Where does it go?

I head to work. I get home and cook dinner. I start a load of laundry. I edit pictures. I reply to a few emails. I check the news. That's the general daily things. To these, this month, I add: sign and address some Christmas cards and wrap a few presents.

I just can't believe how fast the days come and go. The ebb and tide of life! It's fleeting! Then, I take a moment, just one though - it's really all I can spare, and check my blog to be totally and utterly disappointed to realize it's been so many weeks since my last post. It makes me sad because I like to be here. I enjoy it. It is relaxing to me and I deserve this time here to reflect on life. So, without guilting myself any further, I leave you with a few photos of what's been going on with me over the past few weeks.

And just in case I don't find my way back here over the next week or two, let me just say, "Merry Christmas to you and yours!" right now! I'd hate to miss the opportunity to shower you with those well wishes from my family to yours!

And now a few photos.

Since we last met I have.............

................worked the first annual Chipley Outdoor Expo

................I finished editing the photos from my son, Michael's shoot (from the summer, I'm embarrassed to say!)

................and did an engagement shoot in Marianna

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Give Thanks!

Ah, Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's really upon us. This year has flown by, but with it, there are many things for which I am thankful. I find things in my every day life to be thankful for. The Lord blesses me continually. I see it, and acknowledge Him for the many blessings in my life.

It is so easy to get caught up in our own day to day lives and take the general little blessings for granted. I am speaking of the things He provides for us that we many times take credit for ourselves. I am speaking of things like, groceries on the table, clothes on our back, healthy families, close friends and a loving church family. I am speaking of our freedoms of religion and speech. All of which should never be taken lightly. It is so important to give God ALL the praise and glory for each and every one of them. Praise God from whom ALL blessing flow!

So, as I ponder the annual "Thanksgiving", I find myself going all the way back to the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth. When was the last time you thought about that? Was it yesterday? Was it last year? Was it when you were in grade school? Do you remember what that was about? Well, if you're anything like me, a refresher course may be in order! Again, how easy to get caught up in our day to day lives and let history and our culture fall to the wayside. Might be a good year to search for that information and share it with your family. It sure couldn't hurt. Who knows, maybe your grade-schooler could teach you something at the dinner table this year. Ask them about the first Thanksgiving. They would probably love to share what they've learned.

Then I think about the good old days. You know the ones I am speaking of. The days when you got to spend Thanksgiving morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while your Mama cooked the Thanksgiving feast. All you had to do was wait for all the family and guests to arrive and show up at the table. Yes! THOSE were the days. Now those tasks have fallen to me and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade plays in the background while I check the turkey one more time and stir the gravy. But, I am thankful for the role I have earned and I cherish every single minute of it. It is a wonderful thing for my house to be the one full of people and the smell of Thanksgiving fare!

Always remember to find something every single day for which you can be thankful. It's not so easy for some.

My Mama was the crafty one. She was the girl scout leader, the Sunday school teacher, the Vacation Bible school leader. No, my name is not "the Beave" but my Mama was about as close to June Cleaver as a mama could get. She always planned fun activities around each holiday. She passed that tradition on to me. My boys used to love it. Well, they aren't boys anymore.........they are men. So, they don't enjoy this type of thing as much anymore, but they humor me and play along to spare my feelings. Have fun with this. Enjoy and be thankful for a minute to play.

What's on YOUR Thanksgiving table this year? Are you dining at your house? Are you traveling somewhere to celebrate the harvest with someone else? What are your family traditions? Is it turkey? Is it turkey AND ham? Is it stove top or homemade cornbread dressing? Do you stuff the turkey with the dressing or cook it in a pan separately? Do you even like cranberry sauce? Share your Thanksgiving traditions with me. I'd love to hear about them.

When was the last time you really took inventory of the blessings in your life? Are you filled with joy? So many, at this time of year, have a hard time finding joy in their life. Is there a neighbor or co-worker you could invite to dinner so they are not alone? Maybe your invitation to dinner or to church would be a HUGE blessing to them. I think He would want you to ask and I'm sure it would bring you joy!

In conclusion of this Thanksgiving message, I want to remind you what Thanksgiving is all about. It's really not so much about the turkey, dressing, or even the pumpkin pie. It's about thanking the Lord for our blessings. It's about family. It's about friends. Ultimately, it's about relationships with Him and our fellow man. I pray your day will be a feast of thankfulness enjoying God's abundant blessings and perfect peace.

EPCOT 2009

What seems like just last weekend, which was actually a few months ago now, my family took a vacation. We had a great time. My brother and sister and their families live in Orlando, so it was great to get to spend some quality time with them. Our first day there, we went to EPCOT. Here are a few shots of things we saw.

Lots more to see. I'll post a handful of pictures several times over the next week or so.

And yes! The photo shoot of Michael is in the near future!!

Kacy

Wow! I can't believe how fast the time has flown. I am so far behind on my blogging AND my photo editing. So much has happened in the past three weeks. I spent last week in Missouri for some software training. My first time flying and I LOVED it! (Photos to follow soon) And Missouri is a nice place to visit..........but I wouldn't want to live there. It's flat........really flat.

Anyway, I'll try my best to get caught up over the next week or so. Lots to share with you. I'm going to try and post in the order of events. We'll start here with my niece, Kacy. Then I also have to share some of our vacation pictures from the middle of September (and whoever posted that comment about wanting more pictures of Michael.......I've got some GREAT ones coming up soon!! Stay tuned!) Then there's a 1st birthday party from the end of September and a shoot with a sweet, precious family that also happened the end of September.

Ok, let's get started!

This is my niece, Kacy. She is a tiny little thing, but one beautiful and smart little cookie. She graduated with the highest honors from Graceville High School last year and was the Salutatorian! What an honor! Kacy has many, MANY beauty queen titles under her belt and even competed in the Ms. Peanut last year. I've been after her for some time to let her Aunt Ellen "shoot" her. She finally carved out some time for me and here is a small sample of what we got. You can view the whole shoot on my Shutterfly account at www.ellenworley.shutterfly.com. Let me know what you think. You can leave comments here AND on my Shutterfly.

Hope you have as much fun looking at these as I did taking them.

Excuses, excuses.........

I have an appointment today. An appointment for something that has filled me with dread for over a week now. As this day has drawn closer and closer I have rationalized in my mind of countless reasons why this "appointment" just probably shouldn't take place. *sigh*

Here are some of the excuses I've concocted in my mind:

1. The weather is bad
2. (therefore) My hair is frizzy
3. I'm getting a zit on my chin
4. The cat scratched my face this morning while we were playing
5. My lipstick melted in the car
6. Let me try to stay on my diet one more week and then we'll see
7. I need to pack for our trip
8. "If you're too busy, we could just reschedule?!"
9. It was a bad idea to begin with?
10. A Dillard's gift card is a much better gift idea about now!

OK. Now, let's see who can tell me what this appointment is that I'm dreading SOOO much.

My excuses provide ample clues.

Vacation a'comin'!!

Today was officially the first day of my vacation. And I am not even ashamed to tell you that I stayed in my pajamas ALL day! It was lovely. It was divine. It was................down right fantastic! It was a dreary, rainy day. The perfect type of day to sit around in your pajamas and just enjoy relaxing. I had the entire house to myself. It was just me, the cat, the dog and a good book. Ahhhhh.....vacation!!!

Tomorrow I'll be getting everything washed and packed for our trip. We'll be heading to Orlando for the rest of the week. We'll be at Epcot on my birthday, Thursday. We'll be spending the rest of the week visiting family there and making day trips here and there.

I will be taking LOTS of pictures to document the journey, so I guess I'll see you back here next week.


Chao!

The Newly Engaged Couple

Without further ado..............................

Hope to see you again soon. I'll be posting some pictures of my niece. So much fun! Stop back by.

Let's Play A Game

Today we'll play a game called "Guess Who".

Two Saturdays ago I got to spend the day with some very special folks that are near and dear to my heart. Here are some pictures from that day. See how quickly you can guess who it is. Feel free to post your guesses. I'll be revealing the answer with more, More, MORE photos this weekend so you'll be able to check back and see if you were right!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Road Trip!

I had to go to Blakely, GA again today for some more training. I went last week and saw some really beautiful scenery and wished that I had my camera. I went prepared today! Here are a few things I saw upaire in Georgie!

I love churches. They are just beautiful to me. I really enjoy photographing churches of all sizes, shapes, styles and denominations. I especially love steeples. And the sky today couldn't have been a more perfect backdrop.

This train caught my eye on the way into Georgia this morning. It was an actual steam locomotive! Too cool! I hate that I didn't get the engine car. Sorry.

This is the Early County Court House. Very beautiful with strong character. It was neat hearing all about some of the history behind it. I dig stuff like that!

That is actually a functional wind vain that was placed there by a relative of one of my new Blakely friends!

This is an old covered bridge. It's not drivable anymore, but it sure is neat to look at.

I took this shot at the boat ramp. I just love the bright crisp greens. Won't be long before I'll need to go back and shoot it again to capture the oranges, reds and browns! Keep a look out for that update. I'm sure it will be gorgeous!

This was a special memorial to all the men and women from Blakely that served in the United States military.

There was plenty of beautiful country roads to enjoy throughout my journey today. It's so peaceful to travel those hills.

And THIS, is the Bank of Early, where I spent the day. The folks there are so great. I have really enjoyed getting to know them all. They are a great bunch to work with and I can't wait until I get to go back again!

I thought I would leave you with this serene last shot of the creek that was under the covered bridge. I wish you could hear the babbling waters as they flowed. I could have pulled up a lawn chair and stayed a while. It was absolutely wonderful.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your little virtual tour of my day.

God Bless!