the busiest of busy

this whole year has been kinda flying by, the busiest of busy weeks was back in may. my little brother was graduating from community college back home and i was planning a little thing at the park for him. so sunday we had friends over for dinner. then i had to work monday & tuesday, and we went to our tuesday night group that evening. early wednesday morning i woke up for the eight hour drive to my alum and watch k. walk the stage. the following day we celebrated at a local park on the beach with our closest of friends -- the people we call family. the ones that know all of your secrets, all of your jokes; the ones you feel at ease with. we grilled out, threw the frisbee around, and enjoyed the display a pod of dolphins decided to entertain us with -- their nightly feeding along the shore, they even brought their babes! if you are keeping track, it's already friday and back to south carolina i went. because i had a date with my husband and some of our friends at our local art museum for their arts & draughts night. i came home, exhausted, but marched on! the next day was a little shower for our friend j. (she'll be delivering in the next few weeks!) i helped her sis-in-law do some set up, made some good eats, and brought some crafts. it was so much fun and i should have taken more photos. over the past few years i've been trying to decide when to walk away from the camera and enjoy the moment. sometimes i regret it afterward (example: the dolphin feeding showcase). it's a fine line, and one day i'll figure out how to walk on it well. that afternoon i took a short nap and started a three night stretch of working night shift, which was strange because it had been over a year since working nights. and, that, my friends, is the busiest of busy. and it was all worth it. enjoy!

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apparently, a family favorite (:


j., you should feel honored -- i caved, signed up for pinterest whilst planning this shindig, and found this little gem!

Lenten Devotionals: Wednesday, March 27, 2013

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies declare the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3

In a recent Sunday school class, our teacher reviewed the five senses by which we humans discern and reason things. He further showed how even the most intelligent minds cannot apprehend and know God by human senses alone. We need a "sixth sense", if you will, the Holy Spirit whose enlightenment alone brings sinful man to a holy God.

When I look back on my life, I realize that I went through this process of discovery during my sophomore year of college. I was taking both Philosophy 101 and Religion 101 that semester. Thrown into the arena of the "great thinkers", I was struggling with that I believed. (Religion 101 was no help because the curriculum was based on liberal theology with no message to me of a personal God.)

I lapsed into a brief atheistic period during which I didn't attend church, but that was not satisfying, either. One day, during second semester, I was sitting outside enjoying the beauty of the campus in its spring wardrobe. I speculated on he rhythm and ordered regularity of the seasons and nature, and a Sixth Sense said to me, "Look around you, there must be a Creator God."

Immediately I was settled about the matter. It was quite a few more years before I personally "met" my Creator, but it was there on that campus that I discovered that He is there.

 God, You are there and You are not silent. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, a mind to think and reason, a voice to tell, hands to help, and Your Holy spirit, who will guide u into all truth. For Jesus' sake, amen. 

-- Sally Privett (Submitted in 2011)


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Spent my morning with Grandmama. We sat in her enclosed sun room, the tomatoes slowly growing beside a wicker couch, and it was there that we shared conversation and she invited Jasper to her lap and lovingly patted his head. Reading this devotional the night before our breakfast date, I was prepared to spend time with this woman, who I've only ever known as a musical artist, but now realize she is a poet as well. She speaks to my heart.

The Tale of the Bleeding Nose

Everyone has their opinion about my laugh. It is something I have heard all of my life -- either it is too loud and obnoxious or people, quote, "love it, it makes me laugh!" There is no grey area when it comes to my laugh. You all know exactly how you feel about it.

Freshman year of college I was watching Kung Fu Hustle with some friends in Gainesville. (Let me point out that this movie is a comedy.) During the opening fight scene, I remember the old lady landlord doing something funny, so I -- of course -- laughed! Out loud! A lot! Two of my three friends promptly stood up and sat three rows away from me. (And I promptly stoop up & walked into another theatre to watch The Ballad of Jack & Rose -- a movie I was much more interested in watching, by the way.) More recently, coworkers have coined me "Betty" (and my colleague, K. "Wilma") for our disturbing bouts of laughter. This type of attention to my guffaw is not new.

So earlier this week we were all lying in bed. By "we," I mean my husband, Jasper, and me (Gilly hasn't gotten down with this snuggle fest just yet, but cooler weather is around the corner and I see her changing her mind). Jasper is between us, going to town licking/biting himself, doing whatever it is he does, and out of his mouth (I think it was his mouth) escapes a loud fart-like noise. J. immediately accuses me of farting and tells me how gross I am. I told him it wasn't me, but, really our puppy's flatulence. My dear husband, my best friend and soul mate, accuses me of lying to him, and of course it was me not the dog who made this obscene noise in our pure virginal bed. I started laughing -- I mean really laughing -- so hard. I couldn't believe that J. wouldn't believe me! Laughing turned to snorting, and well, you get the picture. In response to these noises he had probably never heard before, Jasper got really excited, fumbled his way out of the in-between space of the covers, started panting like he does when he's overstimulated, hops toward me, and mid-snort, bites me in the face!

Like I said, there is no grey area when it comes to my laugh.

Gray Family Portraits, Part II

If y'all remember, David and I had the pleasure of photographing this fine family before their newest bundle of joy was born. This little guy, Bragan, came to meet the world on October 13th and we had the pleasure of meeting him on October 24th during this photo session. The Gray family has been unbelievably patient as, yes, it took us almost 6 weeks to finish editing them!! Here are some of our favorites:







































Enjoy!

Gray Family - by David!

David finished editing his photos tonight and I wanted to share some of my favorites! I'm such a sucker for candids. (:











and one of mine I didn't include last time: