New Year...New Me!

Happy New Year!! 

It's 2016, so hard to believe that 2015 is over.  It was a hard year for our family for many reasons, but it was also a great year. 

What made it so difficult?

•   Rob's job situation
•   Having no family nearby
•   Missing our son who is away at college
•   Having a hard time making 'real' friends
•   Losing our sweet dog, Cody
•   Missing the colder New England weather
•   Not feeling like our house is our home yet
•   Being sick for most of the summer
•   The heat...oh the awful humid heat!
•   Financial difficulties

What made it a great year?

•   Having my sister and her family visit us
•   Being part of an amazing church family
•   Making new friends 
•   Being a part of the women's Bible study at church
•   Getting some great photography jobs
•   Having our son home for the summer & breaks
•   Enjoying girl time with my daughter
•   Skype & Facetime calls with faraway family/friends
•   Feeling closer to God than ever before
•   Our family vacation to Colorado
•   and lots more moments throughout the year!

I truly have so much to be thankful for, and I need to count my blessings! 
These two are what I'm most proud of...






I know that God has blessed my life with an amazing husband who loves me (and to this day I have NO clue why!), and two kids who continue to amaze me on a daily basis.  I am so in love with my family, and I couldn't ask for more than that. 

So, why a new me?  I want to be different...better than ever!

I want to....

• Grow in my walk with the Lord
• Pray more for my husband & kids
• Be the best mom I can possibly be
• Work on the outward me...lose weight, feel good etc.
• Show kindness and reach out more to others
• Keep up with this blog and write from my heart
• Live my life for the Lord & be completely transparent
• Care about what matters most, not what doesn't
• Not worry about what others think of me as much as I do
• Improve on my photography skills
• Get out of debt!
• Communicate better with others & not be so introverted

This is going to take some time!!  It won't happen overnight, and it may not even happen this year, but it sure is something to work towards.  This is NOT any sort of New Year's resolution!  It's just a list of things I'd like to work on without pressure of time, or putting any sort of label on it. 

So if you think of it, pray for me. I'll be doing a lot of that myself!

God's Waiting Room

I don't know what it is lately, but I've just been feeling down.  I posted this picture today on Facebook with the words 

"I never used to be this way, but as I get older, it's more and more like who I've become. I'm missing my best friends...they accept me as I am and already know me well. Acquaintances get old really fast, and I've noticed that most people don't 'allow' new friends into their already established inner circle. Not something an introvert finds comforting." 

I tagged my 4 best friends, then watched as a few folks posted responses.  Most of them were very sweet, but there was one that made me both sad and happy.  She said  "What you said is me exactly.  I'm going through the same thing and we have been here over two years."

The reason it made me happy, was that I realized I'm not the only one who feels this way.  I'm not the only introvert who has been having a hard time finding friends who are true and genuine.  It also made me sad, because I totally know what she is going through.  It's been 1 1/2 years for me, and I don't foresee any changes in the near future.  I have tried so hard to get out of my comfort zone.  I've attended church, Small group (Sunday School), the orchestra, women's Bible study and more.  I've gone to all the women's functions with my small group, and I've met some amazing women...I even allowed myself to feel vulnerable by crying while praying with them, but I still have not felt that I clicked on a genuine and deep level with anyone. 

I sit here and think 'Is it me?'  'Is there something wrong with me?'  I've got 4 amazing friends who I've known for a long time, so it can't be that, or I probably wouldn't have any friends!  I did notice something...people these days don't like to let new people into their inner circle of friends.  I can understand that to a point, but if I saw someone new who needed a friend, I'd welcome her with open arms.  I've put myself out there.  I've done my part.

Sometimes the silence of my phone is deafening.  Sometimes a comment online would be welcomed.  I take time to pay attention to others, I just wish someone would pay attention to me.  I honestly don't understand why the Lord has me waiting, but that's what I'm doing.  I picture myself sitting on a semi-cushioned chair while hanging out in God's waiting room.  The walls are covered with paper that's peeling in the corner, one of the lights is flickering in the ceiling above me, and there's a fish tank in the corner to amuse those who don't like to wait.  There are magazines on the tables to peek anyone's interest, even one all about photography, but I don't pick it up because I keep watching the door to see if anyone is going to come in looking for me.  Pathetic, eh?  There's a reason I'm waiting, I'm sure of it.  There's a purpose to everything.  How do I know this?  It says so in the Bible. 

Ecclesiastes 3 says "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."

One day maybe I'll know why God had me waiting, and one day perhaps He will fulfill the desires of my heart.  In the mean time, I'll just sit back on the chair in His waiting room, and will continue to watch the door...always with a bit of hope in my heart. 

A 'HOT' Topic

I absolutely LOVE campfires!  I know it's got to be from all my years up at camp.  I went to girl's camp at Tapawingo, an island in the middle of Lake Pleasant...belonging to Camp-of-the-Woods, from when I was 7 years old, until I was 14.  We had campfires nearly every night there, and we would sing around them, cook over them, and just enjoy the warmth and cozy feeling that campfires bring.  I learned a lot about Jesus while sitting around those fires!

When I was older, I worked on the mainland at Camp-of-the-Woods from 1980-1989. We would have lots of campfires with the staff and with various guests I knew who were visiting.  Cooking s'mores was the best thing then, besides snuggling with whoever it was I was in love with 'dating' at the time.  Seriously though, the fires always brought that same feeling as they did at Tapawingo.  A warm, fuzzy closeness to those I was with, and to our heavenly Father.  We sang many beautiful songs around the fires, and to this day, I remember them well.

Tonight our family decided to have a campfire in the beautiful firepit Zachary built for us over the summer when he was home from college.  We cooked hot dogs on the grill, then when we finished, we sat around the fire and just enjoyed the peace and quiet around us.  Rob took the opportunity to burn a few items we had laying around that we wanted to get rid of, so it made for some pretty impressive flames, but it still was mysteriously peaceful and relaxing!

To me fire represents peace, comfort, warmth and it reminds me of songs sung about Jesus.  "Pass It On" was a big one!  It starts with 'It only takes a spark to get a fire going, but soon all those around will warm up to it's glowing.  That's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it. You spread the love to everyone, you want to pass it on."  To others, fire may represent pain, heat, unforgiving flames, and evil.  Of course that's what life will be like for the unbeliever, but I don't have that fear.  I don't look at it with the same eyes as they do.  

Tonight as I got close to the fire to move the wood around, or to take some photos, it was hot.  It was so hot I couldn't stand close for very long.  I even couldn't tolerate the smoke if the wind happened to blow my way.  The good part about it...I don't have to fear living out eternity this way.  I get to live out

the rest of my life with Jesus Christ, in heaven.  Heaven is a beautiful place with no pain, no sorrow, and no sin.  It's the one place you want to be when you die!  Friend, don't let your ignorance, your sin, and your heart get so hardened that you turn your back on the free gift of eternal life.  Jesus died for you and for me.   Take that free gift and accept it.  Believe Jesus died for you, rose again and is one day coming to take us home again!

Aerial Views

As promised, here are some of my favorite aerial photos from flying with Zachary. I have a ton of photos that I'll share over time, but for now, here is a small taste.

Zachary is the pilot, I'm the photographer...the perfect combination, don't you think?? OK, here goes:

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

25mm

Aperture

f/4.5

Exposure

1/800s

ISO

800

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

30mm

Aperture

f/14

Exposure

1/200s

ISO

200

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

42mm

Aperture

f/18

Exposure

1/320s

ISO

800

So, there you have it....a few photos I've been able to capture from the air. I'm sure you'd all get a kick out of seeing me in the back seat snapping photos away. I go from one window to the next, leaning, contorting my body in ways I never knew I could, just to capture that 'perfect' shot. Who knows, if they offered me a seat up on the wing, I just may accept! Well...ok, maybe not, but you get the picture....right?

More to come soon. I have SO many. =)

Sand, Surf, Sunshine & Seagulls

Yesterday was a beautiful day...perfect, in fact, for walking on the beach. It was a little cold outside, but an autumn day at the beach is something everyone needs to experience. The combination of cool breezes blowing, sun shining across the water, and the sounds of waves rippling on the shoreline were quite invigorating. Of course I had to bring my camera along and snap a few a ton of photos!

The seagulls were a riot to watch! They kept picking up shells, and dropping them down to the rocks below in order to break them open. Then they'd dive down and capture their prey. We had a few close calls from the falling shells, but it was fun to watch.



Unfortunately we were at the wrong beach for beautiful sunset photos, but I managed to capture a few photos of it setting behind the nearby trees.

Scenic Sunday - #18

One of my favorite places on earth!!

























(Click on photos to enlarge for a much better view!)

Photo Hunt #157 - Stripes

At first I wasn't sure what to put down for stripes, but then I saw these photos from our trip to Disney and thought they were perfect, especially the last one!!

Zachary, Hannah and Tigger...


Hannah and Piglet....
these two are SO much alike it's not funny!!


You can't live in American and hear the word 'stripes' without thinking of our flag! I took this photo outside the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum down in Georgia. I still get chills when I see it and think of all the men who have served, especially those who have given their lives, for our freedom.

"Elementary my dear Watson... elementary"

We planned a day trip to go visit Gillette Castle, and despite the rainy weather, we had a great time! Actually the dreary weather was quite appropriate while visiting this 'creepy' castle. It's not the type of building you'd think of when you think 'castle'...it was built to look a little run down and rough along the edges. It's not a romantic place either, it's kinda eerie, yet the rain just made it more fitting.

This castle was built by William Gillette, the stage actor or portrayed Sherlock Holmes. He lived here back in the early 1900's with his 15-20 cats and as you can tell, he was quite an eccentric gentleman!

Here are Zachary (in brown jacket) and Hannah (in purple jacket), standing beside the castle sign with some of the other kids in our homeschool group.



Very cool gate near the entrance. The stone work was absolutely amazing, both inside and out!


View of the castle from the ground...sorry about the rainy white spots...the rain was kind of misty so it got my lens wet.


The back section of the castle where the greenhouse is.

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

28mm

Aperture

f/11

Exposure

1/125s

ISO

1250

Inside the front door...pretty impressive 'foyer' huh?


Very cool glass window....I imagine on a bright sunny day this looks even more beautiful!!


This is where you end up after walking into the castle from the foyer...


The 'living room'...


The beautiful fireplace...


Our family posing beside the main stairway...


Gillette's library


Gillette's office...where there were multiple doors (of multiple sizes). The place was FILLED with so many unique things. I've been here before and every time I go, I see new things...it's more like a 'fun house' than a castle. ha ha


The kiddos in the greenhouse...complete with pond where Gillette used to keep two 'pet' frogs...


Upstairs hallway. Even the light fixtures were pretty cool! The halls were narrow and quite dangerous, so I guess it's good that Gillette had no children. Can you imagine your kids running in the halls here? They get knocked out cold by the stones protruding from the walls!


One of the three (yes, only three) bedrooms...complete with full bath though, which in those days was quite rare!

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

18mm

Aperture

f/5.6

Exposure

1/30s

ISO

1250

Another bedroom. (All the dressers were built in and had very unique features...strange handles, cubbies etc.)

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

18mm

Aperture

f/5.6

Exposure

1/30s

ISO

1250

Some of the items Gillette used while on stage....carpet bag, binoculars, his violin and a pair of very weird looking 'girly' slippers. ha ha

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

32mm

Aperture

f/4.2

Exposure

1/10s

ISO

1250

Yup, that's me heading down the back stairway from the 3rd floor.

Camera

NIKON D90

Focal Length

21mm

Aperture

f/3.8

Exposure

1/13s

ISO

1250

View of the back stairs from the bottom floor


Back outside, it was still raining, but I managed to capture some decent photos. My husband took this one of me holding our very cool umbrella. Gotta love the colors!!


Hopefully we will get back up there someday just to walk around the gardens. The whole area is a 21 acre state park, so it's worth another trip.

Today it's back to school and our daily activities as usual....figure skating for Hannah, violin lessons for Zachary and cleaning up the house for me. It was such a nice break from all that yesterday, even if it did rain.

Til next time...

What's Been Happining??

Wow, it's been over a month and a half since I've blogged. I don't know what happened, but I suppose I've just been in need of some 'time off'. I have missed it, but I think the time away did me some good.

I have been wanting to post about our family vacation to Disney World as well as other things we've been up to, but it's kind of late now. Instead, I'll post a few of my favorite photos...highlights from the past few months.

Summer flowers in bloom, simply gorgeous!! I love taking photos of flowers. They're so beautiful and have so many details that really pop when photographed. I took these photos at a flower farm near us.


I went on an overnight trip to PA with my sister and we had a total blast! We spent a couple hours driving around simply taking photos of the beautiful scenery. The best part was the quality time we got to spend together.


Ahhh, Camp-of-the-Woods, my home away from home for so many years. I have been going there every summer with my family since I was born, and I had the privilege of working up there on music staff for 10 summers. Such a great place where I've met so many wonderful people...many who are still a huge part of my life today. I am truly blessed!! I was able to escape for a few days with the kids to head up north to camp simply for the purpose of taking photos. So...here are some of my favorites...


As you can see, Camp is a beautiful place. The memories I made up here will last a lifetime. I cherish them every day of my life and am thankful for each and every one of them.


The kids and I up at Camp-of-the-Woods...


My sister and her family came for a visit in August. We had a wonderful time laughing, playing games, and simply hanging out together...something we haven't been able to do for a very long time. As you can see, we're quite the crazy family!!


All the cousins had a blast playing together...literally!!!


Our homeschool group had a family picnic and unfortunately not many families were able to join us, so a few of us took a hike through the woods just for fun despite the humidity and heat!


Our family LOVES going on hikes together through the woods! On this hike we went up to the top of a waterfall and back down the other side. It was a beautiful day out and we were able to get some really great photos and have a lot of laughs along the way!!


We've been homeschooling already since the end of July!! We started extra early this year because we love taking the month of December off for the holidays. The kids also have been keeping up with their extra curricular activities for the most part. Hannah has continued her skating and is improving more and more each week.


Zachary started something new in August!!!! He is now a pilot in training! It's almost hard to believe, but he's loving it. He has been up twice so far, and is due to go again soon. He's hoping to get his pilots license before his driver's license. What a trip, huh? His dream to attend the Air Force Academy is slowly becoming a reality...at least the flying part. So far he's already taken off twice, he flew the plane for almost the entire ride both times and on his next trip up, he will be landing the plane! Keep him (and me as his nervous Mom) in your prayers for safety, wisdom and peace while he's learning to fly. You can catch a video of his very first take off in my previous post. He flew a Piper Archer ii then, and in the photos below (his 2nd flight) he flew a Piper Warrior.


Our homeschool group also began our field trips. On this particular trip we took a boat tour around a bunch of nearby Islands. It was VERY fun and we got some wonderful photos since it was such a beautiful day!!


So, as you can see, the past few months I've been keeping busy. Life has been full, crazy, busy and interesting. Hopefully things will settle down a little bit now that Autumn has arrived. The weather is still pretty warm out, but we're looking forward to seeing the leaves change color soon. It's my favorite time of year...the crisp air, gorgeous colors, scents of fall, warm fires, and falling leaves. Ahhhhh!

Thanks for being patient with me as I took a little break from blogging. My family has been getting after me to continue, so Lord willing, I will be more faithful in the days to come.