the chosen word…

in my last post, i wrote about words that i thought about focusing on in 2010. in the past two days, the word that i think i need to focus on has become clear….and it wasn’t even on the list. it’s funny how things work sometimes. my word is “commit”. as in follow through. in my serving, giving, learning, stepping up my business, taking care of myself, and in my relationships, just to name a few things that come to mind. this isn’t something that i want to be obsessed with, just more focused on. i think it’s hitting me that i need to step it up in all areas of my life. i would have never guessed that this is the word that i feel drawn to. i’m sometimes overly responsible, so it seems ironic to  choose this word. i think my overly responsible nature is typical of a firstborn child, but many times i think i feel responsible for what others expect of me. i’m looking at this from a different angle- a very conscious approach. choosing what is important to zone in on and being less pressured by what others impose on me.

there are several things that i’ve already recently committed to and a few other things that i plan to. one thing that i’m very excited about is volunteering my photography services to royal family kids camps. i first heard about it via our former pastor scott murrish. after pastoring our church, he became involved in rfkc, so i was aware of it and knew what it was, but i have not been involved. i always had good intentions of giving or volunteering, but it just never happened. that’s about to change! i’ve already taken the camp director and assistant camp director’s headshots for the website and will be involved in taking the children’s photos at the actual camp. i can’t wait! so, if you are local and you want to help either by giving or volunteering, all the contact info is in this article from the local paper, plus you’ll be able to read about the philosophy and how it works. i am just so glad that such an awesome organization is going to be right here in our community and that we can actually be involved in making it happen.

another project that i want to give to and feel is vitally important is water for life. i would love to get a group of people together who want to collaborate our giving. it costs approximately $4800 to dig a well. i really want to encourage anyone who is interested to either give on your own, or let me know you’re interested and maybe a group of us can give enough for one well. i enjoy watching jim and betty robison’s show “life today”.  every wednesday morning beth moore is on. she is dead-on, in my opinion-i just love her teaching.

i’m encouraged by everything i’m hearing about the generosity of people toward the people of haiti. it’s amazing what we can accomplish when we join together. that inspires me. we really do have the power to make the world a better place. i mean that. if we each do something generous, it can change lives. i was just thinking about this verse this morning and when i clicked on the water for life info, it was at the top of the page: “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25) love that verse.

recently, my photography schedule has started to pick up, which i’m really happy about! i always get a little nervous in january. i did a shoot this past saturday with a wonderful family. i took dae’s first photos when he was 6 weeks old and now he is 2 years! i love the way this family interacts and how dave and summer love their little man-

i love when you ask kids to “break it down”. so cute.

a train about 6 blocks away tooted it’s horn as we were walking and dae was totally into it.

this last one is my fave. love, love. it always warms my heart when a family continues to have me do their photos. that is probably one of thee best feelings as a photographer. thanks dave, summer and dae!

i thought i had posted this sweet photo of 4 little dudes watching the basketball game earlier this week. today at lunch i saw the mom who i had asked about taking the photo and told her i had posted it…. and then found out that i hadn’t posted it. i can’t let it slide, they are WAY too cute! it cracked me up because they each had their snack of choice and reminded me so much of how jared was at this age. totally into the game…future players-

tomorrow, i have plans to share some fun detail photos from around my house. little things that have been inspiring me lately.

God bless each of you!