Hiatus again

Well, when I look at the last time I posted, I am amazed. It's been 3 weeks since I posted last and time has disappeared. Lots of changes with our family...

I thought I was going to finally get back to blogging with my HUGE number of followers. ;-) Thank you to the 4 of you that always prayed for me and stayed in touch. Anyway, I am going back to work (as of tomorrow) for the first time in about 7 years. Ugh. The feelings I have gone through over the last few weeks have been exhausting. Life is about to change. Again.

I am THANKFUL, but SAD, SCARED,  and a tiny bit excited. I was hoping I could stay at home another year since my youngest is a senior. But, with one in college and another on the way, it just isn't feasible. Gotta get more money coming in!

Maybe when we get in a groove after the new year, I will be back and can at least check in once a week or something like that. For now, I wish you all a

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

and a 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

What I...

I am taking a cue from Beki over at The Rusted Chain for my post today.



What I know...

Happy is he... whose hope is in the Lord. Psalm 146:5

What I miss...

Texas and Blue Bell ice cream

(and all of our family, of course!)

What I wish I were drinking...

Strawberry and lime water

        

What I was drinking...

over ice! YUM!

What makes me giddy...

Canada Geese

Where I like to go...

Oquirrh Lake, Daybreak, UT

What made me happy yesterday...

Receiving our Christmas ornament from

The Rusted Chain

What I love...

My family

So... What do you?

Instalove and a little more

It amazes me how fast the days travel by. There are many that slip through my grasp and there are those that I am happy to get passed. 
I am striving to live with better intention. With more purpose. 
To savor and thank God for the sweet blessings and thank Him through the struggles as well. SO.NOT.EASY.

I just have to tell you how much I love, LoVe, LOVE Instagram. I am a little addicted. Absolutely.

I may not use it exactly "right"... however that is. But I adore it.

First introduced by my girlies, I quickly became a big fan. I am blown away by the "real" photographers who are so amazing that my talent genes are crying out. They have the ability to transport you to places you have only imagined or dreamed of. You can visit when normally you wouldn't have the ability.

Yes, I know that photographs have long been published in books, in mags, and online. There is something different about this Instagram thing. They are all in one place. Tiny. But all together. Whether they are from Istanbul or South Carolina... you can see them all. You can pick and choose, you can comment or not, and you can like it or leave it alone. We each have the ability to make it our own.

I definitely have made my Instagram my own. I do not have a theme as most people do. Oftentimes you find scenery... drop dead gorgeous scenery. Those are the pics that help me take a deep breath and feel God's Peace. This time of year it is the fall colors. The trees and leaves which make me smell pinion wood burning. Don't know why... just does. It's calming.

Some people stick with people. I mean, they photograph people. Typically these are not my favorite. Yes, I know that sounds so wrong. It sounds weird. I think it is because I think of hanging them on my wall. The Instagram photos, that is. And so, I think... why would I want to hang a picture of someone I don't know? That being said, there are a few exceptions. I love seeing pics like this...

...that allow me a little glimpse into the life of my college girl and the crazy things she is doing. :-) I also love pics of people from my talented blogging "friends" like Carissa, Beki, and Kelle because I "know" them and like to see their family photos. Because they are my family, too. Most of those Instagramers are photographers as well, so their photos are jealous worthy. ;-)

MY feed is a mish-mash of stuff. From family photos to beautiful sunrises. Just whatever makes me happy at the moment. I do find myself "studying" things more closely. Stopping in the middle of the street because "Oh, that would be an awesome IG photo!" or my infamous "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?!". It works for me. Especially now... just a difficult season. Thank you IG for helping me see God's beauty.

My youngest introduced me to Kristin. Her photography skills are amazing and we both love her sense of style, if you will. However, my favorite thing about following her on Instagram is her ability to shoot her family. Of course, that is, take photos of her family. They are unique. They are vintage. They are creative. They are love through her eyes. She has been featured at A Beautiful Mess for their "At Home With..."  which will give you a glimpse into her life. You must check her out!

Speaking of my youngest, as I was a bit ago... this pic is one of my faves of hers. I might be a bit partial because it is of her sister.

She has entered it into a contest (don't have results yet) and used it in a portfolio that she submitted for Sterling Scholar at her high school. We found out yesterday that she has been chosen as the Visual Arts Sterling Scholar. WooHoo! So happy for her!

Now on to regionals...

Have a great weekend all!

It's Friday!!!

Funny thing about Fridays... for a stay-at-home mom, it doesn't signal a couple of days off. I DO get to sleep about an hour or so later. Just depends on when the dog decides he's hungry. His inner alarm clock tends to be painfully accurate.

On this Friday, I am aware of some of my favorite things...

1) this sweet boy (despite his early alarm)

2) that this girl will be coming home for fall break

3) which means that these 4 will be together again... and whole again

4) for this beautiful land that we live in

I am linking up with Rachel today...

(click on name not on button... problems!)

Monday, Monday...

1) Out in the real world, I am not so fond of Mondays. Usually on Sunday evenings I start thinking about all of the things that I should have accomplished over the weekend but didn't. I actually get this urge to clean my house from top to bottom and get excited about conquering the whole thing on Monday. I run all of the plans through my head and look forward to the sun rising so that I can whip everything back into shape. Then the morning comes... and I don't want to do any of it. Not one thing. What is that about?

2) In blog land, I enjoy Mondays because Carissa "gets it". Somehow she knows that my brain does not function properly on the first day of the week. I suppose there are others out there that go through the same thing and it could possibly be one of the reasons that Mondays have a bad reputation. That being said, I like Miscellany Monday so that I can be as random as my brain.

3) Catching up with all of the bloggers I have missed takes a LONG time. Lots of reading, smiling, oohs and aahs. It's amazing how fast time flies in other people's lives just like it does our own.

4) We have a new sporting goods store about 10 minutes from our house. We have been watching it take shape for many months and the doors are now open.

This is the centerpiece...

And, the "stuffed" animals can be found upstairs.

It is like going to a sporting mall. They even have restaurants on each floor and while we were there, a diver was cleaning the fish tank that you walk under. Nemo was there and Dory was, too. I have never seen anything like it. 

5) The seasons are changing in Utah. In Texas... not so much just yet. We went to the football game with our Sr. on Friday night. Wind chill = 39 degrees. Rain = pouring. Equipped = NO. Crazy = YES. Back in Texas at game time = 85 degrees.

So we have gone from this...

                   

 Mirror Lake, Utah

To these...

 Wasatch Mountains, Utah

It IS such a beautiful time of year with the changing colors and the sounds of football wafting through the house...

Happy Fall Y'all

Don't forget to link up!

Let's try this again ~

Hello everyone!

I had hoped to get a blog facelift before beginning again... it's just not in the budget. Time or money. So, for now I will just give a short and sweet update of sorts.

When I was last blogging, we were jobless and living with the in-laws. Yep... for real. One of those challenges God allows you to go through to grow you. You know? Well, I wouldn't say that we grew as much as He would've liked us to, but I choose to believe that there was some growth. I just can't actually put my finger on it.

After 13 L.O.N.G. months, hubby took a job in Utah. A world away from the south. We may have lived in 5 states since our girlies were born but it was always in a southern state. However, we were so happy for him to have a job that we really didn't care anymore.

My blessings

The climate would be different and the culture would be different. We knew that. Lots of prayers went up about both of those! We moved a mere 2 weeks before school started last year. Our oldest was going to be a Sr. (I couldn't imagine much worse than starting a new school as a Sr.) and the youngest a Jr. It was rough for a bit but God was faithful. He got us into a brand new house in a great area of the Salt Lake Valley and gave us a mild winter.

          Wasatch Mountains                                                                 

  

             So excited to have lots of Canada geese up here!                                        

                                          

We have now lived here 13 months, hubby LOVES his job, our big girl is in college (3 1/2 hrs. away!) and our baby is a Sr. I am still a stay-at-home mom but desperately needing a job. That is the new focus. Ugh.

For now, here are some pics of where we are now in our lives...

The girls had to represent. ;-)

The family at Provo Falls

Our pretty boy ~ Zippy

Our weird but wonderful cat ~ Baby

One of my favorite of her Sr. pics

The first visit home from college...

(Forgive me for the funky spacing... got to get back in the swing of things.)

Until next time...

Enjoy your blessings!

Hello? Anybody Out There?

Glory Be!!!

I am finally able to access my blog after almost a year and a half of being locked out!! Woo Hoo! Because of an invalid e-mail address, lost passwords, not knowing exactly how I worded my security question's answer, etc. I have been unable to connect with the blogging world. I've missed my few blogging friends... I'm WAAAAAAY behind on all of your lives... Probably more than half of my blog is outdated. Ugh.

Please be patient with me... it will take some time to get caught up and running again. I am looking forward to it! Boy, have I got news to share. :-)

  It's good to be back!