Capture the moment

i adore seagulls. this little guy posed just for me on my birthday :-)

February love: I love Sunsets in the Sky

I am daily awed by the beauty of the sky.

Most frequently and obviously, I see it in the sunsets.

Mostly because that's when I'm outside looking at the sky.

I know sunrise is beautiful too, and the daytime and the nighttime. 

But the relaxing feeling of a new sunset every night is just perfect.

It's like there's a master artist painting the sky...

oh wait... there IS.

I love:

Sunsets and Skies

These are a few over the last week and a half from my iphone, so they aren't perfect, but you get the idea...

 A-ma-zing.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? 

The Lord is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
  his understanding is unsearchable."

Isaiah 40:28

February love: I love my sister

Carly is one of a kind.

Hands down, best sister in the world. in my humble opinion... :)

Today, I received a message from her that read:

"so im sitting here, celebrating presidents day with classes and oreos dunked in milk.... frustrated that i dont have today off - frustrated that YOU dont have today off. cuz then we could be home, eating oreos dunked in milk and watching movies. 

....and i just finished the oreos..."

And all I could do was laugh. 

Because J and I have been in the hugest oreo phase over the past few weeks. (mind you, we both haven't had oreos in years... well, at least I haven't).

Like, we have oreos and milk almost every night... double stuff... straight out of the frig.

My sister and I are as different as night and day... yet similar as the day is long (btw, I never understood that phrase).

I got to spend Saturday night with her when she came down from school for the weekend. And it was awesome. She's smart, pretty, funny, and wise. 

And she's my sister.

I'm so lucky.

Today and everyday,

I love 

my sister

She wrote this cute blog post that I dedicated to myself... :) ... so in honor of that, I made her a Valentine's card.

February love: I love weekends

Working full time has given me a whole new appreciation for two small days called weekends.

Weekends bring: 

rest, rejuvenation, busyness, family and friends, socialization, catch-up, cleaning, cooking, and sleeping... 

to name a few things.

I love

weekends

This weekend in particular,

J and I spent the entire time together. 

We went to Starbucks, Michaels, Target, Costco, and Vons.

We celebrated Steve and visited with family, including Carly, at his birthday dinner at Grandma's house.

We [attempted to] sleep in.

We went to church.

We cleaned and did laundry.

We watched the Super Bowl. [yay Packers!!]

We revisited our goals and talked about life, today, tomorrow, and the future.

We cooked, we laughed, and we rested.

It was the best.

If only every day was the weekend...

February love: I love Photography

Since I've struggled at blogging over the last month, I gave myself a project for this next month.

It's February 3rd. Guess what - I already missed a day.

As Ali would say, ce la ville.

Thank goodness for second chances and new starts :)

Anyway. 

What else do I love?

Photography.

The best part about photography is that every image captures a moment. A second. 

Every image is a glimpse into someone's thoughts,

and the world through someone else's eyes.

[that is, when other people besides me take the pictures]

If I was going to change my career again, I think I would be a photographer

[or a coffee shop owner...

but I'm not changing my career, at least not now, and this is off topic...]

I love looking back through old pictures and reliving memories time and time again.

I love saying, "we have to take a picture so we don't forget!"

I'm thankful for a family who also loves to take pictures,

or at least humors me over and over again :)

I'm thankful for the minds that came up with the idea of a camera, and film.

I'm thankful for the finances that made it possible to buy a camera

so I could document my life and the lives of those around me.

[even though I haven't taken many pictures recently... let this be a challenge to me]

I love the simplicity and yet complexity of a photo.

I love photography.

February love: I love mornings

Since February is known as "the love month" in some circles :) 

I thought I would share something I love each day of this month. 

I love:

Mornings

As tired as I often am, I love getting up while it is still dark [most of the time].

I love morning showers

and putting on clean clothes.

I love the beginning of a brand new day.

I love breakfast.

I love reading my Bible while enjoying a cup of coffee,

like I did this morning.

I love praying for the day on my way to work,

knowing what to expect,

and yet,

really not knowing at all what to expect.

I love the newness of the morning.

Some mornings are better than others. [like Saturdays :)]

But every morning is new.

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
      His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
      his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
      therefore, I will hope in him!”

Lamentations 3:22-24 [NLT]

His mercies are new each morning.

That is reason enough to love the morning.

I love...

Anthropologie

How cute are these bowls? I would like one of each please :) 

[or these... except they aren't on sale and I'm sorta a sale shopper...

although they only have 2 of 4 online, but they sure have a lot in the store!]

and this perfume. mmmmm.

Ah... so many fun things in this store! I could stay forever... if I had a million dollars. 

Ah well, it's fun to dream :)