Where has the time gone?

Man, I really missed a few days there... I guess I needed it though. While the husband was away over the weekend I spent probably over 6 hours at the park with the puppy. We had a great time. And, I kid you not, there was a time - after 2.5 hours walking the trails at Fort Steilacoom Park and snapping photos with my D90, that I just sat down on a log in the middle of an open field. I shut my eyes and felt the warmth of the sun on my face... I haven't been that relaxed in MONTHS... What a blissful moment that was. Then a few preteen boys rounded the corner and I heard one of them shout - "Man! This would be a great place for a zombie apocalypse!"... My kinda kids. I couldn't help but laugh.

So... I'm catching up here with what should have been up a few days ago - my project 366. One of the things I'm learning in this process is I need to take photos with a little more variety... Otherwise at the end of the year I'm pretty sure I'll just think that all I did was snap pics of the dog and stare at the cello. I'll work on that for this coming week.

Finally... Friday - February 3rd - it was desperately needed (as you can see)

All project 366 photos taken via instagram! @chrisklas or online here!

Feeling a bit bipolar...

Can you imagine if you had SAD today? (Seasonal Affective Disorder)... (no offense I guess should you have it...) but you'd be so out of sorts today! Battling between bouts of uncontrollable euphoria to plummeting depression every 15 minutes or so. 

We sat in a coffeeshop earlier and were approached by a man looking for directions to the freeway. He wanted to know if traffic was bad going south because he was trying to get to California. He said "Well... I was going to catch a plane - but due to the weather I'm not sure if that's possible. I just thought... well, I'll head somewhere warm"... Now, either he's playing a few aces short of a deck or he's living the EXACT life that I want to lead... jealous either way. haha.

My back porch. About every 15 minutes or so. In descending order (most recent first - only I wish I could say it was still snowing. Since uploading the photos it has now turned sunny again.)

Checking it Twice

15. Hug my brother's child
(see 50x50 to the left)

DONE. Done... DONE DONE DONE... and many more huggings to come.

Never. In my wildest dreams had I imagined I'd get to check off number #15 as soon as I did. When I typed that up last May(ish).... Elijah wasn't even a glimmer in his mother's eye... And now, through the miraculous gift of adoption, he's my brother's child. I'll never get tired of saying that.

When I never got the chance to hold my sweet niece Genevieve - I wondered (a minuscule amount in comparison to her mom and dad I'm sure) what God was thinking. 

I HATE to see family in pain and that was about all I could take. 

BUT (side note: the word BUT is one of the greatest in all of scripture because it means something great is about to happen) 

God never wondered. His plans are wonderful.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15

(I could go on and on with scripture meant for today)...

I had the opportunity to meet him yesterday for the first time... all of 3 weeks old. You'll see a lot more of this photoshoot throughout the week. Next to baby Jesus - this is the greatest Christmas present to ever come in infant form.

More from the Cold North...

Life has been a crazy mess these past few days. Some good. Some sad - but mostly just busy. As I posted last week - the hubs and I took a much needed vacation to Vancouver, BC (which now feels like a distant memory) and part of that time was spent at the aquarium.... looking at butterflies. (I know. It doesn't make sense to me either)

I have a confession to make. I like butterflies just fine. But moths? Those guys are right up there on my list with spiders. Maybe even a little higher to be honest... I just think of it like a spider - who can fly. Nobody wants that.

All that aside - God has created some pretty terrific creatures (even the moth has it's beauty)

But I feel like I would be missing a significant part of the picture if I didn't also show that it's not like what you see on TV. You aren't just one day a mess and the next day perfection. It's a process of molding and making and shaping and growing and sometimes your in a dark place - one you feel like has made you completely alone. You might as well wrap yourself up and hide yourself from the world...

But this is a time in which God's plans - his handiwork - is working more fervently than any other. When you feel like God is furthest from you - that's when he's doing a work that is unimaginable. 

To come out of this darkness with a beauty that is incomparable - well, its incomprehensible. 

But it happens every time. Without fail. 

Also linking up with "Growing Up Gardner"... I couldn't be more thankful for the process mentioned above.

Running on E

These pictures were taken last week when a fresh pound of coffee was poured into this container and I couldn't resist the smell...

Now it's empty.

And... maybe because of that, it's all I've got for you today.

Before & After

So - I thought I would try something new today... I've recently been following along with several other photobloggers and their daily/weekly/monthly challenges. I stumbled upon Pixel Perfect who does a "Before and After" Challenge on Thursdays and I thought this might be a good opportunity to learn how to further use photoshop...

So here's how it went... what do you think?

I also realized that my desktop calendar still says July... so here's my August rendition...

feel free to use it if you’d like     

That was fun! There is still SO much to learn.... Now it's your turn. :)