God's Paintings

Each morning as the dawn breaks, I am able to sit on my couch and watch as the sun hits the trees. This is the time of year that enforces to me that GOD is here, all around. I love the fall and the colors of fall. Many years ago I was having lunch with a friend at a State park near Charleston Illinois. After my friend left I remained and drank in all the color that surrounded me and felt very blessed that God shares this beauty with us. It amazes me that as each day breaks during the dark of the night God is busy adding more color to the trees across the lake from me. I have even observed several days, a young doe getting a drink from the lake amongst the color of the trees. Last week there was a mist over the lake and the doe appeared from the trees, now as a photographer why did I not have my camera handy? I suppose God wanted me to keep this lovely picture in my heart and I have!

Daily I await the dawn to break to see the new colors that have been added in the night. Today I was up quite early and my little Rico needed to go out, so we headed out the front door and oh my the beauty of the night hit me, a brilliant dark sky with millions of stars all around, yet another painting from God. As in a previous post I want a "simple life" but with beautiful paintings from God, would it be a simple life? I think not, I believe it would be a simply beautiful life! Look all around you and enjoy God's gift of his paintings for us. We are blessed indeed!

Around & Around

Life for me lately (Last 3 Months) has been like a revolving door and I am staying in it and just going around and around! Have you ever had that happen? I am dizzy! And I want to get out of it now. My goal is to live the SIMPLE LIFE!

But not with all the hustle bustle of hurry up and get it done yesterday! We live in a "fast food" world, do people these days really know what it is to take time to "stop and smell the roses"? What a shame not to smell the beauty of a rose.

The fragrance is soft, gentle and pure. The rose itself is the same. My Father loved roses and had many over the years in his garden. I recall when Dad would bring in a freshly cut rose and share it with all of us. There were several special vases for the roses he brought in the house. After a hard rain Dad would venture out into the gardens and rescue the roses that were damaged and bring them in and let the blooms float in vases of water, and when they opened, they were beautiful. And oh, so simple. Alas, after he passed away, the roses disappeared from the gardens.

This makes me realize that my Dad lived a simple life. He had six children from a marriage of 50 plus years, he had a job working for the city and worked a variety of shifts. Many of the holidays we had growing up were spent without Dad as he worked at the water department and the department was open 24/7. We would get his dinner ready and take it to him and jest that he was having dinner at "The Pump Room". We lived in a suburb of Chicago and "The Pump Room" was a fancy downtown restaurant. Once again, I believe Dad preferred this simple "Pump Room" over the fancy downtown establishment. It was just how he wanted it.

While growing up we had one and I mean one Family vacation, we went to a good family friend's cabin in Wisconsin and had a blast, however it was a very simple laid back vacation, just what Dad wanted.

I want this way of life, I want roses in my garden, I want a simple vacation, I want out of the revolving door!

Yes, soon I hope to stop and smell the roses and realize that their simple beauty is a loving gift from God and I am thankful.

Memories

Well it has been awhile but I am back and ready to share some more.

I was walking through the house very early this morning about 3:45 AM, yes very early! And I was thinking about my life, remembering and recalling the good, the bad, and the ugly! It is mostly good and I think I was in this frame of mind because of several things that have happened recently.

A dear friend of mine and I are involved currently with an event that is going to take place next week and she asked me yesterday just how long I have been a part of it, I thought about it and realized it had been 24 years! Golly gee, it should make me feel old but honestly it seems like just yesterday that I got involved.

This triggered my thought process as to my family, my marriage and our business through the years. My how the years have flown by.

My husband is now a Grandpa and I get to enjoy his fantastic grandsons, two really neat sons and one super daughter in law with him. I am blessed to have my Mom and Mike's parents still a part of my life and I have many great nieces and nephews. My siblings (four sisters and one brother) continue to amaze me through their work ethic, great parenting skills and the ability to survive many challenges which have been related to health, business and even horrendous family issues. I think that is a hat's off to my Mom and Dad. And daily I continue to remember my wonderful Dad who is now in Heaven, he is missed greatly by all.

My marriage is now in its 23rd year, it seems like we just went to Gatlinburg to make our vows and yes as my Dad has said marriage is like driving through the mountains; many ups and downs, some straight and some curvy roads and eventually you come out on top to a road that leads you to the future with your spouse. I think about this and find it neat that we drove through the mountains to get married. And yes we have driven these marital roads and continue through the mountains, ours is a unique marriage because we are together almost 24/7 through our love, business and our most valued involvement with God. Mike is studying and is currently a Deacon in the REC Anglican Church, with the goal of becoming a Priest eventually and serve the children of God. I am blessed and proud to be a part of this (and don't think this portion of the road has not had its curves and ups and downs).

We continue on with our Photography studio and it too is full of memories and we continue to preserve memories by capturing images that will last a lifetime! It is an ever changing business with the introduction of digital imaging and the influx of many self made photographers, it is my hope that the art of photography will not be lost because of this.

We brought to life in the past year a new entity THE McCLURE GUESTHOUSE, and it is also full of memories and will continue to make memories for the guests that stay. In the past year there has been a couple that got engaged, numerous senior and wedding portraits photographed, wedding nights for newlyweds and family gatherings. There have also been dinners, bridal & baby showers some meetings and a wonderful grand opening event. The home was built in 1872 and we restored it to share a bit of history with the community. I loved the home the minute we viewed it back in the late 90's and purchased it within 30 minutes of viewing it. After moving out we determined it deserved to be renovated for the future. And for people to enjoy and make memories.

I guess you can see why I was up and had this going through my mind,and yes there are so many more thing I could write about but it would be a book. I am looking forward to a great 4th weekend coming up, our SPIETH daughters are coming home for the annual 4th gathering, we have been getting together for about 12 years and we love it and them and all of their families which includes spouses, children and main squeezes! Yes all around us through many challenges in the past, present and future ( I am sure) you can see there are memories and yes they most generally are blessings! I challenge you to think of your memories and relish them, and have a great day!

It Is Sad I Am Not A Mom But.........

Every year on Mother's day I get a lump in my throat and wish for what isn't. As a child it was my ultimate dream to be a Mommy. Alas that dream never became a reality for me. For some reason the Lord never blessed me with my own children but I often imagine what it would be like if there had been a Beth Lynn or an Amy or even a Johnny in my life and the kind of Mommy I would have been. There would have been lots of hugs, kisses, laughter and then of course I am sure there would have been sadness, disappointment and even anger however I am certain the positive would have dominated any negative.

I am lucky to be an aunt, godmother, surrogate mom, a step mom and step grand mom but still to have been able to hold and love oh so much my own flesh and blood would have been wonderful!

It would have been great to adopt but for very personal reasons that too was not in "the cards". A dear person in my life said we are all dealt certain cards and these were just the cards I was dealt in my life.

So that being said I have to remember I have many children in my life with my family and with Mike's family and I love them all very much! In addition I have had many girls in my life with my Girl Scout troops and I hold them all very dear to me.

This past week Mike and I have been working with portrait orders of some of the beautiful children of the girls that worked for us. It is a new generation of love evolving. Today one of our "surrogate daughters" had a Graduation party and her "BFF" (another of our surrogates) was there with her son and it melted my heart to watch him with Mike. Children love Mike and he is blessed to be a Dad to two wonderful boys and the best Grandpa to two little boys. All of my nieces and nephews really love Uncle Mike and I am so glad! He is the best and it is great that he was "dealt this set of cards" for being a great Dad.

Perhaps the love we both have for children is why for the past 30 (yes 30!) years we have enjoyed being photographers mainly of children and this may just be my way of leaving a part of myself when I am gone. The smiles of many (100's of thousands I am sure) children for their parents to treasure forever.

SO..... yes it is sad that I am not a Mom, but thankfully I have had many children in my life and I can be content. I called my sister today to wish her a Happy Mother's Day and she said "I am not your Mom" and I replied "but you are my sister who is a Mom". I want to tell all my friends and family who are Mom's I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day and yes, you are not my Mom, but you are so very blessed to be a Mom!

April Showers.......

Rain, rain go away, come again another day........ I have said that a few times this month but it is April and April showers do bring May flowers so.....

Earlier this month I was in Florida with my Mom and it did rain a few days, what a bummer when you go to Florida for the sunshine! When you stay at a resort where the focus is outdoor activities it is much more of a bummer. Of course there is TV and books and if you are like me I did take work. It is amazing just what you can do via the Internet in my line of work.

This past weekend we photographed our Little League 32 teams and the rain was once again very near. A few sprinkles in the AM and then around 2 the skies opened. We were under cover at the Fair Ground Hog Barns and we were able to photograph with the green outdoors, but rain did appear on some of the children's jerseys, thank goodness for Photoshop!

The area is so green and lush thanks to the great weather earlier this month, today it is once again cloudy and rain is in the air. My day off but I have to tend to The McClure Guesthouse after a week of guests and a dinner there tonight as well as a mini open house on Wednesday. I had hoped to plant some flowers, but in the past it has been advised to wait until Mother's Day so.......... I will!!

It is amazing how much the weather can control our life. We have to stay in when it rains, we can be stuck inside too with abundant snowfall, and have to dress for the cold or hot. Winds can be pushy and tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and extreme heat and cold are all in charge when prevalent.

I often wonder how the birds, insects and other critters of nature can just go with the flow of weather. Where do they go when the winds are strong, the rain is falling in torrents, the snow is deep, the hail pounds all around, the heat is oppressive and the cold is sub zero. How do they do it? I guess it just goes to show that GOD is around and protects his creatures large and small in his own way.

And remember, a sunrise is His reminder and a sunset is His gift that the day is good and tomorrow will be even better! And yes a rainbow is His seal that all is well in our world!

Have a very blessed day be it sunny, rainy, cold, hot or just right for you!

Just Another Day?

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. I won't tell his age but he is experienced with celebrating. His day began with a loud Happy Birthday greeting from me, followed by the suggestion that he get up since it was going on 8 and there were photography sessions beginning at 9:30. Yes, this year he did have to work

:(, but only till noon.

We then came home and got ready to head to Evansville for church at Trinity Anglican, our new church home. Before leaving he did watch a bit of the Big 10 Tournament Illinois/Ohio State game, he tore himself away from watching and tuned into the radio during the drive. Alas Illinois lost, but there is "always next year"!

We arrived at our new church Trinity Anglican and went in. Mike was greeted by numerous "Happy Birthdays". Mind you we have only been attending this church since February but this most certainly is now our church family and the wishes were genuine! And they even brought out a beautiful birthday cake made by one of the parishoners during fellowship, what a neat surprise!

Our Church life has been in a state of upheaval since the middle of November, when the Stringtown Rd. church took yet another path of alignment, this time to Greek Orthodoxy, and we did not opt for a new path this time. It has been a very sad three and a half months for us, with this turn of events, and no real warning from the clergy & vestry, they just did it. We felt abandoned and it has hurt deeply, especially since we supported the Priest down many paths, searching for his ideal religious preference. Don't get me wrong, he is a great and gifted human being, but he has not found just where he wants to be yet, I wish him and his wonderful family much happiness. And for all the others that either followed or set out on a different path, we will miss them and are so thankful they were a part of our life for a while.

Our new church family is made up of really nice, new friends and some friends from the Stringtown Rd. church who had left at another time. We are happy to be with them again. The Holy Spirit is with them all and they are a loving church family group, wanting to share the Love of Christ with everyone.

Church is on Saturday evenings at this time and we really feel at home here. Father David is a wonderful, caring, giving priest; this church is blessed. They have opened their arms and hearts to us.

Mike is going to meet with two Bishops in a couple of weeks and we hope he is received as a Deacon in the Reformed Episcopal Church. Mike then can serve as a Deacon, assist Father David and Bishop Wes, to help the church grow and a goal is to establish new churches in the area.

So as Mike begins another year in his life, he is on a new path that God has guided him to and it is good. What a wonderful way to start this next year! We are so excited and no, this birthday was not "just another day", I believe it was a great birthday.

Happy Birthday Mike! It is going to be a grand year filled with the love of God and our new church family!

They Call Them Grands, Because.....

......I have been thinking about this for awhile, there are many reasons they call them grands: silly, busy, true, happy, sad, curious, sassy, sneaky, pensive, rowdy, secretive, joyful but most of all loving.

Grands can be all of these and bring such joy to our lives. Our two grandsons Emery & Lynden are all of the above and so much more, we are blessed. A few weeks ago we were going to take them to Church with us and Emery was actually excited to go, however the weather in Evansville deemed a cancelled service Soooo we played hide and seek in the studio and of course took their pictures (a surprise for Mom and Dad, I thought till their "Grand"pa Mike posted them on Facebook),

Such fun we had, then a trek to get ice cream, alas our local DQ is closed due to a fire in January, so we headed to Lawrenceville to the Dairy Dee, when we got there it too was closed, so we headed to Vincennes to Lics. After a quick stop at the Christian book store it was on to get ice cream. Emery wanted a chocolate cone and a Chocolate chip shake and Lynden got a dish of vanilla and a gummy worm. He loved the gummy but did not want the ice cream, can you believe it? Too cold I guess.

Back at home they got out the few toys we keep and they always love, (as I recall my childhood, toys at my Nana's were few but oh so special! And we fought to open the small cupboard they were kept in and retrieve them for playtime at Nanny's.)

Then it was time for supper, I opted to fix ham and Belgian waffles and when served, I was told that you don't eat breakfast for supper...well excuse me! Needless to say they did eat it and then horror of all horrors we made them watch the Miss America Pageant (Mike wanted to watch, only because Rush was a judge.)

Then time for jam-mies and an attempt for them

to get to sleep. Emery crashed but Lyndy cuddled with Grandpa Mike and fell asleep. Grandpa Mike liked it so much that it was there Mommy & Daddy found Lyndy when they came to pick them up. The look on Grandpa Mike's face as he held his "grand"son was great.

I recall growing up and being a "grand" and loving all my grandparents so very much. They shared with me so many things....scrambled eggs with ketchup, how to iron, real egg shampoos, how to set a table for a formal dinner, candy corn, coconut cake, how to have a large family gathering in a small space filled with an enormous amount of love, snuff, smiles, hugs, teasing, games, walks, the love and true belief in God, yes I was a "grand" because of them.

And you know Grandparents are 'Grands" too and with our "Grand"children it really is GRAND!!!! I can't wait to share and learn and Love because of them!