A Walk by Her Room...

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life.  And everyone deserves a little sunshine.  ~Jeffrey Glassberg

i walk by her room everyday, multiple times a day...this room occupied by Grace...which at one time occupied two older sisters who graduated to the rooms on the third floor.  how quickly the time flies.  today something made me stop and look and snap a picture of this grace-filled room.  something about the artfully & perfectly displayed birthday stash that Miss Grace arranged at the foot of her bed made me take notice.  I know it won't be long... before the pink ruffled girly sanctuary space will be replaced with a grace-filled room of her own. 

GRACE & BUTTERFLIES by Kelly Rae Roberts

- Gracie, Ben Folds ♫
  

Grace for President!

If Grace were president

art class would be everyday

daydreaming would be homework

there would be three day weekends.

Grace turns 12 today

and she has a day off school,

because today...she is president!

Today is her day!

Today is her birthday!

And today she has no homework

she has a whole day to play

a whole day to dream.

  Make a wish!

- Grace, U2 ♫

Inspiration - Not Aspiration...

“Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” –Louisa May Alcott

 

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."

-Henry David Thoreau

remembering how excited i was to discover my photo was chosen for the photo of the month in the local paper.  totally unexpected surprise that tuesday morning!
now readers are asked to vote for their favorite of the top ten photos of the year.  funny how my enthusiasm quickly turns to vulnerability, as my photo is compared to others. 

remembering the joy that was captured on that day as we took in the beauty around us and just played with dear friends. 
remembering my daughter saying, "Mom, look...that would make a great photo!"  and we all clicked away and waved.  remembering the bliss i felt as my girl was able to notice the beauty in that moment.

far away in the sunshine, i sometimes aspire to be a photographer.
i may not reach this aspiration, but i can look up, and i can look down, and i can see God's beauty over and under my feet.  i can look through the eye of my camera and i can capture His inspiration.  and i can revel in the joy when my daughters can see it too.

vote for your favorite here.

"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." -Job 32:8

 Inspiration - Not Aspiration - God Calling February 15th

Free to fly, free to dream...

i'm on again for the "senior" lunch catering service for my daughter and her high school friends.  baked potatoes with all the toppings, and blueberry muffins are on the menu.  i'm going into it a bit with a bit more confidence the second time around, though God didn't give me a "seven baskets full" devotion for moral support like last time.  He's letting me fly on my own.  but what i did get was a little whisper when i found the perfect sized aeri box to hold the sweet treats, with its little "free to dream" message on the inside lid.  love when that happens!