My Favorite Shots - Part Three

When I deleted hundreds (thousands?) of my photos this past summer, I found some old gems including these. Here are some favorite photos from the past few years.

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Michael and baby Grace holding my fingers.

Cora starting solids. I love how clear and bright and sharp this picture is.

Grace and Cora playing on a bag of rice.

My piano.

Hydrangeas from the side of our house.

Spices from our favorite Thai restaurant.

A purple haze carrot from our garden.

Grace getting soaked in the rain.

Here's part one of this three part series. And here's part two.

My Favorite Shots - Part Two

I recently deleted about 80% of my photos. It was a months-long project, but I figure that the fewer photos I own, the more I will look at them. So out went hundreds of shots. In the process, I discovered some old gems. Including these.

Here's part one of my three posts. And part three.

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Bristlecone Pine tree at Cedar Breaks National Monument. It is thousands of years old.

Snowflakes.

Why, hello there!

We set the camera on the trunk of our car with a timer to get this one. Cambria, California. Little did we know how much our lives would change just a few weeks later when our first was born!

I love coffee.

Self portrait using my bathroom mirror.

I don't even really like makeup, but I like this shot.

Another engagement photo of Jason & Andrea.

My Favorite Shots - Part One

For the past several months, I have been deleting, deleting, and deleting old photos. I figure that the fewer photos I own, the more I will look at them. So out went all the boring shots, the super blurry shots, and the doubles, triples, and quadruples of the same old thing. I only kept the best 20%, and I'm so glad I did it. Even though pictures don't clutter up physical space, it still feels good to do a giant purge.

As I went through every picture, I found a few I love. Here are some of my favorite shots.

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Sunset outside my parents' home in Colorado.

Sixth anniversary flowers

My dad at St. Mary's Glacier shot on a piece of junk point and shoot. You don't necessarily need good equipment to get fun shots, though good equipment sure helps!

Another Colorado sunset.

I don't know why I like this one so much.

Cheery.

Engagement shot for my sister and brother-in-law.

Grace kissing Cora.

I'd like to say this is dew, but I think it's just sprinkler.

A dead, gnarly tree at Joshua Tree National Park. (No, this isn't a Joshua Tree.)

Oh, crab!

My Favorite Shots - Part Two
My Favorite Shots - Part Three

These Are the Days

These are the days of...

Potty training my two-year-old.

Building a marriage that will last.

Two girls in highchairs.

Simple meals.

Going on dates again -- a much needed breath of freedom and friendship.

Early evening walks.

Board games after the girls go down.

The daily ritual of sweeping scraps of food off of the kitchen floor.

Battling ant invasions.

Reading my Kindle before bed.

Fitness Blender workouts at home.

Watching God build a $70K missions budget one generous supporter/partner/friend at a time.

Growing in prayer.

Growing in trust.

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I have a habit of always looking ahead to the next bigger, better thing rather than celebrating the smallness of my everyday life. This makes me a very productive person who always has a plan. It also makes me a very distracted person who misses life in the present tense.

I had the privilege of getting an advance copy of a favorite writer's newest book Simply Tuesday -- a book all about how "life happens in the small moments, the kind we find on Tuesday, the most ordinary day of the week." The author, Emily P. Freeman makes it a regular practice to make a "these are the days of..." list in her journal to practice being present to life as it is.

In these hectic days of always thinking forward to the next big thing (moving to Thailand!) I have so needed the reminder to slow down, to breath, and to celebrate the simple small things of my everyday life. I want to be present to my life even as I look ahead to the next thing.