The hope that spring brings

{P 52: 10}

Don't you know that day dawns after night,
showers displace drought,
and spring and summer follow winter?
Then, have hope!
Hope forever, for God will not fail you!
-Charles Spurgeon

P52 {8 & 9}

They are sitting still, so near to one another and not wrestling, only because a treat was a stake. I hope someday when they are old and slow and loyal, that I will remember these days when they are rowdy, dirty, and fairly naughty with a huge smile. 

Ziva and Avery : The best of friends. 

Such proud pups. 

Conversations are best over carbs and crochet hooks. 

Ramblings of a nurse and {P52: 6 & 7}

Project 52: To get one picture a week. This has now turned into a lesson in forgiveness of self and realizing my limits and not being too self-critical. This equals: new goal.

Time to admit that some weeks there are no pictures taken, none, zero, zilch. Some weeks I run around like a chicken with my head cut off only to fall face first into bed exhausted, worn out, emotionally drained and wondering why in the world I ever thought nursing would be a good idea! Yes, there have been some hard days at the hospital lately. Hard days that make me realize more than ever that being a nurse is what ever fiber of my being was made to do. It was who God has called me to be. These same days have also left me wondering if I am strong enough. 

Am I strong enough to the hold the hands that are taking the last breaths? 

Am I strong enough to be a witness in those times? 

In those moments as I quietly pray for their soul? 

To fight back the tears as I am helping them to breathe? 

All while praying that this may be their last peaceful breath? 

Wondering if I should have done more?

Or possibly less?

Who am I to be at that bedside?

To go home with the memories of them heavy on my heart? 

To hug my parents extra hard just in case?

Now that we got the career/calling discussion handled, we can move on!

I still want to be pushing myself towards using the camera more and not give up completely just because not all pictures fall on the right week, or are taken at the right time. Whatever "the right" time is! So, 52 pictures will be taken, edited and posted. Moments will be documented. Maybe not all in the correct week, there may be many in one week and none in another, but nonetheless, they will be. 

P52: 6

A hike with Avery and Husband. 

P52: 7

A new study with Stephanie. 

"The climax of God's happiness

 is the delight He takes

 in the echoes of His excellence

 in the praises of His people. "

John Piper

Dog Shaming/Project 52 Week 5

This is Avery.
She has been credited with eating a whole days worth of vitamins from my cousin's pill keeper. Sunday was a goner. Though she swears the fish oil did wonders for her coat. Animal poison control was less than impressed.
And we won't even mention the 12 fun size Snickers bars that she swiped from the counter, wrappers and all. Down. The. Hatch.
But today, she got to finish off the last little bit of her jar of peanut butter. Usually we put the peanut butter in her KONG, but today, I gave her free reign with what was left of the jar. And boy, was she in heaven.

Project 52: Week 5

P52 Catch Up

It is no surprise to be that right off the bat I have to do a "catch up". This is how I roll with New Year's Resolutions or plans for my photography. But the point is this: while I may be doing a catch up post, I have been taking the pictures, and using my camera was the point of this goal. One of the things that I have noticed is that I do not take nearly enough photos. I need to take a large quantity and then see what is good. Even though I often feel like I am taking a lot of photos, I get home and realize I could have taken so many more. Therefore, goal within a goal: take more photos to have more options for P52.

Week 2

On the way to the Magic Kingdom

Week 3

Magic Kingdom at night, my favorite time to be at the park. I like that this photo captures the feeling of the bustle of the evening.

Week 4

E man.

There will probably be a lot of photos of Everett in this project. He is a challenge to get a good photo of. It seems that I always wind up with loads of pictures of Avery and very few of Everett. This is usually for no better reason than the fact that Avery will sit for a picture and can be bribed with a treat, while Everett, in true cat form, obeys no one. He is usually seen as a blur running out of the frame.

p52 Kick-Off: Week One

I was browsing the internets looking for something to keep me motivated to take pictures all through the year. I wanted something that would push me to get my camera out more and more, to stretch, to learn. I knew that Project 365 was far to large a commitment. Somedays I sleep all day and spend all night at the hospital, nothing much comes out of those days aside from work, I knew that I would be setting myself up for failure if I tried to take one picture per day. However, I found this, Project 52 Photo Challenge, much more do-able for this girl!

This picture is not anything special. It's not edited, it's not cropped, it's not touched up, at all. This is how I took the picture one night this week. What this picture is however, is us, right in the moment of this day-to-day life we are living. This is Everett's most favorite thing right now. This picture captures him, doing his cat thing, just as he is in normal, unedited life. And that, to me, is the point of p52, to capture our everyday memories.