How I Plan to Win....

This morning WWIII erupted in my house..of course over something small and relatively inconsequential...But this momma had enough.

It all came down to one little girl (who is completely capable of cleaning her room quickly and effectively when Daddy asks her) absolutely refusing to clean her room when her Momma asked.

A couple of hours later, after reminding and prodding and all other sorts of coercion, I laid down the ultimate ultimatum.

"Clean up this room now or I will take whatever toys are left on the floor out of here!"

To which Eliana responded, "Ok - I don't need any toys."

Shoot...now what.

I sent her to time out while I came up with a plan and this is the result.

Notice the room is clean? Yup I did that...I know I didn't 'win' this time but let me let you in on my plan....

*Step one - clean room while little girl is on a time out.

*Step two - purge all non-essential type toys (big blue bag on its way to the thrift store)

*Step three - saran wrap ALL other toys into the toy box under strict instructions that there will be all sorts of trouble for the person who dares to cross the not quite invisible barrier of cleanliness.

*Step four - New rule in home - All Eliana's toys are mine. Yup mine (I now have quite the collection of polly pockets)

*Step five - Eliana doesn't know this yet but as she completes various cleaning tasks she will be able to earn her toys back.

I'll let ya know how it goes.

I Heart Faces - Shadows

I heart faces this week is Shadows and immediately I thought of this photo of my cousin.  This was taken at the tea after my grandmothers funeral and we were all sitting around sharing stories and the moment.  Natalie was sitting in front of the window and some of the only light in the room and so I started clickin away. I immediately liked the dramatic shadows and her expression.

Go check out more shadows over at I heart faces

Of Life and Death and the Bit in the Middle...

You know that feeling right...the one right in your gut that spreads its lethargic tentacles through every vein in your body. That makes you feel small and somehow out of place.


I get this feeling when I feel deep loss...or start to recognize an impending loss.  When we stand face to face with death we recognize, if even only subconsciously, that we can not control all that much when it comes to life and death. It will come for us all one day and the inevitability can make you feel incredibly powerless and small. In this place it is hard to let someone go, to release them with our hearts into a place of so much insecurity and doubt. It is from this place though I have found so much comfort and clarity and surprising peace in the moment.  For  I have been reminded of the hope we carry (or can carry!) because of Jesus.


¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Romans 5:1


I love how the message states the same set of verses.


 ^1-2By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.


Doesn't that just breath hope and life into your heart? It sure  does for me.


This past week I had to say goodbye to one of the most influential women in my life - my grandmother.  When I was little she was one of my caregivers and her house was our safe haven when life was chaotic and unpredictable. She instilled in us all a deep appreciation for family and the joy it is to extend hospitality. I think she could make just about anything from scratch and I have more than one blanket in my house that she lovingly made for us.  I could go on and on but maybe this might sum it up - she was one of "those ladies" - the ones that others look at and want to be like. She was such a gift in our life.
And that hope I was talking about? Is SO important, especially now. I am so thankful that I have hope that my Grandma is at peace, resting in the beauty of God's glory....probably planting a garden...lol

I Heart Faces - Favourite Face of March

No time this week for any special edits but I still wanted to get in on this weeks i heart faces. Thought this little bean was just too cute.

An Adventure in Driving and Letting Go...

Well first off I think I am finally happy with my new background.  It drives me to distraction when I feel my blogger background doesn't 'fit' with what I am writing here. Usually I end up with some OCD type focus until I find just the right one and I think this is it! Phew. 


Ok. Yes I had an Adventure. I went away for a whole weekend without my kids or husband! This was the first trip all by myself since my kids were born - so to say the least it was a weird feeling. My sisters and I headed down to Tacoma and attended a Beth Moore Conference.  This was also a first for me.  I so enjoyed the teaching and the time away.  There were so many good things I enjoyed all weekend long. Sounds pretty benign right?  I really think it should have been but I will try to express to you the level of anxiety I had the entire time!


I am not a long trip driver for starters...when on long trips my favourite thing to do is cuddle up in a blanket and zonk out for as long as possible. This time though I was THE driver and as silly as it is I was a little antsy about this.  We started our trip on Thursday and didn't get into Vancouver till 9:30pm (fyi this is past a momma's optimal functioning time)  It was pouring rain and dark (obviously) and the stress just got to me.  We stopped for a half hour calm down session and then continued on.  My youngest sister played the alphabet game with me which really helped. lol Silly Simple but focusing on something other than the crazy roads helped.
The next morning we went out for a nice breaky before heading to the states - which meant I navigated through Vancouver before heading off to tackle boarder guards, the interstate, and finally Seattle/Tacoma. Each new situation brought on a new variation of the stress that had been with me since I pulled away from my house. After getting lost several times and taking wrong turns a few more times we finally made it to the Tacoma Dome. Wow.
We got settled into our seats and Beth got up and began to share that we were going to be talking about ROAD SIGNS. 
I just about fell over right there.  I was supposed to be unwinding from driving not learning lessons about it.
To make a long story much shorter Beth spoke on the premise of three points - STOP YIELD GO.
For me it meant STOP - gnawing every detail of my life to death with worry and anxiousness.
YIELD-those concerns and yield myself to God's will in our life (instead of trying to control everything - which by the way we CANNOT do...another fyi)
GO - Go in Peace! I don't (and can't) control everything in my life but I can let go and yield these things to God and live in a measure of peace that is impossible when we try to do it on our own.


So to say the least this is not an instant lesson and I have had to remind myself of this frequently already but as I drove out of Seattle and off the interstate and into Vancouver and then home - I felt a sense of empowerment - I had conquered roads. BIG SCARY ROADS. (You may roll your eyes now  - I know they are JUST roads lol)  But for me it was an illustration of victory over anxiety and fear - one which I want to continue to play out in my life over and over so I am not living in fear but freedom.  

What's in A Name...

Ok...I'll spill the beans.
I wasn't gonna blog this particular story because if you have are around me at all you have probably heard it.
But for the rest of you out there that get a kick out of the bizarre situations I sometimes get myself in - This ones for you.


Ok so a couple of weeks ago I was doing some photos at a ladies event at my church. I was surprised to find out that the woman speaking, Berty N, at the event had a familiar story and name.  She was a south african woman married to a doctor and her name was so familiar because I had just been referred to her husband.  This in itself was kinda cool - doctors are kinda like celebrities in that it is easy to forget that they are normal people with lives outside of the hospital!
Anyway but there was something else about this woman that I was more excited by...I was pretty sure I had met her before - a couple of years earlier.  I had been at a friends birthday party and been introduced to a south african woman that was married to a doctor and I had so enjoyed our visit.  She was just one of those people that was easy to relate to and memorable for that very reason.
So back to the church where my powers of deduction were putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.  Flash forward to the end of the night when I had the opportunity to say hello to this woman. I was nervous to introduce myself but still buzzing from the photo session I was just finishing up (Yup photography gives me more energy than a red bull!)
So here I am jittery nervous lady and I just walk right up to this woman and introduce myself thusly,
"Helloi'mKateIthinkimetyouacoupleyearsago!?ItwasonlyonceatabirthdaypartybutIjustthoughtitwasneattoseeyouagainAndguesswhatIjustfiguredoutthatIhavebeenreferredtoyourhusband...."
I kinda petered out at this point because my brain had caught up with my mouth and I realized she was standing there politely awkward - not recognizing me back and frankly looking a little skeptical at this crazy photographer who was verbally accosting her. It dawned on me that if she didn't know me she would know my friend who had invited her to the party, thus proving I was not crazy.
"Do you know Christie S?" 
"No"
"Oh. Hmm. Ok"
And that was the end of the conversation.


Oh Boy. I was confused. So I called my friend Christie and asked her who in the world she had invited to her party?!  Sure enough it was a south african woman married to a doctor - named Paula - Not Berty. Wow.

In retrospect I should have known better. I mean in this area if you are a south african woman chances are you ARE married to a doctor! We have quite a few within a relatively small area.
Well to say the least I am off to meet Berty's husband today (Doc appointment) but there is no way that I am going to mention that I met his wife!! lol

I Heart Faces - Favourite Face of February (FOFF)

This little cutie was such a bundle of charismatic energy and had me moving the whole session (got my work out for the day!) So I was happy to find that I had captured this thoughtful look on her little face.  Its all about those beautiful brown eyes! If you want to check out a few of the other shots we got click here