End of the year

So another year has gone by. I feel so blessed when I think about this year in review. Here are 11 of my favorite pictures of 2011.

This is my youngest daughter's 1st birthday picture being loved on by her big sister! I love that they love each other!

Every so often I try to take pictures of my girls to send to my grandma. My youngest's personality is blooming :)

All our spare time during the summer is spent at my in-laws pool. Here we were enjoying pool side and I thought it would be fun to get a few shots of my oldest. And hey she's actually smiling for real!

I love instagram! It allows me to take fun quick pictures without thinking too much about settings. I love this picture because it shows how much of a girl she is and girls just wanna have fun!

We got dressed up to help celebrate my in-laws 40th anniversary and the lighting was so beautiful that I couldn't help getting my girls outdoors to get some photos.

Another instagram photo, sort of a bokeh look with my daughter looking at the sky and pointing out the moon.

During the summer, we spend all our afternoons before my husband comes home from work drawing on the sidewalk, blowing bubbles, riding bikes or just laying in the grass enjoying the summer air in the shade.

Again, another instagram and so glad I had my phone because she just posed like this and I had to take it so fast! Oh she's so cute!

LOOOOOOOVE this picture so much! This is the essence of childhood, my childrens' childhoods. The sun hit just the right place to add a sunflare.

I read how you can achieve a picture of swinging your child around so I just had to try it. I really love this picture because it's so carefree and fun!

This is another picture that I wanted to send to my grandma. So glad I got this picture taken so much in advance because sadly the girls were sick for halloween and didn't get to go trick or treating :(

Here's to a wonderful new year filled with new adventures and so much to learn and explore!

been a while...

life has been, full. Not sure where to begin or what all to share. First I feel like I should share that right now my life is not much of a garden and well neither is my garden. I would have to say both my garden and my life are a bit of a mess. I want to get back on track. I want life to be simple and easy. I'm just not sure how to get back there or if I can get there. I know that life is extra busy at the moment. So hopefully when things settle down here in about a month I can get back on track.

As for the good things in my life, because I really do want to focus on the good...

For the most part I'm running. The last week or two I haven't gotten to run as much as I would like but I had worked up to just under four miles which is the farthest I have run. I enjoy it and it's one of the few things I do for myself. The other thing I do just for myself is photography.

I have always loved photography and have dabbled in it since a younin' but other than a few books I haven't really studied or really applied myself. Lately I read blogs galore and have learned a lot of basics and maybe a few not so basics. It's been fun but I still find myself struggling. For a while their I was taking myself too seriously and getting all bent out of shape and Douglas reminded me that if I'm not doing it for fun then why am I doing it? Just focus on doing it for fun and that's what I plan on doing.

Spring has sprung!

So I am going crazy with growing all sorts of plants! We are growing a vegetable garden with three kinds of tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, peppers, lettuce, green beans and sunflowers! We are also trying our hand at landscaping, the first time we are putting effort into our yard other than mowing. Douglas has picked out some rose bushes, one for each of our little girls. I have herbs and flowers and it's great! I never want this perfect weather to leave! I am not ready for the suffocating heat that comes to corpus every summer. So I will just enjoy the out doors as much as possible until then :) Here are a few pictures from a few weeks ago.

A New Day

Life is pretty much the same for me as it always has been with a few new outlooks on life. First my baby is growing up fast and turned one last month. First birthdays always make me feel so emotional and sentimental. I love my sweet girls! And I am trying my best to soak in each and every moment! Sometimes I get so caught up in the moment that I don't do so well in planning ahead and have spent most of this past year at my house or at my parent's. I haven't been up to much and have been a bit lonely. One of my good friends moved away last summer and with the up coming graduation of my little sister/best friend I find myself feeling even lonelier. I had been praying that the Lord would put in my life a close friend but instead I find myself drawn farther away from friendship. I suppose the Lord wants me to deepen my relationship with Him. Perhaps He is the close friend I am needing? Too many times when I am in distress I want to call someone to tell them and get their opinion or help instead of calling on the Lord first. So in this time of loneliness I will call upon the Lord... "Ring, ring, ring, Yes, hello Lord, need Your help today!"