starting small

June 30th, 2017 - This is the thirty-fourth  day of a 40 day blogging challenge: some pictures and words each day. Come back tomorrow to see more posts!   ~~~ Today my forever best friend is married -- I have no words. // Loving these moments. 

June 29th, 2017 - This is the thirty-third  day of a 40 day blogging challenge: some pictures and words each day. Come back tomorrow to see more posts!   ~~~ It took me living 18 hours away from home for nine months to truly understand home. When I returned home this summer, something had changed. Something was different not only at home, but also in my heart. When I returned, I realized a new and fresh love for this place. Home.  During my entire childhood home was home: it was my core. Home was always there, and it was so much a part of me that I could not exist without it. Leaving for school gave me a new perspective on HOME. Home is still my most precious core. Home is my taproot...but it is not my island. Home is my soil, but not my garden. Home is the vine, but not the the fruit. Home is rich soil to the garden of my life.  How I still love home. But now, my love for home is deeper rooted. Home is a nourishment, it is a base, a tap...

June 27th, 2017 - This is the thirty-second  day of a 40 day blogging challenge: some pictures and words each day. Come back tomorrow to see more posts!   ~~~ This summer I have the opportunity to teach the littlest of ballet dancers. Ages two and three make up the majority. These ages are not my forte when it comes to teaching. But it may be the best thing that could have happened to me this summer.  Fresh eyes and blonde curls gather around me at the beginning of each class. We sit on our dots and count to five, flapping butterfly wings and coloring imaginary glue. We talk about going to Disneyland and our favorite color. They tell me the names of their best friends and what theme they want their birthday party to be when they turn four. I listen. And my heart smiles.  I show them my point shoes and listen to their guesses of why the slippers are so 'hard.' I tell them that there is no cement in them, but wood and cardboard. Yes, just like t...

June 26th, 2017 - This is the thirtieth  day of a 40 day blogging challenge: some pictures and words each day. Come back tomorrow to see more posts!   ~~~ Winding trails are full of new views, unexpected, unanticipated, and glorious. Winding trails call for faith and courage. Winding trails demand strength and perseverance. It is a winding trail that a happy heart travels. A winding trail has long stretches of challenges and quick turns which reveal beautiful scenery. A winding trail is never boring, always fresh, always new. A winding trail is never forgotten. A winding trail never repeats. It is a winding trail which we all travel. What a beautiful journey it is.  

June 26th, 2017 - This is the thirtieth  day of a 40 day blogging challenge: some pictures and words each day. Come back tomorrow to see more posts!   ~~~ To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often // Cardinal Henry Newman

June 25th, 2017 - This is the twenty-ninth  day of a 40 day blogging challenge: some pictures and words each day. Come back tomorrow to see more posts!   ~~~ We piled in the car on a Saturday morning, armed with tea and snacks, and headed to the river. 

June 23rd, 2017 - This is the twenty-seventh day of a 40 day blogging challenge: some pictures and words each day. Come back tomorrow to see more posts!   ~~~ Some camera lenses only allow for so much sky picture. For example, my absolute favorite doesn't zoom. I constantly duck back and forth, adjusting to get as much or as little of the content in the frame as I need. This limitation of the lens doesn't affect the quality of the shot, just the amount of content. This is analogous to the human heart, I think. We can only absorb so much. Our schedule can only get so busy. We can only meet so many needs. We can only push ourselves so far. And then, the natural limitation of the heart stops us in our tracks.  These days I'm learning that sometimes, instead of trying to cram as much into the "frame" as I possibly can ... I just need to step back. We must give our heart a brief rest sometimes. And in the respite, more room is created in the frame... more...