aspire photo challenge - black & white / secret keeper girl

Hannah has a new photo challenge posted.  The theme is Black and White. 

Click on the button here to see others.  Lots of great images!  I'd love to see your play :) 
Black and white photography is especially great for story-telling and for images that reflect emotion.

Here I have captured MacKenzie. I think she looks stunning. In this image, I see her innermost natural beauty. Not perfection by the world's standards, but true God given beauty - the only standard that truly matters.

MacKenzie and I enjoyed a Mother-Daughter night out on Saturday and attended the Secret Keeper Girl Pajama Party Tour which made a stop in Tulsa. It was all about modesty, fashion, and beauty and was a just a perfect event for moms and tweens in today's culture. At one point during the show, they asked the girls to reflect on any physical insecurities that they had so that they could take those insecurities to God  and we could pray over them.  MacKenzie said that she couldn't think of anything so she prayed about her "big feet".  She said that was all that she could come up with.  My first thoughts were "oh no!" I've made her feel bad about her feet, and while I will genuinely be more conscious of this regarding any comments I make about her feet, I feel so blessed that she actually struggled with something to come up with.  It's because I know that for her, it's not because she's vain or full of herself, in fact it is the opposite. Her outward appearance is not where her focus is.   I love this innocence and hope it never goes away for her.  Love the raw purity of being 100% content with how you are wonderfully made.  From her, I could learn a lesson...

I'm so blessed to have a little secret keeper girl - a true masterpiece created by God's hand.

A Secret Keeper Girl values modesty, she surrounds herself with wise friends and she embraces Godly beauty. She also knows that she can share all of her heart secrets with her mom at any time. The coolest thing for you to know is that a Secret Keeper Girl is a masterpiece created by God.

Enjoying the Park

We had a lazy weekend.  We went to the park Friday, Saturday, and Sunday...the girls loved being outside and with comfortable temperatures, I really didn't mind either.

We went at times that I thought it would be quiet without many other people so that I could feel comfortable letting them walk  little bit.  Nala was so excited that she fell down every few steps...her big sister thought it was hilarious...

They absolutely loved swinging.  Weekends are certainly to be treasured because it is then that I get to really spend time enjoying my three. 

Laughter we picture {this} - a little drama too

September's theme: LAUGHTER.  

 
Camera:  Canon Rebel XSI
Lens:       50 mm 1.4
Exposure: 1/200 @ f/2.8 ISO 400
Mode:  Manual

I took this picture of Nia last month.  MacKenzie got behind me and made Nia laugh.  I love it!  In the same breath she gave me this dramatic pose...

Camera: Canon Rebel XSI

Lens: 50 mm 1.4
Exposure: 1/125 @ f/2.8 ISO 400
Mode: Manual

Combined these two pictures capture the essense of Nia...in one little package she is silly and intense all at once!

Check out more laughter posts by clicking on the we picture this button.

Just Plain Gorgeous

Today we celebrated my niece Cydney's 4th  birthday in Oklahoma City.  She celebrated costumed as Princess Tiana.  Her mom, my sister, asked me to take her outside quickly for some pics before I left.  Here is one of my favs!  Simply put, she is just plain gorgeous!

and another of her smiling this time ;)

and with the notebook that I had customized for her bday

Complete Enjoyment

Usually on Sundays while at church I learn so much more about God, oftentimes more about myself, but this past Sunday I also  learned more about my little Nia.  The title of the sermon was "Just Ask" - a message delivered by Ethan Vanse.  In the illustration of his point that we need to move beyond asking in general to being specific in our invitations to have people join us at church he told about how he went on an awesome trip to Disneyworld with fellow church staff members and they went to a really nice restaurant with a view of the parks and super yummy food - his favorite food.  He noted that being there was magical, but he snuck away realizing that something was missing - his wife and kids.  He snuck away to call his wife and told her that as soon as he got home he wanted to schedule a trip for all of them to go. He realized that his personal enjoyment wasn't  complete because he wasn't sharing it with the people he loved most.

If you been around me lately and we got to talking about the girls, you've probably heard me say that every morning when Nia wakes up, the first thing she does is yell for "Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllaaaaaaaa"

If I hand her a treat, she turns and looks back and yells for
"Naaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

When it's time to go and she makes it to the door first, she yells back for
"Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaa"

I wouldn't describe Nia as the "sweetest" baby in the world, BUT one thing is for certain - she LOVES her Nala.  She is always looking out for her, but as I sat in service on Sunday, I realized it might be more to it.  I think right now, Nala is the person she loves the most and knows the most intimately, more than anyone else in the world.  Because of this, it is only natural that she wants to share her enjoyment with her sister. 

I sincerely hope that my girls are always close - and always find joy in sharing with one another...

Wordless Wednesday - A Little Mix-up at School for So NOT Identical Twins

New School

NiNa started at a new school on Wednesday.  A week ago Friday was their last day at their old school.  I really hate that the scheduling didn't work out for us.  We've had a wonderful experience for the last year.  Thankfully we were able to find a place that we will prayerfully love just as much.  The girls are enrolled two days at week to give daddy a little bit of much needed/deserved rest time.

Here are some pics from the first day.  They did pretty well with drop off - just a few tears from Nala when we left...she calmed/quieted down before we made it down the hall :)  Nia was completely fine the whole time, she was off making new friends.  Their end of the day report stated that they were both happy, quiet, and busy.  Also, they told KT that they were pretty tired and very much ready for nap!  Our girls are used to lots of resttime :)

 

Hannah's Shower

This past Saturday we had a shower for my friend Brandy.  Unexpectantly, Brandy delivered a beautiful 2 lb baby girl at 26 weeks.  Mommy and Baby are doing so well and have truly been a testament of God's blessings, favor, and grace.  I'm so proud of Brandy for the way she has handled this with such strength! 
Hannah has spent the last month in the NICU growing big and strong and today weighs over 3lbs.  We are so excited about that.  Her Aunt Hope is pretty thrilled that at 3.5 lbs she is going to get to finally get to wear some cute little outfits!!  We are all so ready for her to come home - I personally can't wait to hold her cute little self.

At her shower, she got lots of cute little things - can't wait til she can enjoy them!

                                           

Summer's Over!!

I'm not sure how, but somehow the summer has come and gone.  This summer, especially these last few weeks just completely flew by. 

MacKenzie went back to school this week after having a very full and exciting summer.  I can hardly believe that my baby is a 4th grader.  She was thrilled to go back to school.  She's been at her school since she was 4 and for her it is a 2nd  "home".  On Monday when she woke up she told me that she woke up every hour.  I remember that exact feeling every first day of school.  There is just something about coming back and starting it all over again.  We are excited about this year for her.  We think she has a terrific foundation and will do well - we are excited and hopeful that she will be challenged.  This year she will have to manage her school work load, continuing to do Kumon and piano, but will have to manage this with three nights of gymnastics versus two (10.5 hrs vs 6hrs/ week).  While I'm confident she can do it, I often offer up "outs"...she never bites :) ! Because she works so hard, I am willing to let her have this.  She really enjoys it and for her it is a challenge.  I love that she is working out and continuing to get strong and more so than anything that she LIKES it - but at anypoint she is ready to quit - I'm TOTALLY on board.

I asked her what she loved most about her summer.  MacKenzie is very indecisive and is in general careful about commiting her choices.  In the end, she said she basically LOVED it all - especially her summer trips - St. Louis, Fulton, Kansas City, and New Orleans.  And as far as local camps she really like a Project Runway class she took at her school and one that she did just last week.  Last week she went to a culinary camp.  It was AWESOME - she learned to make so many things including quesadillas, baked chicken, roasted carrots and lots of yummy desserts including made from scratch cookies , molten chocolate cake, and cinnnamon rolls!  I'm excited for her to try them out at home!

I'm prayerful that this year will be a good one for her and that she will continue to grow and mature as the little young lady she is becoming.

Finally - when I dropped her off on Monday - she revealed that as excited as she was - she was going to miss being with her sisters.  I LOVE it.  I love that MacKenzie finally has that...

She

1) is my sister
2) is one of my bestfriends
3) is absolutely stunning
4) let me practice shooting in manual
5) always has my back
6) is amazingly smart
7) is super skinny
8) is an awesome mother to Robin II & Cydney
9) is an excellent wife to Robin
10) has always been fiesty
11) loves God first and her family second
12) loves fashion and getting "dolled up"
13) is a true middle child
14) reminds me of my mother
15) is one of the strongest people I know
16) is very proud of her roots
17) is never afraid to speak her mind
18) chooses her friends wisely
19) never passes up a free meal
20) is affectionally called Maine