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.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts on 2012...

As 2012 comes to a close I can't help but to think about how this year has changed me, and ways in which is hasn't but I hope that 2013 holds the keys.

We started homeschooling, which has been an adventure that I am thankful to have been blessed to go on.
We learned how to be at peace in our circumstances, and to have an understanding of God's will for our life.
We have sucessfully adapted to being a 7 member family.
We upgraded our transportation with a new vehicle, which has been a transition .

I am excited about what is to come! I have always loved new notebooks with nothing written in them. This is no different, I just want my story this year to be full of success!!

Reviving the ole' girl

Well I am going to try my hand at reviving my blog. I have decieded that I like the outlet, as well as a place to share the things I am will try, am trying, and have tried.  So I'm gonna give it another go round!
Thanks in advanced for sticking around!

"USE AS INTENDED"

How many times do we read "use as intended" on labels? Do we often follow their advice or do we just wonder who figured out that hairspray and candles aren't soul mates, it seems their first date went down in "Flames"!! :)
How nice would it be if we came with that label? Directions for use, Warning labels, In case of emergency, Intended use, For Best Results.
I have learned over time that I was given a creative spirit. That is how I was knit together. I was give the ability to think and speak in a way that paints a picture of understanding. I see the extraordinary in the ordinary, my wish is that I can give others a different perspective on life. To bring a smile, an understanding, a thoughtfulness to life, to encourage others to choose Joy!
I believe that this is my "Intended Use", but I want to be more, I want to be "USED as intended"!  I want to live up to my full potential, I want be at full capacity!
 I pray that I will be used as intended, and that I will be blessed to be used in a context that allows me to use my gift of creativity, for it is in that way that I feel that I am a vessel for him.

Some Random Realizations as of Late

Over the past few months I have come to some realizations and thought it would be a wonderful way to get back on the Blogging path so here they are...enjoy!

• If you want improve yourself, don't give yourself excuses about why you can't. Just set your mind to the task at hand and have faith.
• Be the change you want to see in the world~ Mahamid Gandhi : If you aren't happy with the way things are going, be the change you wish you could see. Step out first, either people will follow or they won't either way you gave it your best shot!
• It takes approx 6 months in a new place before you feel less like the pack of underwear under the Christmas Tree.
• Don't take it personal, anything! It is the quickest way to make a tolerable situation nauseating.
• In all things treat your spouse with respect, it will reflect!!
• Challenge yourself each day to see if you can get 10 random people to smile back at you. It is an amazing gift to the reciever and the giver!
• There is a saying "This too shall pass", guess what it really does!
• The people you miss the most are the ones who challenged you to be better. Even if they didn't know that is what they were doing.

This is my first installment of Random Realizations!