Hitting the roller coasters!

Today we went to Busch Gardens with the White family! I had never been before so it was a blast trying out all the new rides!! We stood in line more than i would have liked to....but it was worth it and at least we were with friends :)

Sheikra had the best thrill with the highest drop anywhere in florida! But with all the fun we've had i much say i'm exhausted!

I didn't even want to get on the computer but i figured i wouldn't get around to posting later if i didn't. Also i'm going to a conference in Orlando all weekend so i will be without internet for that time therefore my blog will be down...:-/ I'll be sure to post pictures of all the fun i had when i get home tho! Goodnight!

babysitting evening

Well tonight i had all my brothers so we decided to go bowling at the place right by our house!! Even tho i'm really bad at it i still enjoy the game. The first game everyone beat me, but the second round i did a lot better :) It was nice to get out and do something as a family! I wanted to take a picture while we were playing but it's bad lighting in there and i ended up forgetting to even try. So i snapped this one just for representation! Not very creative but i'm not in the mood anyways....

buttons!

I bought a collection of blue buttons at a garage sale a while back and have kept them in this jar on my shelf hoping that one day i will get around to doing something creative with them! Well so far the closest i've gotten is taking a few pictures of them! they do make interesting still life subjects...and i love how every one is different! Let me know if you have any cool button project ideas!

Blazing sunset

I snapped this picture thru my car window stopped at a stop sign driving around town tonight! I helped out at a NTC 5k run event taking pictures, then went to dinner with a friend, and ended up at the Claerbouts and hung out the rest of the evening. The sun was so big and colorful in the sky i was amazed! Photography is about taking the time to appreciate the kind of beauty we take for granted every single day!!! Thank you God for another amazing day to enjoy Your creation!

Riding horses on a summer evening

My, is it getting warm! Our cold snap is gone and the mugginess has returned. We were out in the heat all afternoon down on the dock while Keenan fished for a big bass! I definitely got some rays and now i'm applying lots of lotion!

We waited until the sun was less intense before we got out the horses. Keenan is becoming quite the horseman! :) He had a lot of fun riding across the fields back and forth, looking like a real cowboy! It was getting dark so i wasn't pleased with the quality and clarity of the pictures i took, and they really didn't represent the glow of the fading sun, but this picture is still cute because it shows how much fun he was having!

Blue Eyes

This little girl has the most amazing eyes ever!!! We spent the evening up at the White's house and i had so much fun playing with the kids and watching them try to make me laugh... I was loving their facial expressions so much i started snapping pictures of them. Amber was quite the photogenic thing, and her eyes couldn't help but stand out......

Rays of moonlight

Well it got dark before i could take my picture so i decided to play with night shots...

This one is up thru the trees with the moonlight coming thru, and i got the streaking effect by zooming in and opening the shutter and then zooming out before the shutter closed. A little blurry still but i thought it was kinda cool :)

Geography is fun!

Today was our geography co-op, and everyone got to show off the boards we had been working on for the past few weeks. I really like how Justin and Keenan's turned out! It was a fun day learning about South America.

Just to smile

My funny friend Aubrie gave me this little guy and he is perched on my shelf just to make you smile....i mean, how can you resist those big eyes???? hehe I didn't have a creative picture today...but at least i captured something interesting huh? ok goodnight!!! :D

Love is....

I was inspired by Shelby to attempt to take this picture, and since i have been meditating on 1 Corinthians 13 for a past few days i thought it was the perfect page to do it on. Without love we are nothing, and true love is from God. May he teach us more about it's perfecting nature in our hearts! This is a time in my life of desperation for God and i don't want to miss the opportunity to be blessed by His presence and bask in His grace and provision.

P.S. for the record this was one of the most difficult photos i have captured in a while!

Lovely scones!!!

This morning our kitchen was filled with bakers as we whipped up these scones with the fresh blueberries we picked last week! We made a few batches of these, and a large batch of blueberry bread too. I can't wait to eat some for breakfast!

a cheerful bouquet!

My dear sister Rachel sent me flowers for my birthday and they have been gracing my desk for the last few days making me smile and think of her!! I sure miss that girl!!!

The wind in the trees

I have been thoroughly enjoying the breeze lately and this weekend it was more like strong winds! I love the sound blowing through the trees and I like to think about how the Holy Spirit is like that, able to be heard and felt but not seen. Anyways i was trying to find a good way to display in a picture how awesome it was but this is all i got. I kept thinking about how a flowing skirt and long hair blowing would have made a nice picture but i didn't have a model....:-/ lol

Off to the blueberry patch

Blueberry picking with my family was so much fun!! This was an amazing organization to help migrant workers and the picking, as you can see, was plentiful! We picked a total of almost 90 pounds!!! Our bellies were full of berries and now we have stocked fridges and freezers! Time to make some delicious recipes!!!!

Beach day!

For my birthday we went to Cocoa beach! This was a fun group of kids to go with, as you can see they were enjoying the ride! :)

We had a great time together, the weather was great and the water was perfect!!! Good memories....

A sibling project

I spent the day helping my brother Jared work on his geography project. It's much more fun because he is really into it and is enjoying finding facts and building this board that he has to use as a display at our next co-op meeting!

Look up

Sometimes its comforting to just stop and look up at the big trees covering you and let your perspective change. Suddenly you feel pretty small! Life is bigger than we think sometimes when all our minds are wrapped around is what's right in front of us. :)

A dying rose

I finally took the time to take a picture of this rose before it was gone! It smelled so good and was still so lovely even with the petals shriveling up and falling off. I love roses and as luscious as they are freshly blooming there is something delicate and old fashioned about a dried out one too!

A slice of pie

Yes, the perfect thing i needed for today! It was fun to make, fun to decorate and take a picture of, and then, of course, fun to eat!! Not to mention my little brother Jared helped which made for some nice time together.

The power of music

Today my heart wasn't in everything that i did. But when i play the piano i can't help but feel peaceful and calm. Music reaches deeper inside of me than i can go without it. Music is releasing. Music brings life. Music is a channel God has given us to glorify Him, and I'm so thankful for this gift in my life.

All I Have

If all I have is what you give, that will be enough

if all I hear is what you speak, that will be enough

if all i know is what you teach me, that will be enough

-(part of a worship song i listened to last night)

God causes the rain to fall and the sun to shine. He knows exactly what we need. With our fretting we cannot make anything come to pass outside of His perfect plan. :)

I look not back

I found this hymn today and the lyrics spoke straight to how i was feeling today-

I look not back; God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets.
I leave them all with Him who blots the record,
And graciously forgives, and then forgets.

I look not forward; God sees all the future,
The road that, short or long, will lead me home,
And He will face with me its ev'ry trial,
And bear for me the burdens that may come.

I look not round me; then would fears assail me.
So wild the tumult of earth's restless seas,
So dark the world, so filled with woe and evil,
So vain the hope of comfort and of ease.

I look not inward; that would make me wretched;
For I have naught on which to stay my trust.
Nothing I see save failures and shortcomings,
And weak endeavors, crumbling into dust.

But I look up--into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace, and ev'ry hope fulfilled.

Tonight we had a birthday party for Jesse Testerman, and i snapped this photo while we were chilling in their backyard! It's fun to draw the beauty out of florida's natural landscapes :) I'm gonna have to start getting more creative because it's too easy to just go out and shoot nature...hehe

Well i'm on the main computer and my parents are ready for bed, so goodnight!

Roundpen training

This horse tested the endurance of all of us last night when we took a shot taming his stubborn streak! Mom stuck it out the longest and she's slowly gaining his respect and submission. It's a fun and most of the time rewarding process!

Out on the lake!

Sunday afternoon was very relaxing as we visited with family visting from up north! Lots of kids running around on the beach and we had both jetskis going out on the water! I didn't take many picture that day but i loved this one someone took with my camera of one of our little cousins so i edited it a little. :-)