Carter Family, etc.

Today, family friends celebrated their last Sunday for a while with their dad.  Todd has been called away to Afghanistan, for work, for a while and Jeff and I, along with the rest of my family, were blessed to join their church for a commissioning service.  After, several sweet ladies hosted a lunch party.

My face is really tired.  I know that sounds stupid, but it just really is.  It's been a really crazy weekend.  Yesterday we (My "four core" + Jeff + me) made a day trip to OKC for my cousin's funeral.  It was a blessing and it was horrible.  It was definitely the most thoughtful and personal and wonderful funeral service I've ever been to, yet I really didn't see it coming.  Lisa had been sick for two years, and we all just knew that she would get better.  I mean, I could picture her autobiography in my head.  The Story of Survival.  Some great title like that.  My New Heart.  Maybe that one.  Anyways, it's been a long and complicated journey and one I'll never know or understand all the details of.   So yesterday was a rough day.  (I feel kinda stupid writing that, in light of what the last few years were like for Lisa and her family, and what the coming years will mean for her family, but the truth is, it just really was a rough day.)  It was so hard to see her friends mourning, but really, watching my family (her grandmother/my great-grandmother had seven children reach adulthood, each of whom have several children, many of whom have children...it's a large clan) was the worst.  It hurt; it was hard.  But it was beautiful.  There was so much to celebrate about Lisa and who she was and who she will be, through her two daughters.  For what it had to be, it was exactly right.  (Side note, please be praying for this family)

Aaanyways, then today was Todd's commissioning service, etc.  And again, it was exactly right.  So much worship and prayer and Truth, and it was good.  I know his wife and four kids and grandson and gobs of other blood-family and friend-family are going to miss hum very much, but the confidence to which they witness is inspiring.  The Desert Song was the last song sung at church (by Todd's youngest, Eden, who is a-mazing, btw) put this weekend into great perspective for me.  You should try to listen to it--it's complex and almost a little dark-sounding at times, and very open-ended, which, for many of us, is more appropriate than we'd like to admit.  Here's it is:

The Desert Song Lyrics

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow  Great song.  Anyhow, here are some photos of the fabulous Carter family before Todd heads to Afghanistan next week:

 Beautiful family!!  Lots of love.  Lots of people to be praying for.  Don't forget to include them, and me, on your lists, por favor. 

xoxo Bec

Eden | Howe, Texas Portrait Photographer

So you may remember a while back seeing a wee post about two very sweet girls from my very sweet home town.  Well, today you are going to have the distinct pleasure of seeing one of those two girls again!  Eden is a sweetheart.  I so enjoyed getting to spend a couple hours with her yesterday, and she was such a good sport and let me drag her all over the place in the very very cold wind, kneeling and laying an sitting and standing and always happy and making fabulous sultryish faces!!  Honest, fabulous, Eden.

How can you not be in love with this girl!?  Ahhh.

xoxo Bec

Teaser!!

Oh my goodness, I had the best afternoon.  I couldn't resist going ahead and starting Eden's pics after dinner tonight...and then I couldn't stop.  But I promised my hubby a PS3 Move date, and I've kept him waiting long enough, so you'll have to be satisfied with a teaser...sorry!!  Check this girl out... more to come!!

xoxo Bec

Personal: Poetry

A the risk of sounding really corny/angsty/nostalgic/like some of my dear and very loved students, I open this post like so:

I went to a poetry workshop today, and I was reminded of an important part of myself that has been ignored.

Ahhh, can you feel the teenage glow bursting off that line?!  I can!!  Haha...but it's for real!  Teacher are required to get 2039482 hours of inservice every year (give or take) (by the way, my web browser doesn't recognize that "inservice" is a word.  That should mean something), and usually about 2039481 of those hours aren't a lot of fun. I can count on the technology department at GHS to come up with great/applicable material, but other than that...usually it's a little depressing.  Or a lot.  Can I get an AMEN from the teachers out there?!

But today--today was good.  Kay Shurtleff was our presenter, and she was a trip.  Talk about a gifted teacher.  Anyhow, we talked all about poetry, and personally went through a lot of her starters, tools, exercises, etc. together.  And I remembered that I love to write.  And think.  And writeandthink.

So be looking for more of that, hopefully.  TV sucks, I'm going to cut out about 80% of that from now on.   Brain-thinking rulz.


xoxo Bec

WINNERS!!!

Really, we're all winners.  For serious.  And that's what my photography is about.  Showing you what a winner you are!!  But I'm talking about the winners of my sweet awesome little drawing I had via the fabulous venue of facebook.  Here's how it went down:

1.  I made a fanpage and announced that the first 500 fans of the page would be entered in a drawing for a free photo-date and a free 11x14 canvas (a $195 total value, mind you).

2.  I watched with glee as fan after fan "liked" my page.  This was extremely good/bad for my ego, depending on your perspective.

3.  The speed of fan joinage slowed, and I realized that 500 was a lofty goal, and it might be time to get reasonable.

4.  I changed the rules, so instead of 500 fans, there was a deadline.  Whoever was in was in!!

5.  At 11 pm on the aformentioned deadling day, I began handwriting names.

6. At 12:30 AM (DID NOT THINK it would take this long!!) I finished and had decided that after all that I wasn't going to only draw one name...three names it would be!!

7.  I got really really really nervous.  And then I drew.

Here's documentation!!

EEK, so many!!  Were you one of the lucky ducks in this pretty bowl?

Nolan could NOT stay out of my biz.

At this point, I was extremely extremely nervous.  I have 0% idea why.

#1, winner of the photo-date and the free 11x14 canvas...KAARA!!  YAY!!!!

#2, winner of a photo-date...Kristi!!  So eager to make a new friend in my teaching-town!

And #3, winner of a photo-date, Jill!!  She's not used to getting third place...as you can understand, if you do a little research on TCU basketball.

YAY YAY YAY!!  Thank you to everyone for the mountains of support.  Can't wait to have these ladies cash in their prizes!

xoxo Bec