEE send this kid a baby doll??!!!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Greatest Commandment...
I’ve been reminded A LOT lately that the greatest commandment is to LOVE OTHERS!
From the scriptures that I’ve been reading in my quiet times to the sermon that our rockin’ pastor, Jonathan Bow, preached on Sunday – this life is all about loving others! Friends, that’s the GREATEST commandment of ALL!
It's so easy to love people we like… the people that we “choose” to have in our lives: friends, family and coworkers! But man, ohhhh man, is it hard some times to love (BIBLICALLY LOVE!) the “unlovelys”…
From the scriptures that I’ve been reading in my quiet times to the sermon that our rockin’ pastor, Jonathan Bow, preached on Sunday – this life is all about loving others! Friends, that’s the GREATEST commandment of ALL!
It's so easy to love people we like… the people that we “choose” to have in our lives: friends, family and coworkers! But man, ohhhh man, is it hard some times to love (BIBLICALLY LOVE!) the “unlovelys”…
Lately, God has steadily reminded me that loving others regardless of “like” or “dislike” is imparative to staying in His will for my life.
On my drive to work every day I’ve been asking God that I’ll be a blessing to someone - even in just a small way. Some times I know when I’ve been a blessing and other times I don’t – but I've been praying about it intentionally b/c I want to be in the Will of God – every day! And being in His will brings peace and this PEACE gig is realllllly nice! I’m hopeful that I’ll stay in this place of PEACE for a longggg time – but this requires action on my part!!
Being a blessing is a choice and it doesn’t take something BIG to be considered a “blessing”! It takes answering the phone with a smile, it means saying Thank you, leaving a bigger tip (even if the service wasn’t that great!), sending a note to a grandparent that you haven’t talked to in a while (thats my Poppa Stanley above - he will be 87 in April!), or just “pre-setting the coffee pot” for the husband that usually does it for you!! Being a blessing even means going the extra few steps and putting the shopping cart IN the designated “RETURN SHOPPING CART HERE” station! Notes of encouragement, an unsolicited hug, complimenting a stranger, or simply bringing your neighbors trash can up from the street… Each are considered a blessing…
I’m learning that when we are a blessing to others – we are showing the world that there is something different about us. Christian friends, we aren’t of this world. We are strangers in this foreign land – we are only here, on Earth, for a brief moment! By being a blessing we are showing others that Greater is He that is IN me, than he that is in this world!
I challenge you to start asking God to show you how you too can be a blessing to someone – everyday!! And get creative – do something that will really bless the socks off of someone!
It’s easy, rewarding, and makes God smile!
On my drive to work every day I’ve been asking God that I’ll be a blessing to someone - even in just a small way. Some times I know when I’ve been a blessing and other times I don’t – but I've been praying about it intentionally b/c I want to be in the Will of God – every day! And being in His will brings peace and this PEACE gig is realllllly nice! I’m hopeful that I’ll stay in this place of PEACE for a longggg time – but this requires action on my part!!
Being a blessing is a choice and it doesn’t take something BIG to be considered a “blessing”! It takes answering the phone with a smile, it means saying Thank you, leaving a bigger tip (even if the service wasn’t that great!), sending a note to a grandparent that you haven’t talked to in a while (thats my Poppa Stanley above - he will be 87 in April!), or just “pre-setting the coffee pot” for the husband that usually does it for you!! Being a blessing even means going the extra few steps and putting the shopping cart IN the designated “RETURN SHOPPING CART HERE” station! Notes of encouragement, an unsolicited hug, complimenting a stranger, or simply bringing your neighbors trash can up from the street… Each are considered a blessing…
I’m learning that when we are a blessing to others – we are showing the world that there is something different about us. Christian friends, we aren’t of this world. We are strangers in this foreign land – we are only here, on Earth, for a brief moment! By being a blessing we are showing others that Greater is He that is IN me, than he that is in this world!
I challenge you to start asking God to show you how you too can be a blessing to someone – everyday!! And get creative – do something that will really bless the socks off of someone!
It’s easy, rewarding, and makes God smile!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Recent favorites...
These are a few of my most recent “favorite” things…
- When the laundry basket is COMPLETELY empty!
- My Ann Taylor Loft slippers – I HAVE to have them on when I’m inside my house.
- A handwritten, snail mailed, unexpected note of encouragement from a friend
- My electric blanket – my grandmother used to make me take it off of my bed during the summer, as an adult its ALWAYS on my bed!!
- Snuggling with sweet Zayleigh in the weeeee hours of the morning
- My rainbow striped knee socks
- When JB sets up the coffee pot the night before!
- Fat free French vanilla creamer for said "pre-set up" coffee...
- Being creative with photography
- Laughing so hard that you can’t hear it – you just shake!
- The heater under my desk at work!
Fasting … Daniel Style!
I don’t regularly talk about fasting with the people in my life. I think I don’t talk about it b/c many people see it as “foreign” and “out dated” which means I then have to "convince" someone of the benefits.
I haven’t even talked about fasting much with my own husband, but he knows that there are days when I don’t “join him for dinner” – which he usually just rolls with anyway! I’ve been fasting off and on since I was 21 years old (which, by the way, wasn’t yesterday!).
When I returned from Africa in October, I came back with more questions than answers – which, at times, has been very frustrating. During my quiet times with Him, I felt called to do a longer fast than “normal”. In the past, I have done all kinds of fasts – one day, 2 – 3 days, 7 days, no food, only liquids, only eating at dinner time, etc. Basically, God has impressed upon my heart what kind of fast I am to do…
After MUCH prayer and an exceptional amount of reading, I began a Daniel fast on January 1, 2009. Let me say that when I woke up on January 1st to the smell of coffee brewing downstairs - courtesy of my husband, I tried to talk myself into the fact that maybe, JUSSTTTT maybe, I’d misinterpreted God’s call over the past SEVERAL Months!… Maybe he only meant 1 or 2 days – NOT 21! No. Such. Luck.!
For the 1st 3 days of my fast, I only drank water – no food. Let me tell you that on Day 2, I thought that my head was going to explode! I have NEVER and I mean, N.E.V.E.R. had a headache like I did on Jan. 2nd, 2009! For the next 17 days, I ate only fruits and veggies and drank LOTS o’ water. On day 21, I again, didn’t eat – only had water to end my experience.
During a fast, you are basically sacrificing the “pleasantries” of life to be in constant communion with God – and rarely do you talk about it with others while its going on. This fast was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done regarding my faith walk…
The only reason I’m sharing this is because several amazing things happened to me during that time….
First, John and I had a lot of conversation around fasting. And actually on Jan 2nd (the day of the worst headache known to man) John joined me in fasting for 7 days! I can’t tell you what that has done for our marriage and our faith!! I'm so proud that he felt led to do a fast WITH me! I've said it before and I'll say it again - JB is one of the BEST decisions I've ever made in my life!
Secondly, my heart was really hard and ugly regarding certain situations and persons in my life. Without going into great detail, my heart has changed -- Freedom and Peace have prevailed!!! Trust me people, that is something that ONLY GOD can get credit for~!!!! My heart was like a stone statue that had been spray painted w/ graffiti – and not the cool, artsy graffiti either – it was U.G.L.Y. You. Aint. Got. No. Alibi. UGLYYYYY GRAFFITI!
And Thirdly, I’ve had a bum knee for about 10 months. Been to several Dr’s, taken more anti-inflammatories than I care to admit, and just flat out stopped exercising b/c it hurt so badly (and that’s saying something considering my degree is in Fitness and Exercise Science)! On Day 3 and 4 of my fast, I began to pray for healing. My knee has hurt to the TOUCH for several months but on day 5 there was absolutely NO pain. None! Today, on Jan. 27th, I have absolutely nooooo pain in my knee. I am healed!
I’m trusting God for big things this year… and by giving Him our first days of 2009, I know that He is going to honor us!
Don’t keep God in a little box friends! He’s soooo much bigger than you can EVEN imagine!
What big things are you asking God for this year???
I haven’t even talked about fasting much with my own husband, but he knows that there are days when I don’t “join him for dinner” – which he usually just rolls with anyway! I’ve been fasting off and on since I was 21 years old (which, by the way, wasn’t yesterday!).
When I returned from Africa in October, I came back with more questions than answers – which, at times, has been very frustrating. During my quiet times with Him, I felt called to do a longer fast than “normal”. In the past, I have done all kinds of fasts – one day, 2 – 3 days, 7 days, no food, only liquids, only eating at dinner time, etc. Basically, God has impressed upon my heart what kind of fast I am to do…
After MUCH prayer and an exceptional amount of reading, I began a Daniel fast on January 1, 2009. Let me say that when I woke up on January 1st to the smell of coffee brewing downstairs - courtesy of my husband, I tried to talk myself into the fact that maybe, JUSSTTTT maybe, I’d misinterpreted God’s call over the past SEVERAL Months!… Maybe he only meant 1 or 2 days – NOT 21! No. Such. Luck.!
For the 1st 3 days of my fast, I only drank water – no food. Let me tell you that on Day 2, I thought that my head was going to explode! I have NEVER and I mean, N.E.V.E.R. had a headache like I did on Jan. 2nd, 2009! For the next 17 days, I ate only fruits and veggies and drank LOTS o’ water. On day 21, I again, didn’t eat – only had water to end my experience.
During a fast, you are basically sacrificing the “pleasantries” of life to be in constant communion with God – and rarely do you talk about it with others while its going on. This fast was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done regarding my faith walk…
The only reason I’m sharing this is because several amazing things happened to me during that time….
First, John and I had a lot of conversation around fasting. And actually on Jan 2nd (the day of the worst headache known to man) John joined me in fasting for 7 days! I can’t tell you what that has done for our marriage and our faith!! I'm so proud that he felt led to do a fast WITH me! I've said it before and I'll say it again - JB is one of the BEST decisions I've ever made in my life!
Secondly, my heart was really hard and ugly regarding certain situations and persons in my life. Without going into great detail, my heart has changed -- Freedom and Peace have prevailed!!! Trust me people, that is something that ONLY GOD can get credit for~!!!! My heart was like a stone statue that had been spray painted w/ graffiti – and not the cool, artsy graffiti either – it was U.G.L.Y. You. Aint. Got. No. Alibi. UGLYYYYY GRAFFITI!
And Thirdly, I’ve had a bum knee for about 10 months. Been to several Dr’s, taken more anti-inflammatories than I care to admit, and just flat out stopped exercising b/c it hurt so badly (and that’s saying something considering my degree is in Fitness and Exercise Science)! On Day 3 and 4 of my fast, I began to pray for healing. My knee has hurt to the TOUCH for several months but on day 5 there was absolutely NO pain. None! Today, on Jan. 27th, I have absolutely nooooo pain in my knee. I am healed!
I’m trusting God for big things this year… and by giving Him our first days of 2009, I know that He is going to honor us!
Don’t keep God in a little box friends! He’s soooo much bigger than you can EVEN imagine!
What big things are you asking God for this year???
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