Wordless Wednesday

 

Current Favorites

Current favorite photo(s):

Current favorite quote:

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd.  The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.  -Albert Einstein

Current favorite song:

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Current favorite verse(s):

1 Peter 3:8-9 … Finally, all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds.  Don’t repay evil for evil.  Don’t retaliate when people say unkind things about you.  Instead, pay them back with a blessing.  That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it.

Flowers in February?

We have enjoyed one of the warmest winters in a long time and as a result my crocuses are already blooming!  In the middle of February in Indiana, this is unheard of.  In fact, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed they were up if it weren’t for a friend who came to pick up one of the kids last week and noticed that the daffodils were several inches out of the ground.  That got me curious.  So I went looking and found lots of little treasures…

Thinking of spring makes me giddy!  It won’t be long now!

Linking up with Deb for This or That Thursday

7/52: Pretty Ugly

I’m a little behind … week seven was actually last week.  Oh well!  Sometimes photo challenges make me anxious (which is why I hardly ever follow through with them until the end) … this time I’ve decided to just take it at my own pace.  If I miss a week (or am late), so be it.

[5DMKII – 100mm – f/3.5 – 1/640 – ISO 250]

I really liked this theme.  There are a lot of “pretty ugly” things in my world right now.  A dead leaf laying on dead grass would typically be considered ugly.  However, you add in some frost and the right amount of morning sunlight and it is transformed into beauty.  I’ve said it before and I’ll [probably] say it again:  photography has transformed the way I see the world.  Everywhere I look, I see beauty in the ordinary.  I will always be grateful for that!

6/52: Linear

I’ve struggled with this theme all week … until this morning when I realized I had already taken pictures this week that would work.  There are some pretty good lines in this picture don’t you think?

I think the fact that some of the branches are in focus and others are not make it interesting.  Isn’t it wild the way the frost sticks out from the branches like thorns?

As a quick side note:  When I was unsure what to do for this theme, Andrew suggested I take pictures of some of the linear equations he’s been working on in math!  Ha!  I don’t think so.  Math has never been my thing!

One frosty, foggy morning…

This past Sunday we awoke to the most amazing sight … ice fog that had everything covered in thick, sparkly frost.  I tried to capture the beauty but I don’t think these pictures do that morning justice.
As we drove to church there were actually places where the sun was shining down into the fog that made it look like glitter was floating through the air.  It was stunning!  I even brought my camera in the car hoping to capture the fog and ice in a more open setting than our woods, but didn’t end up finding the right setting.  I’m thankful for these pictures, but even more thankful for the images my mind captured.










Winter may not be my favorite time of the year, but it sure can be beautiful so I wouldn’t want to miss it!
[Linking up with Deb at This or That Thursday]

[not quite] Wordless Wednesday

After opening a box that did not contain all the necessary pieces, a call to Lego customer service requesting the missing pieces, a package that came in the mail that still had missing pieces, another call to customer service, the sending of the entire set back to Lego and the receiving of a replacement that finally contained all the pieces … Matthew’s birthday present is complete – all 1000+ pieces!

Despite all the headaches, we are still BIG fans of Legos at our house!  In fact, I think this boy could eat, sleep, and breathe Legos if we let him – although that might be painful!  They are his absolute favorite though.  He even has big plans of working for Lego as a designer someday.  I love his 12 year old ambitions!

delight

Last week I found myself in a bit of a sad, lonely mood.  I was sick for several days and was feeling a bit under the weather both physically and emotionally.  But one thing that I found delight in was playing with pictures.  I looked back in my archives and found this shot, taken a few weeks ago but not yet edited.  So I played and came up with this…

And by the time I was done, my spirit felt lighter and less sour.  I love how the creative process can do that!

[Linking up at Sweet Shot Tuesday]

These two

These two are my stronger personality, extroverted kids.  They tend to get under each other’s skin more than either of them do with their older brother, who is quieter and less confrontational.

But we’ve always told our boys that they have a responsibility to look out for and defend their younger sister should the need arise and last Friday Matthew came through for Katelyn big-time! Unfortunately she has been struggling a bit with girl drama amongst a couple of her friends recently which ultimately led to her being bullied and pushed around on the school bus on the way home from school by a girl who isn’t in her circle of friends but who had heard about the drama and the accusations that were being made against Katelyn.  When she burst into tears and Matthew finally became aware of what was going on, he approached the other girl and in his most intimidating voice said, “You will not mess with my sister any longer!”  The other girl immediately let him know that she was not afraid of him to which he replied, “I don’t care if you’re afraid of me or not, you will not mess with my sister!”  She eventually backed down and uttered some half-hearted apology (to which he also called her out on) and the situation was diffused.  They got off the bus and walked up the driveway to our house arm in arm.

Since then, I’ve noticed a deepened bond between them … a trust that maybe wasn’t there before.

In fact, this morning as Matthew was getting ready to walk out the door to go to chess club, he stopped and hugged his sister and told her he loved her and would see her at school.

These are the moments that motherhood is made for.  Yes, these two fight and annoy each other, but they also love each other and look out for each other when need be.  I couldn’t hope for anything more!

Me

It is super scary to get out from behind the camera!  But I’ve been challenged lately with the fact that it’s just as important for me to be the subject of pictures as it is for me to take pictures of the ones I love.

When I see pictures of myself, I immediately see all of my imperfections … flaws that I would rather hide from the world than put on display.  But then I think of my kids and my husband, who see me for who I am every single day and never focus on those flaws.  Sometimes I wonder if they even see them at all.  And I realize that it’s really not fair to them if I continue to hide myself simply because I’m afraid.

So this week I allowed forced myself to be in front of the camera.  And it wasn’t that bad.  And I’m kind of feeling inspired to do it again very soon.

[5/52:  You]