hey, it’s monday and i like it…

i still like mondays, yes, i do and i know there are very few of us monday lovers. this morning we met for our last Bible study with the book we’ve been using for the past few weeks. it’s been so good. the book is “disciplines of a beautiful woman” and it is so practical. i like to do studies that have tons of practical application. i like to hear from other women about what works for them and it also feels good to share a little about what’s happening in our lives and give and receive encouragement. so that is how my past few mondays have begun. i’m hoping to apply some of the things i’ve learned: getting and staying organized so that i am able to use my time more efficiently, getting a system in place for the piles of paperwork that accumulates and basically living a more intentional life. although i read the book many years ago, i’m in such a different place now, that i feel like i was able to take in things that didn’t apply when i first read it. it’s been a good and eye opening experience. one cool thing that i’m not sure if i have mentioned or not: the idea of this study was brooke’s and she facilitated it. that makes me really proud. k, i just had to share that. no matter how old your children are, you still have proud mama moments.

once again, the weekend flew by! i photographed a wedding on friday (more on that later this week!), i edited most of the day saturday, with a break in the afternoon for a girl’s lunch to celebrate my niece leah’s 14th birthday. happy birthday again leah! i love her so much! she has always been such a sweet, happy girl. i love her giggles and silliness. i love that she doesn’t have a rebellious attitude…she sees it in other girl’s her age and realizes how sad it is. we had a conversation about this at lunch and it was so refreshing to hear her talking so sensibly. i know it’s normal for kids to go through a time when they are figuring out who they are independently from their parents, but i think sometimes it’s a little too accepted. i guess that’s another subject : ) late saturday night, we got a call from brooke and josh to come over to hang out and talk on the deck. i was in my pajamas, and went that way! yesterday, we went to church and heard the last in a series pastor preached on the fruits of the spirit. it was on self control. lots of good food for thought. yesterday afternoon, kirby, amba and addison came to visit. we were planning to do a family photoshoot, but poor amba developed a migraine on the way here, so she had to sleep it off and then it got too late. i did get to take some cute shots of addie which i’ll be sharing soon. she loved watering my flowers. last night, the girls in our cooking club went to see “julie and julia” . we went to dinner together first (which was awesome! donna and i split the halibut at kona grill and the coconut curry sauce was amazing!) i adored the movie. absolutely adored it. i found myself smiling through most of it and laughing outloud, and feeling sentimental. it touched such a cord with me. one line that hit me and that i loved was when julia was speaking about her early passion for cooking and she said, “when the alarm goes off at 6:30, i pop out of bed, excited about my day”. my paraphrase. that is how i have felt for the past few years. so alive and enthused about what the day will hold. there are things that are a little bit like drudgery, of course, because life isn’t perfect….but all in all, i am excited about life and feel more alive than i ever have! the fact that we went to the movie together made it even better. 

*edit* initially i posted this image with a “taken by tom novacek” watermark. i messed up. no excuses. amber took it. eek. i’m a mess.

we haven’t cooked together for months, but we are finally restarting this saturday night. i can’t wait! there is just something about cooking together and sharing that kind of time and effort. plus, the movie really inspired us! when i was watching the movie, another thing hit me…..i’ve not been cooking lately. sure, we’ve eaten in and i’ve done a few decent meals, but cooking good food has definitely been on the back burner this summer. now, i’m inspired to get back to it.

i am behind on sharing recent photoshoots…but i think this week i will be catching up a little. i met with abby and jason almost two weeks ago and had a great time with them. they were totally laidback and went with pretty much whatever i suggested. we laughed a lot too….which i love. it always makes the photos better when you’re laughing during and between shots.

the sun was just setting at the lakes when we took these last shots and it was so pretty! jason and abby are getting married the weekend before jared and beth, so we were comparing lots of notes! i know we’re going to have a lot of fun on their big day!

i hope you have a great monday and God bless!