It happens all the time.

They don’t always come out perfect.  But they are always a record of where I’ve been.

Of what I’ve seen.

They often capture the beautiful skies that I stare out the window and into the mirror admiring.  I take pictures of skies and rear view mirrors at the same time! LOL! That’s me alright.

I take so many because I don’t often drive.  I’m most often in the passenger sitting riding along with Cody who has to be pretty well used to this by now.

I love that when I capture these pictures, I capture where I am at the moment and where I’ve been.

They are the most natural self portraits I’ll ever take of myself.

Sometimes I see myself staring back in a new light.

I could see great photography happening all along my route:

• The way the shoulders of the road are covered in flowers
• The wide open space of pastures up against the backdrop of the a big blue sky.
• The leading lines of the road, fences, and power lines converging.
• The magnificent light hitting a particular patch of yellow flowers.
• A creek reflecting the sky flanked by big green trees on either side
• And old hotel building with so much texture and character
• An old sign for a business that bid goodnight long ago.

Beauty. History. Nature. Splendor. Life.

I could not stop and take pictures and I knew that on my way back, the light would be totally different.  It’s days like this that make me a frustrated photographer- one that wishes she could take pictures whenever the whim hit her. Does that happen to anyone else?

As I drove along, I realized though that whether it’s through the viewfinder of my camera or the one in my head, the heart of the matter is that I’m seeing God’s hand.  That viewfinder is a way for me to appreciate and see God’s work and his plan both for me and others.  It’s not only a viewfinder into my soul but a viewfinder into Him.

So as I drove along, I began to look with joy rather than at lost opportunities.  I still did not get to take one single picture.

But, it’s not the first time that I’ve had this happen and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Now, I didn’t really picture Buffalo Wild Wings, though.  Yup, we did that.  Dad was gone out of town.  My brother and I took my mother to Buffalo Wild Wings for Mother’s Day- My Mother!  I know.  My mom’s cool.  She’s not picky.  Buffalo Wild Wings has a interesting and varied menu.  And, there was no crowd for lunch on Mother’s day (I can’t imagine why!).  My favorite moment was watching a great baseball play with mom and Cody.  (My brother’s not a baseball fan so I’m not sure he got it. . . besides he was stuffed from all the wings he ate.)  So, Buffalo Wild Wings + Family+ Baseball – the Crowd made for a winning combination for lunch on Mother’s day.

Then, it was off to the zoo.  One of the first things you notice at the Lufkin Zoo are the peacocks as they are every where.  Apparently they are in mating season as we kept seeing “blue turkeys” in strut everywhere.  “Blue Turkeys”. . . that’s what Cody kept calling them after our turkey season ended that earlier morning.  Poor guy, we didn’t even get to see the turkey that’s at the zoo. . . but we did hear him.  But wait, Cody was right there with us all along. . . so maybe I should clarify and say we didn’t see the turkey that lives at the zoo.

They are quite pretty- even though I’m not a peacock fan after having lived near some, I can admire their beauty.

Look how fat this guy has gotten!  OK, I don’t know if it’s the same ‘coon or not.  But, he was the inspiration for last week’s Flashback Friday post.

I introduced mom to the art of taking pictures of us taking pictures- aka the reflections that we can find.

I wish I had the pictures to share with you when she managed to introduce herself to the forward facing camera on her iPhone.  We got a few shots of ourselves once she’d found it.  My favorite mom and camera moment though- I was recording video of some of the reactions.  Jack said something and then you hear mom say “Bye” and she walks off.  The perfect ending to that little snippet of video.

As much as I love that picture of the owl, it’s the candid pictures with relationships that I love the most; watching these moments unfold in real life through my viewfinder.

For some reason these two just don’t like to give me a straight face. . . .  GRRR!

And yes, there were lots of photo wars where we wouldn’t let each other take our picture.

The fun thing about going to zoo for us is that it gives us a chance to hang out. . . like this guy.

I am in L-O-V-E with these two pictures of my brother.  They were taken with the camera on my knee. . . ready to take pictures or video of him should he try anything “stupid” like taking my picture.

I even managed to get this self-portrait that I actually like.

And of course, no trip to this zoo would be complete without the pretty flamingos. I just love that shade of pink!  (And I’m realizing how many times I’ve said “love” in this post.  Maybe I should start using that “lovely” that I keep hearing while taking some of Susannah Conway’s classes.)

I shared this layout here on the blog when I first created it.  We’d just gone to one of Jack’s basketball games and there were so many things I wanted him to know, things I wished he understood about what winning really was.  So, I created this layout.  In this case, the journaling happened really close to the conversation and game that inspired this layout- the thoughts I had were fresh on my mind.

Journaling Reads (Typos were corrected) Winning, Losing, and Performance. It was the theme of our dinner conversation Tuesday after you lost your basketball game. No one likes to lose a game, I know. When we asked about whether you had fun, you said that the football coaches you’d seen earlier in the day said it wasn’t about fun, it was about winning.  As Cody and I were talking about how well you could do in sports today, we talked about how much I wanted you to learn about winning.  Some say winning isn’t everything- some say it’s the only thing.  I lean towards it being the only thing. Only it’s not the winning “the game” that is the only thing. I want you to learn and know that there’s more one way to measure winning or success. You win when you give it you all. You win when you give have fun. You win when you’re a great teammate and show great character.  Do you remember when David DeJesus got the triple in the 9th inning as the Royals were losing badly?  He had a smile on his face as he signed your baseball.  He knew that you can measure winning in more than one way- he hadn’t given up.  I heard Mitch Maeir talking about it just yesterday- you have to learn to control what you can control and let go of the rest.  You possess their winning traits- you give it your all and you’re always learning to be better- it’s what makes you so good.  Sure, playing sports isn’t all fun, and I want you to learn to work hard.  Losing the game is certainly not easy to take.  But, you have to look in  your heart not at the scoreboard- if you know you did the best you could do and you took some joy from the game, you’ve already won.

This page tells the story of a moment I love to remind my brother of.  I am his big sister after all. I had fun writing this and thought about it as if I were talking to him about this incident while typing.  Sometimes, when we wait to tell a story (or simply don’t have the time to tell it near the original incident), it has time to marinate and gain perspective.  In this case, I knew this story lives on in infamy.

Journaling Reads: To my baby brother,We went out to eat today.  You set yourself up for a reminder of one of your finest moments when you said you’d had too much tea.  I couldn’t help it.  I was reminded you of the call you had to make to Tracy.  It’s funny to look back at these pictures and see how young you look.  It doesn’t really seem like we’ve aged that much since 2004 but I guess we have.  Of course, these pics are from several days after the infamous incident.  We all got such a laugh out of you that night we drove 17 hours straight to Tampa.  It was hilarious when you said you had to go potty and asked us to call Tracy and them in the other vehicle.  Oh no, we weren’t going to call because you couldn’t hold your bladder.  Of course, we made you call and had quite a laugh at your expense.   We’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of that moment for many years now.  Love, Your Sister- who will be reminding you of this incident for many years to come.

Here’s another one I wrote to my brother.  This one is all about a trait of ours- something that happened on Mother’s Day- we take pictures of each other and avoid getting letting the other get any real portraits.  (We have at times called a truce just for the sake of better pictures but we don’t do that often.)  One of the things I love about his layout. . . it’s dated.  Sure, the style and the techniques date this, but more importantly- the idea of how much a half gig of memory card space was back then.  We both have 32 Gig cards now.  And, that place where I told him he could get the cards cheap, well, he worked there for a time later.

Journaling reads: Where ever we go together these days, it seems we always wind-up in a shoot-out.  Well, draw your guns my little bro, and be prepared to lose.  I’ve got more ammo, almost a half gig more.  So, we can play our game hiding our faces behind our cameras.  But, sooner or later, I’m gonna get you!  And not just those funny faces either.  Just let your guard down, I dare you!  And when you do, I’ll be ther snapping away pictures of you. Now, if only I hadn’t told you where you could find memory cards on sale. . .

Many of my layouts are like love notes to my husband.  Here’s just one of those celebrating the smallest of little moments- and recognizing all the small things that he does for me.

Journaling Reads: I never used to eat the french fries at Chic-Fil-A. But, then I started stealing your fries after you added perfectly placed lines of ketchup. Then, I started eating my own and we’d share a ketchup packet.  When Heinz came out with their new packets, I would often think how cool and innovative as you would open them.  At some point, I started getting my own.  I don’t know if it started while eating with the troopers or I just wanted my fries before you ate them. The only problem is, I can’t seem to get these packages open.  You and I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. Then the other day, I got ready to eat my fries and there was a ketchup packet right there by my fries already opened. I wish I could say that I always notice these sweet things that you do, the ways you anticipate my needs, and make my day better.  But, I know these moments I want to remember pass me by too often.

Conversation is a natural part of our lives.  So, it’s only natural that it can make telling your story easier but I also think that it can make your story even more meaningful and powerful.  Not every story is a conversation, note, or letter to someone, but mixing it up from time to time tells a more complete story.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts!

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord;

My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Psalm 84:1-2

This week’s Capture This Prompt is: A Story in the Background

The inspiration for this prompt came from this picture taken turkey hunting over the weekend:

That particular picture was inspired by the idea of being able to capture a story in both the foreground and the background as I did in this shot (also taken at the deer lease) that I’m so in love with capturing the sweet husband behind my photographs of these mushrooms. (I find it so interesting how we learn and inspired by something and then start to see it happening over and over again and we incorporate it into something that we do- like the shot below opening my eyes to the shot above unfolding)

But, perhaps it’s in adding anecdotes or the background story to a layout.

Or even some journaling that you then cover up in an art journal.

Earlier this week I made biscuits and I thought about the story of the oddball biscuit- I could see a background story sitting on my pan.  So, there’s lots of ways to think about this prompt.

How will you capture A Story in the Background?  Be sure to add a comment letting us know how you did it!

So we went to the Lufkin Zoo cameras in hand.

This particular zoo always seems to pay homage to my childhood.  Whether it’s this drinking fountain like the ones they had at the Houston Zoo or that you could find in Humble.

Or the little train that goes around like the one in Houston.

What cracked me up as I went through the shots- what seemed to mesmerize us the most where the types of animals we don’t need to go the zoo to see.  (And this is just some of those shots, I even have a few of squirrels.)

This guy, well, he took the show.  We must have taken over 100 pictures of him between the two of us.

I still can’t believe I haven’t scrapbooked this outing! I know that I’ve made a couple of scrapbook pages with these pictures.

I want to start with what I consider step 1: Getting off Auto and Taking Control

Program Mode

If you want to improve your photography, are unhappy about the shots you are getting, or want to start learning more about photography, one of the first things I would recommend is switching from the Auto Mode to the Program Mode on your camera.  This mode allows you to begin taking the control- if you want to improve your photography, you want to take a more active role in the process- you want to start taking over the controls.

If you change nothing, program mode will work just like your auto mode.  But, you can begin to make changes and learn how the settings on your computer work in tandem.

Turn off the Flash

If all you have is the flash on your camera, you really should try turning it off or at least be selective and deliberate about when you try to use it.  Flashes on the camera most often scream “flash”.  The light from the flash is obvious and often unflattering.

This was the first thing that I began to take control of through the Program mode on my camera.  Explore when you have enough light to get the shot with the flash off.  Try taking the flash off auto and then choosing when you turn the flash on (or choose when you put it on auto).

Here’s a few shots I took with my Iphone to illustrate what the flash looks like vs a photo without it.

In the shot above, I used the flash. You can see the red-eye in Cody’s eyes and the flash on his elbow.

The light in the shot above is much more natural- and isn’t that what we want most of the time!

Just for grins, I took a picture of the buttons I’ve got gathered for some cards I’m making.  Can you see how harsh the flash is?  Most likely you can tell really quickly that this is the shot with flash.

Here’s the shot without the flash.  It’s not the most captivating shot, but you can certainly tell that the light is much more natural.

A Word of Caution or Perhaps Simply Reality

There are times I think it’s entirely appropriate to use auto or portions of the auto features on your camera or even your on camera flash. When you are faced with getting the shot vs taking control, do what you need to do! It’s always better to get the picture than to have nothing to show for. Sometimes, that does mean using an on camera flash- especially in dark lighting. When faced with whether I’d like to have a picture that captures that moment with using flash or other auto features, I’ll take that moment anytime regardless of how it affects the shot. A moment captured is better than not having it at all. With the program mode (and other modes like Aperture, Shutter Priority, or even Manual Exposure), you can pick and choose the things you want to be on Auto. I will use Auto ISO on my new camera quite a bit in fast moving situations or where the light changes quickly. Auto White Balance can be used the same way when things change quickly. You might want to leave your camera with your acceptable auto features on every time you put down the camera so that when a moment happens, you’re ready to capture it.

(I’ll talk more about ISO and those other exposure modes within the Photography Syllabus series soon.)

This girl struggles with self-portraits. Most of them come out strange, stupid, or whacked-out weird.

That’s not all she struggles with. This woman struggles with finding balance. She wants to do it all- be it all. She struggles with being childless. Still there is not a day that goes by that it doesn’t cross her mind. She struggles to be present in every moment.

She wonders what would happen if she were more comfortable in front of the camera.

She wonders how she got so lucky to have such a great husband. She wonders what if all the time- sometimes in a creative or problem solving good way, sometimes as her mind just wonders and day dreams, and sometimes in a place of anxiety. She wonders what plans God has in store for her.

Every once in a while, the attempts at selfies meet with what this woman would take as success (at least moderately).

She’s finding her voice and her place in this world through creating, taking pictures, and writing. She enjoys seeing her creativity flourish. This woman is making peace with her current size and allowing herself grace when she considers how she’s gained weight. She’s finding the light in all kinds of things- soaking in the sunshine as much as possible and letting the Son shine on her.

This woman with all her struggles, wonders, and successes, she is me right now.

We only hunted Sunday morning due to the rains that came Friday and Saturday.  So, we hung out at the house Saturday morning and went out to the deer lease that evening.  Saturday, we walked to do some scouting and I took pictures with my new toy lens.

I did break out the camera to try to get a few selfies and images of Cody and I.

From sunset to sunrise (and really good camera to the iPhone).  Just not a lot of sleep in between.  We watched the sunrise as we headed out to our spot.  Yup, we were running late.  I felt like I was going to fall face first into the mud the entire walk to where we wanted to hunt. . . my eyes were on the sunrise not where we were headed.

The light coming in through the small clump of remaining trees in this area was amazing.  I’m not real sure exactly why these are even still standing since everything around them has been cut.  I know some of this section is on SMZ (stream management zone) but not where we were.  But, I’ll take it.

I figured out that I could use the forward facing camera on my phone to get some pictures of Cody who was sitting right beside me this time leaning on the same tree.

How’s this one for a self portrait and a capture of both of us?

You guessed it.  We were restless.  We did not hear a single bird which is the first time in two years that I’ve been that skunked.

So, then, after we’d hunted, we went to check on my stand and check the persimmon trees Cody planted in the fall. They all survived the winter!  And of course, I had the real camera in tow. . . Guess what I took pictures of?

He waited in the truck.  We went and checked a few other places for birds but with them being silent, it’s hard to figure out what to do if you can’t see them- it’s 10,000 acres after all.

So, then Cody asked me where I wanted to shoot.  We went to his stand and he put some minerals out.

Then, he sat down and waited on me.

I thought of Amy Lynn when I found the ladybugs.

And, I just love this shot with Cody on his cell phone in the background.

Even though we didn’t get a turkey, there were some really great moments in the woods just the two of us this year.  And that makes all those early mornings and crazy schedules worth it.

Threading stories together tells a much more complete story.  Each story, each part of our history, builds upon itself.  Often thinking about those stories can lead to an interesting way to say what’s on your mind.

Journaling Reads: I’ve been reminiscing much of the day, our anniversary.  It’s been a great day off- just spending time together and talking.  On our way home from dinner, you were talking about DPS and their Black Out policy. . .  and I asked what you meant.  It was then that I stopped to appreciate how many questions you answer with absolute patience.  I ask questions all the time- football, cars, ride-a-longs, and so much more.  But, here’s what really hit home for me tonight (again), you always answer my questions and with patience- even when you’re in the middle of a football game and I’ve asked the same stupid questions several other times.  Or, when you’re in the middle of changing an engine on your off hours.  I thought back to that mistake of a Ford Truck that we swapped for you Dodge Dakota- The one blessing was that time spent fixing it up and changing the engine.  I remember spending those evenings with you at the shop, asking question after question, and learning more about cars than I’ll ever need to know.  But those moments, those evenings, have stuck with me.  I know that I’ve told you before, but I so love that I can ask whatever comes to mind and count on you to answer with patience.  Sure, some times you might laugh too- or worse, you don’t know the answer (you’re suppose to know it all), but you always answer with love. This shot taken 13 years ago, our first year of marriage while working on that truck>>>

Some stories bring up memories from the past.  Why not include them in you’re retelling of the story?  In this case, I can’t think of alligators without out thinking of my Grandparents and the stories my grandmother and I made up as a child.

Journaling Reads: Billy and the AlligatorAs a child, my Grandma Lantz and I would make stories up about how my grandfather lost his arm.  He actually lost it in a printing press accident, but if you asked Grandma and I, an alligator ate it.  While the story of Billy and the Alligator can’t compare to the nostalgic love I have for those moments with my Grandmother, this story holds a lot more truth in it. Oh the Scroggins Place, there was one summer we spent hours and hours out there fishing.  One fishing trip out there will go down in history.  You see it’s the day we were introduced to the Alligator living in the small lake we fished.  The fishing expedition started out great.  Billy caught a huge bass.  He decided to take it home to put in their pond and tied it off on one of the stumps.  Later, we pretty sure he caught another big one, but as we would soon find out, the alligator had an appetite for Billy’s Bass.  As Billy was reeling in the bass, the alligator apparently swooped in for his meal, breaking the fishing pole.  We were a bit shocked, but, needless to say oh “Bill Dance” was disappointed and none to happy about the alligator.  Not long after that, we discovered he’d eaten the one Billy had tied off.  And for Billy, that was it.  The next thing we knew we were on the shore and Billy was loading his shotgun.  Before Cody and I could even fuly access what was going to happen next, we were back on the water in our john boat with just a trolling motor hunting for the alligator.  You should have seen the guy fishing on the bridge scurry away as soon as he saw us.  All Cody and I could think of was that we were going to jail- hunting alligator is illegal without a permit.  And as we pushed up into a cove, we began to think we wouldn’t make it to jail because we might not make it off the water alive.  But, Billy finally gave up and accepted defeat- at least for the night.It wasn’t too long after that when he and a few of his friends were out riding four wheelers as the Scroggins Place that Billy had his four wheeler accident and got a concussion.  He doesn’t remember much from that night.  But, his brother Bennie will tell you all about being in the hospital with him. “What time is it? Is the four wheeler broke?  Did anyone get hurt?  What day is it? Did I miss field station?”  These were questions Billy would ask Bennie over and over again. . . until Bennie decided to have some fun with it- telling him he’d been in the hospital for days and missed field station and would flunk.  (And of course Billy would accuse someone of steeling his juice straw that was sitting on his leg.) After the scare was over, Bennie, Cody, and I would have a lot of fun with this incident.  To this day we give Billy a hard time about the questions- and what we really suspect must have happened that night. . . Within a day or two of that incident, the alligator would be found on the banks of the lake at Scroggins Place, dead.  Although, we have no evidence of it and we really believe Billy, we’ve always said that Billy killed that alligator the night of his four wheeler accident.  And when Billy tries to say he didn’t, well, that’s about the time we remind him of all those questions and how he doesn’t remember the night.  So how would he know whether he killed the alligator or not. 

We will never have enough time to create scrapbook layouts for all the stories that we wish we could tell.  Adding stories from other times and events to a page about something different can allow you to record at least part of that story.  In this case, I was able to weave the memory of turkey’s flying off on a walk in the woods into this story about going underground. (And oddly enough, this is yet another layout with a memory of my Grandmother.)

Journaling Reads: I think it was on our first true road trip together- the trip to New Braunfels- that we visited two caves rather than floating the Guadalupe.  I’ve told you many times about Carlsbad as a child.  About how as children, my brother and I were loving it and my Grandma Lantz could only ask “Are we there yet?” every few minutes.  I’ve always loved exploring caves- Lucky for me, you do too!  We’ve stopped at quite a few and passed on a few detours to others- like Carlsbad (We were so close when we were in Sonora- just a few more hundred miles- “just”, right?) or the one in Missouri at least an hour north of where we caught Route 66. We’re always happiest on vacations when we can get out in nature- and I have to admit, there’s nothing like exploring with you by my side.  I love that feeling of being safe and free to wander where the spirit takes me. (Because you never know when, in your travels, turkeys are going to scare you, right? At least in cave, that doesn’t happen.)

The next time you sit down to tell a story or journal on  a page, consider how that story is linked to other stories in your life.

Trust in him at all times, O People;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:8

First we went out to Westcave Preserve and took the tour.

Then, we went out to Perdernales Falls and wandered around before the sun went down.

I wish I could remember what Cody did that made me put want to put my hands on my hips.  It might have been him turning the tables on me with the camera.

When the sun was out, I could enjoy the beautiful light.

This cracks me up- I’ve got other pictures of him on his cell phone in beautiful outdoors locations- and he thought I was the techie connected person. . .

Me, I was taking pictures.

To his credit here, I think he was taking a picture at the time- or maybe looking at the “lovely” pictures of me he took.

He loves this hoodie.  He’s always at home in it.

It was a beautiful day. Of course, any day with him, ok, most days with him, are perfect no matter what we do.

Then, it was back into Austin we went.

He came up with this ball somewhere. . . I loved it!

On the first nine, I gave myself the assignment of using one of my two zoom lenses with the idea of using the other one on the back nine.  So, I captured and played while Cody golfed.

Here was one of the “Not Top 10 Plays”of the day. .. I went to throw the golf ball to Cody and take pictures at the same time.  Guess what happened?

Yup, the ball came up way short- it hit the ground halfway between Cody and I.  I love the look on his face in that last shot.

I found the sunshine of course!  I really enjoyed soaking in it as we drove around.

The water at one of the holes. . . oh I don’t know which one, I’m sure Cody could tell you, had the most amazing reflection.  That blue is all natural.

While many of Cody’s shots found the woods and more, he found more golf balls than he lost.  Some things never change.

This was the next “Not Top 10 Play” for me.  I threw the ball down to take this shot and it rolled behind the sign.  It’s safe to say I can’t throw.

I just enjoyed riding in the golf cart taking pictures and talking to Cody.

As we approached the 9th, we could see the sun going down.  It was going to be one of those evenings like when we were in college- those twilight golf games.

We turned the corner to the back 9 and I switched lenses.  I re-nigged on using my zoom in favor of the 10 mm that I also don’t use that much because it’s faster glass.

My favorite hole was amazing as the sun went down.

And just before we lost all light. . . we sat and watched the deer for several minutes.

This golf course is one of those places that is filled with so many memories.

It’s true, like most women (and probably men too), I really don’t like having my picture taken and I don’t feel that I’m at all photogenic. (For proof- just ask my brother to share all his less than stellar images of his sister- he’d gladly share them with you just to get back at me, I’m sure.)  I could spend hours lamenting why that is.  But why waste my time?

Of course, the storyteller in me longs for evidence that I lived this life and that means images of me. When I’m really enjoying a moment or seeing a special thing evolve, I’ll ask someone (usually Cody) to take a picture of me doing whatever it is that seems like I need a shot of- like that image of Amy Lynn sleeping on my lap after her birthday party. Or this moment when my mother and I were teaching my uncle to make their mother’s pie crust- it was such a poignant moment that I don’t ever want to forget that I was there.

Journaling Reads: When my uncle said he wanted to know how to make his mom’s pie crust, I knew I was in for a treat.  I loved every second of this moment.

Other times, not that I could blame him, Cody will grab a camera seemingly just to get back at me for taking his picture- like the shot of me I shared last week in this post. . .Which my mother thinks is a good shot of me- what? Oh my. . . of course, it was the best of the lot. That’s our prerogative as the storyteller, right?

And I suppose that brings me to the point of this post. Those not so stellar images of me, the ones I’m not in love with. . . they tell stories. So, I try to incorporate them into my scrapbook pages.

Sure, I could totally leave them out. I would only have a handful of layouts with me actually in them. Pictures that I like of me are so rare. . . there are these.

Journaling Reads: There are just some places and moments that make you feel right where you belong.  The kitchen is one of those places for me.  I love these shots.  They capture the joy I feel in the simple, ordinary act of baking something in the kitchen.  A moment when I feel totally at home. A time when I feel I’ve found myself completely.

But, what kind of authentic real life story would it be if I only included the select few good images of me? It would be like those homes ready for sale that don’t look at all like they are lived in. I don’t want my home to feel that way and I certainly don’t want my scrapbooks to feel that way either.

This is certainly not one of my favorite pictures of me- but then again, it makes me smile . . . and want a chocolate chip cookie! It’s a picture that is so me. Of course, this was an instance of Cody turning the tables on me all in the name of getting pictures for my December Daily project.

Journaling Reads: Journaling Reads: 234 Cookies plus a few.  Today, Cody and I made five different kinds of cookies for the troopers at his office.  Sad thing is, they’ll only get a dozen and a half each.  We had less than 10 extra cookies.  I don’t know how I’d have done it without Cody’s help.

Can anything be more unflattering that an iPhone picture taken of me while I was in the hospital?

Journaling Reads: Because I seem to be running out!  A strange thing, for sure, to scrapbook about. . . but scrapbooking is about telling your life story. . . and like it or not, this seems to be a part of mine.  I lost my gall bladder at 28, had my hysterectomy at 30, and now I’ve lost my appendix at 34.  It’s getting pretty bad when you start doing an inventory of other parts that can be lost without too much of a problem and then start asking the surgeon if he’ll just take them too!   And he joins in making the list!   It certainly not that I enjoy surgery or worrying my poor husband, but somehow it’s just expected anymore.  Cody and I just kinda knew and expected Dr. Coffman to tell me I was going into surgery this time around.  It felt overdue.  I sure hope this is the last of the parts to go!

Here I am truly not wanting to let go of the tree. Yet, I’m so happy that I did more than hold the tree while exploring Robber’s Cave. In this case, Cody carried the camera so that my hands were free to make me more comfortable while climbing up and down.

Journaling Reads: There are times that challenge us.  Times that teach us about ourselves.  This was one of those times.  We came to Robber’s Cave to explore.  After checking into our hotel room in the state park (a whole other experience!), we headed over to the cave.  We marveled at all the engraved names and just went up a little ways- I froze.  My knees went weak.  I could barely get back down- and only did because Cody held my hand and calmly coached me back down.  Once my heart quit racing, I was so bummed.  I wanted to explore this thing we came to see- but my fear of heights was kicking!  Then, I was so mad- mad that I let that fear stop me.  It lead to determination.  It prepared both of us for our adventure in the morning.  We made sure I as ready for handsfree exploring- I gave Cody the backpack and camera and water and anything else.  And slowly and cautiously we began exploring this nearly backwards cave- you really climb the outside rather than crawl the inside.  Of course, much of the way, I was on all fours crawling to feel more secured.  I truly wanted to hug the trees and kiss the ground when we were done.  But, I was so proud of myself- I overcame.  In the process learning things about myself and ways to deal with this fear.  I had a wonderful time exploring this place, feeling the history of all the folks who came before us, taking in another beautiful part of Oklahoma, and appreciating the man that I love.  Challenge accepted and conquered!

There is of course, this image as well. . . I wish I could remember just what Cody said to make me get that shocked look on my face. . . oh, I think I might know but I’m not saying. LOL! But, I know at the time I didn’t know he was busted.

Journaling Reads: My Mission: To get a picture of us kissing.  The result: You busted on camera.  Caught Ya!