07/19/07

I cannot believe it is already toward the end of July. This has been the fastest month!

I haven't gotten on here lately because I have been over-analyzing and trying to figure out what I could do better on those wedding pictures. hee hee.. Told you I would fret over them. I am, thankfully, talking with that professional wedding photographer through email and he has been sharing important information with me. I know people aren't lining up at my door step to become a wedding photographer and that is not my intentions at this point in my life, but I am wanting to LEARN from a professional in a hands-on-way and not always try to figure it out on my own. I am learning, though, that I have leaps and bounds to go before I get as good as I'd like to be. I know that will take years and that all of life is learning. I am spazzing, aren't I? I am just praying for the Lord to direct me and help me know how to handle it all. I don't want to make rash decisions and poor choices in regards to buying equipment or with claiming I am something I am not. I have really struggled with that last part of that statement a lot this past week. When I got the proofs back of the wedding pictures I saw what I already knew. There were issues. Again, I knew it was my first wedding but I guess I wanted perfection. lol Steve thought they were fine but he also doesn't see things I see. It is the "Type A" personality that I have that is coming out. hee heee.. OK, enough of me thinking as I type!

I went out to a local park yesterday morning before it got EXTREMELY hot and shot some photos of nature. (My brother is wanting me to enter the nature photograph contest for our state again this year.) While I love looking at nature and seeing God's Creation up close I know I am NOT the nature photographer next door. I love getting close but not TOO close... know what I mean? he heee.. I did manage to get a few neat pictures, though. The pictures you see today are from my nature walk. I had a gazillion dragonflies I photographed. I guess I'll be known as "the woman who can only take nature photographs of dragonflies." I also found the yellow moth on the leaf that looked like another leaf that had fallen. I would have totally missed it if I had just walked by without really trying to find things. That is the beauty of taking things slow. Enjoy all of those pictures...

Last week at the beach was a great day... one that we will always remember because a storm came up QUICKLY while we were on the beach. If you recall, Wesley has a serious issue with weather/storms. When he saw it coming and we were trying to figure out what to do and where to go he begins screaming that it was a tornado! He was uncontrollable and I look back now and it is quite comical. In the middle of it, though... it wasn't!! I am trying to help my friend load the beach cart with all of our stuff and tell the kids where to go and what to do. The kids are all ahead of us running to the gazebo area at the public access area of the beach. I am in the middle with bags and my friend was behind me pulling the cart. Wesley is still screaming "TORNADO" the entire time. I look back to see the beach cart my friend was pushing falling over into the sand. I threw my bags at Mikayla to take and told the kids where to go and to get there fast and I ran back to help her. As we were getting closer to the gazebo (Yes, Wesley is STILL screaming) the wind starts blowing so hard that sand is hitting us sideways. We JUST make it into the gazebo when the rain starts pelting us all and it starts to hail! We stayed all wrapped up in towels and holding on to our stuff like that for around ten minutes. A lot of people began to leave the beach but we figured we drove 2 hours to be there and we would wait it out. We stayed in the gazebo for 30 minutes or so till we knew the danger had passed and then made it back out onto the beach. It was QUITE the interesting moment. We have laughed and laughed over it since then but during the middle of it there was nothing pleasant about it!!

The storm did help Wesley to see he would be OK and that God was taking care of us in the middle of that storm. I had told Wesley the other night (after the beach episode) when I read the Bible story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter going to Him that Wesley was a lot like Peter. When he takes his eyes off of Jesus when a storm comes up then he starts to sink in his fear. That seemed to make an impact on him because he mentioned it to me the next day when there were storms around. He still has the fear and I know he will have to continually learn to put his trust in the Lord, but the Lord gave me those words to tell him so he would start "chewing" on those thoughts and apply it.

The rest of our day at the beach was awesome. We loved playing in the water and being relaxed. The only problem was all of the sand that we brought home!! That is the only bad part about going to the beach for the day.. you have no place to really get cleaned up and you look (and smell!) horrible. ha!! We went out to eat at our annual restaurant that seats people outside, thank goodness, and enjoyed ourselves immensly. I actually tried something new... I had grilled salmon with crab on top and asparagus on the side. I was so proud of myself and it was SO good... I cleaned my plate big time.

Last Friday we worked on cleaning this house (as we will do the same tomorrow) and I decided it was time to get that garage clean. We worked on it for a couple of hours and I got it all tidy, swept and the toys put in their correct area and all only to see that even today it is beginning to look like it did before I cleaned it. I still have some things to teach it seems... he hee

Today I worked on scrapbooking a majority of the day. I'll probably work on it some more when the kids go to bed. I am now caught up in our family book to the end of May and am glad. I did the page of my surprise to Steve for our anniversary (when I took him to that really nice place and had reservations at our favorite restaurant). Doing those pages actually brought tears to my eyes (corny?... maybe). There was a quote I used on the page that goes something like this "Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale." That was the perfect description of our getaway. I don't live an everyday fairy tale but I am as close to it as possible. It just brought wonderful thoughts of Steve to my mind from the way he laughs and has a dry sense of humor to the way he plays with our kids or works in the yard. The everyday, ordinary parts of life that make him my Prince Charming. He is my sweetie!

I need to close for now. I need to have two children read to me before they go to bed! Steve is working late again and I miss him. (I actually fixed supper again tonight so he is in for a surprise when he gets home. ha! I was QUITE proud of my beef stew if I do say so myself!) Anyway, off to hear them read and then read to them before bed. Enjoy the day the Lord has given to you.