Tuesday, August 31, 2010

There's something so familiar

Any guesses who this is?

Saturday, August 28, 2010

portraits of summer

Argh, Dana!  Look what you've done.

The photoshop actions you shared are dynamite.
Thanks for spreading the obsession.

Alecia - a cousin who is starting to actually think I'm neat...
Jayme - you're cuter than a bug in a rug.
Me.  Photographed by Amber, age 3.
More to follow as I continue to explore this new Photoshop venue of finishing touches.

Friday, August 27, 2010

bubble bursting

I was all pleased with myself last night when I returned from the grocery store.  "I bought carrots," I triumphantly told Kristy.  Like this was a new milestone in my life.

"You bought carrots.  Really Anna?  Carrots?" said Kristy.

I thought about it for a minute. Hmm, what is wrong with this?  Thinking, thinking,...
"Oh YEAH!  The garden.  We have free carrots in the garden."  I guess I just got caught up in the moment on Isle 15.  End of the awesomeness I had been feeling.



And today.  I finally got my lunch date with the cute guy.  As we were sitting and discussing Elmo on a park bench, a big truck drove by with 2 workin' fellas in it.  They both grinned and waved in a very friendly manner at me.  So I smiled and waved back, a little confused.  Then I looked down and saw what was really going on.  The Little Turkey at my side had initiated contact.  He was grinning and waving at them like they were his favorite guys in the whole world.

My moment of thinking I must be 'irresistibly attractive' quickly dissipated.  I guess nothing beats a genuine smile and an uninhibited wave. Lesson learned Little Turkey, thanks.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

My brother, the hero

My brother is a hero to me. He taught me how to shoot guns, how to drive a tractor, how to drive a manual transmission, how to jitterbug, gave me my first gun, took me on my first gopher / jackrabbit / deer hunt, was with me when I got my first idiot mark (rifle scoped), has asserted his 'rating' on the various prospects over the years, has shown me never to throw in the towel and no matter how much I eat its never enough. But the truly heroic part came in last night.

I was housesitting this week. Things were going well, I was having fun playing domestic housekeeper.
Yesterday afternoon, Clayton called me. The tone in his voice scared me... "Anna, how much longer are you staying at that house?" Just tonight, why?

There have been some creepy break-ins at young girls' apartments recently. I do mean creepy. What I did NOT know was that it happened NEXT DOOR to "my" house. Apparently, they broke into one girl's place again this weekend. Yeah, next door, this weekend, while I was blissfully alone and unaware. My brother personally spoke to the girl yesterday, and naturally was concerned for my safety.

"You call me if you hear ANYTHING Anna. I'll be there." Okay, sounds like a plan. Its nice to know he cares.

I wasn't too worried. So I'm sitting there in the house last night after putting the dogs to bed, watching some TV since its available. Then the house phone rang at 10:30. Kind of a weird time. I don't answer the phone, just let the machine get it. A concerned neighbor left a message to tell me that my car brake lights had been on for about an hour. Sigh, story of my life.

So, I unlocked the front door, and peered out into the dark. Sure enough, just my parking lights. Suddenly I get this hair-raising idea that it was probably a trap to lure me out in the dark. So I RAN to my car, jumped inside and shut the door. Then I tried to turn my lights off. No luck! Now I'm really panicked.

I didn't hesitate. I picked up the phone and called Clayton, kinda sheepish. "Um, this is dumb, but I can't turn my car lights off." "Don't say any more, I'm on my way," he said. So I stood inside near the front door watching for him. It seemed like it took forever. I was listening intently for intruders, I wasn't even breathing. The dogs started freaking out and my heart was pounding so hard. Noises were everywhere and the dogs were going spastic.

About 8 minutes later, he pulled in, came to the door, got my car keys and fixed the problem. He simply opened the car door and turned my lightswitch the rest of the way. Hmm, how is it that I didn't try that? I was so terrified by this time that my blonde moment didn't even matter.

"Can you come inside with me and make sure no one is in there?" Seriously, I was way beyond the point of feeling dumb about anything, I was terrified. So we cleared the house. "I brought something for you," he said. He pulled out a hand gun. "You shoot anything with this Anna, and it will cease to exist." So there we stood, 11:00 p.m. in someone else's house learning how to shoot, unload and load this semi-auto.

He asked if I was okay, and left me with 3 pieces of advice. 1. Aim for center of mass. 2. (I will refrain from posting #2 on the internet) 3. Leave the lights on.

I could have just hugged him and never let go. He never once made light of my fear, probably because this time he was worried himself. I could have called him 4 more times and I know he would have been there.

The rest of the night was torturously spent sitting on the couch, reading Psalms aloud and listening. I had no idea how much sound a house makes in the night. The dogs got pretty bothered a few times, and my response was always to loudly declare to them "Its okay. I have a loaded gun." That was said more for the benefit of the lurkers. (If all of this was on video I'm sure I'd die laughing now... though it seemed life and death at the time) I slept only for a few minutes here and there. This was my view most of the night...

a girl's best friends (should be)


I was so glad to be alive this morning. God is good and I know my brother's got my back.

Also, guys that do things like this to those poor girls should be taken care of in a manner that is inappropriate for me to speak of.

p.s. Please conclude from this story that it would not be wise to try and scare me in the night. Let me tell you now that you will probably be shot... and that's not my problem.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

stood up

I dressed with special care this morning
because I had a lunch date with a REALLY cute guy.

He showed up early and proceeded
to sleep on my office floor for the duration of our date.

What can you expect when you hang
with a guy who still lives with his parents?

Monday, August 16, 2010

probably doesn't make sense to you

I find myself looking back over the year, thinking about the trials and the victories, the unbearable burdens and the overwhelming happiness...

So much can happen in a year.

Life altering events.
Forks in the road.
Decisions avoided.
Decisions made.
Mind numbing fears.
Days when you have the confidence of a queen.
Days when you want to cower under the safety of your covers.
Battles fought head on.
Set backs and faltering faith.
Victories won on your knees.
Anger and love somehow bound together in a confusing knot.
Hearts broken.
Hearts gloriously mended.


Certain years have the capability to hold an entire lifetime. This was one.

And yet, when the year has come and gone, life has a funny way of being the same as it was exactly a year ago.

Kristy and I still sit on the same old couch
as the same old maids,
drinking out of the same old glasses,
solving the same old world's problems.
(Which are still solved from the same Old Book)

Everything changed this year, yet nothing changed.
I guess the change is in us. God changed us. All of us.

Someday the dim recollection of those growing pains will bring just a wise smile - these days it brings a grateful heart and an embarrassingly leaky faucet.

We serve a great God.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

This is my beloved, and this is my friend

Happy Anniversary this month,
AJ & Dana ~ 2005
Clayton & Kristine ~ 2006

AJ & Dana (Drew too if I remember right)
Photo taken August 2007
CJ & Kris
Photo taken July 2010
S'more Kisses

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Consider the marker

My mind doesn't work the same as most.  I see weird little details and usually miss the big picture.

Case in point: 
Yesterday, I passed a hitch hiker on the interstate.  In the 4 seconds I had to survey him, this is the burning question I wished I could ask him...

Where did you get the marker to write on your cardboard?

His letters were large, very dark / filled in and easily distinguishable from a distance.  Props to the man!

Really, isn't that a good question? After some thought over the course of yesterday, I've decided that a clean piece of cardboard and a thick black sharpie must be staple items that all transients and hitch hikers keep on their person.

Do you see what I mean?  Weird details.  Normal people look at them and wonder if they're saved, if they're hungry, where they're going, how they got to this point in life, if they're one of the escaped murderers, etc. 

I want to know where I can get one of those markers.
(photo courtesy of Google)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Blessed be the name of the Lord

"And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21

Life as it happens. The idea for this blog was planted by a good Christian man in our community. He was my dad's age and has had cancer for a few years. His kids are our age. He told my sister once that he loves to look at the pictures she and I enter in the county fair. He said our photography touched his heart because it was simply "Life as it happens."

This man passed away yesterday, and went to be with the Lord. We'll see him on the other side.
My heart aches for his family, but I certainly don't feel sorry for him. He'll never sin again, never have another sorrow.

These songs are from Pastor Shirley's youth choir:
Right On Time
Our Savior is always right on time, though sometimes I don't see it that way.

I Shall Return
That man went on ahead, but Christ will be back for the rest of us someday.
If this song doesn't get you stirred up, you might want to make sure you still have a pulse.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

That's more like it

All in a day's lunch....

As I pulled up to my house, I had this whole thought trail about how good God is to me. It started by looking at my green coat in the passenger seat. I adore this green coat. Everyone else loves this green coat too. It fits like it was custom made for me. It is the perfect shade of green for my eyes. It was a gift, something that didn't fit someone else.

My life is full of things like that. So I went happily in to the house thinking about all the neat stuff God gives me all the time. A co-worker recently gave me a bag of really cute designer clothes. They also fit like they were made for me. This is awesome, I never ever buy designer clothes. I'm too cheap.

The Dooney & Bourke purse hanging from my arm. I didn't really know what it was until other women in the know started gushing over it. This was also given to me, brand new. Cowabunga!

I was thinking as I came through the door that people must think I'm one of 'those' girls. I'm not at all, God is just so good to me. And He has impeccable taste.

I warmed up my plate of Pork & Beans and an Oscar Meyer ALL BEEF frank (speaking of good taste....)

Up the stairs I go, hot plate of deliciousness in one hand, D&B purse in the other. As I neared my desk, something quite usual happened. The plate lept from my hand. There is now Pork and Beans scattered generously within a 3 foot radius of my desk.

ARGH! ANNA!

My purse was a victim as well. There were beans and sauce all over the front, and inside there was a bean on my camera, one on my checkbook and two under the noseflute.

This just makes me laugh. Dooney & Bourke meets Pork & Beans.
That's so much more my style.

I guess my cover is blown.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Our Great Savior

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul; Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.


Jesus! what a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him;
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my strength, my vict'ry wins.

Jesus! what a help in sorrow!
While the billows o'er me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my comfort, helps my soul.


Jesus! what a guide and keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night o'ertakes me,
He, my pilot, hears my cry.


Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find,
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.


Chorus:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Lyrics: John Wilbur Chapman
Music: Rowland Huw Prichard