{this moment}

   {this moment} - A Friday ritual.

             A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

                         A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

                                                                                        A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

                                                                                                                                 Inspired by SouleMama

*the things you do*

Someone just learned how to make kissy lips...

                                                                         ...be still my heart.

Wedding Weekend

Flying with a toddler was another story. I am happy we will not be doing that again any time soon. It was kind of stressful trying to keep an active feisty toddler who partied late the night before on the dance floor quiet and contained in my lap for a few hours. We played with play dough and trains and colored and ate snacks and lollipops but there were a few fits too and thankfully the surrounding travelers were gracious.

my handsome wedding date.

  The morning after we took a early morning walk  with sweet little Jael still sporting her sparkly wedding shoes. The above place reminded me of something that should be in the shire not the city but it did look pretty enchanting.

Philadelphia is breathtaking this time of the year and we collected our color treasures along the way. It was a whirlwind weekend  but so wonderful to be in my friends house with her family for a few days.

 There are no words for how precious these women are to me. We have welcomed new lives together and said goodbyes and shared so much. My heart is full of memories of growing up with them, summers, birthdays, recitals then marriages, pregnancies and births.  The last few days gave me a few more to treasure.  

*Autumn Wedding*

What a day for a wedding. I flew up to Philadelphia with my baby boy this past weekend to sing in a wedding. It was beyond gorgeous. Colors flung vibrant as a painter's palette, long shadows and perfect golden light. It was a lovely landscape to celebrate love. I've known Charlotte since she was a little bitty thing  and I spent almost every weekend at her house with her big sister who has been my best friend since I was eight. It never gets old, seeing someone dear to you fall in love. So much joy overflowing.  It was a day I will not soon forget.

wooden heart

This a beautifully shot video of a powerful poem ...one that I love for it's truth, sadness and hope.

Listener "Wooden Heart" from Nathan Corrona on Vimeo.

here are some of the words...

We’re all born to broken people on their most honest day of living
and since that first breath... We’ll need grace that we’ve never given
I've been haunted by standard red devils and white ghosts
and it's not only when these eyes are closed
these lies are ropes that I tie down in my stomach,
but they hold this ship together tossed like leaves in this weather
and my dreams are sails that I point towards my true north,
stretched thin over my rib bones, and pray that it gets better
but it won’t won’t, at least I don’t believe it will...
so I've built a wooden heart inside this iron ship,
to sail these blood red seas and find your coasts.
don’t let these waves wash away your hopes
this war-ship is sinking, and I still believe in anchors
pulling fist fulls of rotten wood from my heart, I still believe in saviors
but I know that we are all made out of shipwrecks, every single board
washed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shores
so come on and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

I am the barely living son of a woman and man who barely made it
but we’re making it taped together on borrowed crutches and new starts
we all have the same holes in our hearts...
everything falls apart at the exact same time
that it all comes together perfectly for the next step
but my fear is this prison... that I keep locked below the main deck
I keep a key under my pillow, it’s quiet and it’s hidden
and my hopes are weapons that I’m still learning how to use right
but they’re heavy and I’m awkward...always running out of fight
so I’ve carved a wooden heart, put it in this sinking ship
hoping it would help me float for just a few more weeks
because I am made out of shipwrecks, every twisted beam
lost and found like you and me scattered out on the sea
so come on let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, just some tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

october

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."~Anne of Green Gables~ I really am. It is such an beautiful month in this valley of ours. Just when a season might start to get wearisome, October comes with crisp morning air, fire smells and trees with color trickling through them. It's intoxicating, this favorite season of mine. The change of seasons always brings me hope somehow. A reminder of the intricate order, the magnificent rhythm of the spinning home of ours, set perfectly in the cosmos, constantly moving around the sun, giving us days and seasons. A pulsing, changing, growing expanse of life, created by our Father who causes the sun to rise every morning and knows every thought I think. It will never cease to leave me in awe. There are times I want to run from the difficult, the stress, from what I am not. Then there are times that I look up and the sky and the fragile leaves comfort me. And it is enough, because it points me to His face again.

to the river

I am quite behind on recording things in this space so I thought I'd attempt to catch up a bit. There are times I love having the camera and capturing things through the lens but many others I prefer to just be in the moment. I was happy to have it on this amazing day of watching my kids glory in this wide beautiful world.

One of our favorite things to do is drive up to the Ocoee River and wade in the water watching the kayaks and rafters rushing through the rapids. It is always a lovely way to get away for a day into gorgeous mountains and come back refreshed. So that is just what we did on the last day of summer vacation before school.

Saying goodbye to summer...