Be strengthened -

MercyMe - Bring The Rain

Bring the Rain
by Mercy Me

I can count a million times
People asking me how I can praise You
With all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on You, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer
through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

My first wedding shoot

The photos are finally in the possession of the couple, so now I can share a few of them. Take a peek on my photography blog.

It's a quickaroonie! And grab the freebie-

Is that even a word? As promised, it's a quick post - take a peek at my blog post at ScrapArtist. You might even get a freebie there!

Have a good week-

t.g.i.f and Happy {Lunar} New Year! :freebie too:

Thank goodness it's Friday. And Happy New Year - year of the Ox. My sister Gina was born in the year of the Ox. Moo.

Synopsis, my friends? Life is good. :)

-met up with some new friends at a local Chinese buffet for Lunar New Year
-Amanda's homeschooling is going swimmingly. It's exciting to see my little one grasping the concepts of fractions and geometry so readily. Amanda's latest interest is astronomy, as you will see in this drawing she made:


(do you need a translation? clockwise: Mars, Uranus, Moon, Pluto {she says is now a little dwarfy planet}, Daddy Planet, Abby Planet, Amanda Planet, Neptune, Sun, Mommy Planet, Saturn, and Venus)
-Abigail is now an adoring fan of the shows Caillou and Curious George
-made an astoundingly delicious balsamic vinegar reduction sauce the other day. It made for an even tastier chicken and veggie pasta! Ah, the wonderful internet is my favorite cookbook...
-finishing up post-processing on my first wedding shoot
-sore from yesterday's weight training class - it's aptly called "Chisel". Since I have shelved my goal of running the Race to Robie Creek because of my knees, I'm focusing on strengthening my knees and ankles. And core. And arms. Who am I kidding, everything. I've found a good 11-year-old running partner too. Jeremy, are you reading this?
-Ron set up the new 52" in our family room. TV has not been this fun in a long time! Abigail is able to unpause the Media Center (DVR) already - another nerd is in our midst!
-gearing up to paint the rest of my kitchen
-finishing up some projects for friends
-one of my projects was featured in a publication, The Daily Scrapper. You can snag this freebie there:







-some layouts from the past month or so:











-made a "feelings" notebook for Amanda, so she and I can communicate about things that are on her mind. The rule is that she can write in it whatever she wants when she's feeling a certain sentiment, whether she's angry with me over something or excited/nervous/happy with other things. Then I respond to her. Occasionally, I add entries too:












(created for the hybrid feature in ScrapMatters' January newsletter)

Whew, this is one loooooonnnnnnng post. You deserve a good weekend for plodding through my mind's mumbo jumbo~

Speed of light - (freebie alert)

What a jam-packed month. My intention isn't to do this drive-by blogging every time I have a freeibe, but it will have to do for now. :) Most of you that frequent this blog are digi artists, so I hope you won't mind this. But those of you that tolerate the digi stuff because you're our friends and family - that's dedication. Thanks for that. I think I will have some gigantic posts in the future that actually have some personally meaningful content....

Here's the freebie!




Have a wonderful Sunday!

Note to self (and a freebie for you)

Grow - in faith, in gratitude, in joy. Grow abundantly.

If you'd like to make one of these, here's the template I created, available for 24 hours only:

- password: notetoself

(click image to download) ETA: no longer available - be on the look out for more freebies soon -

Read more about the album here.

I'm off to feed the voraciously hungry family - as Abigail would say, "I hongee!"

Only that which I can

So much to blog about... too much in fact. But rather than sweating the small stuff, I'll happily report what I can when I can. Deal? Deal. :)

...

Amanda and I made some yummy sea salt caramel hard candies - it's a fabulous combination. Amanda was SO happy for this activity. She's our resident Food Network enthusiast, rattling off its celebrities and signature dishes:


Here they are, carefully packaged away to share:


And some photos from a typical day of homeschooling:


You see the piggy bank? That's there because she's learning how to count back money in Math, and we just finished up a lesson. She says she likes money {don't we all}. The stash of Multigrain Cheerios belongs to Abigail, her hush money when she is feeling squirrely before we're done with the activity at hand. Under the elephant card you can see Abigail's version of what Amanda's been doing - big sis' activities are very popular with the Abber-Stombers. (That's her nickname du jour)

Amanda's subject of choice, History, has us exploring the New World with Christopher Columbus:


(date stamp from Britt-ish Designs' Date Stamped Vol. 2)

They say the teacher learns more than the student. It's just been one grand adventure; we weather a few storms here and there to be rewarded with some amazing views of life.