Sunday, January 31

smitten

we are smitten with God's love. 

God is smitten with our love. 
God is love. love never fails. 
love, love. love. love. love... i love love. you can love love, right? 
i do. love love, that is. 

smitten: a heavy blow, affect sharply with great feeling. 

i was struck by His love so powerfully that it knocked me right off my feet. i have been swept off my feet.

He's a God like that... a sweep you off your feet kind of loving God. 

sacrificial love 

the Roman empire ruled the world that Jesus was born into. a world without love... 
-infanticides (newborn killings) were a norm (because of poverty, human sacrifice, burdensome
-children abandonment (wild packs of children would roam the streets... not uncommon. These were the children most likely that Jesus said... let the little children come to me. they were outcasts, unwanted and unloved. that was normal
-sick & elderly were left in the elements to die (normal and very common
- none of the Roman gods or goddess were portrayed as having compassion or sympathy. 
-entertainment was watching people kill each other in the coliseums

this was the world that Jesus lived in. this was the world the early church had to live in. 
the love that the early church displayed completely revolutionized the world (literally

love isn't always convenient and some times it's not even comfortable. 

Jesus said to His disciples.... "by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (john 13:35)  

it's our heritage. it's who we are. the birth of christianity.

if we want to change the world... it starts with us. one sacrificial act of love at a time!!! 

Acquire the Fire was amazing. I took Madison & we had a great time. It's a youth conference. Madison loved it & I got a lot from it too. It got snowed out half way through. bad news. the good news is that we get free admission into 2 other upcoming conferences. we're excited. 

my parents had to come in Big Red (my dad's big ol' truck) to get us. It was quite the adventure. i forgot to get gas on the way down so we couldn't keep the car on for very long. we ended up sitting in the cold for about an hour. when my parents got there I had them follow me to my schools parking deck (right around the corner) because the deck I was in was pay per hour.... just to get around the corner & realize my school deck was closed. no way I was making it onto the interstate or off that particular road for that matter. Hercules (my dad) some how parallel parked my car in a cozy little spot downtown. He was slipping and sliding all over the placed. He finally had enough, got out & physically pushed the rear end into place... hence the nickname Hercules. 

SO my car is currently in the city, with no gas. poor little thing... & no doubt completely piled with snow from all of the street plowers. 

Thankfully school is closed tomorrow (for me & the girls). I will head down there some time this week with my shovel & gas can.... good times.

Acquire the Fire... fantastic times. 

This was a shot I took on the way home in big red. this was the interstate. i lost count of how many vehicles were in the ditch. we don't get much snow so when we do... this is what happens. 

Saturday, January 30

2010 Photo Journal- Week 4

Week 4

day 22
me in va


busy night at the movies
more fun with shutter speed

drea in fl


A snuggly morning
Taken because it was a wet and foggy morning. So we were hanging in our jammies watching the Disney channel.



day 24
me in va





tiny baby bottles
taken at my cousin's baby shower


drea in fl


Oh my chocolate
Taken because Ethan was tearing into a chocolate doughnut like he was expecting to find money in the middle. LOL.

day 24
me in va


toofers
I had my nose in the books ALL day except for church. I submitted my 1st ethics exam this day. This sweet little thing kept crawling up on the kitchen chair to say hello.

drea in fl


Mi amore
Taken on our trip to Manatee Park. Enjoying our family day together before he had to go back to Sarasota.

day 25
me in va


split peas
made split pea soup for dinner
mmm

drea in fl


Moseying along
Taken because this old man was adorable and he is obviously wise enough to take his time and enjoy his stroll.

day 26
me in va


buttons and thread 
one of my goals this year is to learn how to sew (the right way)

drea in fl


The chime of time
Taken at Edison State College because this clock tower chimes the coolest songs, including Jimmy Buffet. This always puts a smile on my face, amidst a stressful school day.

day 27
me in va


Liv and the clothespin girl 
olivia made this for her missionettes teacher at church

drea in fl


Gumption
Taken because this man is 100 years old, yet he has the gumption to row that boat around the lake every single day.

day 28
me in va


we took a stroll to the playground

drea in fl


Rugged athlete
Taken while Ethan was kicking around a giant soccer ball like a little pro, and so serious too.


see all 2010 Photo journal posts here 

Tuesday, January 26

no boys for this little girl

Olivia: mommy, guess what two boys in my class told me today!


Me: What babe? 


Olivia: They both said they L-I-K-E-D me. 


Me: Really? What do you think about that? 


Olivia: I think I don't like it. 


Me: Why not? 


Olivia: Because I am not allowed to have a boyfriend. That's what I told them. I think you should have a chat with their mommies. 


That's my girl. 


Saturday, January 23

2010 Photo Journal- Weeks 1-3

back to blogging :) YAY. The past 3 weeks have been great. We have some exciting stuff coming up this year... but I'm sure I'll be blogging about that soon. For now I have LOTS of pictures to share.

Inspired by this I decided to join the Project 365 challenge. 1 photo a day everyday for 365 days. Fun huh? One of my goals this year is to become a better photographer. Practice makes perfect, right?

Inspired by this I decided to do the challenge with my friend in Florida. I miss her so much. We thought this would be a great way to stay connected. We've been sharing our photos through email & I do feel closer to her. It's nice pretending we don't have about 1,000 miles between us.

I'll share my photos daily (or as daily as possible) on my Flickr stream & she is sharing hers daily on her Facebook page. I'll post ours together here weekly.

Meet Drea:


"I'm a pretty busy person. I'm married and have two great kids, both are boys. So I've got my hands full there. I live about 10 minutes from the beach in south Florida and LOVE IT!! The flip side to that is I'm so busy with work and school that I rarely get to go. But that will change soon when I graduate. I was a real estate appraiser for 6 years and one day realized that I belonged in nursing. God put some great opportunities together for me and I haven't hesitated for a second.



I love my life, my family and my friends. I also love Jesus. He saved my life. I've been through a lot of horrible stuff that could have ended things for me, but instead of letting go I called on Jesus. He is my rock, my strength, my Lord and my very best friend. I can't even describe how He has changed my life."


Here's what we've been up to the last 3 weeks....

week 1

day 1
me in va


wii boxing
I didn't actually decide to start until the 2nd, but thankfully I did get this on Maddy's new point & shoot. One of her teachers had us over for dinner on New Years Day. Stephen packed up the Wii. Mr. Green kept saying... "this is stupid, completely pointless. why do people even waste their time paying this." We could tell he was loving it though.

drea in fl


Exploring new oceans


taken to remind myself that in order to explore new oceans I can't look back at the shore."

day 2
me in va


yoda, reece/ reece, yoda
nice to meet you
we were at Target

drea in fl


There once was a crab


Taken because I'm learning about manual aperture and shutter speed settings.

day 3
me in va


cheapest diffuser ever
1st thing on my "things to buy for camera" list... an external flash. This thing is a beast.

drea in fl


Holding on to innocence


Taken because he rarely sits still long enough to get precious shots like this.

day 4
me in va


prepping
for my new wall collage. pic of the wall on day 12.

drea in fl


Laundry, oh Laundry!


Taken because it was a laundry day....a major laundry day.

day 5
me in va


sending a surprise
I popped a "just because I love & miss you bunches" present in the mail to Drea

drea in fl


Heavy load of anticipation


Taken because it's the beginning of a new year and I was thinking about everything I needed to accomplish.

day 6
me in va


YAM planning

drea in fl


Cold cold condensation
Taken because it was very cold outside and Ethan and I spent the day cooped up in the house.

day 7
me in va


vintage lovelies
out thrifting with mom

drea in fl


Epic battle


Taken because Mitchell and I are constantly battling over rights to my desk chair (a.k.a. my throne).

week 2

day 8
me in va


El Salvador Interest
YAM Interest Meeting for 2010 El Salvador missions trip

drea in fl


Matters of the heart


Taken because I have started the cardiac segment of Adult II nursing. I love the cardiac system. It is my favorite, and this is the continuation of a passion.

day 9
me in va


free blanket rides

drea in fl


The home stretch


Taken after my first clinical day of Adult II, my last semester of nursing school.

day 10
me in va


milk goggles

drea in fl


Young warrior


Taken because Owen's name means "young warrior" and that's exactly what he is.

day 11
me in va


back to it
back to the snooze button, rush hour traffic, flash-card making, all the time studying, pre-requ fun.....
leaving the parking deck
drea in fl


Special delivery


Taken because Ethan looked so cute in that little box and I'm loving how to edit with photoshop elements.

day 12
me in va


the eclectic wall
my latest home project... finito

drea in fl


Constructing adventure


Taken because Owen absolutely loves his legos. Especially building "Star Wars" space ships. This is my first experiment with shooting a close shot with a wide angle setting.

day 13
me in va


dissatisfied
she was not diggin' dinner

drea in fl


Good morning Lord


Taken because He blessed me with this beautiful sunrise this morning and because He is so good.

day 14
me in va


you don't scare me mr. lion
I saw him when I was out & about on this day. actually he was at the end of a driveway. there were cars in the driveway too... i bet they are still wondering who the weird girl was taking pictures of their stone lion out in front of their house.

drea in fl


Dat's my hat


Taken because Ethan refuses to get rid of this crumpled up party hat from New Year's eve and it's just too cute.

week 3

day 15
me in va


peekaboo sunshine
on the way to class... I pulled over on the interstate to get it.

drea in fl


Little iron chef
Taken because Ethan always wants to "help" cook dinner, and this was how he chose to help tonight. LOL

day 16
me in va


fun with shutter speed
maddy was such a good sport. I dare to say she even enjoyed this shoot. I just love my little lady!

drea in fl


Best brothers
Taken at Lakes Park while these two had a ball on the giant inflatable slide.

day 17
me in va


untitled
Olivia's little bud spent the night. this was taken before church.

drea in fl


Deep in thought


Taken because Ethan looked like he was trying to solve a college calculus problem.

day 18
me in va


big, just like mama

drea in fl


The escape route
Taken to fulfill a deal..."I'll buy tickets for you to play on the slide, if you promise to cooperate for some picture taking". LOL

day 19
me in va


bubbly babe

drea in fl


Alphabetology


Taken because I was using this puzzle to teach Ethan the alphabet. Hence, the title. Meaning, the study of alphabet.

day 20
me in va


a puppy & a pigtail
my girlfriend's daughter.

drea in fl


The shadow of your wings


Taken because this reminded me that no matter the circumstance, I am safe under the shadow of God's wings.

day 21


me in va


bath-time reflections

drea in fl



Come rest here


Taken because Americans need to be seeking after God, not just expecting to receive from Him.