Humble Pie

I love the Lord’s faithfulness. I asked him years ago to keep me humble, and He has yet to let me down. Case in point, my photography blog. (If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out here.) I experiement a lot, with equipment, odd lighting, new or bizarre subjects, etc. I’m always pushing myself to do something I haven’t done before. Once I’m satisfied with the results I publish a few of my favorite shots on my photoblog. It’s my version of a victory lap.  So, imagine my chagrin when I was notified that someone found my blog by Googling “bad nature photography“. Guess I have more work to do…

More Reasons to Love IHOP

We just got back from Kansas City, and I must admit I am even more in love with the IHOP community than ever before. Here are the new reasons I found:

1. You gotta love a community where total strangers come up to you to say how awesome your kids are.
2. You gotta love a community that embraces adopting orphans the way the rest of the country embraces buying your own kids a Wii.
3. You gotta love a community where the adults are full of child-like enthusiasm and the kids are full of adult-like wisdom.
4. You gotta love a community that doesn’t shrink from Scripture, even when the message doesn’t fit with our feel-good, politically-correct-until-you-die way of thinking.
5. You gotta love a community that includes a coffee shop that sells breakfast in the morning, and then again in the afternoon for people who aren’t morning people.
6. You gotta love a community that teaches people to aim at “excellence”, while encouraging them to “press delete” and try again when they fail.
7. You gotta love a community where a short walk down the hallway, at any time of the day or night, will allow you to overhear bits and pieces of conversation like, “Well, I always thought the pre-trib theory had a lot of validity, but I was reading in ‘Daniel’ and…”

What is there to say but, “Gotta love it!”

Too Much Fun

Yes, it may in fact be possible to have too much fun. I never would have thought so before last Sunday, but now I’m convinced it just might be. We took a walking tour of a neighborhood in Brooklyn, shopped at my favorite camera store in the entire world, and topped the day off with a Broadway show. To make the whole day even better, the show wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill Broadway show. We saw ”Slava’s SnowShow”, an extravaganza of beauty, imagination, and just plain fun.

(I had never heard of Slava before, but he is a famous clown from Russia, known around the world. You would think that as a former clown I would have known, but no… Anyway…)

It’s the kind of show that’s really hard to explain, since it lacks all the “norms” of clown acts, like balloon animals, cheesy magic tricks, and tiny cars. Instead, it goes from random silliness, to poignant introspection, to surrealism, to outright, fully abandoned fun.

Big Girls Don’t Cry… or do They?

I woke up slowing this morning, with that slow stretch that so often starts a day, refusing to open my eyes right away in denial that it could actually be time to get up. Even with my eyes closed, though, I knew morning had come, so reluctantly I opened my eyes and took a lazy glance at the clock. What? Could it really be 7:44 AM? But my aquatics class starts at 8:00! Frustrated, I began rushing to get ready for class and out the door.

As I was hurriedly getting dressed, I had a flash of revelation to look up Luke 7:44. I chided myself, telling myself there might not even be such a verse, and besides, I was running late.

In Memorial: Marguretha Ann Beattie

This biography and remembrance was written mostly by my father, Forrest A. Beattie, and presented at my moms memorial service.  I wanted to share it and provide links to some other very touching commentary you may have already seen by Dorean, Amanda, and Adam.  Thanks for your love and prayers.  — Brian

Setting it Straight…

OK, to once and for all set this straight (yeah, right!) here is the original photo from which I pulled the patches of color for the Barney vs. Barney debate:

Are you convinced yet? If not, I have no idea how to help you. And yes, this photo does in fact prove that I’m obsessive enough to actually purchase a video just to take a photo of it on my sofa. However, it should be noted that even after actually seeing the actual video on the actual sofa for himself, Brian dragged me through a Babies R Us store, trying to find a Barney doll to prove that the photo on the video box was not accurate. I’ll let you just which of us is more obsessed…

An Awesome Must-Read Link

I have no idea who the person is that wrote this post, but it’s just too good. You gotta read it! For a good laugh, click here!

A Reading Recommendation

Just in case you’re bored and looking for a good escapist read, I recommend wandering over to read about Kootie and Koobert. These are fun little characters that have lived with our family for a number of years now. The stories are created by my husband, Brian, and are tons of fun. Just do me a favor; don’t tell Amanda or Adam I told you about this. It might not make them very happy with me.

How did We Live without It?

Talk about random! I’ve always heard the key to having a successful business was to find a need and meet it. This certainly falls into that category. I mean, I guess it’s really a good idea, but a whole company based on this one doo-hickey? Oh, my… For WD-40 users everywhere, click here to find the tool you’ve been waiting for! How did we live without it???