"here's to you mrs. robinson..." a family event

Poser.

"I cannot remember a moment in my life when I have not felt the love of my family." Happy Mother's Day!

a few favorites of mine...

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

Moving on.

Retrieving the final items from a former life.

.breathe in the sound of the wind.

...for nature is the art of God.

Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up. James A. Baldwin

April 17, 2009, marks a very momentous occasion in my life.

Today is a sign of hope renewed.

A symbol of beautiful obscurity and taking joy from the ashes.

Today is a day of dreams reborn.

Awe has been engraved into my heart.

The astounding pursuit undoes every piece of me.

I am drowning in the light of Love, deeper than ever before.

But deeper still, will I go!

I have been ravaged by intent.

I have been moved by tenderness.

I have been changed by a warring Love.

There is no proper word in the English language that seems full enough, seems rich enough for the gratitude that consumes me. All I can say, with the entirety of my heart, is this:

Never, ever stop.

The crushing place has become a garden that I never want to leave.

Embracing beautiful obscurity!

{portraits for a cause}

In June, I will be embarking on my first trip to Africa. More specifically: Pemba, Mozambique.

A group of around 15 are traveling to the Iris Ministries base to serve in any areas that are in need and to basically, love.

I won't even pretend, with flowering paragraphs, that I know what awaits me or even that I know how I will best be of service to a people I have yet to meet. The only place I can speak from honestly is the place that my heart is currently.

Inside of me is a passion for stories. Real stories. To know and understand what people have gone through. And the most wonderful challenge of all is to be able to convey these stories without any words, but purely through photographs. I think the deeper we are willing to be open and connect with others, the more we revel in the Love that's been given to us and how it all at once BECOMES who we are without any sort of striving on our part.

In this spirit, to raise funds for the travel expenses and to leave there with the Mozambicans and Iris, a different sort of fundraiser emerged. Wayne Dutrow came along side me and offered the use of his professional grade equipment to set up a studio in one of the storage rooms in our church building. We began in March taking "Portraits for a Cause." The sitting fee is donations only and all proceeds go entirely to this mission.

to boldly blog where i've never blogged before...

I've done it.

I have finally succumbed to this ever growing trend and decided that perhaps I too should leave some kind of fingerprint on the world wide web.

Here's a little disclaimer before I begin:

I don't like using a lot of words and would rather let my pictures speak for themselves.

So here's a few of my favorite Spring things.