For those of you wondering about the watermark thing on all of them, suffice it to say that I was getting tired of simply putting my blog URL on every photo – in fact, I barely ever post photos anymore because of it.  :/  Hence, I finally bit the bullet and took fifteen minutes of my time to create a nicer looking thing.

If you’re wondering about scale here, the yellow flowers (sorry, don’t know their common or scientific name!) are roughly the size of a quarter.  Photo taken March 2012.

I’m still trying to figure out how, exactly, to photograph the sun.  This photo was taken sometime in the 2011.

 This was actually just a corner of a photograph, one which I didn’t like until I had cropped it extensively and used GIMP’s “oilify” effect.

This one is probably my personal favorite.  I love these little blossoms, and since they only appear for about a week every year, I try to take lots of photos while they’re around.

Playing with the sun again in this photo.  I did several edits on the lighting and focus, but I’m still not sure how much I like it.  The different watermark-thingy is from the fact that I edited it using PicMonkey (rather than GIMP).

Last week I took a number of photographs which I’d share with you now – except for the fact that they have yet to be uploaded onto the computer.

I’ve always loved your name.  In fact, I named my favorite doll Abbie when I was two or three years old.  For awhile Lizzy held to the notion that you were actually named after the doll.  It took us quite a bit to convince her that you weren’t.

Six years.  I blink, and all of the sudden you’re no longer a baby.  Time seems like such a vapor sometimes, and it just keeps getting faster.

I recall my sixth birthday.  We had a birthday party – my first one with friends over – and played musical chairs and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and raced each other for prizes of silly putty and multi-colored pens.  One of the little boys tried to scare me with a worm, but at that age I loved worms and snakes and reptiles.

And I felt like such a big kid.

I look at you and I know that I wasn’t really big, but I’m not surprised to see you thinking you are.  You watch me and help me and feed me skittles and give me pictures and I feel like I’m watching myself at age six.  How is it that time goes so fast?

Wasn’t I just doing that?  How come you’re big enough to do it?   It’s mind boggling, and I don’t want to blink because then you’ll be in high school (and we won’t talk about how old I’ll be!) and life is so short.

You’ve grown so much since the times I would hold you in Church and you’d suddenly let out an excited shriek, since the times you chewed and slobbered on everyone’s shoulders.

Every day I see you growing in grace and knowledge and sometimes craziness, and I’m so glad you’re my sister.  So glad God has given us this time together, however quickly it may seem to pass.

You are a wonderful sister to me, and I’m lovin’ every minute of it.

Happy Sixth Birthday, Abbie!

“Can I help you? ” Are you able to use my skills, imperfect though they be?

Little eyes and tongues beg me to say yes.  I cannot resist.

Clambering onto the counter, they thank me as I hastily make room for them by moving out of reach anything with potential messiness or fragile-ness.  They sit there, grinning away.

“May I stir it?”  Please let me do more than observe.  I want to be doing something for you.  I want to be useful.

I hand them the wooden spoon, knowing full well that afterward I will have to scrub them, the counter, and very likely myself, not to mention finishing stirring what they could not.

The joy on their faces reminds me of the reason I handed the wooden spoon to them on the first place.  It is not about my wants or desires.  Not about the cookies or a clean kitchen either.  It’s about teaching and encouraging little ones to be capable, hard working adults who glorify God in their daily lives.  It is about showing them by example what journey down the path of sanctification looks like.

Stirring, pouring, laughing and scooping, they give me a dim reflection of how I look, striving to do good works.

Just as they are unable to truly assist me, I am unable to truly do anything good.  The little bits that I do do are only there because of God’s work in my life.

And yet just as I thank them for their willingness,  God promises all rewards in heaven for all believers.

“The giving of a whole day’s wages to those that had not done the tenth part of a day’s work, is designed to show that God distributes his rewards by grace  and sovereignty, not of debt...because we are under grace, and not under the law, even such defective services, done in sincerity, shall not only be accepted, but by free grace richly rewarded.”  – Matthew Henry: A Commentary on the Whole Bible  (Volume 5, pg.284 on Matthew 20)

Despite the fact that I am by nature rotten to the core, utterly dead in sin, and a hater of God, He has chosen to redeem me and justify me.

Despite my disgustingly petty efforts, He promises not only to continue to santify me, but to reward me for these efforts!

Hallelujah for God’s wonderful grace!

Flowers

Joseph bouncing on our trampoline (I’m not sure why the stick is on there…)

Caleb “playing” the piano

Applauding himself

More flowers

I was planning on including a short video clip of Caleb’s new achievement, walking, but WordPress isn’t letting me do that right now.  Maybe I’ll try again tommorrow, but I’m getting sick of fighting the computer right now. : )

(this one is quite faint)