When it rains....

This week we had some rain, not much but then again it doesn't take much sometimes to flood the swamp. So this made me think about life, are the areas in our life that are like that of a swamp? Where we feel that on outward appearance, we are setting on solid ground, but all it takes is for a little "rain" to fall and we soon realize that our path is flooded.
I like how the "halo" of the sun through the leaves, almost like hope.

The Guardian....

One of my favorite things to do with our family is go on family walks, and today was a great day for one. With the cold front coming in, South Carolina felt a little like the Midwest where we grew up on a wonderful autumn day with that crispness in the air, and a great excuse to take out my new 50mm lens that I got from my sweet husband for Christmas.  I really like how honest the photos are, it also challenges me to move more.  How fun for the kids to discover some gravel piles to climb on made my husband and I reminisce our childhood in the chat piles of southwest Missouri left over from the mining days.

I snapped this photo as I watched Truman, our chocolate lab, watch over our kids.  The interesting part of this picture is that we had taken the leash off, but he still stayed at a distance as if he was content to have a better view in order to keep watch.

I mentioned last photo post that I usually do SOOC, but I have been playing around with PicMonkey lately and added the Yester Color effect.  I like how it added a nice golden hue to my picture, however to be honest I really like the SOOC one as well.  Which do you prefer?

Year of Refinement

One of my area's of refinement this year is photography.  It has long been a passion of mine, and I am a true SOOC kind of girl, whether that is because of my lack of knowledge of photo editing or my belief that it is possible to capture true unadulterated beauty among us, SOOC is what I usually offer up minus  bit of cropping here and there.
I took this picture looking out of the door in our home school room, playing with my Sony A350 DSLR. Although it was a complete by chance shot, I like this picture because to me it reminds me that joy can be found in the mundane, and if you refine your skills at looking for it after time it will become second nature to seek out and claim your Joy.

My word of the Year is......

Intentional... that is my word of the year. It is defined as "done on purpose or with intention" so this year I want live life intentionally.

•  Intentional living
• With food, exercise, what I watch, read, and say.
• Intentional actions
• Be aware of how my actions affect others. I want to be an encouragement.
• Intentional parenting
• To strive to make memories, and grow my children to know the love that surrounds them. To raise them to understand the abundance of their Father's Love for them. To make every moment count, because they go entirely to quickly.
• Intentional marriage 
• To be more aware of the different needs we have, and to make an effort to do those little things that represent respect and honor. God has blessed me with  a true man of honor, and I want my efforts to reflect my pride and respect I have for him.
• Intentional relationships.
• I want to be wise in where I spend my extra time, and with whom. I want to be kind in this act, but watchful of how I manage my environment.
 

Life can move so fast sometimes that we can swept away with it all, and in the past I have been known to say "I do lots of things, moderately well" well this year I want to do a few things exceptionally well.