The Beautiful Life

Project 52–Week 5

Do you know what I love most about Project 52?  It’s so hard for me to get behind!  I’ve actually found myself taking more photos than I used to and even if the end of the week is approaching, I can still take just a couple of seconds to snap a quick shot of something.  As we start week five, I am really enjoying seeing how these bits and pieces, these little glimpses into our every day lives, come together to make something wonderful.  I hope that you all will join me in this week’s challenge. 

Our week 5 theme is “In Progress.”  It can mean whatever you want it to mean.  Maybe you have a project you are working on, or you are in school working towards getting a degree, or maybe you see yourself as a “work in progress.”

This is my photo for the week.  I’m working on making three dolls for some little girls who have birthdays next month.

Like the frame I used?  You can get it for free here!  It’s my little gift to you for participating this week.  It comes in .png and layered .psd formats, in case you want to use it for another week, too.

I can’t wait to see your take on the challenge!

Thank you for grace

Thank you God for grace, because I sure needed it today.

Surrounded by a flurry of white paper snips, I lost my temper, “Why do you do this to me?  Why can’t you clean up after yourselves?”

Instant silence.  Bruised little hearts.  Oops.  I’ve done it again.

I’ve let my desire for order and control and neat-ness override my judgment.  I’ve given in to anger and venting my frustration, when I could have chosen something better.  Something gentler.  Something that left these child-hearts that I’ve been entrusted with intact.

Was it worth it to steal the joy of my children over a few bits of paper, easily cleaned up?

God I need your grace today.  To choose the better thing.  To choose love and mercy and…grace.

At lunch time, my three year old prayed.  Not his usual “thanks for the food, help us to have a nice day” prayer, but “God, help Mommy to hear your voice.  Amen.”

Father, let me hear your voice.  Your voice of grace.  Your voice that gently guides and corrects.  Your voice that draws me.  Let me remember that we are all works in progress, and that every day, little by little, step by step, we are being conformed into your image.  Not by our striving and sacrificing, but by your grace through the power of your Spirit.  Let me give grace as I have abundantly received it.

“I am not what I ought to be,
I am not what I want to be,
I am not what I hope to be in another world;
but still I am not what I once used to be,
and by the grace of God,
I am what I am.”
–John Newton

Project 52–Week Four

This week’s theme is “Perspective.”

Graham wanted me to take a photo of his feet, and this was his pose…LOL.

Project 52–Week 3

This week’s theme is “new”.  Audrey has been losing a steady stream of baby teeth and now some of her grown-up teeth are finally beginning to come in.  So I took a photo of her with her “new” smile. 

Today I’m grateful for…

It’s  been a rough week around here with my husband gone on yet another work trip.  He’s been gone three of the last  five weeks and it’s starting to wear on us.  We’ve cried, we’ve complained, we’ve lost our tempers.  But now as I’m counting down the hours to him getting home, and wanting to just feel relief that we’ve made it, I’m wondering if I’ve missed something–or someone.  Somewhere between the tears and complaints, I’ve missed God.  He’s been giving me little tokens of his love all week, and I’ve been too busy just trying to survive to see them.  Isn’t this the way it always is?

So tonight as I sit here, looking over happy memories from Christmas, and listening to the peaceful silence as little ones slumber, my heart is suddenly full.  I am blessed.  I am BLESSED.  Today I am grateful for…

• A mother in law who took the time to bring over dinner and dance around the living room with the kids, while I got to sit down and rest.
• My sister and mom who came over earlier in the week with smiles and laughter when I wanted to cry.
• Our Thursday morning playgroup, getting to make new friends having a place to go where you are loved and accepted no matter what crazy thing your kids just did.
• My kids, who love to dance and sing and live life.
• Airplanes, because waiting six months for James to come home on a covered wagon would not be cool.  LOL

Have a blessed weekend!

Project 52–Week Two

This week’s theme is “FOUR.”  Here’s my photo:

This is the kids and I drawing this morning.  We’ve started learning about the painter Caspar Friedrich, and these are our attempts at sketching his painting, cross in the mountains.  I really love sitting down together and drawing as a family.

Project 52–Week One

This week’s Project 52 challenge is to take a picture of something that makes you happy.

These are our pizza toppings from Sunday night. We are starting a tradition of making homemade pizza every Sunday night, and the kids get to make their own.  They loved it!

Project 52

Welcome to a new year, everyone! I know that lots of us are participating in the photo-a-day Project 365, and the rest of us are wishing we could, but know we won’t be able to keep up. Enter Project 52.

Throughout the year of 2009, we are going to be posting our favorite (or only…) photo of the week in the Project 52 forum. Each week we will be giving out a %off coupon, a free template, photo action, or other goodie for EVERY participant. Finally, at the end of the year, whomever participates in the most weeks will get a GC to the Scrapartist shoppe.

So there’s really no reason to not join us!

New year, Fresh start

Don’t you just love a New Year?  It’s so full of hope and possibility.  All of last year’s failures and disappointments are past, and it’s a clean slate.  A chance to begin again.

The journaling reads:
getting back to my roots…finding God in the everyday, messy, real-life places…loving my neighbor…
loving my kids…loving, loving, loving…leaning on my Beloved…finding peace in the midst of a crazy,
full life…rediscovering who I am in Him…finding joy…finding purpose…eating the Bread of Life…
drinking of the fullness of Christ…being still and knowing…pressing onward towards the prize…no
more looking back…no more regrets…no more excuses…it’s time…come on, 2009, i’m ready…

Everything from my new kit, Rejuvenate, available at Scrapartist