11:11 pm.

An eternity ago, I was born. I breathed in and cried, lungs faced with oxygen brand new. My first glimpse of the world through squinted eyes and mouth.

300 thousand breaths passed. And now another adds to its list.

And another.

And another.

300 thousand seconds ago my thirst for life started.

How does one express 300 thoughts, wishes or dreams? Inspiration all around and my mind's thesaurus doesn't contain enough letters, pushed together to create new words, to describe the joy and beauty of a life so blessed as mine.

Even when the beauty is the beauty of a cry, a bloodied knee or a broken heart.

Even when the beauty is a baby's breath, in and out, a rhythm to let go of thoughts, waltzing to the Land of Nod.

Even when the beauty is a memory held in still life.

It is 11:11 now and I need the sleep. Dear friends, enjoy the beauty of this week, let His love fill you with every passing moment because we really get only a few before we are done.

Here is my thought this week: Today has never happened before. Make every moment worthy of its space in time.

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:17)

Off the top of my cranium...

I have several serious subjects I want to discuss with you...

What is your opinion of the death sentence? For or against? Why? I admit, the Casey Anthony case has been on my mind quite heavily these past few days, as I would assume you would understand.

What is the real difference between an introvert and an extrovert, and why does it really matter? Should we spend the time getting to know this about ourselves so as to know how to better relate to others, or is this more of an issue of too much self-indulgence in self-centeredness?

I also have a few things I need to confess to you...

Procrastination has always been something I have had trouble, but I've been putting off really getting to the bottom of it.

I also have an issue with food. As a kid, I could have cared less. Now however, I love food. But it isn't healthy food that is my favorite. Since my goal is to stay in a good shape, this isn't helping much.

Which boils down to self-control. Which seems to be the root of at least 95% of all my evil. Unlike pride. Which, apparently, I don't really have since I'm admitting all these faults. on. the. World Wide Web.

Or do I just not care, which might be worse?

However, I won't be discussing any of these subjects tonight, as I have a few, less world-changing more just fun and informative, things to tell you!

1. I am second-shooting a wedding this weekend! :D :D I know, I know, I said I would never do another wedding as long as I lived. OR if I didn't have a second shooter. However, I will BE the second shooter, so that just makes this fun :)

2. My sister's baby girl is visiting us for the weekend :) She is 2 1/2 and probably the best snuggler of all time. Except when you are trying to sleep. Like last night. Sleep was not an option. I did wake up with 3 new bruises though :P I'm hoping tomorrow to take her on a field trip. Not sure where. Any suggestions around Northish Atl?

3. I'm going to try throwing sugar out of my diet for the next few weeks. Thinking perhaps my sudden intake of sugar {MnM people might be discontinuing Pretzel MnMs! :( :( } might be the cause of some rather nasty headaches lately. We shall see!

4. I had something else to tell you, but I forgot. Oh well, I'll post again later!

cheerio and sleep well!

-me

I feel like...

Waltzing off to my own wonderland this week.

Care to join me?

{one of the many magical trees I met on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland}

Paper Puppets, People?

A couple weeks ago I went to visit my brother John and his family out in Athens. <3 <3 <3

The two oldest, Iz and Ace, and I decided to make some crafts. Iza decided we should do puppets!

Ace was not too thrilled... so he decided to color on the windows.

Here is Iza and my finished products! Whadda think??!

I was going to an Owl City {adam young!} concert that night, so I had a certain person on the brain... can you guess which one is Adam?

This is my {gorgeous} chica, Iz! This is her puppet, whom she named to match Adam. {can you guess? Its pretty awesome for a 5 yr old}

In my family, there all these funny pictures of me, so no laughing. {its apparently because my camera is "too difficult to figure out"}

And because Im always making funny faces. ;)

Yeah. We are pretty rad. {ps. Did I mentioned that the puppets were named 'Adam' & 'Eve'?}

Because He lives,

me.

{Whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more}

Imagine, if you will...

Brooding clouds gather in the distance; a young girl, high heeled and ready to be done with work, runs to her silver Honda, leaping over puddles and skipping between each rain drop. Breathless and giggling, she slides behind the wheel, enjoying the snap of the seatbelt and a break for her feet. A lone drop slides down her wet windshield as she grabs a towel out of the backseat and, fruitlessly, tries to soak some moisture out of her soaked clothing and already frizzing hair. Plugging in the ipod, "... a chickadee in love with with sky" fills the empty sound and the car shifts into 3rd gear. The clock skips through the minutes, suddenly its 30 numbers past when she first found refuge in her silver steed. Humming a bit off-key, thinking dreamy thoughts, when suddenly the heart beat stutters, stops. Her house still stands, a tree house in her magical forest that separates her from reality... One of her entrance guards, a double- trunked tree under whose shade she spent many hours, has fallen to the storm. Now her canopy has a new opening to the sky, which is clearing up to a light blue, stating its own innocence. Down to the ground she smiles at the dogwood flowers singing their joy in His protection, still standing when they could have fallen. A breath in, breathing out, the beat of life restarts.

God has a way of making you stop from reality, getting your attention, focusing on the preciousness of every solitary breath.

Psalm 37:4, 7 "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him & He will do it. ... Rest in the Lord, and

wait patiently for Him."

Tonight my mind is a jumble of thoughts and emotions, ideas and frustrations, possibilities and shut doors. I know that I tend to make problems a lot bigger in my mind if I don't talk them over with the Lord and just wait. Otherwise I become this giant ball of nervous energy that doesn't accomplish anything except start hyper-drive and drive people crazy.

I want this blog to be about encouraging others; drawing you to see His beauty that is created just for you, every day and in every situation. So often I fail, and I hope you forgive me and look past those obvious errors. However, I do hope this blog does, in some way, uplift you and motivate you to really smile, breathe, and whisper {or shout!} thanks to our God and Savior.

sleep well, dear readers, wherever you are!

because He lives,

me.

Insomnia attack

12 things that make me happy:

1. a tuned cello and 3 extra hours

2. stargazing on a dark night with wide open spaces

3. oreos and milk; twizzlers

4. different tempos

5. fireflies at twilight

6. Color and Black & White

7. hearing my camera shutter

8. baby kisses

9. a warm hoodie

10. sight and seeing

11. Driving with the sunroof open and the windows down

12. belly laughter

Listening.

My sister and I in Paris, in front of the Louvre. If you are wondering, so far Paris is my favorite.

I am not a great writer. I stumble over words, tripping over imaginary blocks of unfamiliar words and lackluster imagination. But I need to write. I suppose that urge should be expected, being the youngest daughter of a pastor who has written more in his 45 years of teaching than I could ever imagine, combined with the passion and joy of a writing mother and poetess, my first memories being read to and sung to, with lyrics and tunes she would create on a whim. Her mother has been a journalist for as long as I know, and her po

etry she wrote when just my age, waiting for her sweetheart to come home from WWII, always inspired photographs in my mind.

Tonight I hope you forgive my ramblings. Focus has never been my best trait. Tonight I am daydreaming, unable to sleep because I am nervous, unable to stay awake because the Land of Nod beckons.

Memory is a wonderful land to visit, but oh so terrible a place to live. When all you know is in the past, nothing to change but everything to happen just so. Mistakes are so easily spotted, like watching a movie and grimacing when you know your hero has just made a grave error. It doesn't do any good trying to stop him- he can't hear you, he is in another time. I find myself so often wishing, wondering, I could have pushed pause. or rewind. or delete. But I know that is absurd, for everything has happened for a reason, with a wonderful end purpose. And even when I can't see the design for the threads in the way, its ok. I am already intimately aware of His incredible beauty.

I am so incredibly blessed, whatever happens. I have all I need in Him, my Love, my Joy, my Light! And I am perfectly secure in Him.

I love the song In Christ Alone, by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend. If you haven't heard Adam Young's version, check out his blog post here. Its worth your time.

Tonight I started out nervous, sad and distracted but am now calm, content and focused on Him. Thanks for listening :)

because He lives,

me.