become great...

(found on pinterest)


How many times have you found yourself lost in the shadow of feeling belittled, and unseen by those who are around you? Have you then met someone so free, so happy, so great, that they made you feel that way too? Surround yourself with those who make you feel great, because life is too short to feel little! Be that person. Believe you are that person. So that your special God given light, can shine through you!

One of the GREATEST people I have ever had the privilege of meeting, would have celebrated his birthday yesterday. He passed away too soon, and is missed each day,,, but because of his ability to make others feel great, his example, his energy, his love lives on, inside of many who adored him!

Happy Birthday Papa, you are missed! Thank you for making me always feel so special!

dream of sky...

Today was glorious.
I told you I talked Matt into taking some time off... Right???
Well, Tuesday is his birthday, and tomorrow is my daddies birthday, so to celebrate, I planned a weekend getaway. However, the weather had other plans, so we made new plans!

Today we went hiking (as a family of six + one dog) and went hiking.
God opened up our grey Oregon skies today, and gave us sunshine.
No it wasn't particularly warm, but, it was still glorious!

There is something about being out in Gods beauty, in nature, that makes me feel happy, and at peace!

Today was exactly what we all needed.
I am so thankful to live in such a beautiful place.
I am ever so thankful to have such an awesome family!
I am thankful to be God's sparrow.

I will post lots of pictures soon, of our adventure(s).
Tonight, I am pooped from hiking almost 8 miles today, so all of that will have to wait until another day!

Tomorrow, another adventure awaits!
This stay-cation business is not so bad, it's actually pretty great!

some of my favorites...

Over Meritt's Birthday weekend, we had very special company! Matt's family came to stay, including our 15 month old miracle nephews. The girls had so much fun playing with the cousins. So to mark the ocassion, I called my favorite friend photographer Meghann of Your Street Photography... and we did a little family photo shoot! Here are some of my favorites. It's very hard to choose, since Meghann doesn't take a bad photo in the whole bunch!

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.
~Erma Bombeck



We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box. ~Robert Fulghum



You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu



Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet. ~Vietnamese Proverb



The family is a haven in a heartless world. ~Attributed to Christopher Lasch







There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence













There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me. ~Mary Montagu





The greatest poem ever known
Is one all poets have outgrown:
The poetry, innate, untold,
Of being only four years old.
~Christopher Morley, To a Child





love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. ~Terri Guillemets

Faith Blogs...

Tonight I received an email that almost brought tears to my eyes... okay it did bring tears to my eyes. I received an email letting me know that my blog has been chosen to be featured on Faith Blogs! Have you heard about Faith Blogs before??? If not, you must go check it out!!! What a wonderful idea. What a great way to connect people who blog and love the lord! I am BEYOND honored... I am thrilled!

For a long time now, I have felt that God has been asking me to use my blog to share his word and his love. I felt he was asking me to do that here at my own little piece of the Internet.

There have been times throughout my blogging journey that I have thought about giving it up. I have wondered why I keep click... click... clicking the keys of my computer when I'm not always sure anyone is even reading this little ole' blog let alone getting any benefit from it.

But, God was tugging at my heart, and telling me to be quiet and wait. That there is a reason and a purpose for why I have started this blog of mine. I chose to have faith that he of course knows better than I do. So, I have stayed. Still click... click... clicking my keys, not for any other reason than because I feel I have been called to use my words, and my life, for something that will glorify my heavenly father. In doing so, I've prayed that my words would also be of some encouragement, or interest to someone else out there reading my words, and viewing my photos, and hearing my stories.

Getting the email tonight from Katie at Faith Blogs telling me that I was chosen, made me smile from ear to ear, because God is good. He always makes a way. ALWAYS. There are times he asks us to be still, or quiet, or patient, and we don't always know why or where he's going with the request, but he does. That is faith. Having faith that HE is in control. That HE knows better than we do. Stepping out of our comfort zones and listening to where we are being called, because he has a plan far greater than we can ever imagine.

I am excited to see where this journey will take me.
I pray I continue to listen, and step out on faith so that I can accomplish everything he's asking of me in my life.
Thank You Faith Blogs for choosing me!


Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch. ~Ramona C. Carroll

Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark. ~Rabindranath Tagore

He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly. ~B.C. Forbes

Be like the bird that, passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings. ~Victor Hugo

Faith can move mountains, but don't be surprised if God hands you a shovel. ~Author Unknown

As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit. ~Emmanuel

2011

There is something exciting about a new year...
Fresh possibilities, a new page to write out new dreams on...
Hoping 2011 is full of happiness!

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

you are loved...

autumn...

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
~George Cooper, "October's Party"


Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne

so true...

profound for a cartoon character...

Sometimes, it comes down to the nitty gritty of it. Leave it to a cartoon character to come up with something so true...

thoughts for the day...

the journey...

she...

a new morning...

everyday

Christmas in the heart...

Thanksgiving...

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

autumn leaves have fallen...

October gave a party;

and everything was grand,

The leaves by hundreds came

-The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

~George Cooper, "October's Party"

Spent my afternoon yesterday raking leaves. Boy do we have a lot of leaves... How glorious though to soak in the last of the sunshine. The last of the "nice weather"... it changes pretty quickly this time of year. I just love fall, it's so beautiful. I love the crisp weather. I love putting my jeans and sweaters back on. I love cooking cozy foods, and cuddling with my girls and a good book. Call me strange but some days I even love the rain... especially when I get to watch it outside my window! Happy Fall.

the power of something small...

Too often we underestimate

the power of a touch,

a smile, a kind word,

a listening ear,

an honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring,

all of which have the potential

to turn a life around.

~Leo Buscaglia

grateful...

Be Grateful for good music,

for dark chocolate,

for a place to call home,

for warm hugs,

for quiet time,

freedom to dream,

for family time,

for understanding souls,

for kindred spirits,

for true forgiveness,

for sweet memories,

for pink bubblegum,

for silliness,

for red shoes,

for blue skies,

for every breath,

for sunshine on your face,

for a child's laughter,

for God's grace

--Bonnie Jensen

When I read this it touched me...

so absolutly true!

Enjoy

a new attitude...

A new attitude, to go along with a new day. Do you ever think about how self defeating our own attitudes are? Mine was well pretty self defeating as of late. But today I woke up with a can-do attitude rather than the opposite, and well I think it worked. I feel much better today. I got a lot done today, and accomplishing things always gives me piece of mind! Thank you mom for watching Meritt today so I could work without interruption! Thank you Lila, Gail, and Sarah for being such loyal troopers! Thank you Lori for your sweet note, and prayer... (I told you it works!) Everyday is a new one full of endless possibilities... and really it's up to our own attitudes as to what will happen with the day, and it's possibilities!