Thanksgiving

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here is my thankful list:
I am thankful for...
1. family
2. music and my iPod
3. my computer
4. new make-up :)
5. a party in the basement (where my siblings and I are sleeping for the week)
6. a clean bedroom (for once in a lifetime)
7. food, lots of food..,,,
8. fun outings with friends
9. pictures
10. nice weather

Blog Party

I hesitated to join this, because I thought I would forget about it and miss something... but it looked like so much fun, I finally decided to do it.




First, about me:

Leaves and Flowers and stuff...

Dogs...

I've found dogs are very hard to photograph. But I got a few good ones:

In which I attempt to write a devotional of sorts...

Dear reader,

I have been learning a lot of Christian-ly things these days, from school, church, bible study, and a Sunday school class I am helping lead. I’ve been learning a lot about perseverance and God’s plan. So I decided to accumulate all that I’ve learned into one… well I guess you could call it a devotional. For my benefit and yours.
I hope you enjoy my ramblings and hopefully learn a bit in the process.

(And, of course, I have to add some pictures I took today, to make it more interesting.)

Perseverance:

.verb

1. to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

In my worldview class, we are learning about Job. In the story of Job, Job’s faith is tried. Job goes through many trials and suffers greatly but “in all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” (Job 1:22 ESV)

Practical Application: The Book of Job reminds us that there is a "cosmic conflict" going on the behind the scenes that we usually know nothing about. Often we wonder why God allows something, and we question or doubt God's goodness, without seeing the full picture. The Book of Job teaches us to trust God under all circumstances. We must trust God, not only WHEN we do not understand, but BECAUSE we do not understand. The psalmist tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30). If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever He allows—is also perfect. This may not seem possible to us, but our minds are not God’s mind. It is true that we can’t expect to understand His mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Nevertheless, our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not.

[http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Job.html]

Sparkling Raindrops

I was sitting inside on a boring, rainy day when I looked outside to see this:

The redbud tree had a few leaves hanging on and the whole tree looked magical with the raindrops dripping off every leaf and branch.

It's not winter yet...

Above: zooming in or out while taking the picture. Key to doing this: low speed

BONUS:
I got a new camera! xD
It is a Canon Rebel XS

On a more serious note...

Memories are important.

They are why we have photographs, why we make photo albums and why we scrapbook. We want to remember the good years, days, and moments of our life.

Most people don’t remember the first 3 or 4 years of their life, so we have pictures help us remember, or to give us an idea of what it was like.

“It is generally accepted that no-one can recall their birth. Most people generally do not remember anything before the age of three, although some theorists (e.g. Usher and Neisser, 1993) argue that adults can remember important events - such as the birth of a sibling - when they occurred as early as the age of two." -John Dent, Middlesbrough, UK

I recently looked through all the photo albums we have stacked up in our family room. I came across pictures, events, and moments I had long since forgotten. I am so grateful my parents chose to take lots of pictures when we were young, despite the fact that all they had back then was film, which was expensive.

I am grateful for photographs that help us remember those times I would otherwise forget.

“A life-long blessing for children is to fill them with warm memories of times together. Happy memories become treasures in the heart to pull out on the tough days of adulthood.”

-Charlotte Davis Kasl

Memories, are why I take pictures. When I am older and have I family, I am going to take lots of pictures of my children and family; even if they are embarrassed by it and end up having a phobia of cameras in their teen/adult years. They won’t regret letting me take those pictures. I know from experience. I can’t remember everything that happened when I was 2 years old, I can’t remember everything that happened that one time when we travelled to California when I was 5 of 6. I can’t remember every Christmas and Birthday I’ve ever had. But I can look at pictures, they help me remember.

I remember lots of things,

The good memories…

Of camping trips and campfires, of birthday parties and scavenger hunts. Of bbq’s with good friends, picnics with my family. Memories of trips to Europe and sunny days at the pool. Of deep worship sessions with my church family and many, many stupid music videos with my neighbor. Of horseback riding and playing soccer, of the one year we did swim team. Of all the flowers I’ve photographed and rainbows I’ve glimpsed.

And the bad memories…

Memories of throwing up and falling down. Of letting go and giving up. Of those embarrassing moments when you say something you wish you could take back; or when you lost your chance and didn’t say anything at all. Memories of being made fun of, mocked, and knocked down. Of when you did something you knew you shouldn’t have done and have regretted it ever since. Of failed attempts, lies, and broken relationships. Memories of saying goodbye.

But I’ve also forgotten many things.

I hope to have many more memories of things like this; good, bad, sad or embarrassing. I hope to get many pictures. Pictures of laughing and smiling or crying/frowning.

Happy Birthday to me…

I am sixteen years old as of today.

Sixteen years of memories, experiences, and adventures; both good and bad.

Sixteen years of pictures and videos. Pictures of us smiling, laughing, crying and frowning.

I hope to have more than sixteen years of the future to experience, to take pictures, to travel, and to make memories.

Why are memories important?

“They are your identity.
They ARE your life experiences, how you view the world, why you view the world in the way you do-- without them, you don't know who you are.”

[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081013123354AANTmdM]

What are some things you remember of your childhood, or even just a few years ago?
Why are memories important to you?

Life List

Just some things that are happening in my life today/recently.

1. Soccer season has ended... I have to wait until spring to play again.
2. Dedicating a notebook to one thing (e.g. science...) and using it for everything else (e.g. journal entry, to-do list...)
3. Hearing the siblings watch Percy Jackson, but choosing not to watch it with them because of school. (Which is a first...)
4. Hand cramps from writing too much.
5. Finding a nail polish color that I've been looking for for months (sister was hiding it away for some reason...) and painting my nails with that color, even though I was already wearing a different color.
6. Sick days that aren't actually sick days (well I am sick) because I still have to do school since I am, you know, homeschooled.
7. The sound of rain.
8. A new blog (in case you couldn't tell by the large number of posts I've written so far...)
9. Wishing we hadn't run out of kleenex's becuase my nose is still stuffed up.
10. Reading about Job and his not-so-comforting friends.
11. Wishing I lived on the beach somewhere warm, balmy, and perfect for taking pictures.
12. Hoping my parents will let me buy a new camera... perhaps as a birthday present? (...pretty please, mom?)
13. Thankful for having an extra computer since my laptop broke, but sadbecuase now I have no access to photoshop :[ (Until we install it on said extra computer--see above.)
14. Not wanting to stop on a weird in-the-middle number so I'm going to keep going until I hit 15. (Or 20 if I keep thinking of this to add.) [I know, very OCD of me, but my sister does it too: "No, the volume can't be on 27, change it so it's on 28! It can only be on an even number."]
15. Hoping we'll have something good for dinner, because I'm hungry.

A typical day in the life....

And some pictures:

 Sand in a tall, skinny, jar.



Creatively You

So I decided to enter the "creatively you" challenge at Rise and Fly

I took some other, more creative pictures of me, but they weren't really in focus, since there wasn't much light today. So I just went with this one... even though I don't really like it all that much...

Rainy Days

The past few days have been rainy and gray, not the best for taking pictures, but I still managed to get some.
The fall colors really liven things up.

Here are some of the pictures I took.

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10.

I love the textures and colors, so beautiful. Fall it great. (Until all the leaves fall off and its just a hassle to rake them all up.)

Which picture do you like the best?

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!
I love taking pictures, so on this blog I will share my recent photo adventures.
I hope you enjoy hearing about me, my crazy life, and seeing my growth in photography.

Thanks for visiting my site,
Sophie Marie