No Fun January

Honestly, I don’t know where the past two months have gone.  It’s been horribly cold this winter which I guess has been alright since I haven’t been able to do much.  In January, a week after getting home from our Christmas traveling, found me back in the ER.  This time I was admitted with a blocked bile duct and infected liver.  They scheduled me for an ERCP to have a gallstone removed.  I was in a lot of pain and by the time they took me in for the procedure the next day, the pain meds were barely touching it.  Two weeks later I was scheduled for surgery to remove said gall bladder.  I knew prayers were working and that I ended up out at this hospital for a reason as the surgeon very frankly admitted to me just prior to surgery that he did not go into surgery alone.  That he prayed before every surgery for God to be there with him.  He told us later that the surgery had been a bit difficult with the gall bladder swollen.  He said it looked like that of a 65 year old man!  Yuck!  It’s been a week and I am healing up nicely.  John did an awesome job helping me during my two stays in the hospital.  And I appreciate so much that he was able to be with me during most of my stay. But, I was again reminded how difficult it is to live away from family.  It’s a rather lonely feeling. 

So, it’s just not been a fun month.  I feel tired, unmotivated, and really behind on everything I had planned to do this winter.  We had some beautiful snow falls which I wasn’t able to go out and photograph, but here are a few neighborhood shots of the “big” storm.  We got about 10-12 inches, which took the poor neighborhood kid about 3 hours to shovel.

 

I was blessed this month with two new birds in my backyard, a mockingbird and a northern flicker.  They’ve been back several times.  They were hard to photograph through the window.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Lingering

This is the day that the Lord has made…I will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

Snow is falling…

beautiful, full snowflakes coming down, turning my little part of the world white.  I open the door, the wind blows swirling balls of cold cotton against my face, down my neck.  I’m pouting, it’s supposed to be Spring, it’s supposed to be

           changing,
           renewing,
           awakening. 

As much as I want it to change, Winter is hanging on for all it’s worth…1 then 2 then 6 inches and more.

Are you in a season you wish would change, that you’d get a fresh start, a new tomorrow?  Life doesn’t always take the path we’d like it to go,

             sometimes we have to sit awhile in the present season,
             sometimes it lasts longer than we thought or hoped.

God has a purpose, a plan, a reason for this lingering.  But, know we do not linger alone. God speaks to our hearts, “I am with you always.”  He’s prepared the day and no matter how it turns out, we can be content.  We can sit around pouting or…

           We can have JOY unspeakable!

We can rest assured that in our patience, the season will come to an end…it always does.  Time continues on, it heals.  Our Winters become Springs. 

So, we wait, we learn, we count our gifts….we count it all JOY.

MY JOY DARE

 

82.  Coconut cream Easter eggs

83.  Home

 

3 Gifts Green

84.  Easter tree

85.  My beautiful new family room

86.  Springtime

 

3 Gifts wore

87.  Diamond cross necklace from my mom

88.  My wedding rings

89.  My pandora bracelet for all the memories of those who love me

 

Gifts Hard to Give Thanks For

90.  Rainy days

91.  Thankful my girls are happy where they are even if that

means being far away

 

3 Gifts Found

92.  A new church

93.  A bed frame to match our furniture

94.  Reasons found everyday to be joyful

 

 

3 Gifts in the Kitchen

95.  Coffee maker

96.  Good food

97.  Dishwasher!

 

Gifts Loud

98.  Daughter’s voice as she sings her favorite songs

99.  Piano music

 

3 Gifts Carved

100.  A glass bowl repurposed

101.  Diamonds

102.  New furniture for the family room

 

3 Gifts Read

103.  A very special letter from a friend

104.  Book, “One Thousand Gifts”

105.  A FB announcement for a free book – “Choose Joy”

 

 



JOY

I’ve finished the book, One Thousand Gifts, and I’ve learned so much about…

truly living life to the fullest,

God’s love for us,

our relationship with Him.

We can have joy in our life even when things seem impossible, even on days when it’s hard to breathe, when pain, emotional or physical, suffocates us.  It’s about living IN Christ, seeing God’s face in everything, the good and the bad.  NOTHING happens that does not work for our good.  Give thanks in all things…isn’t that what we are told to do?  Being thankful draws us closer to Him, to His heart.  In turn, we heal, by turning the bad into good, by seeing the good in the bad, by seeing the good.  That’s why I pick up my camera, focus on the beauty around me.  I write it down, I capture it in pictures…all the good God has provided, all the blessings.  I’m counting the graces, one by one…a thousand gifts from our Maker.  Each a reminder of His love.  Gratitude is our JOY.  And isn’t that what we all want, to live fully in Joy.

I’ve chosen the word JOY to be my word for the year…a reminder to see the good.

        You turned my wailing into dancing;
           you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with 
                  JOY.                           Psalm 30:11 NIV

 26.  Ice crystals sparkling in a field.

27.  Blue birds playing on river’s edge.

28.  Gift made for newborn.

29.  To hear my daughter’s voice, happy and excited.

30.  For the smallest of prayers answered.

31.  Softly falling snow sparkling in moon light.

32.  Sunny day drives.

 33.  Eagles spotted in a field, perched in trees.

34.  Baby boys who make you smile.

 35.  A hug that says I know, I understand.

36.  Baby giggles.

 37.  Time with my mom.

38.  Painted skies.

White as Snow

We had all hoped for a white Christmas this year. But instead of snowing on Christmas, it showed up a day late.  I woke up on the 26th and everything was coated in white.  It was beautiful and I decided to take a walk through the woods around my in-laws home.  What is it about a fresh snow?  It’s like it calls my name and whispers, “Come spend time with me.”  I bundled up with coat, gloves, scarf and boots and made my way through this winter wonderland.  I was in a world of white lace…every branch was lined with snow.

As I walked the path through the trees, there was a hush all around, it was so peaceful, quiet, and clean.  Except for a few animal prints in the snow, there was nothing marring the snow.

It was a reminder of yet another of God’s promises…the gift of grace.  He will remove our sins and make them as white as snow.  Christmas time is over, people are taking down the decorations.  However, let’s not forget that Christ came not for a day or a season, but forever.  To all who believe, like the snow blankets the earth, His grace covers us making us white as the snow, pure and clean. 

This big guy lives across the street.  I went over to try to get some pictures, but, as you can see above, he was way across the field.  I crossed the street to head back, stopped to take a couple pics.  He started mooing at me and when I looked over, he was half way across the field.  I knew he was calling me so I went back across the street and he practically ran over to the fence to greet me.  What a sweet ole guy!

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Love,
    ~Aimee

Winter

I’ve lived in Illinois for six years now and have never seen the wild turkeys running around our neighborhood and still nothing to this day. However, while visiting family in Ohio, three wild turkeys came up to the house and checked things out. They left after just a minute and came back with the whole flock!! I had to photograph them through the window…so they aren’t perfectly clear.

We did not get snow for Christmas, but the snow did come the next day. Just enough to coat everything in white.

Desert Photography

My husband and I took a trip to Sedona, Arizona a couple weeks ago. Except for the hiking required to get these beautiful shots, I was in heaven! This little valley surrounded by red mountains is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The last day we were there, we woke up to snow covered mountains and big snowflakes out our window.

This photo actually taken over looking Phoenix.

The following photo was created using HDR (High Dynamic Range), which is when you merge 2 or more exposures of the same picture to capture detail that your eye can see but the camera loses during exposure. This one was done with 3 different exposures.

This one also done with 3 exposures.

The Midwest is Awakening

I promised a few landscapes from our trip to the Gardens.  I’m glad I had some time today to work on a few.  It was a gorgeous day and the trees had begun to bloom which was an added bonus to the day seeings how I wasn’t expecting that much color.  Sometimes I wish this part of the year would last forever, but then Fall comes and I begin wishing the same thing.  God must have known we’d get bored with the same thing…so He paints us a new picture every few months.

Spring Walk

Spring Light

Heavy Boughs

Garden Gazebo

Bursting

 

Just happened to catch this one…at the right place at the right time!

….and, well then, sometimes He decides to confuse us.  :o)

Spring Surprise

Frozen Magnolia