Grandma

Well I remember running through the woods, to Grandma’s house we go,
Where there’s a lot of love, and a great big yard of snow.

With paper chains to count the days ‘til mom and dad get home
A little green table with plastic chairs, Paul Harvey on the radio

Trying to skate on Grandma’s pond; playing catch out in the lawn
Picking berries in the fall; snowmen higher than I was tall

I love Grandma’s place and all those holidays and how we loved to go and play,
At Grandma’s place.

Banana with candles as my cake, Easter eggs all over the place,
Christmas presents under the tree, nowhere else I’d rather be

Honey butter jam and rhubarb crunch, goulash, rye bread, plenty to munch
Chasing frogs, learning crochet, inside outside play all day

Baking cookies, slumber parties, watching Anne of Avonlea
Plant a garden, dig potatoes, all by Grandpa’s homemade scarecrow

I love Grandma’s heart and how she’s always part of all those crazy days,
At Grandma’s place.

Family dinner conversation always needs your imagination
Christmas stockings, chocolate flashlight, love the stories of your whole life

Field of daisies, picking flowers, reading Charlie Brown for hours
Camping out on Grandma’s yard, and though goodbye’s are always hard
As you look down from heaven today, I wanted to say in my own small way

That I love Grandma dear and I’m so glad that you were there, just across the street,
At Grandma’s place.

Love Is In The Air

It’s been a very cold, absolutely gorgeous week, and Saturday was no exception. Jennifer and Chase were great sports about shooting in the freezing wind and are probably looking forward to finishing their engagement session when we can all feel our fingers and toes again. I cried through the entire session. I think mainly because of the wind, although possibly because at points I was laughing so hard. I, for one, had fun in spite of the cold and I think they may have enjoyed it a little as well. Thanks again, Kadin, for all your help!  Jennifer and Chase, I am so happy for you! Thanks for letting me be a part of  your adventure. God has such beautiful plans for you!

And now, back to photos…. Here’s a sneak peek at some of my favorites…

The Aussie Invasion

It’s conference week at church. And that means that not only the Aussies, but the Welsh, the Argentinians (is that even a word?) and I’m not sure what all other countries, have come to my tiny town in the middle of nowhere, Alaska, to bring heaven down to earth in a beautiful way. I love it. I love the house full of people and nonstop laughter. I love the expectation when we all arrive at church. I love the accents, the stories, the people, the nations. I love what God does through ordinary dreamers in extraordinary ways.

For all the impossible going on, we have some serious fun here on the ground as well. Literally, on the snow covered, freezing Alaskan ground, where a few of the Aussies made their first ever snow angels. There was a whole group of us there to document the momentous event. We even outlined the angels with some jello mix to show them off a little better.

Oh My Lovely Life

The sixth of December last year was a beautiful, glorious day. It was a bit like a sneak peak of what my wedding day might look like.

It was my official engagement ceremony day.

My parents flew from Alaska to the Amazon in order to join the party. The pastor’s family cooked up a feast, and I tried not to get too nervous about the upcoming ceremony. I’d never even seen an engagement ceremony before. I had Taylor Swift’s “Romeo and Juliet” running through my head all afternoon, while curling my hair in the air-conditioning. When I finally walked down the stairs in my white dress and high heels I caught a glimpse of his face and I have a hunch it just might be a bit like that feeling right before you walk down the aisle to say “I do.” It took my breath away.

My dad was doing the ceremony and let’s just say it’s a good thing that English was the second language in the room. I think he nearly married me off when my querido and I exchanged our engagement rings. It was a beautiful evening. A sweet time of family and friends and translation and beginning.

And now thousands of miles and a continent apart, as we pray about his visa and finances and plan a wedding and look into houses and work for him here and all of the million and one details that flood my head every second of the day, for all of the things we have yet to figure out, I can’t help but look ahead and smile at my lovely life.

It’s going to be a beautiful, incredible, unbelievable adventure.

A Sweet Interlude

I’m hoping for a bit of time soon to catch up on all the random bits of my life, this blog being one of them. Until then, here’s a cute little face to brighten your day on a very cold, dark January.

I had been making some chocolate frosting when my too adorable niece came wandering in the kitchen asking for chocolate. I gave her the wrapper of the unsweetened baking chocolate I had been using, thinking she would not like unsweetened chocolate at all and wouldn’t want any more.

I was wrong.

 

The First Few Days

Back in Brazil and it’s a beautiful day. I’m already missing half my closet, and picking the wrong clothes every morning in the air conditioning, only to walk downstairs and realize I should probably go back and pick something that I won’t melt in. Or at least, I should pick something that I look slightly better in while I’m melting. I’m already beginning to think in português. However, I need to learn more words asap so my brain can begin to finish sentences again.

I’m loving being back with my roommates. They’re so sweet and so much fun. It’s been quite hilarious at times trying to figure out how to communicate certain things, but I’m loving every moment. It’s like having instant sisters… except for that whole communication thing…. but other than a lot of repeating and “what?” we manage rather well.

I haven’t done much yet. I’ve peeled potatoes and washed dishes. I’m learning the art of hand washing again, and figuring out how the world works here. I still haven’t mastered the art of not melting or wanting to pass out every afternoon when it’s the hottest point of the day.

At church, I’m doing quite well at losing any pride and encouraging others into humbleness too since I only understand what they’re saying if they speak slowly enough to sound slightly addled in the head, or as though they are speaking to some one much less than brilliant. It’s a beautiful thing.

And, as well, I’ve been hanging out with this amazing guy I know. Anyone else feel like they’re living in a dream every day? I have known my entire life that God is good, but now, I’m learning to trust Him in a whole new way. It’s crazy and scary and beautiful and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

The Amazon Theater

No Place Like Homer

It’s a perfect memory day. Rainy, gray, slightly cold type of day that should be eased into with hot chocolate and finished off with quilting. In between though, after all the kid chaos, there shall be memories. Of summer days now sliding into winter, of free time and adventures, of family. I love my family. They drive me crazy, make me smile, are always there. And right now, just outside my door, I can hear my niece squealing with laughter, my sister teaching her words, my mom asking me if I want to go across the road to visit Grandma, my brother in law beat boxing, and my brother playing music on his computer. Life is good in my world. Here’s my memory for this lovely gray day – our family trip to Homer in August. Oh what an adventure. But you can see that for yourself…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Last Senior Moment

Here’s a quick look at my last senior session for 2010. I’m leaving in a week and my life feels like a constant work-photos-plan-sleep cycle at the moment. My brain is full of a running list of to-do’s before I leave. It’s a bit chaotic, but it will all work out in the end… I hope…   Back to senior fun though – This was by far the coldest session I’ve done this year. Tyler was braving windy almost frozen beaches in short sleeves and Kadin was not so bravely but graciously nonetheless being an incredible help through out the shoot. It had been grey and really raining throughout the day before the session, and I was starting to think we were going to have umbrellas in all our shots, but as soon as I left for the shoot, the skies cleared and it was lovely. Cold, but beautiful. Near the end, we were freezing and losing light and considering being done, but I wanted to try just a few more on the last location. The sun came out in gorgeous golden array and I was so glad we had persevered. Without further ado, here’s a view of some of our fun.

More Senior Sneaks

I have decided it must be a thing this year to have animals in your senior session. The first has the neighbor’s cat. The second had the other neighbor’s horse. The third had puppies and goats. The fourth copied the puppy and goat theme. Maybe we’re growing more animal friendly teenagers this year. Or perhaps, the animals are just becoming less camera shy. Regardless, animals are the common theme this year. This last session was absolutely gorgeous, and not just because of the day. Molly is photogenic, relaxed, a natural at posing, and has the most amazing blue eyes. You don’t have to take my word for it though, I’ll give you proof… in just a second. Even though it was gorgeous out, the bluff is always windy. I was wearing the same sweatshirt I had worn all day at work. It’s red. I was laughing about how my photo school leader always loved to take pictures of anyone wearing red… then I realized, I was in the picture. Right in the middle of Molly’s big, blue eyes, was my bright red sweatshirt. I laughed, and survived the wind without it. But I like the shot anyways and thought I’d show you Molly’s red eyes along with her blue ones. And now, on to the main event…

The Red Eye Special

Blueberry Bounty

A record year of rain may have wreaked havoc on the flowers and my poor confused tomato plants, but it has also brought about an abundance of berries, like I haven’t seen in years. I’ve been practicing my awkward blueberry picking yoga poses and thanking the Lord that September is soaking up all the sun that August missed. In between work and more work and talking to Brazil as often as possible, here’s a couple photos of food in the wild.