landing on my heart....

my friend adam

{who i met while working together with madison's help-portrait group}

just got back from ethiopia

and

when i saw his photos on facebook

i was mesmerized by many of them

i asked him if i could share them with you

and

he said

of course i could

then

since i didn't completely understand the reason for the trip

i asked

"so tell me why you and chrissy were there"

{while hoping i didn't sound too much like an idiot}

~

below is a bit of his story

and

if you have time

please look at the rest of his photos

~

you wont' be disappointed

Adam Jeske and his wife, Chrissy, traveled to Ethiopia with Wycliffe, an organization dedicated to providing Bible translation and literacy to people in every language. They visited several Wycliffe projects in Basketo, Kibre Mengist, Bahir Dar, and Addis Ababa, writing and photographing to tell the stories of what God is doing in and through people in the area. Adam and Chrissy saw great diversity in the Ethiopians they met, linguistically, culturally, economically, and also in geographically in the land itself. You can read more athttp://www.intothemud.com/ and the related Facebook page, and see more images being posted athttp://www.facebook.com/AdamJeskePhotography.

on a new {but not quite so rocky} path...

after already having a little girl

and

finding myself happily pregnant a second time

i wanted a little boy

more than anything else in the world

~

i grew up with two sisters

that i fought with throughout my entire childhood

so the idea of giving my daughter

a brother

to love

seemed like such a gift

~

and

he is

truly a gift

~

but

don't get me wrong. he has not been an easy child to raise these past few years.

not even close.

the easy child trophy goes to my daughter. what a breeze she's been.

~

when our son was little

he was very agreeable to how we parented and his love for life taught us how to live.

but

by the time he reached high school. well honestly there were days i wanted to lock him out of the house and wish him luck.

~

four years of

broken hearts. tears. frustration. yelling. silence. head shaking. door slamming. grounding.

finger pointing. sleepless nights. blurry mornings.

~

and

now we are here

~

with a son who is finally on a new path. finding his way. making us laugh again. talking for hours with us. working full time.

winning back the love of a sister who didn't like him for a long time.

~

and

oh was he ever sick this past weekend

~

when your nineteen year old son needs you to be with him at urgent care

two days in a row

you know he really doesn't feel good

~

and

as i sat waiting with him. taking this photo on my phone that he didn't see.

in my mind

he was 3 years old again suffering from another asthma attack.

he was 5 and having an allergic reaction to peanuts.

he was 8 and having his head stitched up after cracking it open on the side of the pool.

he was 12 and having his finger tips

super glued back together after a firework exploded in his hand

~

after a multitude of tests. we still don't know what was wrong.

and

today he's better

~

he's actually better in so many ways

and

his love for life

which he has never lost

even when life was ugly

is still tangible

~

i can't tell you how nice it is to have our son back

*

the day mother nature made me smile....

back in january

while i was living seaside in the panhandle

there was an afternoon

that caught me off guard

i had just finished my lunch

when i looked up

and

felt the air around me change

i grabbed my camera and ran into town

and

watched while mother nature played with her crayons

well

only her grey crayons

and

like a dolphin jumping in and out of the ocean

she was dipping them haphazardly

in a large glass of water

dampening them just enough

so that she could

smear them everywhere

on everything

~

i couldn't get enough of her painting

i reached my hand out

and

i could touch her art

~

i could feel her art landing on my face

~

the dampness

the cold

the grey

and

as quickly as mother nature and her grey crayons appeared

~

they disappeared

~

and

fifteen minutes later when she brought back her whole multicolored box

of crayons

to work on a new piece of art

with a huge sun that reached down and tapped me on the shoulder

i

was disappointed

~

sometimes you need a grey day

and

this one just hadn't lasted long enough

*

these photos are sooc. there is no reason to edit them. mother nature did that for me.

mixed emotions...

oh march

you really are making me kind of like you

~

did you blog this weekend

~

i meant to

but my creativity to produce something worth reading or looking at

refused to wake up

~

well

it did slightly open an eye and look at me as i tip toed past it

but when i went to give it a hug

it rolled over and moaned and shook a wagging index finger at me

and

i knew then i'd have to wait a bit

~

i collected quotes saturday night

while my computer melted into my lap

well not really

"quote quotes"

it was more like

i read and wrote and copied down combinations of words that i fell in love with

~

now granted

the quote above is real with a real author

but do you know what i mean by collecting words

~

words that don't really know each other

or have very much in common

but

i feel like they should live together

where i can be their landlord and set them all up in cute little apartments

and

force them to be friends

because

i can just tell

they'll really like each other

once they're all playing together

~

tell me that makes sense and i'm not crazy

~

okay

i think another cup of tea is calling. it is monday after all.

the bills need to paid. the undone laundry is running around the house screaming catch me if you can. and as always the kitchen is teasing me. making me believe that my creativity will work in there. but after years of disappointment i don't fall for that game anymore. okay i lie.

i do fall. over and over again. because we do have to eat. but never do i leave that room with a smile on my face. well unless i've plated up take out. then we're all pretty happy.

*

happy monday

bring in the clouds....and maybe join me for an adventure

see the clouds in this photo

~

well

they're fake

okay

they're not really fake

they're just from a different photo

~

my original bird photo felt a bit naked

so

i warmed it up

~

who would have thought

that an orange floridian cloudy sky lit from behind by a sunset

would make a cold wisconsin photo

better

~

hee hee

i did

*

last month

my big mouth mentioned something about

"make it pretty mondays in march"

well

that didn't happen

did it

{my bad}

~

{but at the end of this post i have something else up my sleeve}

*

i'm kind of giddy today. it's warming up to 50.

and

after a scary night last night

that made me contemplate a visit to the emergency room

{that's a post within itself}

i'm just glad to be alive

~

okay

it wasn't that bad

but

it was scary

~

have an amazing weekend everyone

and

if you really want to GIFT yourself with something terrific

please please please

go over here

and

WATCH all THREE of these videos

which will make you very happy

~

i'm contemplating doing what is done at the very end

{in the last video}

and

would love to have all of you

who still own a film camera

to join me on what could be an amazing adventure

*

are you game

envious....

when i hear someone say

"i've never had one"

i say

"i wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy"

~

i had another migraine last night that took me down

~

well

only after it stabbed me in the neck with blades sharpened by bobby flay

and

embedded nails into my temples with a force that only a nail gun can produce

~

when that wasn't enough

it threw bricks at me

one by one

until eventually

i couldn't get up

~

and

in the middle of the night

after taking my prescription medication and a muscle relaxant

i actually caught the grenade it threw at me

{thank you bruno mars}

and

sat up in bed

thinking

okay

this just might be it

~

fortunately i woke up this morning

which meant i was alive

and

with some caffeine

which is a no-no for me

i feel fine

~

recently i heard

either from

"the doctors" or "doctor oz"

that having an orgasm can help ease the pain of a migraine

~

really

~

are you serious

~

if anyone thinks for a minute

that while my body is being tortured by what feels like brutal instruments and weapons ganging up on me

just for fun

that i could think about

let alone

have

an orgasm

~

um

well

let's just say

are you

CRAZY

~

obviously

the person who researched this has never had a migraine

or

is a man

*

not to bug you or anything....

but

i have a winner

::

lynn

it's you

congratulations

::

thanks to everyone who participated in my give-away with jenny. this was so much fun.

i'm thrilled that some of you have already purchased sweaters from her while waiting to see if you were a winner. you will just love them.

~

i plan on wearing mine as a transitional jacket in the next month

after i burn my winter coat and boots. you think i'm kidding. but i think a huge bonfire while doing a little ceremonial dance to the god of spring is just what i need.

{think sandra bullock in the movie "the proposal"}

and

me at the top of my lungs

"to the window to the wall"

~

sorry

if you haven't seen that movie you'll think i've completely lost it

~

anyhow

so about this hornet

~

i found him in florida. meditating.

while i kicked myself for not having my macro lens with me

~

oh well

~

thanks again everyone

and

since winter is dragging on

i'll find another game for us to play soon

~

anyone up for twister

*

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:29