before & after

Well, it's official.

The heat is here in (almost) full force.
And my shaggy, long-haired boy 

has turned into a mini boot camp recruit. 

I prefer his hair long. But, because of the high salt content in his system (from CF) he sweats up a storm and loses hydration faster than other kids. So, we have to do everything we can to keep the poor guy as cool as possible. 

So geared up with lots of Gatorade and a buzz cut...
Summer, here we come! 

miles of smiles

 
I found this blog a few weeks ago and the name caught my attention right away. I love taking pictures of people, and 90% of the time I'm taking face shots. There is just something about capturing a close-up expression that thrills me! Anyways, I got brave this week and decided to enter their weekly photo challenge. The theme is "Smiles." 
  I know I recently posted the same photo here. But, it was perfect for this challenge so I'm reposting it.  

I can't look at this picture without grinning! If you need a pick-me-up, head on over to iheartfaces.There are tons of pictures that are guaranteed to brighten your day!

raw(e) : red

 When I think of red I think of...

...words like "crimson" 

and "scarlet" (a name I'd love to give a little girl).

I think of crisp apples,

and tangy cherry tomatoes, 

and juicy strawberries. 

I think of my phone,

and Target

(the store that has successfully eliminated

red and tan from my wardrobe forever).

I think of ruby lips and painted toes, 

and my friend Sandra. 

But most of all, 

I think of these...

These words of red,

spoken by my Lord and Savior. 

Words that comfort and correct, 

give Life and quench every thirst. 

Words that I base my whole existence on. 

The words in red. 

This week's RAW(e) photo theme is RED.

Pop on over to Sailor & Company and see what everyone else is taking pictures of! 

water and perspectives

The theme for this week's RAW(e) photo is water.

After taking a bazillion pictures of water,
and not being satisfied that any of them were
unique enough, 

pretty enough, 

or in any way special.

I finally took an ordinary glass of water

on an ordinary piece of paper

and shot this...

...a thing of beauty (in my humble opinion).

And it got me thinking how I spend so much time and effort trying to be 

unique,

pretty, 

special. 

When all that I need to be is simply, me. 

Because I was perfectly created by my Creator.

And when He looks at me He sees
a thing of beauty.

come as close as you want

This song has been in my head for the past couple of days. 
It is the cry of my heart right now. 
It is the decision to choose life over death.


Come as close as You want,
Consume this heart that longs to burn
I know Your fire can hurt,
But I would be worse here without You

For I was made to dwell with You,
And how I ache until I do

Come and take all these chains
That get in the way of what You want
And as I stand in the flame
Still I will say, “I trust You God!”

Holy God, Take my heart,
Purge with flame and truth!
A holy heart is all I want,
That I may live with You!

-Misty Edwards 

drum roll please...

But first, I need to vent. 

Does anyone else have a babe that is stuck to you like glue??

Seriously, 

Ava is a BIG TIME momma's girl right now.

For the past couple of days she has flat-out refused (read: screamed at the top of her LUNGS!) to be held by anyone but me. 

It's exhausting.

And I'm totally open to suggestions on how to ease her out of this phase (if possible!)

Ok, enough about me. 

On to the real reason that you're here...the winner!

Well, I guess mystery picture #2 wasn't that tough either.

Almost everybody got it right!

The correct answer is 

MILK JUG.

  And thanks to Sam and a bunch of numbers, 

the winner is...

SAMI! 

(email me and I'll get the necklace out to you this week)

Thanks for playing.

Next week's photo is going to be a hum-dinger (I promise!).

wedding fish

Here is a simple recipe for the yummiest fish EVER!!!  I call it Wedding Fish because if you are dating and you make it for your Honey, you WILL be marrying him/her in the near future!

Wedding Fish 

(otherwise known as Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce)

Ingredients

4 teaspoons flour, divided

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

large zip-top bag

5–6 sprigs fresh Italian parsley (optional)

juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1/4 cup white wine

Steps

1. Place 3 teaspoons flour and seasoned salt in zip-top bag; shake to mix and set aside. Chop (rinsed) parsley coarsely, leaves only, and measure (2 tablespoons). Slice (rinsed) lemon in half. Set both aside.

2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Check fish for bones by pressing on fillet with finger tips and remove. Add fish to zip-top bag; seal tightly and shake to coat. Wash hands.

3. Place 1 tablespoon butter in pan and swirl to coat. Add fish (wash hands) and cook 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter to center of pan. Turn fillets, using spatula, distributing butter under each fillet. Cook 3 more minutes until fish is golden and flakes easily. Place fish on serving plates.

4. Place remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon flour, wine and juice from lemon in sauté pan. Heat 1–2 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir parsley into butter sauce and serve over fish.

Serves 4

warning...

...the following pictures may induce sugar shock! 

Of course, this is coming from a totally obsessed and slightly completely biased momma. 

mystery photo giveaway #2

Ok All, here is the next photo to decipher.

Since everyone had such and easy time with the last one, I'm making this one harder. 

Can you guess what it is?

If you guess correctly, you could be randomly chosen to receive this...

...a 20" tumbled stone necklace by Sweet P Jewels (moi!).
So guess away! You have until Monday at 5pm to enter.

Happy guessing!

miss me?

Wow...I can't believe it's almost been a week since I last wrote anything. Life here has been kinda crazy lately and it seems like the only time I'm online is when I'm holding Ava (not very conducive for typing) or too brain dead to put together a coherent thought. So here I am, after midnight, posting a few thoughts before my brain turns to jello.

Ready?

Here we go...

First, you must understand that I DO NOT like to keep things just for the sake of keeping them. I do not keep things "just in case we might need it" or because my second-cousin-once-removed gave it to me for my birthday. I have made the mistake (more than once) of selling things in garage sales that I have received as gifts from my husband...much to his pack-rat-ish dismay. Call me heartless, but those are the facts.

That being said, we seem to accumulate "stuff"...toys and misc. household items...faster than I can sort it and dispose of the junk unique and wonderful items that find their way into our home. My son has recently inherited a truck load of LEGOs, board games and various other toys that have started to spill out of every bin and toy chest that we own. At my wit's end, we finally sorted and purged the bins, reigning in the toy madness for at least another month. Tomorrow my mission is to bring all the excess to Goodwill.

We are also overflowing with clothes. With an infant and 4 yr old growing like weeds, I am constantly changing out smaller clothes for bigger ones. The problem? The smaller ones have to go somewhere! I have finally given up on saving anything for future babies and just give everything away as the kids grow out of it. Sigh...my sentimental side is always losing out to my practical side.

So, now that my spring fever has subsided a little, I can concentrate on more important things like blogging , suggesting baby names for MckFlurry, and taking pictures of random things {rolling eyes}.

Speaking of babies, Ava is 6 months old already. How did that happen?? Just yesterday I was bemoaning the fact that I was 14 days overdue! And now, I have a little girl brimming with personality and activity. She is sitting up and clapping, starting some solid foods and truly becoming her own person. Now, if she would just sleep through the night...

Well, it's time for me to greet my pillow before my chick pea calls. But stay tuned, I've got photos and a giveaway coming your way tomorrow. It's good to be back!

ode to a blog party

Welcome to my little site

I'll share a bit, if I might.

My name is Lisa and I love 

to worship God in heaven above. 

I'm a mom of two little kids

whom sometimes, I want to put up for bid!

But, they are mine and I love them so

I never want to let them go. 

I also have a husband man

he makes me melt like no one can.

I like to craft and pictures take,

just don't ask me to bake a cake!

Take a look and you will find

I write whatever's on my mind.

So come on in and look around

a bit of everything can be found!

p.s.

If I should win any party prizes,

the laptop, baby carrier or Hilton stay 

would be very nice surprises!

(I'd also take #'s US8, 92, USC 3, 11, 57, or INT 11)

empty...

...is what I want to be today.

Empty of my selfishness.

of my own plans.

of an uncaring heart.

of everything that is not of You.

Please come and fill me...

with Your Love,

with Your Compassion,

with Your Life,

with Your Light.

sam's eye view

Sam has become my new photography buddy.
He loooves to take pictures. 

Whether it's my phone, my point and click or the disposable cameras he received for Chistmas, he's constantly click-click-clicking away.

Here are a few of his shots (straight out of the camera-that turned out surprisingly well for a 4 yr old!):

  

Sunset at a local park

    

    

Pineapple plant in our yard

   

Mommy being silly

  

Crocodile at Busch Gardens

flower child

Okay, so recently I've become obsessed with taking pictures of flowers.

Maybe it's because I was given a nifty DSLR that I looove.

Maybe it's because it's Spring (although in South Florida we don't officially have Spring, just a little interlude between Kinda Chilly and Blazing Hot!).

Whatever the reason, I've been snapping flower photos left and right. Here are some of my better shots (in my humble opinion)...

What do you think?

raw(e): around the house

These are permanent fixtures in our home...

 As soon as I went over to Sailor & Company to find out what the new theme for her RAW(e) photo contest was, and saw that it was "Around the House," I knew exactly what my photo would be.
 
These are the machines Sam uses in his daily treatments for Cystic Fibrosis.

For those of you who do not know what CF is, it's a disease that effects the respiratory and digestive systems. Sam's body produces a thick mucous that impairs his airways (lungs) and prevents his pancreas from digesting fats and proteins. To counteract this, each day he does several lung related treatments and takes enzymes and acid-reducing meds to help him digest his food.


 Twice a day Sam straps on his VEST and nebulizer. The VEST is a vibrating airway clearance machine that keeps the thick mucous moving through Sam's lungs instead of settling and causing a breeding ground for bacteria and infection. The nebulizer delivers a host of medicines to his system in the form of a very fine mist. From antibiotics to brochodilators (meds that keep his airways open) to meds that thin and loosen the mucous. These treaments last anywhere from 45 mins. to an hour and a half, depending on what meds he is currently taking.

Doing his "treatments" are a routine part of our day. First thing in the morning and then again in early evening, on goes the VEST and the nebulizer mask. He shakes, rattles and rolls as the medicine penetrates deep into his lungs. Not that he minds the vibrating...he's busy watching DVD's or playing his favorite LEGO video game. And because these treatments continue to extend the life of my little man, they will always be welcome "around the house."  

loving and obeying

I came across a journal entry that I wrote several months ago. The truth of it is still ringing in my ears...

Last night I was getting Sam ready for bed and he was not obeying me (for what seemed like the 50th time that day!). Instead of doing what I asked him to do he came up to me, wrapped his arms around my neck and said, 

"I love you soooooo much."

A statement that usually melts my heart, this time it sounded mocking and hollow.

I responded, 

"I love you too, but instead of telling me that you love me, I want you to show me by obeying me."

Instantly the Lord echoed those words in my heart.

"Don't just tell me how much you love Me, I just want you to obey Me."

I thought about how hollow Sam's "I love you" sounded in that situation. And how my own "I love you" must sound to God, when it is not accompanied by obedience.

Because Sam is four, his love for me is immature. It's based mostly on his feelings at the moment. He does whatever feels right- not realizing that a demonstration of true love towards me would be to obey whether he feels like it or not- trusting that what I've asked him to do is in his best interest.

Yet, even in my "maturity" as a child of Christ for over 20 yrs. I too, have an immature love for God sometimes. If I really loved Him with a secure, developed love- and truly understood His love for me- I would obey.

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." 

John 14:15 

Lord, please help me to love You. Please open my eyes to see when I'm just giving You lip service instead of truly obeying You. Please deepen my understanding of what it means to love You and to see clearly the love You have for me.

do you know that he knows?

Find out who...and what he knows here.