? how did i get this lucky ?

. you all know how much i love our old house that we live in . the best part is that it used to be steve's grandparents . with that comes old family photos in this very place where we are making new memories and taking new family photos . i love seeing photos of our yard when our great big trees were just little tiny or else non-existent . i love that we were able to update the house while at the same time keeping enough the same that their lives (what they were in the past and what they are now) come to our minds daily .

. when grandma and grandpa moved out they left a few little things for us that they felt just belonged on the farm . it's been so much fun to 'use' these old things . the old croquet set, old set of jacks, old marbles, the old safe in the basement .

. messaging with a bride-to-be about doing a photo shoot with an old bike made me think...'we have one of those!' . so i went out and found it .

. she needs a little work . a lot if she were going to be ridden to town and back, but she only needs to look good so we'll see just how much work she needs soon .

. i'm looking forward to this new little project .

.......

. i've been dragging my heels on spring arriving, even though i have been enjoying the sunny, warmer weather .

:)

. it just seemed like a few things in my life needed to be in order before it came . those things are finally coming together and i think spring will be arriving this week ! yeah ! along with some 70 degree temps !!

.......

. i've been working on my photography business a lot lately and will have some news to share on that front soon .

.......

. happy sunny monday to you all .

. a little sharing .

. a few weeks ago i went to women of faith with some friends and had a wonderful time enjoying other women, laughing, talking till all hours of the night, and taking in all that the speakers had to say . this year there was a speaker, andy andrews who seemed to have so much truth in the things he shared, thought i'd share in case these things might help someone else .

. sorry covers mistakes, choices take forgiveness .

. can i do something i don't want to do to get a result i really want .

. forgiveness is a decision, not an emotion .

. forgiveness is about me, trust is about them .

. so many times we ask ourselves 'is this wrong?', when the question should be 'is this wise?' .

. many inspiring speakers there, and i got to see anita renfroe do this .

:)

. in our monday night bible study we're studying john ortberg's book, if you want to walk on water you've got to get out of the boat . this book has been very eye opening for me . we are all on a mission from God . this calling isn't something we choose, it's something we discover .

. the chapter that probably spoke the most to me is the chapter i wasn't even able to attend the discussion . the chapter on learning to wait . i underlined about half of this chapter, i won't share it all with you (you can just get the book yourself), but i will share a few things that may encourage you like they did me .

. 43 times in the old testament alone, the people are comanded, "wait, wait on the Lord" .

. the ability to wait well is a test of maturity . delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleausre by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with . it is the only decent way to live .

. paul says that while we are waiting for God to set everything right, we suffer . but suffereing produces endurance; endurance, character; and character, hope . God is producing these qualities in us as we wait . waiting is not just something we have to do while we get what we want . it is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be .

. it is not a passive waiting around for something to happen that will allow you to escape your trouble . people often say 'i'm just waiting on the Lord', as an excuse not to face up to reality, own up to their responsibility, or take appropriate action .

. waiting on the Lord is a confident, disciplined, expectant, active, and sometimes painful clinging to God .

. waiting is by nature, some thing only the humble can do with grace .

. what we wait for is not more important than what happens to us while we are waiting .

. the last chapter was so beautiful as well .

. how big is your God ? when our God is small we wake up in the morning in constant fear and anxiety because everything depends on us .

. there is a word for the process by which human beings come to perceive and declare the vastness, worthiness and strength of God . it is called worship .

. worship is not about filling God's needs . God has made us so that when we experience something trancendentally great, we have a need to praise it .

. mindlessness is one of the primary things that keeps us from worship . ironically, we live in an age that seeks to eliminate mystery, and then we miss it . we have caller id; we can know the gender of babies before they are born; exit polls tell us who was elected before we have finished voting; tv shows reveal the secrets magicians have always kept hidden-we destory wonder and then ache for it . but God is too big for the wonder-killers . so we need to reflect for a while .

. i wonder occasionally if boredom in worship (and boredom in general) is not in fact a function of song selection or liturgical style, but rather, at least sometimes, a function of spending too much time in the boat .

. okay, i'll stop there, that was long i know, but these truths really spoke to me and i just wanted to share in case they could speak to someone else . if your Christian walk has become complacent, this book could be beneficial to you, get it !

(words in italics by authors)

. my weekend .

. was spent with tinkerbell .

. and stuart little .

:)

. goodies in wonderland .

. i'm sure if you read this blog you check my photography one too, but in case you don't, i just did the most awesome alice in wonderland photo shoot and posted photos over here . check them out .

. color .

. here's a few recent photos i've taken lately . i noticed the common theme to be color . perfect for spring time !

. i've gotten these little purple flowers in several bouquets and i've never seen them bloom . i love these little white flowers !

. cute lil green mum .

. a little fun with blurry color .

. and food color .

. sweet potatoes cut in spirals .

. and zucchini .

. those last two colors are yummy . makes me a little excited about a garden, although i don't think that i'm going to plant a very big one this year . we'll see i guess .

. 1 day, 2 cousins, 3 kids 4 much accomplished .

. the cuzes came by and helped me do some of my organizing . apparently holly has become the master . she loves it and is quite good at it .

. beth wasn't so bad either . seeing her organized closet last week was when i mentioned i had some areas i needed to work on and she came up with the idea of her and holly helping me . i wish now i would have taken a 'before' photo . but just picture my store room with more stuff, and messier !

:)

. went through a ton of magazines, holly labeled each category of magazines, although i need to get more permanent labels . i wasn't as prepared as i could have been today so i may need a few totes and such to completely complete it, but it's all sorted through and where it belongs .

. these lockers have been in the store room since we moved in, do you remember seeing them before ? i had big plans on getting them moved down to the toy room and repainting them...since that hasn't happened i decided to use them to organize .

. labeled with a dry erase marker .

. shelves organized and cleaned...i have 4 whole shelves to spare (one above) . for just two of us living here i figure we should have most all of these empty...i hate that stuff takes over sometimes, but i love that at least my stuff is organized now .

. ribbon and tag drawers . can't wait to wrap my next present .

. i've been storing a lot of wall hangings that either don't fit my decor in the rest of the house or i don't really care for but they have sentimental value . so i decided to group them all together and enjoy the cluster . i'm not a cluttery/cluster kind of person, but i love how these all look together ! couldn't handle it all over my house, but it works here .

. they should go into business, really ! call them !

. then onto deal with the clean outs that piled up in the next room . that really didn't take long either though .

. andrew, seth and alannah were here while all the action took place too . busy place, busy day .

. as seen in our neighborhood .

. on this foggy afternoon .

. enjoying these warmer temps .

. cute lil pots .

. so when i was in chicago a few weeks ago brooke and i were shopping at home goods, a new favorite store of mine . i had done very good at not getting anything i didn't need from there the last time i was there in january, and this time...until we had to wait in the check out line . why do they put the cutest stuff right there where you wait ? oh wait, i know why ...

. so that you'll buy those things you don't need .

. i totally justified these cute little pots, thinking i'd find a few recipes and they'd be so much fun to make for the kiddos .

. but it would be totally like me to get them, love decorating with them and never actually use them . but guess what...i did use them . today i made orzo and cheese bake in them . it was yummy, but i think i can make it better the next time . or else make the pioneer woman's fancy macaroni, i've wanted to do this one for a while now but it's a lot of work and takes a lot of different kind of cheeses...and that scares me, the making of it, not the eating of it . i know a lot of you read the PW, have any of you made it ? will any of you make this for me ?

:)

. kidding .

. as for the orzo and cheese, ryan and reed both liked it .

:)

. it might be a little more like me to get these cute little pots, make something in them once and then never again .... we'll see .

! aren't they cute ?

. a new favorite .

. i found this new awesome blog, design dazzle . it has some really creative decorating ideas, just thought i'd share . saw this, a great idea if you were kind of handy .

. and i'm feeling much better, thanks !

. saturday ramblings .

. so i did a little organizing the other day . i have to say the reason i don't do more of it is because i don't like the big mess in the middle, before it's all done .

. it's just part of the process though, and i'm hoping to do more of it soon . although this was the most important of all my organizing jobs that need done . this will make my photography work flow go much quicker, along with the organizing i did on some computer files as well . and hoping to do more to streamline things .

. so yes, i have been a little sick . the word pneumonia was even tossed around . could be just a bad sinus infection too though . all in all, i've felt worse...i'm surviving .

. so sitting on the couch is getting a little old and yet i don't feel like doing all that organizing that i want to do so i decided to make a little collage for holly, making collages is my new favorite thing, what ? you've noticed ?

. hope it's been a happy saturday for you .

. i love that i'm finally seeing my yard under all that snow .

. visitors .

. i do love having visitors stop by and this morning traci and emma stopped in for a little coffee . traci's just recently had her hair done so we were going to snap a few photo of it for all her friends hounding her to see it on facebook, and emma was a little jealous and wanted her picture taken too . we started out with a little photobooth, this is always fun for the kids because they can see themselves in the computer .

. her tongue kept coming out so i just decided to go with it .

. a fun little collage i put together for traci .

. a few more fun pics .

. my favorite .

. my sicky morning turned out to be a fun one .