Who's in Charge Here?

Sometimes I forget who is in charge.  Maybe it's me being an older sister, maybe it's me being a teacher, maybe it's just me being stubborn...sometimes I just like to think that I have it all planned out and it has to go my way or else.  But then when I see an answer to a prayer or when I see a beautiful picture of our world, I realize that no, it's not me in charge here. 

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,  
For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Words to Live By

Live simply

Laugh often

Love much

Speak kindly

Care deeply

Expect little

Give generously

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

Some of Our Fall Through My Camera Lens

 

 

Please Vote for "June Skies!"

Hi everyone!  We hope this hot and humid weather is not getting the best of you.  I just keep telling myself that somewhere in January, I will be wishing for warmer weather, so we might as well enjoy it while it lasts!
So, on a whim, I entered a photo in a photography contest of Shutterfly.  Now, what would be spectacular is if I could get all of your votes for my picture titled "June Skies."  This is the picture (from our honeymoon) I entered:

So, what I need is:
1)  after 12:00 p.m. tomorrow (Monday), go to shutterfly.com,
2)  scroll down to the bottom right hand side of the page and clicks on the Summer Freedom Photo Contest. Here's a link to the picture! Awesome picture
3)  please click on the box and read the directions on how to vote for my picture.  My picture is titled "June Skies" and the picture with the most votes wins...so please vote!  
 Thank you!!!

Blackberries in July

What a great couple of days we've had!  We spent the weekend with my family and then celebrated my birthday today with them also.  It was so much fun to see them multiple times in a row!  Braedan and I feel so blessed with our families!
My home church is in the process of calling a new pastor to lead the congregation, so this is an exciting time for the congregation.   On Sunday, we had a special congregational meeting about calling the new pastor and everything is starting to move forward after many months of having an interim pastor.  Braedan and I are also going to start the process of "church shopping" in the area.  Most of the weekends for us are spent out of town, so we haven't started the process yet...but we are anxious to start.  It is important to us find a church together.

Yesterday after church while the rest of the family was having their afternoon siestas, my dad, Taffy and I went to a friend's farm (in fact, we lived at this farm at one time) to pick blackberries.  Well, my dad went to pick blackberries and I went to take pictures and Taffy went, well, to snoop around like a Golden Retriever should :)  Here are some of the pictures I took from our little adventure.  If you didn't know already, I really enjoy photography--especially black and white pictures.  I see so much beauty in the beautiful world God has given us.  These are only a few of the pictures I took.  I took about a gazillion pictures and got about a million mosquito bites in the process...but it was worth it.