themed photography

So often I take photos of what I see (more less right in front of me) and don't always challenge myself to search something out. So I thought of a few themes I wanted to search out and here is one... rocks- I have many more but I'll probably use a few others in my upcoming blogs.
Seeing how busy I've been- you may have to wait awhile for blog updates. I'd like to stick with once a week, at least! This week I do not have one day/night off-but maybe I'll sneak something in on a break? Hopefully I'll be seeing some of you Friday!! Have a great week everyone!

...but the greatest of all is love

Dr Bob shared this at NC last Thursday (27th) Its great!

I Corinthians 13 (rewritten by someone DB knows)

“If I live in a house of spotless beauty and everything in its place,

but have not love, I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing and decorative achievements,

but have not love, my children learn cleanliness—not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh;

love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly-cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up a child before it picks up the toys.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child

then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Before I became a parent, I took glory in my house of perfection.

Now I glory in the Holy Spirit’s perfection of my child.

As a parent there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.”

Gold Crown

"Did you find everything alright? Do you have your crown rewards card?" These are said over and over again as this past week has been very busy and I've been able to catch on quick enough to handle the register while the other person helped a customer with some announcements. Its fun and I've heard nothing but great things about my performance which is nice.

My boss also gave me a little welcome gift and this was the card inside! They are so sweet! So yeah you can come visit me now that I have (mostly) everything down after my first full week.

Friends since 7th grade

Happy birthday Nikki! Hope you have a great day and are enjoying life in Madison WI :)

Nada Surf- Always Love

To make a mountain of
Your life is just a choice
But I never learned enough
To listen to the voice that told me

Always love
Hate will get you every time
Always love
Don't wait 'til the finish line

Slow demands come round
Squeeze the hair and and keep the rest up
It helps to write it down
Even if you then cross it out

Always love
Hate will get you every time
Always love
Even when you want to fight

Self-directed lives
I want to know what it'd be like to
Aim so high above
Any card that you gained, didn't you?

Always love
Hate will get you every time
Always love
Hate will get you

I've been held back by something
Yeah
You said to me quietly on the stairs
I've been held back by something
Yeah
You said to me quietly on the stairs
You said
Hey you could once
Hey you could once

To make a mountain of
Your life is just a choice
But I never learned enough
To listen to the voice that told me

Always love
Hate will get you every time
Always love
Hate will get you

I've been held back by something
Yeah
You said to me quietly on the stairs
I've been held back by something
Yeah
You said to me quietly on the stairs
You said
Hey you could once

Happy Birthday Aunt Brandee

Happy birthday! Hope you find much joy in the upcoming year. Love you like a sister...

a whirlwind week in review (blessings only)

I'll post more of my thoughts later but for now here are bullet points of blessings for the week:

*The potential cold/allergies are gone for the most part
*Vitamins work wonders-even if I do have to take 7 of them ;)
*Started the new job with some great people- it was a long night with info overload-but good
*Placed at ND and have been in communication with some wonderful people
*Met with a new friend who I've learned so much from- what a fun night Christi!
*Some new photography opportunities
*A freshly cleaned/waxed car (shown below) Thanks Mom for the help!*The day I couldn't finish an assignment the prof didn't have us turn it in (whew)
*Butterflies (the significance is for another post)
*Transition to yet another new busy schedule-the vitamins will help with lack of sleep
*Spending time with the Conner & Kyle who are just getting over pink-eye (hopefully I won't get it from them!)
*A day off-today!

I have a lot to be thankful for!

Teaching...

"A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark."
Chinese Proverb

I will be starting my teaching at the ECDC at Notre Dame a week from today! It was a rough start- long story. But I'm finally placed and ready to begin! I think it will be worth getting up (extra) early for!

Thanks to everyone who prayed! God chose where I was to be placed and it was between ND & St. Mary's both were going to be great opportunities!

Have a great day!

who does this look like?

Sorry its a bit blurry- its from an older picture (hint hint)

Can you guess?

Sunday afternoon...

Madelyn and Chloe came over for a few hours in the afternoon and we had a lot of fun feeding the geese & ducks, going for a walk, finding treasures, spotting the beautiful butterflies, and playing a game. A fun afternoon with a break from homework and studying :)
Love you girls!

life...

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we will find it not. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fireplace

First fire of the season... mmm my feet are warming up as we speak.

**edit**
I was a complete idiot tonight... I came home and thought it was chilly so instead of starting another fire I just turned the heat on... well Mom was laying on the couch and she said she couldn't breathe (she's stuffed up anyways) so I went over to the thermostat (thinking I turned the heat off) and turned it up to 85ish well it was still running so I even said- oh it must be trying to heat the open area (stairs) Nope! Its cause I really didn't turn the heat off so I just continued to turn the heat higher--ahh! So, after a long laugh I turned it back down.
Ugh, what was I thinking!

Praying for Ruby

Ruby... that picture is the background photo on the front of my phone- so you are thought of and prayed for often!
Love you!

soup, cough drops and dayquil

Mom has come down with a cold over the past week- so I stocked up on some chicken noodle soup and cough drops. Dayquil is the other essential- that stuff works! :)
Hope you get to feeling better soon Madre! Love you*

The position has been filled

I am now a Hallmark Sales Associate... I accepted the position today and will begin next week. I'm glad the job hunt is over (for now)
Thanks for the prayers... keep them coming as I'll be working the evening shift as well as keeping up with school work- and teaching :)

stress reliever...

As a stress relief on a beautiful day I went driving with my windows down, radio up, and camera in hand... these are a few examples of what I found:

edited photo

Jeny... I think you look a lot like your Madre in this photo.
Do you agree?

A Fall Welcome

Fall is here... maybe not officially but today was the first day with the crisp breeze blowing my hair around and the sun shining bright on the white fluffy clouds. The amazing feeling of cooler weather and changing leaves to come!
I'm getting somewhat nervous as I haven't been placed and I need to start my teaching. It is difficult for the "new guy" being that he came from another college and he is trying to get acclimated to the new program etc. It is somewhat overwhelming as I'm waiting to hear back from a job interview along with holding down the other jobs on the side that I'm doing. Hopefully, everything will work out with time.
Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather today!

Bigger than: My Failure

Psalm 139- The Message

A David Psalm

1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I'm an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you're there,
then up ahead and you're there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can't take it all in!

7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you're there!
If I go underground, you're there!
If I flew on morning's wings
to the far western horizon,
You'd find me in a minute—
you're already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I'm immersed in the light!"
It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.

17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
all the men and women who belittle you, God,
infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Your enemies are my enemies!

23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I'm about;
See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Heartbeats... notes taken from Rob Wegner's message Thurs
We need God to test our hearts because we don't understand the truth of our own hearts.
(spiritual) Healthy heart loves what God loves.
Congestive heart failure- disordered thoughts/desires.
The stress test is what shows the truth about our hearts not when we are in a "safe container" (church)
Do I have the courage to pray the prayer as David did?
I don't want to be the girl who lets my heart grow so small because I'm bitter and don't want to forgive. I don't want to be the guy/girl _____ (fill in the blank)
I need to muster up some will power. The problem is that will power doesn't change the heart-it doesn't get past the surface to the core of the problem, whatever it is.
We try to pray appropriately and begin to pretend, which doesn't show we have the trust in God.
We can't change our hearts, only Jesus can.
--Abiding--Confession-- We begin to see the transformation... over time.

Happy birthday Scott!

Scott...
Hope your 30th year of life is one filled with moments that are "breathtaking." Embrace each new day...
Love,
-b

tiny

This little dog passed by our window. We saw it hopping just above the blades of grass. It was a cute one!

I finally visted...

Mom and I had been talking about getting some fresh fruits and veggies from the farmers market in Elkhart but hadn't been able to since it opened. So this Saturday we were up early and took the drive. We ran into a few people we knew, and found some great apples and bread while we were there while meeting a person who did some amazing art!

All in all- a good day!

Jeanna & Jerica

happy 30th birthday jeanna & jerica
(Jeanna is to the right of myself and jerica is on the far right)

I love these two girls and I'm blessed to have them in my life. They are amazing*

Art

Gods work of art

sunshine after the rain...

a rainstorm came through the area today bringing a single bolt of lightning and then a little while later the sun was shining just before sunset

God is good

1 more semester... 15ish weeks if I were counting

Yeah thats the story of my life... books! With the 1st week of my last semester behind me it seems as though its going to be tough not including fitting in 100 hours of teaching. I'm still in the process of placement so I'll share that news when I have it.
Long days for sure and will only become busier with work. If you think I've disappeared- think again... I'm just consumed in hw & work.

Pray for me as I need to keep the strength, determination, and take time to rest when necessary.
Love to you all!

3 girls after3 years (or so)

Ashley, Leah & I went to Bonefish tonight, after not seeing Ash for a few years.
It was a great time catching up on life and all the changes that have occurred over time. What a great night together- I'm sure it will happen more often now that Ash is in town for a little while-depending on what happens with her job search.
Thanks girls for rekindling the friendship and recalling fun memories from high school and beyond! Love ya

Balance: myth or reality

A great topic as I start my last semester of my college career (at least for now) I know its going to be a very busy, trying, hard semester but I also know there are so many things God will be teaching me if only I'll let Him.
Mark Waltz did a great job putting this balance topic into perspective. Here are a few things...
*Balance: the feeling of being in control able to exercise choice and find equilibrium between your own needs and those of others whether at work/school or at home.

*I can't be all things to all people.
*My value defines me as what I do.
*I can't be slave to the tyranny of the urgent.
*I have to move my base of the scale to where the weight is heaviest and balance it out.

"There is more to life than increasing its speed." -Gandhi
"We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it." Gordon MacDonald
"Not everything that can be counted counts; and not everything that counts can be counted." -Einstein

Proverbs 17:24 An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.

I have to start this last semester on purpose but not in 1000 different directions. It will be busy but I still need to find time to rest. It will be challenging with the work load and finding time to do fieldwork and working part time as much as possible.

This is refreshing:
Matthew 6:33- Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Ephesians 5:15- Life life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who do not know the meaning of life, but as those who do. Make the best use of your time.
Psalm 39:4-7 Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth with be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more. My life is no longer than my hand! My whole lifetime is but a moment to you. Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend. And so, Lord, my only hope is in you.

As I try to put all this into personal perspective and something to truly live by- I think it is a great start to the semester.
December still can't come soon enough ;)

Have a great day!

a fun day with the twins...

I was able to capture a few minutes of our day... it was full of non-stop fun. These boys come up with the cutest things! I've called each the wrong names a few times but its getting easier to tell them apart the longer I'm with them.

notice they have 2 spaniels that look exactly alike. it makes me laugh

Here come the IRISH!

Well the home opener didn't go as planned... a sad 33-3 loss. :(

Hopefully the season will be getting better!
I'm done working early because of it. When the Irish don't do well, I don't work late...