Waiting

That is a picture my husband took of me taking this picture.



Which really has NOTHING to do with this post.

My brother-in-law once said that he was impressed by my ability to get things done.

This particular ability of mine has less to do with work ethic or organization and more to do with impatience. When I decide I want something done I want it done NOW!!!! Just ask my husband, he'll concur.

Like the time I was driving home late at night and saw the neighborhood clean-up dumpsters out and upon arriving home made my husband rip out the carpet in the family room because we could throw it in the dumpsters that night. Never mind that we didn't have new flooring yet. Or that we hadn't even talked about new flooring. I just decided I wanted it done and I wanted it done NOW.

That's the way I roll.

So I'm sure you can imagine that for an impatient person like myself waiting is about the hardest thing in world for me to do.

Which is why I am doing everything in my power to fill today up with busy work that occupies my mind so that I can stop thinking about the fact that I am waiting.

Waiting on something that I have done as much as I could possibly do about and is now in somebody else's hands. No amount of pushing or prodding or hoping will change that I am no longer in control of the situation.

And so I wait.

Maybe patience is not the real issue. Maybe it's that I just like to be in control. Because when I'm in control I know how things will turn out in the end. When I relinquish control I have to rely on hope and faith.

In fact, the more I think about it the more I realized that my problem with waiting relates directly with my problem with stillness.

Waiting implies not working, at least for a time. Waiting means submitting. Waiting is stillness.

President Ezra Taft Benson once said, "Yes, men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace."

I read this often, and tell myself I WANT to turn my life over to the Lord. But then when I get to the whole "waiting upon the Lord" part I get impatient. I want to submit, but can't be still.

But today, I have no choice. Something is truly out of my hands and my only option is to wait.

My amazing, creative, talented cousin Andria brought me this locket last week.




Did I mention she also MADE it? And that her timing could not have been more perfect!!!!

I have worn it nearly every day and when I am tempted to be impatient, to turn suddenly in a different direction just because I am tired of waiting, I feel the metal against my skin. I pull it out from beneath my shirt and hold it in my hand for just a moment. I breath in. I breath out. And I find the strength to be still. I find the courage to submit.

The Wild Child

I blog, I don't blog. I blog, I don't blog. It's random and sporadic, I know. But, ya know.

But I have new pictures to share-so I decided hey, why not.

This is my beautiful niece.

On my sister-in-law's blog she calls this child of hers the Wild Child. So-I figured it was okay if I referred to her thus.

At the beginning of March she got baptized, which means I had to unique pleasure of photographing her special day just as I did her older sister and her older brother.

Any special day must start with a special dress

And shoes. Don't forget the shoes!

The really fun thing about photographing kids getting baptized is that they are at that fun age when most of them are losing teeth. And I LOVE capturing them JUST like they are.

The Wild Child had a front tooth that was just barely hanging on a thread.

If I was working for a family magazine I'd photoshop that tooth-but I actually love the way it is dangling there. Just keeping it real!

And by real, I mean real gorgeous! Anybody else jealous of her hair?

Now you need to know something about the Wild Child. Despite her beautiful princess-like appearance in these pictures she is a little bit, what's the word....not exactly tom-boy but not exactly girly-girl either. Is there a word for that?

So I told her to lean up against this gate and this is what I got.

I love the way she flops herself against, much the same way she would flop herself down on a bed. It's just SO HER!

And don't be fooled by her sweet look here. Do you remember the character, Sarah Baker, from Cheaper by the Dozen? You know, the one who was suspended from Lacrosse for using excessive force? The one who comes up with the elaborate prank against the unwanted boyfriend to which her dad responds, "You have a dark gift, Sarah Baker." I'm pretty sure this movie character was based on the Wild Child

And yet, when you see these pictures it's so hard to believe.

In all honesty though, she is a truly delightful child and it was such a pleasure to spend the afternoon with her!