Archive for 'My Crazy Life'
My day…..
I’m sitting here getting ready to wrap up another birthday. How about having your birthday on Memorial Day? Cool, huh? This was my exciting, extraordinary, ordinary birthday day:
- Waking up at 6:30….(why I can’t sleep in eludes me).
- A nice quiet time with some creamy, dreamy coffee and Rick Renner’s Sparkling Gems, an awesome daily bible study.
- Fiber One, because fiber is your friend!
- A little sweet, hot pink polish on my short little fingernails. Maybe next year I’ll get a mani/pedi!
- Watching Full House with Leah…the episode where Uncle Jesse takes the kids to the museum and they knock over a dinosaur and Danny proves that being the “fun” dad can go terribly wrong.
- A great trip to Borders with Bryan to get a photography book and a gift card for a friend.
- Oh yeah, baby…. old school LAND OF THE LOST on the Sci-Fi channel! I never missed that show on Saturday mornings as a kid. I was soooo scared of the Sleestacks! I am sure I will see the Land of the Lost remake with Will Ferrell because I love Will Ferrell.
- The entire Abbott family surrendered their phones for some FAMILY TIME! Believe it or not, everyone lived!!
- A fun time bowling together complete with sister fights, attitudes, tons of gutter balls, but totally worth it all. We figure it may be our last family bowling time.
- A fattening dinner at Red Robin to be followed up shortly with my favorite dessert….BROWNIE SUNDAES!
It was a relaxing day and I am very thankful today for the blessings in my life; every one of them! This past year was filled with ups and downs and many, many changes. God is so faithful. God is so good. My family is a gift from Him and spending the day with them was a gift itself. Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes today. I am so grateful for you!
There is no greater portrait of true love than that of Jesus Christ who laid down His life for me even when I was His enemy. Today I am celebrating everything about Him and the Triumph we celebrate on Easter! HE IS RISEN!!
Isaiah 53
1 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this? 2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
7-9He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
10Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
We waited all winter long for some snow and it really never came….until one week after spring sprung! It was a gorgeous, wet, fluffy snow and was so pretty. It made you want to snuggle up and light a fire. I got domestic and whipped up some pumpkin cookies, which wasn’t such a great thing after working so hard at the gym all week. Since I no longer have little kids who want to go out and play in the snow, I had to resort to going out with the dog….very exciting, I know! Here’s a collage of a few backyard pictures from this pretty snow, which, by the way, melted the next day!
O dear Internet, what’s a girl to do? I’m not like all the other photographers in warmer, sunnier climates like cali where every day is the perfect day to shot. Gorgeous crisp autumn days give way to drab and dreary Kansas winter. Even snow was a welcome visitor this year…since it never came. Less than one inch fell from the start of the year to the last week of February. But alas, it was one of those bitter cold snows and no one seemed to want to go out and “play”. Well, March unfolded it’s days with sunny skies and near record breaking temperatures and I was a photo girl with an itchin’ to scratch! I wanted to explore some areas where I hadn’t shot before, but how much fun would it be to do it alone? Or, how much fun would it be to take my wonderful, but non-creative, husband? I had to find a cohort with an art heart! I had such a fun time with my friend, Tasha! I can’t wait to see her pictures. We almost got lost on foot at one point. I said, okay I know we need to go that way. If we just walk that way, I think we’ll find our car. I need adventure, as lame as that was!
One thing I learned for sure about myself is that I much prefer taking pictures of people. Poor Tash! I was like, “O, hey, Tash…just stand there. Just a few shots.” Since Tash never had senior portraits, I said these could be like her “better late than never” senior portraits! She is such a beautiful, beautiful girl and I am going to dedicate a second post to the few pictures I got of her.
For now, here are the beautiful sites of The Kansas City Jazz District and some of the Crossroads Arts District. I found a new place to shoot and satisfied my artistic cravings. I am ready for the spring and a new season of senior and family portraits!
I have to come back and see if they light up the Gem Theater at night. Wouldn’t it be gorgeous?
I also need to learn who Bird Lives was.
The counter of a letterpress shop right with texture and color and the front of some interesting shops on 18th street.
Self-portrait taken in a really cool mirrored, metallic art display behind the Jazz History Museum.
You can see some of the great progress in restoring the 18th and Vine area. It’s beautiful. I was intrigued that they preserved the front of a building and it’s being held up from behind. Very cool.
Tash is on the font side of the propped up building. The picture on the right is a tiny store on 18th street that is completely covered ( I mean wall to wall to ceiling) with stuffed animals. I took this shot lying on my back in the doorway.
I am particularly fond of this image for some reason. Maybe I’m just happy for blue skies and a chance to do what I love.
I have three teenagers. Three. Sometimes getting affirmation that you are loved, appreciated and valued is hard to come by. Anyone out there feeling me? Now, I know deep down…deep, deep down…I am truly loved by my kids. I remember the days when they would make beautiful finger paint artwork and rush to present this treasure to me…mommy, the love of their little lives. I’d gush and cover them with kisses and hugs and proudly post their gift on the fridge. Days of watercolors, finger paints and Mother’s Day gifts they made at school slowly came to an end. In our house, we tell each other every day, probably several times a day, that we love each other. But, sometimes, out of the blue, something very magical happens in the life of this old mom; one of my children will present me with something straight from their heart.
I had to share a picture of this Christmas gift that Brandon gave me. Wow! How can I explain a 19 year old college freshman (son, no less) taking the time to write a poem about his mother and then having it engraved for me? It was so personal and so touching. I can’t tell you what it meant to me. Of course I cried and of course, it sits proudly on my desk where I can remember that I must be doing something right!
Here’s my favorite senior picture of Brandon.
Well, actually, favorite people! 2008 was a huge year in our home; unbelievable transitions and changes took place in almost every single one of our lives. God, as He always is, was utterly faithful to us. We walked through some tough spots, but also rejoiced on some high mountaintops. I love my family. I am very thankful for them. I think they are beautiful…inside and out and today on this blog entry, I present them to you!
This is Zack, my very loyal and faithful dog. He is cute, isn’t he? I am not and have really never been a “pet person”. Just ask my extended family. It may go back to losing our dog, Dusty, one summer day when he was hit by a car. I must have been 6 or 7 years old and I think I loved him. I remember my mom scooping Dusty up and piling all the kids in the car and driving him to the vet. He didn’t make it and maybe that’s when I stopped giving my heart to dogs. I don’t know….maybe a bit dramatic of me, huh? But, Zack has been a part of our family since 2004 when I, yes I, went to the Lawrence Humane Society and picked him up. He was a gift for my children and I had pre-requisites; must be cute, must be neutered, must be house broken and must be nice. He had it all. Well, my rescue of Zack caused him to love me like none other. I can’t deny it that I am absolutely the love of his life. He follows me everywhere, sits at my feet while I edit pictures, waits for me at the door when I am gone and won’t eat until I get back. I don’t love him the way he loves me, but that never stops him from loving me (kinda like me and God). This week, I picked up this plush pet bed pictured below; an early Christmas present for my faithful sidekick. I could not get him to lay on it. I tried and tried. The closest he got was putting his chin on it. Crazy dog! It has to be better than the hard wood floors! Merry Christmas Zack….thanks for loving me!
