Being a Backsliding Daughter with a Renegade Boyfriend

My parents gave completely different reactions to my announcement that I would be skipping church to go hiking with Jake on Mt. Lemmon this last Sunday. My mom laughed and said, "I would skip church too if I could!" My dad also laughed, but he said, "When I'm giving announcements, I'll make sure to ask for prayer for my backsliding daughter and her renegade boyfriend!" Funny, Dad.

After rescheduling this adventure twice already, we decided that Sunday morning was the best time for it and although sacrilegious, we ditched church to enjoy warm drinks and breakfast at LeBuzz (my favorite French-style café!!) and drive up the the hill for some mountain fresh air!

The morning was filled with marveling at the Lord's creation (especially the turning leaves!), huffing and puffing uphill, and pleasant conversation mingled with the songs of the birds, the chatter of the creek, and the whisper and rustle of wind among the leaves--the epitome of contentment.

Through Cameron's Eyes: Grandma's Garden

 Grandma keeps a 1-acre plot of land for her gorgeous flower garden! Though wildflower season in Colorado is wrapping up, there were still a few purple ones remaining. Cameron took most of these photos (all except the white one above)

For a while, I entertained a little daydream about someday getting married in Grandma's garden. It is so beautiful and the flowers are already there! (Not to mention Colorado's gorgeous, albeit sometimes sporadic, weather!) Looking around with fresh eyes, it was clearly not designed for a wedding, but I think it is still a promising venue! I'll hold on to my hopes a little longer! In any case, it is still early to be thinking about that, but I'll admit, that Grandma's garden has definitely been on my mind!

In Black and White

Jake needed some new headshots for a theater company he auditioned for this weekend and guess who he entrusted to do it! Me! And it was my first time practicing black and white photography!

Here are some of my favorites from the impromptu photo shoot on our back porch: 

4th of July

For the 4th of July, instead of celebrating in red, white, and blue, our yard was decorated in all colors of the rainbow in honor of Miss Jessica's 50th birthday!

This week in Photos (6/2-6/7)

All iPhone photos this time. Perhaps I'll pick up the fancy camera this week... We'll see.

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit your own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

-Thomas Merton

This Week in Photos (5/26-6/1)

"It is up to you to see the beauty of everyday things."

-Unknown Author

Giving Up Does Not Equal Failure

This week in photos:

I'll confess, I pretty much gave up on the photo challenge after Day 6. Truthfully, I wasn't feeling very inspired by some of the prompts for this particular challenge, but I haven't given up on taking photos! And in that regard, I'd say it was a smashing success! Because the whole point of the challenge is to take more pictures and become more proficient with the camera!

What I like the most about it is being able to use my own photos on these posts--my own beautiful photos not taken with a crappy dumb-phone, without borrowing from other people. I don't mind using other people's photos, especially since I learned how to properly credit them (many thanks to my work, CollegePlus I have learned all about copyrights, and I think that's really cool!). But it's not the same as using my own work. And if I can use my own work, I'd prefer to. (Though this does not mean the end of using other people's photos, by no means!)