Muddy Mountain X 2

We went to Muddy Mountain this week... twice!  In the eleven years we've lived in this area I think we've been to Muddy Mountain only a couple of times.  However, we've had friends tell us how beautiful the wildflowers are right now so Saturday Mike and I decided to go take a look.  We were NOT disappointed!

We took some short trails and just wandered around a bit.

The views are spectacular!

Isn't Wyoming pretty?

Bode had a good time.

The flowers were so impressive, thanks to all the rain we've had.

Crazy beautiful wildflowers.

 ...and more wildflowers.

Just look at this scene!

I know that many people in this world never get to see so 

much space, wide and open. I love it!

Anyway, it was so breathtaking, we decided to invite the 

rest of our local family up there for a Father's Day Picnic.

 It was a great day!

Sam came along.

We were just missing Ben and Sara, as well as our adopted family member, Laura.

Is your heart just melting?

One of my happiest things is knowing our little granddaughters

have a great Daddy. That means so much to our peace of mind!

Doesn't it look like Elise is floating?

I took lots of photos of the little girls.

Big surprise, huh? 

I will post some more soon.

Two Dads

Godfather...

Seriously, Sam can be acting absolutely geeky but he has this incredible

skill for snapping into serene composure for all photos.

And one last photo.

It's a good one and I am particularly proud of it.

I think Eric will be proud of it as well.

My Cup is Overflowing

I was going through old photos again tonight. I came upon this one...

I think I was just trying to get photos of the drops of water hanging on that evergreen tree. They were sparkling and pretty. I didn't get any very good close-ups on those drops so I was disappointed with this photograph. However, looking back now, I really like it. There, in the background, the sun was putting on a pretty good show and I wasn't even paying attention to it! I was just focusing (pun intended) on my disappointment over the little drops photo I'd planned.

I wonder how much else I miss in life, what kind of  beauty do I overlook, just because my plan hasn't always gone perfectly? I have some things in my life that have not gone exactly as I thought they should, but in the background of my life, there is so much beauty, so much abundance. 

One of my goals recently has been simply to live a life of more gratitude. I've been given so much, a loving family, useful work, great friends, more than enough food, a home that surpasses my needs, and so much more. My cup is overflowing.

Gray Day Beauty

We woke up to a 2014 covered in a soft, fluffy frosting.

It is one of those mornings where the sky and the snowy landscape kind of blend together. The sky is still heavy with snow.

In fact, the clouds must be kind of softly bumping together up there as every now and then a poof of snowflakes flutters down with the breeze.

The sun isn't making much of a statement today, starting the year out a bit shy.

At first glance it seems a bit gloomy but wandering outside with my camera really helps me see the beauty all around.

I don't really make New Year's Resolutions much anymore but this morning I did make just one. 

I want to be more intentional about enjoying the gift of vision. 

I want to be able to notice the loveliness more, rather than just rushing by. I want to not only delight in the fantastic colors of sunrises and sunsets, but also the softness of the gray days like today. I want to treasure the vision of faces, from the fresh, expectant newness of a child's soft face, to the faces that display more history in the fine wrinkles. I want to notice the patterns seen in nature, from the beauty of a snowflake to the delicate designs seen in new leaves. 

It occurs to me today that if I am looking more for beauty, I will see less ugliness around me. It is my hope that it will force me to manage my feelings of needing to rush, always wanting to get more accomplished. My hope is that it will center me around a calm column of gratefulness. That may be a lot to expect from the gift of vision but it is just one way of being appreciative of all that I have been given. 

Morning Gift

I am bustling around this morning, getting ready to go to work. Here are some of the thoughts I had roaming through my head...

  I wish I'd had something ready for the crockpot for supper tonight.

  Why am I curling my hair when the wind is still at hurricane strength.

  I wish the little office where I'll be spending my days now had a window.

  Why is my mascara so clumpy?

Then, I dashed toward the kitchen to prepare my piece of peanut butter toast for breakfast and I glanced out to see this...

That other stuff just didn't matter anymore.

I'd just received a beautiful gift.

The Beauty of a Tree

On my way home from work one day this week I found myself really noticing trees. they are all around town. Each is different from the next. What I was really noticing was the intricacy of each tree. That led me to thinking about all the opportunities to observe beauty that are available pretty much anytime. Although I was tired, I decided to stop for a few minutes to enjoy the view.

Here is what I was enjoying. It seemed like an amazing work of art.

I love trees.

Beauty in the Parking Lot

At 4:45 a.m. I am not usually thrilled to hear the alarm clock for work.  There are some nice things about going to work so early, though.  One is, I usually get off early enough to have a little time before supper.  It's nice to be able to run some errands and such.

Another nice thing is that I sometimes get to see the sunrise.  I'd actually already been working awhile when my supervisor told me to go look outside one morning this week.  The view in the parking lot was so wonderful, I thought you'd like to see it as well.

It was so glorious.  It's amazing, really, that such beauty is available on a daily basis...for FREE!

Just a little reminder, anyone who leaves a comment this week, or becomes a new follower will automatically be entered in the drawing for the Purse With a Past.

Fresh Mercies Each Morning

I took this photo off our back deck yesterday morning.  My camera and I did not quite capture the full beauty. When I turned and looked out the window, the colors were so magnificent I actually gasped.  A few minutes later it was already dulled, but still pretty.  It made me wonder about all the little moments of beauty that I miss because I forget to stop and look.

Lamentations 3:23

Great is his faithfulness;  his mercies begin afresh each morning.

May your day be filled with moments of unexpected beauty.

My Camera, My Friend

One of the best things about writing a blog is that I carry my camera around with me a lot more.  One of the best things about carrying a camera around with me a lot more is that I NOTICE things a lot more.  Specifically I notice things that are interesting or beautiful or quaint or heart-warming.  A lot of times it is something that I otherwise may have walked past with no particular sense of appreciation.

This is the camera I use.  It was a gift from Maria and Eric (daughter and son-in-law).  It is small and easily fits into my purse.  It is simple to use and takes great little photos.  Best of all, though, just having it along makes me take a closer look around myself.  I have a tendency to just plunge on ahead toward whatever my goal may be as though I had on blinders.  This little red camera, at least sometimes, makes me look with eyes focused toward beauty.

Do you remember when you'd buy a roll of film and carefully dole out the times you'd snap your camera because you wanted to make the roll last a bit?  We used to live far enough out that instead of taking our roll to a store for development, we'd pop it into a mailer for somewhere like Seattle Filmworks.  A few weeks later a fat little envelope would show up in our mailbox.  I loved that!  It was so exciting to see what the photos were as usually I'd begun shooting the roll so long before I ever mailed it that I had no idea what was in that package.

Sometimes it was quite a delight to see the photos.  Often, it was quite a disappointment.  I may have taken a photo in poor lighting or my subject may have blinked, etc.  I had a lot of photos that were sad.

BUT, that is not a big deal now with my sweet little digital camera.  I take a LOT of photos.  I may take 5 or 10 in a row, hoping that one or two will be terrific.  Who cares?  I am not wasting film and they are easily deleted.

So, I'd like to encourage you to grab your cameras!  Take a walk around your block, walk through your mall or just hang out with people you love.  You will be surprised where you will find photo-worthy opportunities!  If you snap one of which you are particularly proud, attach it to an e-mail to me at onlythemanager@yahoo.com and if I can I will showcase it on my blog, giving you credit of course.  One word of advice, though, please get permission if you are taking photos of people.  It turns out that not everyone wants to be on the internet.

Now, go look for some beauty!  Have fun!

Mike and I, along with many members of our church, are going through 100 days of Bible readings.  We are using the book, The Essential Jesus by Whitney T. Kuniholm.  It is 100 readings that take us through both Old and New Testament readings regarding Jesus.  I sometimes forget how many prophecies from the Old Testament were about Jesus, written long before his birth.  This book is divided into sections and there are thought-provoking questions at the end of each section.  I thought maybe now and then I'd share some of those questions on my blog.  I'd love feed back from anyone, Christian or non-Christian.


How and when did you first learn about Jesus?  Has your understanding of Jesus changed over the years?  If so, how?



On another note, it has been so warm here it is hard to remember that it is January.  Well, all that has changed.  Winter has definitely returned to Wyoming!  These first photos are from last night.  It was so quiet and lovely.

These last photos were just taken a few moments ago.

I don't appreciate all aspects of winter weather but I certainly do appreciate its beauty!