Tuesday

Feeling grateful.

Here's some photos I snapped today (digital, not film) on our walk to see my brother and sister in law's new house they just just closed on. They're remodeling, so don't mind the mess!

Sophie in a tangle of loving hands.

Wolfy and those ridiculous brown eyes.

Sophie Marie

Chauntelle, Sophie, Sherri, Jessie and baby Campbell, who she nannies.

Tiny feet.

Sophie always has us laughing!

Pretty old messy floors.

Scarlett and Sophie. 

They literally just sat here like they were posing for me. But when you WANT them to pose for a picture, you can forget about it.

Kayla, being a goof and happened to see me taking her picture,

 so she blessed me with this fancy pose.

The beautiful (x1000) Karsyn. I mean seriously, talk about photogenic this one!

Just some flowers.

Semi candid me, snapped by Sherri. I was walking over in front of the green to take a photo, 

but the posed picture looked silly and I liked this one better.

Scarlett and her big cheesy grin.

Pretty sure Wolf likes his new house, cause he was running around like a crazy boy!

Stacy & Scarlett

Wolf being super animated and yelling about who knows what haha

Wolf and some happy sun flare accidents.

And Wolfy leading the pack, obviously.

Hope you all enjoyed your Tuesday as much as I did.

Love,

Christie

A few thoughts on photography

I feel like a good photographer finds and borrows beauty that God has already put in the world; a beautiful face, the magnificent sky, the sun illuminating the softest hairs blowing in the wind..
But a great photographer borrows that beauty from the world, and then, at the perfect moment, draws forth a bit of their soul, and captures the beauty that God has placed within themselves.

(I could rabbit trail off into the subject of glorifying God with whatever talents and gifts we've been given, but although my above statement relates to that topic, it isn't necessarily exclusive to it. And I can already tell that is far too great a topic for the hour at hand. Which is almost 2am.)

I don't claim to be a great or even a good photographer at that, and in fact I wouldn't consider myself a photographer at all. There are so many wonderful photographers who I think have truly captured their own spirit, (perhaps a post on that later) so to put myself in a category with them at all just seems wrong.
Almost like calling myself a pianist when all I can do is tinker around a bit when there are people who spend most hours in a day practicing and perfecting that craft and earning that title.

With photography, it's really just that I enjoy capturing moments and I love the sound of the shutter and the feel of cranking the lever that advances the film to a new frame. It's strangely satisfying, and I find the whole process of using film rewarding.
Knowing that once you fire the shutter and crank that lever, for better or for worse, you've captured something permanently.

With all that said, I don't necessarily expect anyone to appreciate these photos but me, because they are mostly just captured moments of my family, and other random stuff that I feel I have a sentimental connection with more than anything..
But these are a few of my photos that mean something to me, so I figured I would share. 

There are always plenty of "stinkers" in each roll of film I get back, but when you're flipping through and find a shot that turned out exactly as you imagined it- that's what makes it all worth it.

If you've been wanting to get into film photography, I highly encourage you to go for it!

Love,
Christie

Deeply Rooted

Let me first just say that my primary reason for writing this post is not because I think I have everything figured out, or because I want to force my beliefs on you, or anything of that nature.

I am simply writing from the point of how these are the things I am learning and the things I wish I could have told myself a good while ago.. Not to say I would have done a single thing differently in my life, because I am thankful for where God has taken me.. but it's what has been on my heart, and I feel the need to share it.

I came across this magazine recently and it just truly jumped out at me because it's main focus is to encourage wives and mothers to become deeply rooted in their faith, which is something that is so very near and close to my heart. And before you stop reading this because you may not be a wife or a mother yet, let me assure you, I'm not either..
But this magazine and everything they are doing, while it's amazing that their mission statement is geared for wives and mothers, I think SO many of us younger women can benefit just as much, if not more, from it's content.

And before I elaborate, let me just say, GIRLSSS! Please, hear me. Single or dating or whatever you may be, you are LOVED, VALUED, and TREASURED by the maker of the universe and I feel like some of you may need to hear that.

But I just want to encourage you today (although I know it's hard) to try and stop focusing so much on finding a boyfriend or a future husband, and instead shift that focus onto yourself.

Here's what I mean: This time of being single, dating, or unmarried women, should be a time of preparation. A time to plant good seeds inside of ourselves and really consider the type of women we are, and the type of women we want to be! I know patience is such a hard thing this day and age, especially when ALL we see all day long is people who just seem to have everything together because they have found "the one" but let me tell you, those people don't have it all figured out either. Sure, they are lucky as all get out to have found love! But you shouldn't let the constant stream of media that promotes love and how it's the answer to all of your problems trick you into thinking that your life will be solved once you find that love or get married. It is my personal belief that God is the only one who has the kind of love that fixes all your problems. The only love that is truly fulfilling. And even if you are dating someone, my hope is that we all can find our identity in something OTHER than our "significant other". For me, that means finding my identity in Christ.

And this isn't meant to be some pep talk or some cheesy ad about personal growth, but let me get back to my point. This time of preparation. I'd say we can at least all agree on the fact that we'd love to get married and have kids someday, right? (give or take on that last part), and don't we want to have the best shot at being the BEST wives and mothers we can be?? I'll answer for you and say yes.
But where we often go wrong is thinking of this elusive "someday" when we think of those things.
But I am realizing that it starts here and now, and in this moment. 

Because what is a wife? She is you, married to your spouse. What is a mother? She is you, raising your children. The only way to be a good anything in this life is to be a good you. And the process and preparation for being the best wife/mother someday is to really take a good look at yourself now. To admit to your flaws, ask God to help you grow, to help you weed out the bad and to nurture the good in yourself and in your life.
And that is my prayer for all of you reading this who have maybe been struggling with your place in life and feeling like you can't wait to get to the the future and finally be in that place that so many other people are already in. I just want to encourage you to have patience. To rest. To wait. To dream. To prepare. To seek God. To plant seeds and to put in the time to water them and watch them grow. Because no change ever came from an idea. It comes from hard work and effort and often times blood, sweat, and tears.
But the beautiful thing about doing life as daughters of Christ is that the blood, sweat, and tears are never wasted. The fires are the things that produce the most gold in us.

And the other beautiful thing is that the bible promises that God is working things out for OUR good. It says to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all the rest will fall into place.
If we are trusting God in the present moment, I can promise you he has our best interests at heart and will prepare us for and provide for that elusive "someday" when the time is right for us.

I guess what I'm trying to say is instead of worrying "Who is right for me?" let's focus on making ourselves the best versions of ourselves that we can be and becoming women who are founded on something real. Who are built from the ground up in Christ. And let God worry about who's right for you when that time comes.

If you are finding yourself at all relating to the nature of this post, I hope you are encouraged and I hope you know how beautiful you are, inside and out.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love."

-John 15:1-9

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

-Romans 8:28

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

-Matthew 6:33

Thanks for reading,

Christie

Lucky Penny

I think I would probably blog more if I felt it was necessary.

The only thing I'm really interested and passionate about sharing on this blog is photos, and I do that on instagram about a thousand times a millisecond. Okay, not really, but almost.

So whatever void in me that blogging may have ever filled is already being taken up by instagram.

And I feel like posting iPhone photos on here is just kinda pathetic.. (But my Nikon batteries died after about 3 seconds today so I'm posting a couple iPhone pics on this post too)

I've also considered using this blog to post my film photos.. but somehow I always have this weird inexplicable need to "save them" for something special.. does anyone else do that with stuff? It's hard not to, even though I know it's not necessary. But now that Merriment's album cover and booklet is all done I guess that was the only real reservation I had for any film photos I liked of mine, and we only used one of them for one of the inside panels. So perhaps I'll post more of them on here soon.

But anyway, my point is that two things inspired me to take photos and actually blog today and that was A Beautiful Mess's new photoshop actions I had on my computer just waiting to be used, and some new boots!

And okay, okay, my new thrifted granny dress may have had something to do with it too.

I'd been wanting these "Lucky Penny" boots from Seychelles ever since I first saw them on someone's instagram last year, and after a few months of "Dang it, I really want those.." "No way, you don't need them!" "But they are everything I've ever wanted in a boot!" "But they're expensive, and you don't need them.." conversations with myself, I finally found them online for half the price! Thus finding the perfect way to justify it in my head, that and my birthday is in a couple months, so, psh, I practically deserved them. (Kidding.)

But in all seriousness, these boots were worth every penny to me!

I am obsessed with shiny shoes, and these are the perfect height and they just sang out to me!

"Oh hello, boots. Wanna be friends? Like forever? Okay, good. Me too."

Being a very thrifty gal by nature, it's always hard for me to actually spend more than $25 bucks on any one item of clothing, but I'm glad I talked myself into buying these. 

They are the kind of boots I would have slept in when I was a kid because I loved them too much to take them off. 

Thankfully I have gained some common sense over the years and can bear to take these off at night, but I wouldn't put it too far past me.

Love, 

Christie

Ice Cream

Today's outfit:
Dress: Forever 21
Tights/Shoes: Good ol' Target

I love Forever 21. It just makes all of my dreams come true. Well, almost all of them.
But seriously, ice cream print dress? Are you serious? Done.

Sometimes I think I really will be 21 forever.. although I'm 22, and will be turning 23 in a couple of months. I still feel roughly 21. I'm sure a lot of people feel that way though. My parents always say they still feel 18.

I've really liked being in my 20's.. my teenager years were so up and down and so emotionally stressful.
And sure things are still stressful and life is still hectic and evolving. But I am just so very thankful that I am continuously finding my identity in Christ and being renewed by Him daily. God's love is something I could never ever fully grasp, but as I get older I realize the more I rely on God and trust him, the better off I am. Still learning every day to do just that, and I'm not sure I will ever completely have it down. But it's a process. And I'm thankful for God's grace.

^^ Me in my natural habitat. Writing Music, Sleeping, Dreaming, Texting my boyfriend. All day every day. I dunno. Bye.

Love,

Christie

An account of sweets.

It's like.. if you have a cupcake that was left over from your birthday, and then directly after that you eat a cookie..... given that a few solid hours have gone by, are you allowed to eat a delicious macaroon that your sister sent you for your birthday? Even if it's not your birthday anymore?

Just looking for some answers... hoping to find them soon.. preferably within the next 3 minutes because that's about as long as it's gonna take me to get up, walk across my room, and open the box of macaroons.

A few minutes later...

Pink one = GONE.

If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, be sure and go to Sucré sweet boutique. They have the absolute best Macaroons.

Goodnight.

Love,

Christie