More Photos, Less Words

Great and Hidden Things

2012-03-04T20:47:00.000-05:00

This verse came up during my scripture memory book this week and it really struck me. I need to be actively seeking the answers to the questions I ask God. Sometimes, I feel like I ask God for something, then sit back and wait for the answer. But great and hidden things aren't typically something you stumble upon by accident. They take time to find, which make them all the more special and meaningful when you find them.
linking up with scripture & a snapshot.

Would You Like Them Here or There?

2012-03-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

I am Sam.
Sam I am.
Do you like green eggs and ham?

I do not like them Sam-I-am.
I do not like green eggs and ham.Would you? Could you? in a car?
Eat them! Eat them!
Here they are.

Would you like them in a house?
Would you like them with a mouse?Sam!
If you will let me be, I will try them.
You will see.Say! I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am.

So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here or there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

Happy Birthday to the wonderful Dr. Seuss! I couldn't find our copy of Green Eggs & Ham.. so the pictures are from the cat and the hat. We didn't have ham BUT the eggs are green.. so it kinda works.

March Goals

2012-03-01T22:58:00.000-05:00

I've been lacking direction, discipline and a plan lately. I've decided the best way to conquer this is to give myself some goals for the month! I'm really excited for this month, it contains spring break, my birthday, first 5k & more. Hopefully, I'll accomplish these goals & check back with you April 1, okay?
• Run three times a week
• Read two books for myself
• Eat breakfast every day
• Exercise five times a week
• Go through California photos (about time...)
• Spend time in prayer & the Bible every day
• Be more diligent with schoolwork

Monday Musings

2012-02-27T22:59:00.000-05:00

001. It's Monday Miscellany time! This week I'm going list-style. Because there's lots to tell about.
002. My weekend was wonderful. I had my first Saturday off in months! I went to the movies with a friend, caught up on blogs, & chilled at home. It was great.

003. Sunday I took a drive to a little PA town about 50 minutes north of me to photography super cute twins. The drive up was gorgeous and the shoot went great!
004. I love this word of mouth thing. It does wonders for growing your business.

005. Outhouses - because who doesn't love wooden sheds with a ~~hole~~ toilet seat and blanket door?

005. I ran today. I did three 6 minute intervals with a minute and a half in between. I was going to do four BUT I got this nasty side-stitch. Which confused me because I always associate those with eating food and then exercising... BUT I hadn't eaten all day. Oh, duh, there's the problem. OH.. and I ran up a hill.
006. Countdown to 5k : 26 days. ~~AHHHI'MNOTREADY!~~
006. I got up at 8:17 this morning and was in my car by 8:28. Skill or laziness? I'm not sure. Either way, I was stylin' in class today.

007. I'm new laptop hunting. I've had this one for over three years and it's dying. I could go into details.. but long-story-short is that I can't take it off my desk because it dies and won't come back on for two days.
008. My Mom made potato skins (the cheesey bacon kind) in honor of the Daytona 500. I think I just became a Nascar fan.
Happy Monday folks!

Snow, Scarves & Sisters

2012-02-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

4.

5.
6.

7. & 8.
9.

10.

11.

12.

Pretty sisters + white snow + fun scarves = recipe for a fun shoot!
The main purpose of our little photo expedition was to get some nice photos of the scarves. Why? My friend, Hannah, makes and sells them. Aren't they gorgeous? Almost as pretty as the people in the pictures. :) Let me know your favorite!

Tie-Dye Cookies

2012-02-22T21:19:00.000-05:00

I caved and joined the Pinterest craze about two weeks ago. I made a board called "recipes i'll never actually try" for all the delicious food I found. Well, I proved myself wrong. I saw tie-dye cookies and knew they were going to be my next creation. They are delicious, wonderfully colorful, and a bit of a mess but oh, SO much fun. :)
original recipe here & linking up with wordless wednesday but with words. :)

Learn from your mistakes

2012-02-20T23:50:00.000-05:00

images from these past few weeks that i felt should find their way onto the blog.

Today I did: went from home (8am) to school, school to work, work to home, home roughly one hour= run, workout & shower, home to bible study, bible study to home (11pm).
Today I didn't: finish my math test, study for my anatomy quiz on wednesday, or do my quiet time in the morning.
Tomorrow I will: make sure I have time for God's word & prayer and for all of my schoolwork

linking up with miscellany monday.

Be Strong

2012-02-19T20:49:00.000-05:00

linking up with scripture & a snapshot.
My pastor said something really interesting this morning. He said that a changed heart is a miracle. Isn't that so true? I mean how else do people go from liars, drunks, and thieves to servants of God? Just some food for thought.

The Ups & Downs

2012-02-16T23:02:00.000-05:00

I've always been a bad news first person.. so here goes.
Downs: My history professor isn't a big fan of technology. So instead of typing up our answers (like normal twenty first century students) to the take-home exam, we get to write them out. Seven pages, one hour, and a few happy hand cramps later.. I'm done. He better like my pretty handwriting. I like to think it's pretty decent for a homeschooler (to those who don't know.. us homeschool kids are notorious for bad, illegible, looks-like-chinese handwriting).
Ups: I got a 92% on my first Anatomy test. SCORE! I've been doing really well in that class. School in general is going pretty well! I also started a new Bible study this week! I'm really excited about it, it seems like a good program with equally good people. Weekend forecast also looks good.. I'm looking forward to time with friends, wedding photographer planning, and a senior shoot on Sunday. Life's great. :)
How's your ups & downs folks?

Jess & Kevin | Wedding

2012-02-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege of photographing Jess & Kevin's wedding day back in December. It was a gorgeous wedding in a small Lutheran church surrounded with friends & family. They had a professional do all the group photos and such but I was asked to capture some of the little moments during the day. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. :) I would love your feedback!

Wash Me

2012-02-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

linking up with scripture & a snapshot.

Ten on Ten - February

2012-02-10T16:27:00.000-05:00

Ten on Ten was today! I was at school most of the day. Exciting events? I did stop to get some raw (unpasteurized) milk at the grocery store. Oh and on my way home I stopped to take some pictures of chickens. They were super cute. I got out of my car and about 200 of them all came RUNNING at me. I got a little scared. Oh and I made cookies. It was a good day.

February Snowfall

2012-02-09T22:30:00.000-05:00

My corner of Pennsylvania has received almost no snowfall so far this winter. It's really quite sad, because we have the chilly temperatures but without the fun of sledding and other various winter activities. The clouds and temperatures decided to work together last night and we received a wonderful little dusting of snow. It was enough to make everything beautiful without any road problems, - perfect!

Mondayness

2012-02-06T22:47:00.000-05:00

My scripture & a snapshot for the week. I didn't get around to it yesterday, but I had time today.

Dinner and a movie? Nah. Dinner and a math test. #homeschooled

Speaking of homeschooled.. watch this if you are/were/making your kids be homeschooled. It's awesome.

On Friday night I helped at the Snowflake Ball (for Girl Scouts), and it went great. :) The kids had a blast! We had lots of fun too, haha. :)

This insanely short post was brought to you by the fact that I need to go study for my A&P exam. :)
linking up with a monday miscellany and scripture & a snapshot.

College

2012-02-03T23:42:00.000-05:00

Part time student meets part time worker meets high school senior meets photographer. Together they equal?
Me!
I'm going to college part time (only two classes, because I'm still in high school) and I've been working 20+ hour weeks at work. Add in the occasional social events, church, and photography work on the side and you get a busy life! But.. I'm really enjoying school so far. I didn't think I was going to like it. I hated my online class last semester and was pretty sure I didn't want to go to school at all. BUT this semester is going great so far! Which is a huge blessing. I've gotten 90% or above on all my tests & quizzes so far and I'm actually excited for my first exam next Wednesday.
Sadly.. I clearly have not had enough time for blogging. Although my posting will be a bit more sporadic, I still plan to blog every week or so. I love this lil' blog, it's kind of like a photo journal of my life in a way, and I don't intend to let that go. So here's to posting more! :)
Hope y'all (< picked that up from my boss recently) have a fabulous weekend and that NEITHER team wins the Superbowl. :)
ps: the picture is the salt flats in death valley.

Miscellany on Monday

2012-01-30T21:35:00.003-05:00

001. It's Monday Miscellany time! It was a very Monday-type day, but it was still pretty decent.

002. The above photo of my friend is from a shoot we did at snow camp a week ago. See that gorgeous scarf? My best friend knits and sells them. So we did a few photos showcasing them. We woke up and it was snowing. Can you say perfect?

003. I love warm winter days. It got up to the high forties one day last week! I decided to go on a joyride (with a destination.. so sorta joyride) with the windows down. It was good.

004. I got my first history test back today. Guess who aced (95%) it?!

This girl! :)

005. Running? = great! On Saturday, I decided to push myself. I ran my furthest and longest (12 minutes straight) for a total of one mile. I know, a 12 minute mile isn't that impressive. I know people who can run it under 6 minutes. But for me? I'm quite pleased.

006. I went to WinterJam last week with my youth group. I didn't really care for any of the groups except Skillet. They were awesome. I can count on them to put on a good show. 007. Raw (unpasteurized) milk is the best. Just throwing that out there.

008. I used to dislike winter (when there was no snow) landscapes because I thought everything was dull without grass. But winter opens up new & interesting subjects, like bare trees.

009. Guess what today is? It's my blog-o-versary! I've had this little blog for two years now, and I started blogging at A Picture A Day about three years ago. I love my blog & my followers. You're both awesome. :)

Happy Monday!

The Narrow Path

2012-01-29T21:04:00.000-05:00

The narrow path? Following Christ every day?
It is tough and is often hard.
But it is so rewarding and completely worth it.
~
linking up with scripture and a snapshot.

Cali Teaser

2012-01-25T21:42:00.000-05:00

This is a little teaser of what's to come. I think I said I'd post these on Monday.. well that didn't happen. College + 20 hour work week + life = No space time. It's not a fun equation, but for the time being it's my life. I'll learn to balance things out soon. Until then.. I'll try to pop in a few times a week. In case you were wondering, top three are San Bernardino National Forest, and bottom three are in Death Valley National Park.

Whatever is True

2012-01-22T21:09:00.000-05:00

We focused on Philippians this weekend at snow camp. I really enjoyed the speaker and I really took this verse to heart. Isn't it true that the easiest verses to understand are the hardest to apply to our lives?
linking up with scripture & a snapshot!

The B. Family

2012-01-21T17:31:00.000-05:00

I totally love this family. Yep. Up until this summer when they moved, we attended the same church. Fortunately, they didn't move too far (just about an hour), but they've found a different church a bit closer to their new home. SO I was SUPER glad when I got a Facebook message about setting up a session! Mrs. B did such a fantastic job getting everything together. I mean it. She went above and beyond! I like people who get out a giant Rubbermaid out of their car with all the outfits/props/ect for the shoot. Also.. she made the adorable sign below. How cute is that?! It says Merry Christian because we had this session in December.. I'm a little late in the posting. Better late than never. :)

This little guy is my buddy. :)

Love you guys! ♥

Life As of Late

2012-01-20T15:42:00.001-05:00

It's Fridaaaay!

& because I haven't told you wonderful folks what's happening in my life lately, I decided that linking up with Friday Favorites is the perfect way to do so. :) Here's the wonderful things about life lately..

001. My new Bamboo plant. I got him/her at the farm show along with some cool water beads to keep him/her well nourished. They're perfect because I'm no good at remembering to water things! I have my spider plant in a few water beads too. Maybe it'll stop dying.. ? PS: I need a name for Bamboo & Spider Plant. Yes, I'm naming them. Said plants are replacing my wonderful fishies that passed away during our 5-day power outage in October. They're living. They deserve names.

.../endramble.

002. The Pennsylvania Farm Show is one of my favorite events each year. It's so much fun and my pictures won a few awards too. :)

003. Fried vegetables = yum. They weren't mine, but I tried a few. I liked the cauliflower best.

004. Milkshakes at the Farm Show are soooo yummy. They're so good that they were..

a. my lunch

b. so rich I couldn't finish it all

005. Best friend's little brother (who's my adopted little brother) gave me a camo hat to wear to the Farm Show to blend in. It worked. We counted individuals wearing camo hats and the number came to 100+ in less than two hours. Pennsylvanians, - you're awesome.

006. Winter finally decided to show up and it's getting colder. Typically we've had snow before now, but it's holding off this year. I'm okay with that for now, because running is nicer in warmth.

007. Speaking of running... guess who ran 1/2 a mile & 6 minutes straight yesterday?! I know, it doesn't seem like much, but I've never run that far or long in my life. I'm on track for an 11 minute mile. Not very fast, but I'm a-okay with that. Just as long as I'm running. 5k in March, here I come..

008. Bonus from running? I've dropped five pounds (since the beginning of December). That's definitely not from just running. I've actually been eating right and not feeding myself a bad stuff.

009. I've finally found something to do with the abundance of college mail I receive, - scrap paper for math! I'd like to thank Grove City, Indiana Wesleyan and many more for furthering my education.

010. Which reminds me.. I started on-campus college classes this Wednesday. I'm doing American History and Anatomy & Physiology. I have to be at school MWF, and I'm only there from 9-1. It's nice. Plus, my A&P teacher is super nice, and my history teacher seems a bit scary.. but he's interesting.

011. California was great. I love exploring new places. It was kinda cold camping (it got below 30 degrees a few nights) but it was well worth it. More photos on Monday.

012. I'm off for the weekend (snow camp with the YG), but I've got some posts planned for the weekend. Hope you have a great weekend! I'm pretty sure I will. :)

ABC Project - Week B

2012-01-19T19:20:00.004-05:00

Week two, the letter B! I apologize for the lateness. Next week it should be up and on time. Also.. It's definitely not too late to join in the fun! You can link up for A & B photos in the comments below, or if you linked up week one, just your B photo. I'm having issues with the linkie tool this week. It'll hopefully be back next week.

Diversity

2012-01-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

The world is so diverse. American alone is incredibly diverse! Each state is so incredibly different. It really amazes me. Creation is so cool.
I apologize for my unannounced absence. I did say that I was heading west a few weeks ago and I had planned to do a real post before then.. but time got away from me. My dad, sister & I headed out to Death Valley National Park for a few days of camping and exploring. The park is huge. Like over three million acres and bigger than Connecticut and Rhode Island put together huge. Needless to say, we didn't see all of it in the three days we were there. However, we did have fun. :) I'll check back with your folks tomorrow!
linking up with scripture & a snapshot.

Adventures of the Night Photographer

2012-01-12T17:15:00.000-05:00

Last night was clear and the moon was full. Typically, when you want to take photos of the stars you wait for new moon, but when you desire to get night landscapes of more than just stars.. then you want light. Believe it or not, the moon is an excellent source of light. These were all taken in between 8-9, so it was dark. However, with a long shutter, some of them look to be taken at twilight. You can see the stars starting to trail in some of the photos.

The sun? Nope! The moon.

I may or may not have had a LITTLE fun light-painting.

My favorite shot of the night, the covered bridge with some star trails.
Night photography is a lot of fun, but remember to be safe. I was alone, so I parked my car at least 3/4 off the road (with hazards on), stayed within 20 feet of it, made sure I had multiple flashlights to turn on to warn coming cars I was there, and I gave my parents a plan of where I was going and when I'd be coming back. Safety = first! Shooting at night can be a bit dangerous, but it's also a lot of fun. With a little common sense and a pinch of luck you'll get new and interesting images! Any questions let me know, I'd love to answer them. :)

The ABC Project - Week A

2012-01-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

I am really excited to share something with you guys. I've been thinking about it for a few weeks and I think it's going to be great! It's called the ABC Project.

It will be a weekly linkup where you find something that looks like the letter of the week and take a photo of it. When it's complete it should look something like this (not my photo). It will last roughly half the year, seeing as there is 26 letters. I really hope you'll consider joining! Without further ado..
Week One.. the letter A.

Please link up to the post each week so myself & others can check out your letters!

Ten on Ten - January

2012-01-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite link-ups is Ten on Ten. On the tenth of the month you take one picture, every hour, ten times. I admit, today I didn't totally succeed. I had to work, so I have no pictures from 3-6. Plus I kinda took two pictures at the same time.. oh well. I have ten pictures. Better luck in February?

On the left I just sat my egg salad sandwhich by the window. On the right I used a makeshift reflector (a piece of white paper) to fill in the light on the left. linking up with Tuesday Tips & Pics.

You'd swear it's spring with all these green around!

Grilled nuggets after work. Yummy & healthy!

My drive home. It was dark.

& then tonight I went out for an hour or so and did some night photography. More on that tomorrow! :) Happy Tuesday & Tenth of the month! Come back tomorrow for some really cool night shots. :D

Kate L. | Senior 2012

2012-01-09T20:35:00.001-05:00

3. & 4.

If you've been a blog stalker of mine for a while, you'll probably recognize this lovely lady. We had lots of fun at Daniel Boone taking her senior pictures. Let me know your favorite! PS: ten on ten tomorrow!

Word Of Our God

2012-01-08T15:33:00.001-05:00

I'm in the process of drying this flower out. I only just received it last night, so the process is not very far along yet. However, in time, it will be dried out completely. Do you feel like at times God's Word dries out? As previously mentioned, last year, I tried to read the Bible in a year. I got to a point where I was only reading the Bible. I wasn't soaking it up. I was reading the words, but I wasn't letting them effect and change me. But God's Word doesn't dry out. Ever. It always has something practical and useful! The words in it are for our benefit, so we should take time to diligently read, memorize & study.

But isn't it tough to put that into action? So today, I signed up for my church's scripture memory challenge. It's three months of memorizing different passages. I'm really excited. :) Oh, and this is something cool I wanted to share. I asked my small group leader to be my "listener" (the person who listens to me say the verses each week) and she asked me to be her listener too! She has two kids and a busy life, but she's taking time to memorize scripture. It was a real encouragement to me. She's awesome.

I hope you all have a fabulous Sunday! :) Linking up to Scripture and a Snapshot & Observing Beauty.

One Word

2012-01-06T21:17:00.000-05:00

I've been pondering about what my one word for 2012 should be. Last year, I choose serve. This year, I've decided on the word choose.

Why choose? Because every day we make decisions. Those decisions affect ourselves, our relationships, and our life. Our choices make us the people we are.
Are you the type of person that holds the door open for a stranger?
Is taking time to be in prayer and spend time in God's word a struggle some days?
Do you uses your words to build others up?
Would you rather stay in your comfort zone instead of reaching out to others?
Big or small, they're all choices, and they make us who we are.

This year, I want to focus on making good choices. Last year, I attempted to read the Bible in a year. However, I got lost somewhere in June when camp started. For 2012, I've made a simpler goal. Read at least one chapter of the Bible a day. I've also made personal goals regarding my health, and professional goals about my photography & business.

I believe that with a lot of prayer & help, I might become a bit more like Christ, - one choice at a time.

The Big Apple

2012-01-03T22:14:00.015-05:00

Empire City, The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps, The City so Nice They Named it Twice.. you got it, New York, New York.

The whole family headed up to the city for a day trip in between Christmas and New Years. We hit up B&H's giant store, Grand Central Station, the Rockefeller Center, & Times Square.

While the rest of my family was off at various places (American Girl & Grand Central), sis & I wandered around the city. We eventually found Radio City Music Hall, home of the dancing Rockettes, and famous Times Square.

I can't say that we did any shopping (I didn't spend a dime), but we enjoyed the lights & hustle of the city at twilight.

We found the NBC store, which had an add for the Winter Classic and a Flyers jersey. :) Go Flyers!

Linking up with Tips & Pics & Communal Global.
Hope you enjoyed. :)

My Cup Overflows

2012-01-01T23:30:00.003-05:00

I've been wondering what to write on my annual little yearly recap for a while now. Truth is, I'm still not sure. It's been a rough year, but it's also been one of the best. I was stretched. I was put into circumstances that I was uncomfortable with. I learned and I grew as a person, in my faith, and as a photographer.

Jesus has kept me standing. Even though I'm not perfect, don't read my Bible every day, don't always think nice things or make the right choices, I say stupid words, and mess up time and time again... he loves me anyways. Just because I'm not perfect, doesn't mean he doesn't love me. I don't know how many times I have to whack myself in the head with that to get it. I'm not perfect (and I'll never be on this earth). BUT God loves me anyways.

I choose the word serve to focus on for 2011. I had the privilege of serving (with amazing people) on missions trips in Minnesota, at camp, a weekend in State College, in France, North Carolina, and right here, at home and in my city. It was such a blessing to get to know the people I had the privilege of working with. There's a bond you form with people when you serve with them, - and I believe it lasts a lifetime. They become family. It doesn't matter if you're working together for five days or five weeks, the joy of serving the Lord brings you together. Brothers and sisters in Christ.

On a less serious note.. here's a few fun facts about my year. :)
I spent..
115 nights away from home
40 in different countries
& 79 of those were on missions trips or at camp.
I visited..
2 countries, France & Canada
5 Canadian Providences (QB, OT, NB, PEI, & NS)
& 18 states, farthest west being Minnesota
I also..
grew my photography business
started a book club
packed 40 shoe boxes for OCC with my family
hit 130,000 miles on my dear car, the last 20,000 have been with me
started going to a new church
took somewhere around 10,000 pictures
meet a few amazing individuals who are like family
& had a really awesome year that was abundantly blessed.
Thanks for reading. :)

Kimberly L. | Senior 2012

2011-12-30T06:28:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of getting to know Kimberly this summer at camp. We have multiple mutual friends, and the first day we met each other (pre-camp) she went "Oh, you're Sara W!" and I went "and you are Kim!", haha. I really enjoyed working with her this summer at camp, she has a wonderful heart for the Lord. She is truly a person that's beautiful inside and out.

Busy Busy

2011-12-29T23:49:00.000-05:00

Amidst the holiday chaos, I've been working like a mad-woman and doing way to many social activities on the side. I promise I'll write a real post soon, with pictures if you're lucky. Probably of NYC (see above, Times Square), because we went there Wednesday. It was ~~busy~~ packed with people. P-A-C-K-E-D. I'm going to sleep now, because I have children to watch tomorrow morning and then a wedding to shoot. Yeah, a wedding. SO nervous. I'm not ready for this. But alas, sometimes you have to jump in without your floaties (name that movie quote and you get a cookie!) Please pray it goes well! I'll give you folks an update tomorrow or Saturday. :)

Monday Miscellany

2011-12-26T23:59:00.001-05:00

001. Happy Boxing Day! I'm not Canadian and you're probably not Canadian, but it's cooler than saying Happy Monday or Merry Day-After-Christmas. Did you know Boxing Day started in the UK? It was the day where wealthier people gave gifts to their servants. Cool.

002. Speaking of Christmas.. I had a wonderful Christmas. I got to see my church family AND my real family. Double score. Oh, and eat good food. Wonderfulness.

003. I found this and had to share. Someone once told me that you wouldn't ask a baker what kind of oven they cooked their cookies in. The same rule can be applied to photography. Although nice equipment helps.

004. Speaking of equipment.. loving the new lens. We might run off and elope, but I'd have to go to Maryland and that's a good two+ hour drive.

005. I went to Target tonight (love that place). I spent $25 and now have about 50 things for OCC shoe boxes. I'm going to hit Wal-Mart and another Target tomorrow for more 50% goodness. :) I also may have grabbed another $8 fleecey sweater. It's red and wonderful.

006. DPP is over. These photos are mostly the leftovers from it, haha. It was a lot of fun though. I looked back at last year's photos and I do see improvement this year!

007. Running is going..well..it's running. I skipped Friday's run (holidays + work = no), so I finished my week two run today. It went really well. I didn't feel like I was going to die until the fourth running interval. In other words, it's getting better. There's a 5k close to my house in March, I'm aiming for that. If not, there's one in April too.

008. We've been getting lots of rain lately, but no snow. In fact, we've got a flood warning tomorrow night and rain predicted all week. Yuck.

009. On a happier note, in less than a month I'll be in Arizona! My Dad, Sister & I will be traveling out there for a few days. Dad had frequent flyer miles that had to be used, so we lucked out. We leave January 13th! I can't wait. :) Happy Boxing Day!

linking up with miscellany monday.

Lasting Joy

2011-12-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

Gifts and presents on Christmas seem awesome and exciting, - and they are. But as my Pastor said this morning, that excitement will fade. True and lasting joy comes from Jesus and his wonderful gift of salvation.
linking up with scripture & a snapshot.

Must Be..

2011-12-24T23:41:00.000-05:00

There is..
..a fire I made blazing in the wood stove
..stockings hung by the chimney.. or sitting by it
..Elf (the movie) watched & enjoyed
..a nicely lit-up tree
..worship time for our Savior
..a few gifts under the tree
..& a few cookies left waiting to be eaten ..

..it must be that wonderful time of year.
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Stille Nacht

2011-12-23T16:03:00.002-05:00

I haven't particpatied in Friday Favorites in quite some time, but there's no time like the present. :) Here's to the little things in life!

Charlie the Christmas ~~Tree~~ Branch. He's still going strong. Sorta.

Church Caroling

Popcorn

Chocolate from my boss, he's the bomb

$8 New fleece sweater at Target = my fav.

Cookie baking.. lots and lots of cookie baking.

Raw dough. Yum.

Secret Santa at work

College kids home for break. I miss some of those kids!

Gingerbread House Making

Wrapping all my Christmas presents BEFORE Christmas Eve

Take that, wrapping paper

Coffee cups with water in them. (I've never been a normal one)

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshakes

Receiving my first very-own Christmas card from a friend. She's so sweet.

(you know who you are, you blog stalker ;))

Cute little sisters

..and brothers too :)

Hot-glue, thank you for making gingerbread roofs easier to attach

Chick-fil-a calendars - Adorable. Cheap. Great Gift.

Christmas Parties

Receiving a Christmas card picture with photos I took.

So special. Made my day. I love you guys!

(you know who you are, blog stalker #2 :))

My family's somewhat-historically-accurate nativity. Currently only the animals are in the barn, you can see Mary and Joseph on their way, the shepherds are to the right in the fields with their sheep, and the wise men are about two years away in the living room.

Yeah... we're homeschooled

My new lens!!

50mm 1.4, a little Christmas gift to myself. I bought it cheap used and LOVE it. It came with a macro adapter, which is how I took the photo of the eyelashes earlier in the week and the first & fourth photo in this post. It gets super close. I love it. Until tomorrow... Happy Christmas Adam!
half of you are going .. what? & the other half is shaking their heads with sympathy. ;)

Gingerbread

2011-12-22T22:58:00.000-05:00

We made gingerbread houses today! We got a cute pre-baked set of five so each of us kids & my Mom could decorate one. :) More tomorrow! Only three more days of December Photo Project left! :(

Caroling Blessings

2011-12-21T17:03:00.001-05:00

Today, I went to my best friend's house and made nine dozen tasty cookies (choc. chocolate chip and peanut butter) for church caroling. We split into groups so that we could visit various people from church that have trouble getting out. I really believe we made a joyful noise! :) I had the privilege of meeting three ladies who go to my church. They were all super sweet, very happy to see us, and totally in love with their savior.

It was such a blessing to me.

Isn't that curious?

We went to sing to them, to be a blessing to them, but I was blessed too.

Seeing their love for Christ is inspiring.

It really is more blessed to give than to receive.

linking up with scripture and a snapshot.

better late than never, right?

Carolyn W. | Senior 2012

2011-12-20T23:02:00.000-05:00

This is Carolyn. I posted the amusing out-takes from her senior shoot a while back, but here's the more serious ones. Although I think you have to see these & the silly ones to really see her true personality. :)

Still looking for senior pictures? Contact me today!

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-20T21:33:00.000-05:00

My mom & siblings went on a baking frenzy today while I was at work. Four different kinds of cookies! The choc. chocolate chip and peanut butter are my favorites. :)

Eyelashes

2011-12-19T22:50:00.000-05:00

My sister's eyelashes.

Dusting of Snow

2011-12-18T23:01:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for my church family. I just wanted to throw that out there. They're the best. :)
One more week of December Photo Project!

Christmas Party

2011-12-17T22:58:00.001-05:00

My Youth Group's Christmas Party was the best Saturday night I've had in a long time. :)

We made gingerbread houses!

There was a VERY intense Foosball tournament.

Chocolate fountain? = delicious!

My friend Jon & I went above and beyond the items we were given to coat in chocolate. We even made chocolate chips!

There are the final Gingerbread creations. :) Can I get a yay for holiday gatherings? They're the best. :D

Running

2011-12-16T14:37:00.002-05:00

I used to run. Kinda. I ran a lot better a few years ago when I played field hockey. With some great tips from multiple awesome people, a good beginner's schedule/plan, and some new shoes, I've started running again. It was a rough week one, but I can't wait to progress and I'm really hoping I can stick to it and run a 5k in the spring. :)
PS: I know I'm posting this late, it's been a busy weekend! I'll be caught up with DPP soon. :)

Thursday

2011-12-15T15:44:00.000-05:00

Not a very impressive picture today. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow?

Charlie the Tree

2011-12-14T10:18:00.000-05:00

This is Charlie the ~~branch~~ tree! He feel off of Philmore, so I gave him a home in my room. I lovingly wrapped an empty can with yarn to make him a stand, then I stole two Christmas ornaments off Philmore to give him some more cheer. I also put some unused lights around my closet door frame which really gives my room a bit of holiday happiness! I'm pretty fond of Charlie. He's a cutie. :)

Heavy Frost

2011-12-13T22:05:00.001-05:00

We had a heavy frost this morning. My car was completely covered, resulting in five minutes of scraping icey frosty stuff off my windows. The weirdest part? I enjoyed it. I love winter!
linking up with communal global & weekly kodachrome.

Sam | Senior Sneak Peak

2011-12-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

I met up with my friend Sam today for her senior shoot! We had tons of fun. I'll have more posted later!

Pattern For Life

2011-12-11T20:30:00.009-05:00

Today, this was my life..

-went to church

-headed up a winter banquet meeting after the service

-went directly to a fantastically fun family shoot

-proceeded directly home for little brothers birthday party

-desired to pass out afterwords

It was a good day.

I read this passage last night in Colossians. I decided that I was going to read through an entire book of the Bible and so I did! It was pretty short, but it has fantastic verses and meaning in it. I plan to go more in-depth in Colossians in the coming weeks. I'm taking a short break from my reading through the Bible for it, but I think it'll be good. I've been in the OT a very long time. Anyways. These verses really struck me. It's kind of like a pattern for life.

-receive Jesus

-walk with Him

-learn about Him through his Word

-be exuberant in thankfulness

Sounds good to me.

linking up with scripture and a snapshot, in search of beauty, and jumping tandem.

Philmore's New Decor

2011-12-10T23:47:00.002-05:00

Philmore, our tree, with his pretty lights and star. If my family is feeling really ambitious tomorrow we might even put ornaments on him!

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-09T23:40:00.003-05:00

Once there was a tree farm..and many little trees grew up there. When they were all grown up, some were cut down and shipped far away, but some stayed on the farm.

One little tree, Philmore, was chosen by a family to be taken home. He was very excited. So the little tree went home with them.

Philmore went through the big field...

..and said goodbye to its tree friends. Now he has a happy home with my family. :)
/end tacky storytime

Loving sisters. Emphasis on loving.

Nothing like ending an adventure with cookies! More on Philmore tomorrow. :)

Today

2011-12-08T22:03:00.001-05:00

If you've been wondering why I'm only posting one photo every day, it's because I'm participating in December Photo Project. I did a 365 project a year or two back (called A Picture A Day), but that was quite a while ago. The task of taking a photo a day last year for DPP really didn't challenge me, but it sure is this year! But it really is a fun challenge and I'm enjoying trying to create good images every day. :)

Playing Catch-Up

2011-12-07T17:31:00.001-05:00

Yesterday's picture on top, today's on bottom.
I'm working a lot this week, over twenty hours! It doesn't seem like a lot.. until you add in a high school senior's school work. I've been doing lots of catch-up, writing essays until midnight, - and I'm not even in college yet! Geez! haha. How was your Wednesday?
linking up with tones on tuesday, and then she snapped, and communal global!

Poinsettia Show

2011-12-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

My little sister & I went to the local greenhouse this afternoon for their annual Poinsettia show. There was a very evident western theme that was adorable. I loved it.

This my photo for today for December Photo Project.

Happy Monday Y'All!

Glory to God

2011-12-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

linking up with scripture and a snapshot!

Blessings

2011-12-03T19:40:00.003-05:00

I miss the frenzy of activity at the warehouse already. So many people serving for one purpose, for one fantastic God. I was so blessed to be on this trip for a third year. It's a time of serving and fellowship with wonderful friends. I've found that it really puts my heart in the right place during the holiday season. Looking at all the gifts really makes you realize what this season is about.
It's not about receiving, it's about giving.

Warehouse Reflection

2011-12-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

We had our second day at the PC today. I switched my job up and helped put the actual shoe boxes in to larger boxes which they're shipped in. Tomorrow is our last day already!

Operation Christmas Child

2011-12-01T23:08:00.000-05:00

It's December Photo Project time! Yay! I'm in North Carolina for the first day of it. Our SE Pennsylvania group of 81 people volunteered at the warehouse today. We all had lots of fun and can't wait for tomorrow!

Carolyn | Senior Sneak Peak

2011-11-29T14:15:00.001-05:00

I had so many funny out takes from this senior session that I couldn't help but give them their own post. :)

One not-silly photo. :)

This is over a decade ago (I feel so old!) in 2000 at Camp. We were Girl Scout Brownies. Isn't my hat cool? I'll post the rest of the photos later in the week. :)

Monday Miscellany

2011-11-28T21:53:00.000-05:00

Ahh. Monday. I had a good day. I got up, did schoolwork, went to work, attended book club, came home, did more schoolwork & chores, and now I'm blogging. On Wednesday I'll be traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina. I'll be a part of the SE Pennsylvania group volunteering at the Operation Christmas Child Processing Center. For now, I'm finishing up some blog posts to be scheduled and sifting through the last of my fall photos. The weather and lack of green says it's November, but I'm still in denial. Christmas can't be that close, -can it?

I'm also really excited about the upcoming December Photo Project. I really enjoyed participating last year and I am excited to start on December 1! I might miss blogging the first few days because of NC/OCC, but I'll make sure to take the photos. :) Hope you had a great Monday!
linking up with miscellany monday, the creative exchange, & capturing beauty.

Living Water

2011-11-26T17:53:00.001-05:00

I took this photo in Acadia NP this past fall. I miss that place.
linking up with scripture and a snapshot!

What A Beautiful Life

2011-11-24T13:12:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for...

trips to Acadia

library books

God' glorious creation

driving nowhere, for no reason

a good education

& my friends and family, they mean the world to me.

I love..

my church, Grace, thanks for loving that strange homeschool kid,

hiking

chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

juxtaposition (it's my favorite word)

& the silly craziness that is kangaroo kourt at camp.

I'm thankful for..

light

leading Mission Impossible at camp

happy noise

& the opportunity to go to serve in France for a month.

I love..

photography (no real surprise there)

quiet mornings alone

and rest.

I'm thankful for..

snow

turkey (gobble gobble!)

the unimaginable love of Christ

& my summer at Victory Valley.

Lastly, I love..

the sound of water pounding against rocks

eXtremely fun times with friends
YOU, my super awesome readers, for taking the time to read my little blog,

& zebras, because they are just plain cool!

Happy Thanksgiving.

linking up with the ABC's of Thanks. :)
PS: 300th blog post. Yippee!

Rhea | Portraits

2011-11-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

7.
I had the privilege of getting to know this lovely friend at Camp of the Peaks in France! Her family helps run the camp year-round. Hannah, Rhea, the boys, & I had many fun nights playing Rook, Spoons, River and all sorts of games. I miss this girl! I would love to know your favorite photo. :)

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2011-11-22T20:52:00.001-05:00

This is a great recipe that yields fabulous results! I brought these in for my coworkers and they absolutely loved them. So much so that they offered me money to pay for the ingredients to make them again - haha! So if you're looking for a treat for a holiday party, go no farther than these delicious Peanut Butter Cup Cookies!

Take ..

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup softened butter

2 large eggs

2 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 choc. cake box mix

& a bag of mini Reese's cups.

Combine everything but the cake mix, then mix that in last.

Place the scoops roughly 2 inches apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake those babies at 375 for nine to ten minutes, wait a few minutes after taking them out, and then move them to a cooling rack.

While they cool, mix up the peanut butter icing! Mix up..

3/4 cup of peanut butter

1/2 cup of softened butter

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

1 pound of powdered sugar

& 1/3 to 1/2 cup of whole milk.

Mix them all together and beat it on a high setting for four minutes or so until it's nice and fluffy.

Chop up them Reese's!

For an icing bag, you can put the frosting in a zippie and snip the corner off.

If the cookies seem a little cake-like, that's okay, they're supposed to be.

Top the cookies with some frosting, stick half a Reese's in, and you're good to go. This recipe is perfect for an occasion. Imagine a tiny slice of cake in cookie form, with delicious peanut butter icing, and a Reese's cup on top, and there you go. Pure magical deliciousness. I found the recipe here! Let me know if you try it out or have any questions.

Acadia Adventure

2011-11-21T20:49:00.002-05:00

This is my last installement of photos from our summer camping trip to New Brunswick & Acadia. If you missed the first or second part, then you better go catch up! We really enjoyed our few days in Acadia. It's a beautiful park full of diversity. linking up at the creative exchange & tones on tuesday.

My sister & I crossed the Bubble Rock trail off our list while we were there. We made the quick 1-mile hike up to the famous balancing boulder and the views of Eagle Lake and Cadillac Mountain were great.

This is part of the famous sand bar that the town of Bar Harbor is named for. There are a select few hours at low tide when you can walk across it to Bar Island.

This fellow was hanging out until the tide came back in!

A scene off of the Jesup Path, a gorgeous wooden boardwalk trail.

Patterns on Sand Beach, the only beach with sand in Acadia.

Myself, photographing the scene above the photo of me.

A panoramic from Sand Beach.

The Milky Way from Jordan Pond.

Another panoramic of the Bubble mountains at night.

My sister & I had joked the year before about hiking the tallest mountain in Acadia, Cadillac. This year we actually did it, all 1,530 feet of it. We choose the North Ridge Trail and had a fun time! Even if my sister complained the whole way up. :)

The very top.

Panoramic of Bar Harbor and the Porcupine Islands.

My sister & I: Pre-hike at the trailhead and again at the top!

A cairn, a type of trail marker, on the trail.

We finished the day off right in Bass Harbor at our favorite place, Thurston's Lobster Pound!

Beautiful Bass Harbor.

Although it is a working harbor, a local was kind enough to give me permission onto the docks to take some photos. I was SUPER happy and went to town photographing buoys galore. :)

My lobster friend. :)

Nothing like ending a day with a sunset at Bass Harbor Lighthouse!

Our last morning we went to Boulder Beach, my new favorite location. There are huge rounded boulders and a beautiful view of Otter Cliffs (below). It's the perfect place for the classic "Acadia" photo.

This is my personal favorite photo from the trip. Acadia is a place filled with natural beauty. Although it may not have the towering peaks like national parks do out west, it has its own charming coastline & lobster towns. If you've never been, it's definitely worth a visit. :)

My Lamp

2011-11-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

I started reading through the Bible in a year (chronologically) in January, but I paused for the summer and part of the fall so I'm only about halfway through. I stumbled upon this verse in 2 Samuel and decided it went nicely with this picture! This is from Acadia, the rest of those photos will be up this week!
linking up with scripture and a snapshot.

Fall Craziness

2011-11-19T23:49:00.000-05:00

This fall has been a crazy busy one, filled with fellowship, friends, & fun.

From fall festivals with fire truck rides..

..to huge bonfires with my wonderful church family..

..& to friday night high school football games with friends.

Fall also means lots of shoebox packing. My family did approximately 35 boxes..however..

..at my friend's packing party we did approximately 500 shoeboxes. PTL!

Fall is enjoying your Friday off with your favorite boy, going for a car ride, forgetting the slobber and hair..

..and enjoying a nice walk in gorgeous November weather.
I like you, November. You can stick around for a while.

Milky Way

2011-11-16T22:07:00.003-05:00

There is nothing more amazing to me than seeing this. Milky Way Galaxy from Sand Beach, Acadia National Park. Check back for the final Acadia pictures later this week. I saved the best for last!
linking up with wordless wednesday but with words, project alicia, & wordless wednesday.

Acadia Time Lapse

2011-11-14T18:18:00.001-05:00

While in Acadia NP this fall, I did a time lapse film. What on earth is a time lapse film you ask? Excellent question. It's very simple, all I did was take one photo every ten seconds for a long time. I combined them all in Windows Movie Maker and presto, time lapse video. It is good to pick a subject that moves a lot (but not too much), such as fast moving clouds or the setting sun. You can view my previous time lapse here. This is really a fun project to try if you've got some extra time on your hands! linking up at photo tip tuesday, communal global, & the creative exchange.

Unfruitful Seed

2011-11-13T19:12:00.000-05:00

linking up with scripture and a snapshot.

A Whale of a Tale

2011-11-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

continuing our adventure/vacation up north...
I believe we left off in Fundy National Park, from there we headed south toward Acadia. We stopped by East (above) & West (below) Quoddy Lighthouses. Lubec, the town the lighthouse below is in, is the most eastern point in the USA.

We got to Acadia very late and had to set up camp in the dark (a new and interesting experience). The next morning my sister and I went to one of our favorite sunrise locations, Little Hunter's Beach.

Cobblestones of all shape, size and color.

I didn't pick a great location for this gorgeous sunrise, but it was still pretty.

My family is not a typical touristy family.. but we did do a whale watching tour. We saw five Humpback Whales!

Whale!

TWO whales!

A boat with lots of space.

THREE whales! These guys were a pod and hung out around us for a while.

Whale tail waving goodbye.

If you're ever at Acadia, one of the classic activities is watching the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain. It's one of the first places to see the sun shine on the US in the morning. (above and below photos are HDR)

These little bumps are the Porcupine Islands. You can also see the town of Bar Harbor in the valley by the larger island to the left. I'll have more on our adventure in Acadia when I find the time to go through the rest of the photos. :)

Ten on Ten - November

2011-11-10T20:11:00.005-05:00

alternative post title: a day in the life of a homeschooling chick-fil-a employee.

8:00am: I woke up and saw lots of fog and no sun, so I took pictures of pretty leaves.

9:00am: Breakfast of sausage, eggs with cheese, and milk. Yum!

10:00am: Schoolwork. Specifically, Algebra 2. Yuck.

11:00am: Drove to work.
12:00pm: No picture, we were busy at work.

1:00pm: Poured lemonade. Lots of it.

2:00pm: Waffle fries! FYI, they are not potato wedges, folks.

3:00pm: Lots and lots of lemons. I'll put them in your sweet tea if you ask nicely.

4:00pm: I drove home from work and finally stopped to take a picture of this adorable little car.

5:00pm: Made our dinner of honey-glazed pork tenderloin and green bean casserole. It was delicious!

6:00pm: Started making chocolate chip cookie dough brownies for book club tomorrow. Yummy! I believe there will be a full recipe posted on this delicious treat. :)

Be sure to check other ten on ten posts!

Fundy National Park, NB, Canada

2011-11-09T09:18:00.001-05:00

This year we headed north to Fundy National Park in New Brunswick for some family camping. The park is beautiful, offers a lot of hiking trails, and lakes for kayaking! We really enjoyed our time in Fundy and were sad to leave to go to Acadia!

A huge fog bank coming off the bay.

Part of Wolf's Creek Bridge, which lead into our campground.

Dickinson Falls.

Cape Enrage Lighthouse.

My sister and I went kayaking on Lake Bennet.

Fundy is home to the largest tides in the world. We walked the mile (roughly) out to the water's edge at low tide to explore the ocean floor. It was really neat!

Lobster boats demonstrating the tide change.

Hurricane Irene made some big waves!

The night sky (and milky way!) from our campsite. I should have the rest of our camping trip (Acadia, NP) up later in the week. :)

linking up with wordless wednesday but with words, wordless wednesday, & wordful wednesday.

Amber S. | Senior 2012

2011-11-08T13:12:00.003-05:00

Seniors are the best. Especially the ones you know.. like this awesome girl. Isn't she gorgeous? We had super loads of fun taking her pictures AND we added her boyfriend into a few. I've never really shot any pictures of couples so it was great practice. Let me know your favorite!

New Every Morning

2011-11-06T15:45:00.002-05:00

This verse popped to my mind when I saw this picture. Linking up with scripture and a snapshot. :)

A Few More..

2011-11-05T12:30:00.006-04:00

I promise that these are the last of the snowy fall pictures. I took these early on Sunday morning (it snowed all of Saturday) before I left for church. It was beautiful outside! All of these were taken in my backyard or less than four miles from my house.

Have a great Saturday. :)

October Snow

2011-11-04T15:47:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we got hit with a freak October snowstorm. We've never had anything like it in decades. Many of the trees still had their gorgeous fall colors, so I took advantage of it and got pictures! I'll post more from around town tomorrow.

Our poor mums and marigolds!

Our power went out around 2pm, so I spent the rest of the afternoon making this snowman family. To get an idea of how big they were, Daddy snowman is approxmately four feet tall. Aren't they cute? In my opinion it was an afternoon well spent. Yes. I'm basically five years old when it snows.

L.L. Bean Mocassins.. my favorite shoes ever.

A fire roaring to keep nice and warm! I've never been more thankful for our wood stove. Going without power or a wood stove for five days would have been pretty chilly!

Magic

2011-11-03T14:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Thursday. :)
Check back for more snowy fall photos tomorrow!

Spinning My Tires

2011-11-02T16:55:00.002-04:00

Jesup Path, Acadia NP, Fall 2011

It's been one of those ~~weeks~~ months.
My camera broke while we were in Maine, the night we got home my laptop refused to turn on, and on Saturday our electricity went out (still isn't back). Life is just nuts. I can't seem to get into a normal routine and schedule. I feel like I'm spinning my tires stuck in snow. Burying myself farther and farther.
I am trying to relish the simple things. Like reading a book by lamplight, getting to play with our woodstove so we don't freeze in the house, building snowmen (I made a family of four) and doing things more productively. I do fortunately have my camera back now, and my sweet Grandparents let us shower at their house. But it's still frustrating. Pray we get electricity back soon! Until then, this is me signing off.
PS: I redesigned my blog a bit (new color & header). Thoughts?
PSS: We got electricity back! Hopefully our water will work soon!

Emma P. | Senior 2012

2011-10-31T14:40:00.004-04:00

1.
This gorgeous gal is one of my best friends. We've known each other since we were two and still in diapers, - which is a long time in my book! We had nice light, weather, and lots of fun doing her senior pictures. :) Let me know your favorite, and I'm always open to comments/constructive criticism.2.

I couldn't help posting a picture of when we were younger. The left is December of 2006 (the oldest I have) and the right photo is earlier this year. :) Love you Em!

Surprise Snow

2011-10-30T21:19:00.000-04:00

Typically when October comes around..we don't have snow. In fact we've never had snow in October. We might get a dusting in November, but October? Unheard of. We got hit with a freak snow that left us with about 5-8 inches. I am loving it! This morning was beautifully glorious so I took a ton of photos. Unfortunately, we have no power, so I'm not sure when I'll get to share them. Until then.. happy snow day!

Fall Days

2011-10-28T21:15:00.003-04:00

This is my favorite time of year. Blue sky days with giant cumulus clouds and yellow leaves? Yes, please. Throw in some blue jeans and a sweatshirt... you've got me sold. Fun with friends, football, and fall family gatherings complete this season of life. I love it. Not to forget some amazing seniors I've been catching up with! So many photos to share..but these are my favorites from the past week.

Our fall treasures. Peacock & hen feathers and different types of leaves.

Mr. Goat! He was at one of the farms I did a senior session at.

One of the best things about this week? I got to go home.

Camp home. I miss it.

I'm pretty convinced that fall sunsets are the best.

Enjoy your fall days while they last. :)

France - Paris Day 2

2011-10-25T15:22:00.009-04:00

Our second day in Paris we went to the Arc de Triomphe, and then walked down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre.

To get to the top of the Arc there is a lot of stairs. 284, actually. I did it in four minutes flat.

Panoramas are my favorite!

Birds are another favorite. This guy was the bird whisperer!

The Louvre. My thoughts? It was cool. However, I realized that I'm not much of an art appreciator.

Poor sphinx was missin' something important!

Despite the fact that these fellows were missing their noses, they were my favorite.

I was informed these pieces were from the "broke" period of art. :)

Looking for fire-breathing Jack Russel Terriers? Then you've gotta get to the Louvre!

Me with some cool statues with mostly no clothes on. Cool!

Bet'cha didn't know the Mona Lisa has glowing red eyes.

Photoshop? What's that? I would never..

Don't you hate it when you're Jesus and you start glowing?

tip: when you're in a place that's been photographed a million and two times.. find a new angle or try to get details.

The Champs Elysees at night.

Last but not least, the Eiffel Tower again, BUT this time.. at night.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Despite the sarcasm, crowded Metro, and ~~cost-my-arm~~ expensive food, Paris really was awesome. France in general was really awesome. It was a hard and long missions trip but one with great blessings for the whole team. :)
*to the blogs I linked with today, I'm having issues with buttons/links. Sorry for not linking up!

France - Paris Day 1

2011-10-24T15:22:00.000-04:00

Since you've probably seen enough pictures from the Alps to last a life time, I suppose I'll finally move onto the last leg of our trip - Paris. We stayed with missionaries about an hour out of the city and went around Paris for two days. In said two days we saw most of the iconic "Paris" things and had lots of fun!

Team picture with that big tower thing.. what's it called again? Well, we went up to the top of it, yes we did!

Montmartre with lots of sky. I love negative space.

Find the important landmark! Hint: Not the Eiffel tower.

We went all the way up to the top!

The Seine river.

A little b/w love for the Effiel Tower!

This amused me. When I took the picture originally I thought she was shirtless, but looking at it on the computer I realized she is indeed wearing a shirt, yay clothing!

Notre Dame.

Important people doing something that looks important in an important church.

Tomorrow? The Arc de Triomphe & the Louvre. So come on back and check it ouuuut!
:)

Changing Seasons

2011-10-22T21:30:00.003-04:00

I thought this verse went well with the photo and season that it represents.
linking up with scripture and a snapshot.

The Wise Man

2011-10-21T15:47:00.005-04:00

"The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of him." - Francis Chan

linking up with...friday favorites, favorite photo friday, simply fall linkup, photo friday, a moment in time, favorite photo of the week challenge, give me your best shot, & fabulous friday challenge
can you tell I couldn't get the buttons to work? haha.

Emma - Sneak Peak

2011-10-20T22:08:00.000-04:00

More photos of this lovely senior coming soon! First some Paris pictures. :)

Long-Weekend Camping

2011-10-17T22:50:00.000-04:00

I was a very happy gal this weekend! My Ma, sister & I headed up to Maine (specifically Acadia NP) for a long weekend of (chilly) camping, hiking, and lots of photographing. My sister and I have been dreaming of going up to Acadia in the fall for years and finally got to. The color was perfect, just look at Jordan Pond Stream in all it's colorful glory! I still have photos from France & the summer to post, but I'll get to the rest of these soon, promise. :)

France | Week Three

2011-10-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that this is the last installment of photos before our team left the Alps? I'm going to ramble large amounts in this post about three things: our team, the trip, and God's hand in at all we did at Camp des Cimes.

We were able to go hiking to some lakes and let me tell you, the views were beautiful! It was one of my favorite places we went to.

Isn't God's creation amazing?
That was one of my favorite parts of being in France. We were nestled in the mountains where beauty surrounded us completely.

During our four weeks at Camp we were able to go into Grenoble twice for church. Now, said church was not an English church, - it was a French Brethren church. I was able to pick up the tune to a few of the worship songs (Prince of Peace, - one of my favorites!) that we also do at my church. It was so cool to hear them in French too! Even more so, it was great to see people meeting together all for one purpose, despite differences, to do one thing - worship God and learn about him.

The two weeks that we were not able to go to Grenoble for church, we conducted a serve with our group, all twelve of us! It made me realize how easy it is to forget about what the real purpose of church is. I know that back home, I love going to church to see friends. When I pull into the parking lot, I feel at home and almost as soon as I open the door people are there to say hi. Although fellowship is a huge part of church, we brought it back to the basics. Prayer. Worship. Prayer. Scripture. Prayer. A church is just a building until God's people gather in it. I know that God was a part of our little twelve person church that gathered together around a dining table.

One Sunday on our way back to camp from Grenoble we stopped by the French Revolution Museum.

I appriciated art.

They appreciated art too.
I appreciated their silliness.

My favorite piece.

Which of these does not belong..? Hint: It's the upside down one.

Back to a more serious level.. this is our team. Right to left: Me, Terry, Peggy, Hannah, Mrs. H, Kathrine (daughter to the H's), Mrs. M, Mr. M, Mike, Issac (son to the H's) and Albion. Not pictured: Mr. H, Nelson, & Cheryl.
The H's are one of three missionary families that help to run Camp of the Peaks. I loved getting to know them. One of my favorite things about going on these trips is getting to put a face to a name, and a name to a ministry. Now when their name comes up in the church bulletin as the missionary of the week, I know who we're praying for and what they're doing.
When you're with the same group of people for a month, by the end they either drive you crazy or you love them like family. I'd say it's safe to say we all felt the latter about each other. We were brought together as a team in a way that only God could have done.

Final construction update: What a project we started! In case you missed it, we started a three-story addition to the main building that will eventually hold an elevator. Although we didn't work with the French people directly, it was still awesome to see God through the trip. We had some major blessings concerning work:
1. No major injuries. One cut finger, but it wasn't too bad.
2. Through out our entire working days in France we only had one rainy day, and that didn't slow us down one bit.
3. We got more accomplished that we had anticipated to. Praise the Lord!
We had the entire floor poured for the foundation. Although that may not see like much, it is. Keep in mind that we spent five days jack hammering things out so said foundation could go in!

Our finished floor is on the bottom right. Isn't it pretty? Especially with that rebar sticking out!

This is the main building at Camp. We stayed on the top top floor!

I'm going to end the post with some more pretty pictures.

Photographer in action. Captured by Mr. H.

We found a puppy in the Alps! A Great Pyrenees, just like my dog. His owner was herding sheep farther up the mountain.

In conclusion, it was really neat to see God work through this team. Although a work team may not seem like the most glamorous of jobs, it's all God's work. Mr. H said that a little piece of this place would never leave us. He was wrong. A big piece of Camp of the Peaks will never leave me. So many wonderful people, fun memories, and beautiful creation all around me. I am so blessed to have been a part of it. I miss it already.

Ten on Ten - October

2011-10-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

It's Ten on Ten! My favorite monthly project. I started it off with sunrise off the deck!I did some redecorating this morning. I absolutely adore my colorful clothes pins, they're SO easy to change too!

Schoolwork. Gross!

This afternoon I had an awesome senior session with my good friend, Emma! We went to an abandoned railroad and then a national historic site. Tons of fun and awesome locations!

The lovely model. :)

This is Hopewell Lake with the changing foliage. I didn't realize the leaves are changing so quick! I'm thinking I'll have take a trip back here soon.

Only YOU can prevent forest fires!

The sunset on the lake as we were leaving. The fishermen are the same two as before, they probably thought I was a weirdo. What else is new?
Happy October 10th to yah!

The Grass

2011-10-09T09:04:00.001-04:00

I took this picture this summer in Acadia NP. We were walking one of my favorite trails, the Jesup path. This trail winds through a beautiful green grassy woods, lined with white birch trees on both sides. It is beautiful.
linking up with scripture and a snapshot.

Breanna W. | Senior

2011-10-08T13:45:00.032-04:00

This girl and I go way back, like beyond-memory way back, haha. I had a blast taking her photos and getting to catch up! This session was at Lockridge Park, which is an awesome place for your senior pictures. Contact me today about scheduling yours!

France | Week Two

2011-10-07T16:24:00.003-04:00

Here are pictures from our second week in France! :)

One morning the fog rolled into the valley and you couldn't see anything. As it started disappearing this house became visible on the hill, but not the huge mountains behind it!

One day we went exploring to a little village, it was adorably quaint and cute.

In the section of France we were in they have fountains with delicious, fresh spring water.

This is the view from the missionary's house. Isn't it amazing?

Their village from up a ways on the trail.

The tall peak on the left is called La Meije (spelling is probably incorrect). It's one of the tallest in the area.

European cars? The best.

This particular week I didn't take nearly the amount of work photos I did the week before. I was much busier with working on the soccer field (below).

The team of ladies (all three of us!) worked on putting the soccer field back together. We dug holes, sifted that dirt, fertilized it and put it back in. It made for a few long days!

This is the market at Bourg D'Osians. We got fresh meat, veggies and fruits every week there. I loved the melon... I'm pretty sure I ate half of it.

France has a gabillion different types of cheese. Gabillion translates to around four hundred.

I'll have more ready to post next week sometime! :)

Did You Know..

2011-10-05T17:56:00.000-04:00

...that there's this weird big pointy thingy in the middle of Paris? Why a triangle? Why Mr. Eiffel? WHY?
I'm really tired (if you couldn't tell by the AWESOME post title) but I thought I'd tell you all that I was in Paris. We all had a grande old time. I'm homebound with another member of our team tomorrow! I'm very excited. It's been a great month, God has really blessed our time here. I'll start blogging pictures when I get home (after I sleep for two days). Okay dokey smokey?
♥

Seeing Through the Fog

2011-10-01T17:27:00.000-04:00

Seek first his kingdom. Don't be anxious about your life. These are just a few things that Jesus talks about in Matthew 6:25-7:5. This passage was the one that I memorized this summer, along with the rest of the camp staff. A lot of it is familiar to most people, but it's really a passage worth looking into. When life gets foggy, come back to the basics. Don't worry, just let God work in your life. You'll see the light in the fog.
(taken this summer at Portland Head Light)

France | Week One

2011-09-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! I actually have a post that has more than three photos! Craziness, right? My France adventure will most likely be divided into a three or four part saga/documentation/blogging of the trip. :) So..it begins..

Traveling here was pretty crazy. To get here, we spent..
3 hrs in the car to get to JFK airport.
3 hrs waiting in JFK.
6.5 hrs on a plane.
2.5 hrs in an airport/train station.
2 hrs on a train.
1 hr on a different train.
1 hr in a car.
19 hours in transit roughly.
6 hrs in time difference lost too.

Tired yet?

The scenery from the train.

We were greeting with these beautiful mountains in Grenoble. From there, we traveled by car to Camp des Cimes, and got started working the next morning.

Our destruction site during the first few days/stages.

Lots of jackhammering!

Like the glasses? I LOVED them. It was very, very dusty during the jackhammer days. My shoes were originally dark gray, they turned white by the end.

Safety first!

Now that you've gotten through all the construction.. onto pretty pictures.

Isn't he the cutest? His name (translated) is Spark. :)

Goats grazing in the Alps = picture perfect!

Our first Sunday night, we had a French mountain meal. The first course was French bread.

(going close wise) The second course was a sample of cold cuts, including wild boar. Next (the main meal) was vegetable dumplings (amazing!), potatoes, and more various hot meats which were all delicious.

Don't forget a sample of French homemade wine.

We topped it off with desert: white cheese with sugar and berries. It was great, the entire meal was deliciously wonderful!

This is our team! I've loved being able to serve, construct, share laughs, and live with these wonderful folks for the past month. It's been such a blessing.
Pray that the last few days will be super productive and we'll get lots done.
Until then.. Au Revoir!
linking up here, here, here and oh yeah, here.

Christ's Servant

2011-09-25T16:46:00.000-04:00

linking up with scripture and a snapshot! :)

France

2011-09-23T13:54:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! We're working hard and thus it leaves little time for blogging (plus the internet is slow and I don't have much patience when it comes to uploading pictures). We poured the first floor foundation today, which is very exciting! It's coming along, slowly, but it's coming. It's hard to believe that we head to Paris in only a little over a week (the 3rd of October). I'm super excited because it's y'know..Paris. Hope you're all doing well. :)

I Have Nothing

2011-09-17T12:51:00.001-04:00

Our team did a devotional last night as a group and we talked about this verse. I've never really looked at the Beattitudes very deeply before, but I'm finding them really interesting. Last night, we talked about Matthew 5:3, the opening to the Sermon on the Mount. We dove into what the meaning of being "poor in the spirit" and I got a lot out of it. The word translated for poor used in this context means 'having nothing'. We have nothing. Nothing to offer God that he could want. I immediately thought, "Hey, wait a minute, I have plenty to offer God!" then thought a little more and realized that everything I have he has given me.
I have nothing.
He is everything.
I know he'll provide everything I need. I don't need much, only Him, and he already supplied that. Thank you, Jesus!
linking up with scripture and a snapshot.