Joy in the Journey

Today is a beautiful day!  I think I'll go out for a walk to enjoy this beautiful sunshine, and gorgeous color with my camera! My goal is to capture something, every day, simple as it may be, that brings me joy. 

"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace 

As I have seen in one autumnal face."

~John Donne

(This is easy to do, I'm so behind on blogging about all our family happenings, and editing pictures... It will have to come little by little.  But one picture a day is doable, and keeps me looking for simple joys!)

Ok, one more I found... see if I just get started, then it helps me get going! 

In a Funk - Life is Complex

(image: flickr)

I think I'm in a funk... if you couldn't tell from my previous post.  I'm having a hard time embracing this season and can't figure out why because it's my favorite, as it is for most people!  I haven't even been in the mood to decorate that much.  It's not the inspiration I'm lacking, there's plenty here on this blog and on all my favorites on my blogroll.  It's me -- I can't get my creative juices flowing, lately.  I haven't even picked up my camera in a week and I usually try to take a picture a day.  It's not that I don't want to decorate or be creative right now, I do... believe me, I spend plenty of time getting ideas of what others are doing and I want to, but can't get it on right now for some reason.  It will come back, I know...

(image: my sweet savannah)

I have to admit, I'm not able to multi-task like I used to.  Is this what happens when you're over 40 - you feel like your brain has holes in it?  Is this what happens when you mix age, peri-(pre) menopause, and thyroid all together?  I tell ya, I've been trying to figure it all out and having all three definitely is affecting my quality of life.  When I was younger, I really didn't get it.  Boy am I worried about going through early menopause AND dealing with teenagers all at the SAME time -- is that really the plan the Lord had in mind? Heaven help us!

(oct. 2009)

So I have nothing original to share... no pictures I've recently taken, or decorating I've done or great ideas for fall fun. I'll borrow from pictures of the past, and a few new ideas I'd like to try when I feel up to it.

(image: hooked on houses)

(love her simple, yet beautifully festive style!)

I have been feeling like my list of to-do's is overwhelming.....well, it's a long one! Is yours? Sure, it is. We all have a boat load of things we must do to keep our households running, to keep kids coming and going, to do whatever jobs we are called to do, even if they are strictly volunteer jobs. We must each do what keeps our own bodies healthy and functioning, we must each have a running list of things that demand our attention. And then there are the extras. Emails to read, creative ideas to organize and carry out, hobbies (photography) and continued education to pursue.....friends to have lunch with, meals to take to a sick friend, or to a new mom, or to someone who just needs a little loving. We have relationships that need our attention. Life is complex, is it not? And sometimes that complexity can be overwhelming. The list, especially if it gets sidelined by life, or ignored to do some project, or lengthened as we procrastinate......well, it is ever present. And we fit it in, among the laundry and the errands, and the cross country meets, ballet and the music lessons. But it certainly complicates things, doesn't it?
  

(oct. 2009)

Life is just complex. Even if we could live on a mountain top alone, there are still things that are ever present that you cannot avoid.

(image: flickr)

Life is complex......yet God calls us to be still and know that HE is God.


"Be still and know that I am God." Ps. 46:10


Where do we draw the lines? When do we decide to turn off and be still? When do we decide that we cannot add one more thing to our list, to our plate, to our "to do" jar? I'm feeling a little of that right now....and the holidays loom just right around the corner as well as the kid's birthdays, and expectations are high. We long to have the perfect Thanksgiving and Christmas for our families, and we sacrifice what it takes to aim at that goal. But sometimes it is way too much to expect our families to endure rather than to enjoy. It can become way too complex so easily, can't it?

(oct. 2009)

 I've been later than usual getting out the pumpkins... and haven't done much to "fallify" my surroundings. I LOVE fall, but I'm just a little slow getting into it this year - easing into it I guess, just like the season itself does. All the stuff you see in the stores for Christmas already is driving me crazy! I don't multi-task well, so I surely cannot think yet about Christmas when I am just getting my fall decor out. And so the complexity continues. Juggle this, think about that, wash a load of laundry, call this person, etc. KEEP my list going, otherwise those tasks get lost for sure.

(image: my sweet savannah)

(I love her style, by the way... go check her out!)

 Or I do nothing, because the complexity paralyzes me.....it renders me useless such that it's even hard to get a meal on the table, or put new sheets on the bed. So I fall back to the basics. I narrow down my expectations and do the needful. There are days when I have to limit my reading of emails and blogs because they contain such WONDERFUL ideas, but they skew the view. They make me have unreasonable expectations, and live in a land of "what ifs".....what if I had more time, I "could" do all those projects, and if I had more money, then I could re-do my house, and if I could just be like her, such an incredible mom yet very creative and talented and so organized all at the same time! It all leads to ......the land of dissatisfaction......the grass is greener on HER side. And it either sends me into a tizzy to do whatever I can to try to be all of that, or I have to take a step back and realize what's truly important to me. I have to JUGGLE. I have to discriminate ,with wisdom that is God-given, as to what I truly CAN do, what Heavenly Father wants me to do right now, and what is a good idea, but doesn't work for me now. I have to decide to admire it and either toss it in an idea file, or admire it and enjoy it from afar. And walk away. Choices to be made everyday, but ones that must be made. What about you? Are you paralyzed by complexity? How do you decide what is reasonable for you to do? How do you turn off and take time to be still? Do you keep a running list, do you keep an idea folder, do you manage to do it all? If there was indeed a magic equation for us all to figure out just how much we can do, how much we can handle, we could probably sell it ! We must juggle though, in order to be intentional to do what we know is right for our families.  We must be intentional...so we must decide what is important to us and deal with that first. First things first. Simple things and then be able to add in the rest. Do you sometimes feel paralyzed by the complexity of life and just unplug to get re-centered?

(image: mg photography) 

I absolutely loved President Uchtdorf's conference talk "Of Things that Matter Most" and am going to try and slow down to counteract all the turbulence.  I loved his analogy!  You can watch it here.

Well this weekend, I am going to unplug for awhile, and hopefully be able to relax and enjoy a little getaway with friends in the beautiful mountain loop of Stevens Pass and the town of Leavenworth enjoying some gorgeous fall color like this...

(image: forestwander.com)

(google images)

(image: flickr kashyap)

Wishful Thinking Photography

This week my good friend, Heidi at Wishful Thinking Photography launched her official business!  No more "wishful thinking" for her.  To start off, she is having a grand opening giveaway with a free 45 minute session, or a free 8 x 10 print!  She did such a fabulous job with Maddie and Tyler that I thought I'd give her a shout out on my blog.  Go over to her site to check out the giveaway.  Most of my friends here in the WA area know about it, but for those in my family that are in UT, you may even be able to get her whenever she's in town visiting her family.  If you do go to her site, leave her a comment to be entered in the giveaway.  I also get entered for it, and if I win, I will give this photo shoot to one of you, so go check it out! 

I know I've posted some of these already, but here are some of my favorites again from her photoshoot with Tyler and with Maddie:

Love that look she's giving him!

This is my favorite!

Telling her that she better behave so we can get some good pics, :)!

Love the candid shots.

Thanks again Heidi! I love all of them and know that things will go well for you in your new endeavor!

Fall is Fleeting

photos: wishfulthinkingphotography.blogspot.com

These are some of my favorite photos that my friend Heidi Lawson took of Maddie.
(more to see soon of Tyler!)

I was visiting another great blog today, theinspiredroom.net,

and she made a little list of 20 things to treasure in Autumn. I loved it so much I figured I would join the party and tell you what I love about fall! So here it is:

1.  Fires in fireplaces

2.  Flannel sheets at the end of a long day

3.  Candles Flickering

4.  Smelling cinnamon, oranges & cloves

5.  Roasts, Potatoes & Carrots

6.  Watching movies snuggled in soft blankets

7.  Cozy socks and slippers 

8.  Squash with buttered brown sugar

9.  Chili and corn bread smothered in honey

10. Wind blowing through leaves

11. Glow of lamps through windows

12. Sweatshirt and jeans weather

13. Family dinners

14. Coming into a warm house on a cold night

15. Falling Leaves

16. Apple crisp

17. Pumpkin patches and pumpkin carving

18. Hayrides and corn mazes

19. Freshly baked pies

20. Cherished moments with family

What are your favorite things about fall? (now that it's almost over!)

Don't forget to check out theinspiredroom.net and if you do this on your blog, link it back to mine!