Thursday, November 27, 2014

A New Decade Begins!



                             From then....



             till now....

 

 you have been more than a blessing in my life!
 
 
Happy, happy Birthday,
sweet Daughter.
I pray for God's blessings
to surround
your life
as you enter into this next decade!
 
and
 
here is a verse for you for the years to come...
 
may
"The Lord bless you and keep you,
the Lord make His face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you,
the Lord lift up His contenance upon you
and
give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26
 
Amen!
and
Happy Birthday!
 
 
 

Sunday, November 23, 2014

when a HOUSE is more than a HOME



Each of my girls
 share a gift.
They have created, in their homes,
a sanctuary
and in describing these homes,
instead of
"oh, it's a three bedroom, two bath home
with a porch",
one is compelled to use personification, as in...
"ahh, the home is inviting, warm, happy.
It is so welcoming!"
love personification... and when it comes to using
it in describing a home...
well, that just makes my heart happy!
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, 
Jessica and Peter have settled in their new home,
and have spent the last few months
personifying their abode.
Successfully.
And,
recently, I followed Lucas around... each with a camera in hand...


snapping away.
 
 Welcome
 to this welcoming place...
 
 












 





          Lucas view....                               
 
 
                                            He snapped a few of Liv along the way.....
 
Lucas...
 
 
 
Lucas...
 
 
 
 
 


Lucas...





 
Lucas: the important things in his room....


 
Lucas....
 
 

 



Lucas...

 
Lucas...

 


 
Interesting discovery with this photo shoot...
Lucas has an eye for texture...


Camera time is
done...
now for a swinging time in the backyard with dad...

Peter, Jess, Lucas and Livia,
an Irish prayer
for your santuary...
 
May these walls be filled with laughter,
may it reach from floor to rafter.
May the roof keep out the rain,
may sunshine warm each windowpane.
And may the door be open wide
to let the Good Lord's love inside.

Amen!





Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Selfie Challenge



 
We were overdue for a
DiGi/Mallard/DellaV/Smith ladies'
challenge...
so the idea was presented to submit a
selfie
with an element of nature included....
 
and we were all in!
 
The great thing about this challenge was
(in a way)
the predictability of each submission.
 
First, we have Hope
and, typical for a teenager,
pushing the boundaries of the term "nature",
as in "humans are nature too!"
Yep, Hope in a broad sense of the word, they are :)
so yours does qualify!
 
 
 
Then we have Christa and her new found
love of cows...
I was half expecting a picture like this...lol...
she has stopped eating beef
because
it reminds her of her "friends"!
 


 
Rachel's eclectic style
showed up in utilizing one of Ashville's great murals...
a picture of a picture of nature...
yep, that'll do, Rae!
 
 


 Now, for Jess...
she was all dolled up for a date with her hubby
when she remembered about the deadline for the selfie...
so she ran outside and snapped her pic with her landscape plants...
Nature at its best for her...lol!
 
 
 
Next we have Michelle,
Ms. Professional...
whose selfie caused some controversy...
Does it qualify as a selfie?!?!
when you are using your pro equipment via a remote...
And in the truest definition of the word...
it does :)
You're in, Mish!!...
 

 
And for me...
I spent the day oohing and  aahing over numerous manatees,
forgetting about the nature element of this challenge..
realizing I had a perfect element just a snap away,
I ran back down to the nearest dock,
and lo and behold...
no manatee in sight...I missed out on a winning photo!!...
procrastination (and forgetfulness) did me in!!
So a quick "peace" was
sent out to the fam
 with the beautiful Blue Springs in the background.... 

(but I do love the message sent though  :)


So there you have it....
6 different personalities.
6 wonderful selfies.
 
The dilemma....
I think they are
 all winners!
 
 
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
before I announce the winner,
I wanted to add these for history's sake...lol.
Hope's two submissions before she knew abut the
nature element...
Miss Creative, I would say...
 
I LOVE this girl....
 

 
 
UPDATE:
Now,
for the WINNER....
ta-ta-da-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....
 
ME!
 
Apparently,
my Jersey roots are deep and strong,
cause the Jersey fam voted heavily in my favor :)
And, no!,
bribery was not involved!!
Apparently, the last second thought of flashing a
"PEACE"
sign gave me the cutting edge
 
So,
,
Everyone!
 
Until the next challenge!
 
 


Saturday, November 15, 2014

MANaTEEs of BLuE SPRiNGs



 River waters are starting to get chilly...
time for the manatees to
gather in the springs 
where the waters are an avearage
of 73 degrees....
cozy warm the them!
 
So when my faceless neighbor

 
 
 suggested a ride over to the springs
to get a glimpse of the meandering sea cows...

off we went...






 manatee kisses....



 
you've got a friend...

passerbys... intersecting with a gar...


 





 

Such a beautiful day!


Sunday, November 9, 2014

"I've Got Your Back"



Last spring,
I had one of my sweetest encounters with Lucas.
 
We were at a park for an Easter egg hunt,
 
 
and after the hunt,
there was a group of 5 kids playing out in a field,
and Lucas jumped at the chance to join them.
 
They were a little older than him,
and as I was sitting on an embankment overlooking the field,
I could see there was a little trepidation in his body language,
but also a willingness to join in the fun.
 
After just a few minutes,
the sweet moment happened...
He ran up the hill to me,
turned back around facing the field again,
stood in his warrior/racer stance,
literally pointed to his back and said to me...
"Nana, you be here behind me and follow me down!"
 
In other words,
in his not-quite-three-year-old language,
he was saying,
 
"Nana, have my back!!"
 
My response...
"Don't worry, Bud... I'm here!  I'm watching! I'll follow you!"
 
So he took off
 
 
happy and confident to join back in the fun.
Knowing someone was watching over his shoulder!
 
 
The reason why I'm sharing this story now,
7 months later...
 
I came across this while I was sipping my coffee..
 
"Be still, and know that I am God!"
 
If I were to paraphrase that well-loved verse,
it would be God's version of...
"I've got your back."
 
 
 
The above picture hangs in my living room.
When I first saw it
this thought did jump in my head..
"Wow, God has that woman's back"
The "Light" was following her down her path
into the unknown.
 
So I bought it,
and it hangs in a prominent place
as a daily reminder...
 
"Go,
don't worry.
I'm here.
I'm watching.
I'm following you!"