in my absence

October 27, 2008 at 8:32 pm (Uncategorized)
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in case you were wondering why i have been m.i.a., well, i guess there are a plethora of reasons.  my nurse day job, my moonlighting-for-fun photography job, and helping with homework are just a few of them.  add in helping friends to renovate a house and move in BY THE DEADLINE (by doing a very small part of the work), and an annoying cold and you have my last couple of weeks pretty much nailed down. 

we, here in new orleans, have had quite a windy day, and what do you know- it has actually turned COLD outside!!  yay!!!  it will last a week at best, but still- what fun is halloween in the heat?  i have to say, i am quite excited about the halloween plans.  the neighborhood i call home has not been very kid-friendly since we moved in post-katrina.  not that it’s unfriendly, really, just not very open to trick-or-treating.  part of our goal is to change that.  coupled with our friends who are moving in (did i mention they will be living NEXT DOOR to me??) we plan to carve pumpkins, pass out candy, go trick-or-treating ourselves, make homemade hot chocolate, and roast marshmellows in the fire pit.  heck, maybe there could even be some homemade chili thrown in??  who knows… the possibilities are endless! 

there you have it, my friends… my excuses, i mean, valid reasons, for not writing.  for the 2-6 of you who read my blog regularly, i do apologize for my neglect.  and for those of you who are wondering about THE THING, no, we have not received an answer and are still praying about the matter.  keep those thoughts and prayers coming!!

happy halloween!!!!!!!!!!!

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the most wonderful time of the year

October 18, 2008 at 8:12 pm (Uncategorized)
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this is the second time i have sat down at the computer without the foggiest notion of what to write  (in case you are wondering, the last attempt was promptly deleted- as it was going nowhere at a maddening pace).  life has been quite busy as of late.  my sis and i are about to photograph ANOTHER school, and though i look forward to doing it, i dread the pace of the next few days. 

i tell myself that this is a temporary state of affairs, and perhaps that is true, but we are entering the holiday season.  you know what that means- marathon shopping, traveling home for the holidays and trying to see EVERY SINGLE PERSON on your family and friends list.  it also means trying like crazy to balance the craziness with what is really important- building memories with your family and celebrating the true reason for the holidays.  i encourage you to take some time out on thanksgiving to be THANKFUL (novel idea) for the things you have.  not only that, but for the people in your life.  geez, how many people in this world are dying a little inside each day because they feel like they have no one to live for??  you don’t have to live in a mansion, make a zillion dollars per year, OR vote for the winning ticket (although that would probably help) to be thankful for something.  no matter how crappy you perceive your life to be, there is always someone else who’s life is a LOT crappier than yours, so suck it up and BE THANKFUL… you will feel sooooooo much better :)

so now i think i will take a little time to mention a few of the things i’m thankful for:

1. a God who loves me

2.  my family, both near and far

3. faithful friends

4. my little sadie dog

5.  a roof over my head

6. clothes, food, a/c

7. a car AND a minivan-lol

8. CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE

9. a fulfilling career (though NOT perfect)

10.  chapstick (yes- i do mean it)

ok, so maybe a couple of them are a little superficial.  however, i believe that the little things are just as much a blessing.  hmm, i guess you could call them a bonus, if you will.  so i encourage you to take some time to keep things in perspective as we enter this holiday season.  don’t sweat the small stuff and lose sight of what is important. 

 

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giggles and saran wrap

October 12, 2008 at 10:42 pm (Uncategorized)
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kids are so funny.  this morning i was getting ready for church.  now, sunday mornings for me are usually a plethora of irritations, and that’s even before i get to church.  once you get everybody grudgingly out of their beds, fix them an exotic breakfast of eggos or oatmeal, and force them to make their beds (which are covered, by the way, with 500 million stuffed animals), you have to find common ground with them on wardrobe selections that are somewhat appropriate.  after the weeping and gnashing of teeth associated therein, we settle on an outfit that pleases us both (kindof) and move forward to the teeth- and hair-brushing.  by the time we get to church, i have usually spent my lot of patience for the day.  but not this morning…

this morning, they got out of bed (with not too many groans) and fixed their own exotic breakfast.  we talked about wearing pink to honor the women in our church who had been affected by breast cancer, and they came back promptly with bright pink shirts and jeans (yes, that is acceptable at our church). they joined me at the bathroom sink for some dental hygiene time together and they brushed their beautiful hair.  not too bad for a sunday!!

so they went about their merry ways and left me to finish, as it takes me much longer to make myself beautiful.  my oldest daughter was fretting about not wasting the waffle she couldn’t finish, and decided to cover it and put it in the fridge.  my other daughter followed her to the kitchen and i went to the bedroom to change. no biggie, right??  WRONG!!  i went back to the bathroom (yet again), closed the door, and lo AND behold i noticed saran wrap sticking out from underneath the toilet seat!!!!  i gasped and immediately heard giggles and footsteps running away from the door.  lol… she was quite disappointed that i noticed. 

needless to say, it’s bedtime and i still have my patience.

 

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no worries

October 7, 2008 at 8:54 pm (Uncategorized)
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 i have just completed 2 grueling yet somehow wonderful days photographing schoolchildren.  yay me!!!  well, not really yay me- i’m still learning.  i am learning to shoot in manual mode, and i have to say that i’m pleased w/ the results.  i think my personal goal was to take better pictures than the unmentionable chain of photographers who photograph at my daughters’ school, and i think i can safely mark that off of my goal to-do list. done.

 it has rained off and on all day, and my sister and i were out running photographer errands after our shoot at the school (because we own a small but AWESOME photography business and that’s what we do-lol), and we got caught in some pretty serious street flooding.  we went one way and turned around when the water got too deep, only to have to take yet another road.  i finally sat and watched as another car made it’s way gingerly through the water (which was up to the middle of the tire), and decided that following it was my only way out.  i think it was, no i KNOW it was the deepest water i’ve driven through.  scary feeling.  water in front of me, water behind and on the sides.  dang…  to my husband- honey, if you are reading this i did NOT flood the car.  it drives just fine.  really…

so that was the first half of the day.  yes, there is more, soooo much more.  picture editing, picking up kids from school, homework, picture editing, listening to the problems of the world, did i mention PICTURE EDITING???  lol. 

now, to address the problems of the world… i heard a LOT of them this afternoon.  if you are reading this and feeling bad because you called to share a problem w/ me, DON’T.  you aren’t the only one who called to unburden themselves-lol.  i’m so glad you did.  really.  i consider it nothing short of a privilege that you would consider me a friend worthy to share in your burdens.  i know you would do the same for me (and i’m sure you already have ;) ).  know that i’m praying for each of you.  call me ANYTIME.  so many people are hurting, suffering physically, and seeking wisdom for future planning.  God has the answer.  i truly believe that and am seeking his answer in my own life (see the last post). 

to my lovely daughters, thank you soooo much for your patience w/ mommy for the last 2 days while i try my hand at entreprenurialism.  go look it up in the dictionary…  i love you both.

to the world… be not anxious for tomorrow.

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asking God

October 1, 2008 at 9:45 am (Uncategorized)
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for those of you who are still dying to know about what the last post was referring:  i could tell you blatantly, just lay it all out there- but then i would have to kill you… so for now, i’ll just keep it between God, myself, and the select few who already know.  i think it’s enough for you to simply pray for me because God knows what it’s about. 

choosing what to pray for specifically regarding this issue has been a learning experience for me.  i mean, it’s a big request.  yet in the book of Genesis, when sarah laughs at the news that she will bear a child in her old age, the messenger of God asks, “is anything too hard for the Lord?”.  in Matthew, Jesus asks, “which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone… if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”.  God loves to make us happy, to give us the things that we need and blessings that we don’t need for anything but to make us happy.  however, sometimes the things we think would make us happy would not TRULY make us happy or be the best thing.  God, in his infinite wisdom, knows what is best for us.  he created each person for a purpose.  so, do we interpret the scripture to mean that God will give us anything we want just because it is in his power to do so or because we are living in obedience to him??  i think not.  taking a more holistic view of the scripture, we must consider james 4:3, which says, “…you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions”.  i don’t want to ask amiss.  i want to ask for the right reasons. 

here in the theological gumbo that is the religious soup du jour in the city of new orleans, there is a clear obeiance to the health, wealth, and prosperity teachings that are prevalent in the full gospel movement.  it won’t surprise you to hear that some would say that if i’m living in obedience to God, then he will give me what i ask for.  anything else would represent a lack of faith on my part.  i mean, there are really a lot of people who believe this incorrect interpretation of the scripture.  what about the apostle paul, who was one of the the greatest followers of Christ EVER, who was imprisoned for his faith?  what about john, the “disciple whom Jesus loved”, who was banished to the island of patmos for his belief in Christ?  what about the countless missionaries who have lost their lives trying to share Christ w/ violent people groups?  what about your godly grandmother who died from breast cancer??  are all of these people doing something wrong because of the lack of physical blessings? 

i would say no.  as evidenced by the lives of those in the scriptures, God sometimes allows blessings and sometimes he does not.  so i want to ask for the right reasons, which i do truly believe that i have done.  i believe that God can work things out for this amazing thing to occur in my life, but i KNOW that if he chooses to leave me where i am, he is still God and is still blessing me. 

whew…

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