Remember Spring?

I took these photos when Spring was in full bloom...

It was before I had my new digital camera...

I just had this roll of film developed...man am I glad I won't have to do that again!

We've successfully transitioned from Spring to Summer

and I pray your life is in full bloom!

Last weekend I took a little road trip to one of my favorite places on the planet...the secret beach!

It really isn't really a secret...but it's so hidden that not to many people ever are there
You have to haul up a ton of stairs and then down even more to get to the beach

I went for the sunset...it was beautiful!

Side note: my hair was not beautiful this day, oh well~

I sat there watching for over an hour...just enjoying the ever changing sky.
watching the birds...
the shifting shadows and the dance of the clouds...

the sand turning pink...

one last glimpse as I made my way back to my car...
To my surprise a rainbow!...the crowning glory to a beautiful day!

What's on my mind today...color, specifically painting a couple of rooms in my house. I've been in my apartment almost two years and haven't painted a thing, except furniture and odds and ends. I'm ready to put some color on the walls.

I LOVE all the colors in the Martha Stewart paint collection, which makes for some strategic and thought provoking decision making on my part. Clearly I'll have to paint every room! Why wouldn't I?

Happy Fathers Day!

Here's a photo of my dad and mom before they were married~

Here we are the Smith Family...

On this day that we honor Fathers I'm thinking about my dad. He was a great guy, charming and dangerously good looking, usually tan. He worked third shift for a period of time. He'd come home in the morning and go lay in a hammock in the sun and sleep the day away. I always marveled at how tan he would get, he'd call it being brown as a berry! I thought it was funny when he said that. He loved to garden, called being outside in nature his church and the place where he connected most with God. He loved animals, fly fishing for trout in his secret trout brook, music and he played guitar and harmonica, He smoked a pipe sometimes that smelled good. He was always friendly and people liked him. He could draw and write and loved to read.

Yes, he was a great guy...I miss him~

He died 15 years ago, he would have been 70 if he made it to his next birthday.
Even though his death was sad it did bring him freedom from mental illness that he suffered with in his later years. He was at times a tormented soul...so beautiful yet so tortured. He did accept Christ before he died thanks to my mom's relationship with Jesus. She would sit at the kitchen table every morning and have a quiet prayer time and read her bible, sometimes the she'd tear up with emotion at what she was reading, it was moving which really had an effect on my dad. He saw the realness of Christ in her life. He's in heaven today...probably fishing :)
This blue bottle contains some of his remains...he was cremated and I keep some his ashes in this bottle. My heart also contains a part of him, it holds the love and memories I have of him but I like that I have a part of him~ Ashes to ashes dust to dust..I love you dad :)

Here's the O'Dell clan in all of our Radiant Glory!

While my middle son and "post it married wife" were here on a visit from Portland Oregon and the Florida Grandma here we did a family photo shoot.

I usually don't get in a photo...but the Florida Grandma pushed go, so I could actually be in some.

One of my favorite things is having my whole family together. I love the "Hub Bub," that ensues, the laughter, talking, the good food and the sheer joy of being together. Oh how I love these people! I celebrate their adulthood, the people they've become, the children they're having and the paths they're on! Good times and the best blessing!

Here's another journal I have, I call it "My Man Journal." A friend gave it to me as a gift for helping her out with her wedding. I decided to use it as a journal for my future husband, to give to him on our wedding day. I write in it from time to time, when done it will be the story of "Us." I look forward to seeing who God is bringing me, whose hands will someday hold this journal that's about us...

This is my travel journal...when I take a trip I write about it in here. The good the bad and everything in between. I love to read back in it and see where I've been.

I've been thinking about where I want to go next. I'm going to make another trip to Portland to see these folks, my son and lovely "post it" married girl friend (shameless Gray's Anatomy reference). They live in Portland, "Heaven on Earth."

They're here on vacation, so we're having some family hang time. Good Times! In the photo above the post-it married girlfriend is laughing...I love to make her laugh. Look how pretty she is.

When I go to Portland I'll take my camera so we do take more photos like the one below!

I can hardly wait to get the road trip started....

It's wedding season!

This is a photo from a friends wedding.

She met a Swiss man, married him

and moved to Switzerland!

Hats off to her for being so adventurous!

I helped shoot a wedding a couple of weeks ago.

It was in an area backyard and was beeeeeeautifffffuuuuullllll!

The flowers for the wedding were stunning!!!!!!!!!! I'll post some of those after the bride and groom have seen their photos. The flowers in the yard were plentiful and gorgeous!

I make greeting cards with photos I take and you can bet I'll be making cards out of these...