A little of this...a little of that...

This is Blog O' Random Day! Well, I'm making it that way because I have lots of random stuff that I wanted to talk about. A few plugs for a fav. photo site and for a cool blog I just found. Then just some of my rambling!

Simple Mom...a blog or site I just found. That I really enjoyed!

http://simplemom.net/

I found this link about an article or post she wrote about aiming for EXCELLENCE instead of PERFECTION! What a wonderful thought! I always struggle with not feeling like I can do things perfectly or match up to some very (what I think as) perfect women. You know the types...whose house is spotless, lead a very successful career or organization, step out of their ever so clean SUV's, tuck their adorable hair behind their ear, and ofcourse look perfectly put together as if they have nothing better to do than look cute. I'm not bitter...really, I'M NOT!!! Hahaha...so besides that being an incredibly long run on sentence, it is FALSE.. You know the women that do make it look easy, but they cannot be Perfect. None of us can. And we all know that we fall flat on our faces when we try! So this article was all about giving ourselves grace, and doing something. Just because we can't do it perfectly doesn't mean we shouldn't try!

So, please, take a look at this lady trying to follow Jesus as she lives her life!

http://simplemom.net/how-to-be-disorganized-unproductive-aim-for-perfection/

So following that plug for her, I wanted to talk about our sermon at church this past week. It was AMAZING for me. We are talking about listening to the voices of the Prophets from God's Word. We talked about Isaiah, Jeremiah, and now are on Jonah. Sometimes it's hard to feel you can gain more application from a Bible story you heard all through childhood. But let me tell you it's possible!!! I've always learned about obeying God and following His calling from sermons and Bible Studies on Jonah. But I've never left studying this book of the Bible thinking about grace for others. Jonah wanted God's grace, but was so hesitant to give it to the Ninevites. We are just like that aren't we. We want God's grace we do wrong or in our families lives. But when it comes to others who aren't like us or who do really bad things....we want God's wrath on them. Where is there grace? Isn't all sin disobeying God? It really convicted me from thinking judgemental thoughts or wanting negative outcomes for those who've wronged me. What a punch in the gut, but a good one!

The last thought is a plug for picnik.com. I Love Love Love this sight. It's been fun learning how to use the photo editing tools. I think I like it mostly because it's soo easy to use. Here are a few pictures I've altered. Of course, they are wedding pictures. Sorry, for those who are sick of seeing them!

Have a great weekend everyone!

A little bit of Ike goes a long way.

A long way, that's right...all the way to Kentucky! We got just a touch of Ike, and I'm glad that is all we got. Just a little bit of him made Daviess Co and several surrounding counties be without power up to five or so days. There was also wind damage to roofs and TONS of trees everywhere.

As Scott and I (we were probably really stupid) sat on our couch to see out the window and our storm door in the front....we couldn't imagine what it would be like to see Ike up close and stronger. Right in front of our eyes we watched what was most likely a 75 year old tree snap in half to cover the street across from us. It was all so insane. I'm soo glad that most everyone around here is physically safe and sound.

In other news from that weekend... we went on a little day trip. My man was playing percussion for a worship band at a church camp in indiana. So I got to ride up with him and some of our friends. While the men set up and practiced, us wives went to do what we do best.....SHOPPING! There was a great outlet mall just fifteen minutes from the show. We were ecstatic and really made three to four hours pass by pretty quickly.

Plain and Simple Passion

You know you are passionate about something when you don't feel alive unless you are doing that very thing. It is hard for me to remember when exactly I fell in love with photography.

It was sometime growing up and then developed more in college. I love how pictures tell a story about something you find interesting or just show something you love. Pictures we have in our scrapbooks and albums (or blog/facebook photo albums : P ) I think say a lot about who we are. It shows what we like to do, who we are close to, and what is important in our lives. Above are just a few I found on my computer so I could make my point.

1. My nephew...kids in general, but I'm a little biased towards ones in my family!

2. Weddings/Friends...I love both of these subjects...especially when they are combined. I do like taking pics at weddings....but enjoy most being there as a friend due to the pressure of capturing those perfect moments.

3. Again kids....But this one I put in here because of the light. I love light and how it can change the entirety of the way the picture looks. It makes me feel artsy! (This was one photoshoot I did for a local fam)

4. Families...I love to watch them interact and capture their joy! Relationships in families is one of the most mysterious things to me...the love, the complications, and everything about them!

5. My honey and playing with the focus.... Scott is actually who got me started on playing with how to articulate what you are wanting to show by changing what you focus on and adding effects to the actual picture. This one reminds of an amazing day outdoors in New Harmony before one of our favorite concerts. Memories... that's another reason I love photography.

6. Capturing a time/place/feeling... these are sometimes my favorite things about pictures. When looking at these types....i usually can go back to that place and feel the breeze coming off the river, smell the good eats at Thanksgiving's past, remember the sounds of ocean, and feel the warmth of the moment.

Photography is good for the soul and the brain. It helps us remember who we are, where we came from, and what we dream of! I hope I encouraged you a little to experiment and pick up your camera a little more.

What is your favorite picture of? Do you enjoy photography or is it frustrating/burden to you? How do you hope to grow artistically in the future with your pictures?

I love my husband...

Because...

~ he knows just what to say and how to say it to make me laugh

~ he is smart and takes care of all our finances

~ he cuddles with me while i watch king of queens late at night

~ he works hard for the money

~ he holds my hand in the car

~ he opens my door...STILL

~ he writes me love notes

~ he loves the Lord and tries to help me be more like Him

~ he is honest and real about who he is

~ he is always quick to say he's sorry

~ he watches old 24 seasons rented from the library with me for hours

~ he helps me make baby shower invitations

~ he loves my friends

~ he laughs at my jokes (sometimes)

~ he listens to me and cares what I have to say

~ he forgives me

~ he does our weekly laundry every friday after he gets off before I get home from work

~ he always eats my cooking...and with a smile on his face

~ he loves his and my family

~ he plays with all our nieces/nephews

~ he is always helpful and there for me

~ he is MR. WONDERFUL

I love my husband for about 1, 698, 327 more reasons than these...but i don't want to bore you all to tears. But just wanted to publicly thank the Lord for this gift and ask that He'll help me to never take it forgranted!

love ya honey!