Take it as it comes

Photo 52, Week 25:  Shimmering

For sixteen years today

I have been married to this dear, sweet man.

We are not going out on a date.

We are going to separate ball fields.  Happily.

That's about it.

Because if we have learned anything in sixteen years, it's probably this:

Take it as it comes.

So when our kids left to go to camp for a week on Father's Day and we were empty nesters

we celebrated life together.

Which I suppose includes marriage and anniversaries,

but it was really just us taking what the day had to offer.

In this case, the zoo.

Where our friend Kenai was doing his Elvis impression.

And Minnehaha Falls,

where these guys were making some sweet music

when we thought all we came for was this:

Some years the falls have just been a trickle at best,

but not this year.

Life has given us RAIN, so the falls are

THUNDER!

I had my tripod along to take advantage of a slow shutter speed for capturing all that motion.

I have seen this shot by quite a few local photographers recently,

with all this smooth silky water, and you know what?

It's beautiful, but...

it just doesn't capture the thunder.

Then we popped over to Lake Nokomis to catch the sunset,

which far exceeded our expectations.

It just kept getting better.
I posted a shot on Photo 52 for the "Shimmering" theme,
and a friend gave it a perfect caption.

I'm hoping to keep taking life as it comes with Lee

for at least a couple more sixteens.

Thirteen

She's all grown up now.

Thirteen.

But…

then again, she's all little girl.

All little girl.

And all grown up.

All the time.

All of everything.

It is nearly an impossible job,

this being thirteen.

It's a lot like being Wonder Woman.

Wearing shorts under your dress helps.

Because you never know when you'll need them.

We love you Bethany.  

All of your grown-upness.  All of your little-girlness.

All of you.

You still take our breath away, 

and we could not be more proud to be your parents!

Rejoice!

Once again, my purple irises were in bloom for my mom's birthday.

As I have mentioned before, it seems as though she comes to celebrate life with me

each year when the flowers she loved burst in on the scene.

This year I spent a little time taking a closer look.

As I was enjoying all of the delicate lines and parts, I was reminded of her favorite verse--

she called it her "birthday verse" for some reason from her childhood that escapes me.

"Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!"--Philippians 4:4

Don't you love it?  In case you didn't hear me the first time, I'll say it again!  How many times in my life do you suppose she repeated her instructions to me, suspecting that I didn't hear her the first time?  God has to do that too.  Especially with regard to rejoicing--because how many times are we not "in the mood" to rejoice?  My mom was no exception to that.  There were plenty of "not rejoicing" moments in her life, but she never forgot altogether.

This whole chapter has long been one of my favorites.  It's all about taking responsibility for your thought life. 

"Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

"Finally, brothers and sisters. whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you."  Philippians 4:4-9

 I pray that my kids might inherit this part of their Grandma Rae's legacy.  I pray that I might be faithful to hand it down to them by example.

Mystical

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:11-13

Photo 52, Week 24:  Mystical

To me, there is something mystical about marriage.



In scripture it is described as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.
It is a covenant relationship, similar to the one between God and his people, designed to be irrevocable.
It's a process of discovery, of learning to trust, even in the face of uncertainty.
That doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.

At any rate, when my nephew Jacob pledged his vows to his sweet and beautiful bride Katie,
the way his eyes locked in on hers made it clear that he understood the seriousness of his words.



Hopefully I'll write more about this wonderful weekend of family eventually.
I'm so excited for these newlyweds.  I know God has a lifetime of adventures in store for them.

Red. And flower. And red flower.

Photo 52, Week 21:  Flour/Flower

I so wanted to take up the challenge to do something wild and crazy with flour during Week 21, 

but alas, that would make a great winter project.  

In the spring?  Go outside or stay in and play with flour?

That's a no brainer.

Lucky for me, on the day I planned to visit the arboretum, it was a beautiful morning after a night of rain!

I love these red checkered lilies. 

And these red tree buds totally captured my attention.  

This scene seemed more like fall to me, but cool regardless!

Ahh, so many flowers, so little time.

Plus bonus waterfalls.  Love.

I hope when I have white hair this is what I'm doing.

Photo 52, Week 23:  Red

Because I couldn't possibly use pictures from two weeks earlier to enter as my red photo!