almost bedtime in the trailer!

Cooper wanted a bed too. He would get kicked out of one and then hit someone else up with his puppy eyes...awww, Michael was the softy. I'm beginning to wonder if Cooper is our fourth child??? At least I can put him in a crate when he gets too hyper :):):)

Meet Tarzan, our very OUTDOOR cat!

This is Tarzan, I noticed him a few weeks ago when I was drinking coffee on the porch. I kept hearing a rustling in the bushes and then noticed the little kitty living in them. The funny thing is that he really lives in the bushes! He stays in them ALL day. (hence the name Tarzan, for jungle kitty) Anyways, he was skinny and skittish, so Allie and I have been feeding him tuna and milk every morning. The minute I call him in the morning, he comes out. Today, he finally came close to me and stayed for a while, but he still won't let us pet him. I want to go on the record saying that Tarzan will remain an outdoor kitty! I have no more sanity left to spend on getting rid of animal hair! But, he makes a nice accessory to my porch and morning coffee, and now he won't starve. So meet Tarzan!





Oh, I forgot to mention...until Tarzan lets us get a little closer, he remains and "it" :)

New Blog

It was time to seperate my family blog from a work blog. So here it is.

www.portfoliobybreanna.blogspot.com

Stay tuned for an interactive website coming soon!

Playing in the Pool!

These two have some sort of twin thing going on lately....kinda nice (and rare) for siblings to be such good friends as teenagers!





Alex is so happy to have ear plugs that enable him to get in the pool. He still can't dunk his head, but the ear plugs beat the swim cap!

practicing

People are much more fun for me to shoot than landscapes and architecture, but Stanford provided a playground for me to practice lighting, foucssing, and being able to change speeds in order to get different results with water, etc.

leaving for Stanford

We leave for Stanford today. Please pray for wisdom from the doctors and clear dirction and answers.


and on a lighter note,,,some pictures from my new portrait lens- YEAH! That thing rocks!





and oh, when did my teenagers begin to stick their tongues out again?!

a little testimony

"What good are the trials we endure if we are not able to point to the one who brings us through them."

That said, life this past decade has not been boring, and while I feel I could write a book about how God has changed me, carried me, pulled me and pushed me through the challenges He has entrusted to me, I will just take a few paragraphs today.

I feel the need to give God some glory publicly! So I am turning this post into a public testimony!

This past year has been life changing for Pete and I. I don't feel like the same person, and I am not married to the person I married almost 15 years ago. My family is living differntly than we have before. I see the work of the Lord in my children and I know the Spirit has begun a great work that will continue!

so to bring Him the glory for what He has done, let me share a few things about how God has revealed Himself more to me.

GOD IS MY FATHER! - I can say that with a different understanding than I could last year.

GOD IS MY PROVIDER! enough said. He alone has provided faithfully!

GOD IS MY SUSTAINER! A refuge who has supplied unexplainable peace.

GOD IS MY HOPE! My dreams have changed. What I hope for now is so different than what I have spent my life hoping for. I hope for His work in my life, in my family's lives and for His glory to be poured out through me.

GOD IS MY HEALER! He takes what is broken and restores it in His beauty.

The joy of the Lord is my strength. I have known His joy in the midst of pain. I am free, I feel so free! Free to forvive, free to love, free to worship!

His Spirit has poured out of me through music, and words. I am humbled to be a vessel for His Holy Spirit to reside in.

I have experienced the joy of sharing the gospel and seeing election in physical form. It has left me hungry to become more passionate and consumed with sharing the gospel that has saved me.

So to my Lord, Thank you for what you have allowed in my life that has led me to this place of abandonment, true joy, peace and new dreams!

I am Abandoned and sold out to the TRUTH, the truth that has saved a wretch like me!

Now, to live it!

Some recent work

Fourth of July 2009

Started with outside fun with friends, a ball in the face, a bloody nose, an awesome taco salad, fireworks - the kind you feel in your gut! Then when we got home we had a "girl party" that lasted about a half hour (since it was mid-night). Fun day - A beautiful day!

My selfishness revealed - yikes!

Ok, I admit it, the older I get the harder it is to be patient about certain things, and God is not done working on this in me!

Today we were enjoying a beautiful day at the lake. Everything is perfect, the water, the sun, the kids and then....an older gentleman decided to take a seat at the picnic bench directly behind my chair where I was sitting. All our stuff is on the table; a cooler, towels, toys, etc. He sits down and stays and stays, and stays! We are all just kind of standing there wondering why he feels comfortable to hang out in our spot. He smokes, then smokes some more than smokes some more.

I got really annoyed. I finally got up and went to the table and nicely asked him if he wouldn't mind putting out his ciggarettes. He was polite, and said yes, but he kept sitting there with all our stuff and it kept bugging me. Later, he left, but I didn't ever say anything more to him.

I just finished dinner and I keep thinking about this old man and how I let my selfishness ruin a chance to talk to someone and find out about their life. I totally missed a chance to witness and live it out in front of my kids. I am feeling bummed about my selfishness! Ok, God, Don't let me become one of those older, harder, self-entitled people. Let me be generous, kind, and always looking for who You might want me to share your salvation with.

Bummer!