Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

Two hip-hips for the changing of the leaves! In the same column falls chocolate chip pecan pie, card games, watchin cute little babies and wearing scarves when the weather is actually appropriate for them. I've been a-snappin away the last couple of days too. Soon , I'll put up the most adorable photos of the little one I've been watching the last two days.
But on a side note, these were my kind of family portraits. I went to high school with Chris and his family let me come and hang out with them on their Thanksgiving (it was the day before actual Turkey Day). I've never had a Thanksgiving with little-little ones and I think that's what I found most entertaining. Here are two of my favorites in a diptych
Three hip-hips for the giving of thanks!

Meriwether

I usually hate the rain, but today it is quite nice, it gives me an excuse to not go to the library and stay at home and bake cookies.
This week's thoughts (and it's only Wednesday, eek!):
1. Donald Miller is still awesome. Read his stuff.
2. Every day should be treated as a story; I want to be able to create great, memorable stories.
3. Diptychs are fun.
4. My Mac has been freezing up and giving me the circle of death when I'm on the internet, (aah!!) any suggestions?
5. I love the song, 'The Sound' from Switchfoot's new album, the lyrics are scrumptious. All should buy it.

In the meantime, I finished editing the beautiful Meriwether today. I've known this gal for a couple of years now, and this is only but the third or so time I've shot her. All I know is that Meriwether is such a sassy (note how she rocks the red lips?) strong woman and every single minute with the camera in my hand was fantastic!
I leave you with a quote (from 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years' by Donald Miller):

There is a force in the world that doesn't want us to live good stories.

It doesn't want us to face our issues, to face our fear and bring something

beautiful into the world. I guess what I am saying is, I believe God wants

us to create beautiful stories, and whatever it is that isn't God wants us

to create meaningless stories, teaching the people around us that life

just isn't worth living.

Let's paint the sky

So I guess nice days inspire making photographs.
My roommates, Danielle, Kate, Julia and friend, Erin and I painted some faces and found a white wall. And so much beauty and simplicity was rediscovered!
Sometimes it seems rediscovery is better than finding something new because you get to realize that this thing was there all along.
I'm going to go back to editing-Danielle's playing of Miley Cyrus can never be ignored.

A Community of Grace

I feel like this post will be quite random and jumbled, but that is how my brain works most of the time. Here goes-
I got to, what seems like, finally take a weekend away from things. To Garden City I went, with Intervarsity, one of the new groups I've been going to on-campus. I can't remember the last time I've truly felt that relaxed. The salt was thick, the floors were covered with bandaids and my clothes smelled sometimes.
It was great.
Even though the weekend wasn't focused on it, I was drawn to a verse that I've always loved since I read it in the introduction of one of my favorite books, it's Ephesians 5:12-14:

For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

I've always found myself drawn to the opposites within Christ; sin and grace, life and death, love and hate, light and dark, the latter especially. I think our society often strays away from certain subjects, certain topics which are best to be avoided-maybe they'll disappear if we speak about them in whispered meetings, or even better, not at all. And yet, in this darkness, we discover light. We discover this light when it exposes the darkest corners of our lives and hope becomes the currency of conversation. Nobody wants to admit it, but it's as if a hush has fallen over the crowd to avoid the reality which burdens so many of us. This death we are living in, sometimes alongside Christ with him trying to wake us, or other times with his absence large and known, is dead, in death in death in death. Living in death. And yet it's so hard to rise and let Christ shine. Let the source which will expose our darkest secrets be from the light source of Christ.
I listened to this awesome song today, once again, makes me wish I were musically inclined for once. Kind of reminded me of The Epochs, too. Here are the lyrics to 'Dance on our Graves' if you gotchaselftwominutes!

I hear something out there calling my name
No matter where I turn it all looks the same
There's sleep at night I just stay up and wait
But the burning in my blood never came
Will I know it?
Will I see it
When you're here
I need you now
I need you more than ever before
I know the man I am is not who I should be
The devil takes my hand says "Child come with me"
My body shivers and aches, I can't break free
Why do the things I hate come so naturally?
When we can see the light when we're going home
We'll dance on out graves with our bodies below
We'll sing along: hallelujah


Oh, and then pictures from this weekend of course. I don't know why I want to do most of them in black and white, but I do. Here goes-





I don't know why I like this one, but anyone who knows my photography well enough knows that I always photograph hands for some reason.

And of course, Henry came along. How could anyone leave him at home with that face?


Group Photo!

Mr. Henry Weber

So I got to hang out with Amy and one of the cutest little babies ever. We had lunch in the wonderful, wonderful humid/breezy/slightly sticky Charleston weather and I enjoyed every minute of it. Since schools tarted, I haven't been able to be around babies that often, and you would have no idea what that does to a person! So congrats Amy for making one of the cutest little things ever!