Wordless...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I only hope such a saying can be remotely true as I journey on my quest to take a picture a day for the entirety of the year. I have found it to be compelling, as I think about what photo might help remind me, a year down the road, exactly what I was doing on that day in history. And although my photos are nowhere close to profound, it has been a fun task to try to express my day in a single snap. Here is just a taste of what I've come up with:

An awesome night of games with my lovely friends.

The traditional Sunday night O' Leary's pizza

Rob and I's newfound love and time-passes

The view from the window of my new job, pre-52 degree day

Something I absolutely cannot live without, and the colored marshmallows only make it better

The days of eating snow.

Miss Kaycee, the newest adorable child in my life

The daily breakfast of the children I nanny for, it's so amazing.

So the quest continues of taking a daily photo. Hopefully they just keep getting better as the year progresses.

It's the simple things....

Quote of the day from miss Avery (5 years old):
Avery: "Amber, Are you a grown-up?"
Me: "Yep, I'm a grown-up"
Avery: "Then why don't you have someone to marry you?"
Me: (pausing to carefully consider how I might answer this question)
Avery (during my pause): "Because you are waiting for just the right special person?


I love kids and their oh-so-simple view on life. When do we lose that anyway?


Today I was thinking about a couple of the funny realities of life. When we are born, we are taken care of, loved unconditionally and provided for in every way. When we cry people hug us, and comfort us and try to fix our brokenness.  We are also required to take daily naps. By the time we hit kindergarten those naps are quickly taken from us, we are asked to work independently and when we cry people tell us to act like a big kid. We are allowed summer break, and recces and lots of time to play. Just years down the road we are presented with even more responsibilities. We are asked to do things completely on our own, and discouraged to ask for help. When we cry it is embarrassing, and we spend much of our "free time" doing things besides playing- such as homework, chores, or other obligations. We are still allowed recess and summer vacation. As we continue to age recess is taken away, and in it's place we are asked to eat fast and hurry back to class. We are expected to do loads of homework each night, and focus less on ourselves and our passions are more on our school work. Summer vacation is still given to us but many of us spend it working a side job to start making money.  Even older... School all day, homework and a job at night. No time for ourselves. No time for our passions. Our lunch is eaten on the go as we are between classes and our summers surely consumed trying to pack hours in to make a little money to pay off those ever accruing loans (more responsibility). Finally, we are thrust into the "real world" where our passions come last, and our career comes first. We often work long hours to prove ourselves, and sometimes even forget who that little child was who used to play all morning, sleep all afternoon and receive endless amounts of hugs and love no matter what decisions we made. Crying is not only embarrassing, but a sign of weakness, and is discouraged in almost every setting. We are expected to be the best for everyone, and at all times. Summer vacations no longer exist, and playing is no longer part of our vocabulary.... And we call it life.


I was reflecting on the fact that the first things to go in my life when I become busy are the things I love to do. Writing, drawing, running, crafting, reading. Why is this? Well, because in our culture, doing things for ourselves gets us nowhere and isn't something that should take up great amounts of our time. It becomes the bottom of our totem pole, the last thing we get to do at the end of everything that is required, everything we call life.

Three Words.

Three words to sum up the 2011 year:

1. Change

2. Hope

3. Anticipation

Change: This year brought so so so much change to my life. Rob finished his thesis and graduated from college, we moved from Bozeman Montana back to Moorhead, I student taught and also graduated college, Rob got a job, and-most recently- I accepted a job of my own. Talk about major life changes, I’d say that the entirety our lives have changed this past year.

Hope: Along with the change came many realizations. Some were hard. Some were painful, difficult, and tear-filled. Others, though, were beautiful. Through growing in my walk with Jesus Christ, and learning more about who I am as a person I was given significant hope about our world, about the people I love, and about my life in general. Hope is a beautiful thing to carry in your heart.

Anticipation: Change and hope brought lots of anticipation this year. Anticipating when and where my life will finally settle down. Anticipating what it would be like to be done with college and “in the real world”. Anticipating all that is to come with the changes that occur in my life. And I suppose that the wordanticipation could really be a bridge word between 2011 and 2012, as I leave a year full of change, and renewed hope, and learning and discovering and growing, I enter the new year full of anticipation for what life will bring in just 366 days.

And when I look back I find it incredible all that God has done, all that I have discovered, and all that has happened this past year.

This year I am going to:

1. Take more daily pictures. Even if they are not profound, or life changing, or monumental moments, I’m going to snap, snap, snap and keep snapping.

2. Make a greater effort to get out my bible more often and just read. Just sit and bask in the greatness and glory that is God, and learn more about who he is. Write to God on a daily basis, and try to align my life more with the biblical teachings.

3. Fall in love with myself. And along these same lines figure out what I’m incredibly passionate about.

Although I have a million things I would love to do in 2012, I know that it is unrealistic to expect to stay true to a list of 20 things, so that’s it.

Happy 2012! :)

I'm jumping on board!

Up to today I was a member of tumblr.com. I had a blog, and I occasionally posted my thoughts on it. Although I'm sad to "lose" all my old blog postings- because I do love to look back at my thoughts, feelings and realizations- I am now jumping on the blogger scene. For some reason I feel like it's just a better place to be! :)