sweet to the soul and healing to the bones

i have good friends.  really really good friends.  like... so many good friends.  thank you jesus.  he knows that i need them.  i am a girl's girl.  i loved living in the dorms.  i loved having a house full of roommates.  i love getting ready together...a bunch of girls in a bathroom with not enough mirror space.     i love having my couches FULL OF WOMEN with lots to talk about, with burdens to share.  

but shame on me...i stopped taking pictures of those friends.

i have been busy photographing my children to the point of idolizing my children.  and i have forgotten to document these very important people in my life: my friends.  these women are gifts from God.  their friendships are rich treasures to me and i want photos to capture these sweet people, freezing time for me and giving my failing memory a snapshot of what GRACE and LOVE look like. 

{me and amanda.  by the kindness of God, he miraculously gave me a friend in amanda when i felt like i was drowning as a brand-new mom and no friends in dallas who had children yet.  can only be explained as a gift from jesus.}  

{me and whitney and ellen: days before whitney became a mother.  

i am crying right now.  friends for 13 years and counting.  how is that possible?}

{my friend nancy and i...at the thrift store with 4 children.  

seriously nancy, what were we thinking?}

{molly and her son, eli.  the look on flora's face accurately depicts how my children feel about molly and ross and baby eli.  we love them.  molly is the kind of friend that asks great questions and then really listens to your answers.  i always love spending time with her.  and river lists her husband ross as one of his best friends.}  

{missy.  the kind of friend that hugs you and squeezes really hard.  she says she misses me and the kids and i believe her, cause she is genuine and sincere.  she is also the kind of friend that serves me by washing my dishes after taco thursday every single time.}

{lissa.  i love knowing this girl.  she has always been so wise beyond her age and so thoughtful... from what i knew of her as a child.  and then as a young life kid at hillcrest.  and then as my friend as i watched her so honorably navigate college and serving selflessly as a young life leader herself.   and now she is a bride!  i cannot wait to walk with her in her next role as a wife!}

my birthday is next week.  last year i had a few goals for the year that i wanted to be better about.  this is on the list for my 32nd birthday: take more photos of my girlfriends.  they are good to me.  they are generous to me.  their friendships are "sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." proverbs 16:24

summer 2013

we love summer.  we love the heat.  we certainly do not mind sweating.  we love the water.  we are lake-rats.  pool-rats.  beach-bums.  we prefer to be barefoot and the boys never wear shirts.  we love summer.

cuddled up

i have learned the secret...

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through Jesus who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12,13

mother's day

it is my great privilege to be their mother.

it is also so humbling.  

it is also so hard.

 but good grief, they are cute.  and they are sweet.  and wild.  

 and they happen to call me mom.

i always wanted to be a mom, always.

and i love being THEIR mom.

it is a happy mothers day to me.

my people

happy 3rd birthday flora

i tell her every night that i always wanted a daughter...

and that i cannot believe God gave me two daughters!

flora jolene berre happy birthday.
you show me how to always be joyful.
you remind me that i need help, that we cannot do this on our own.
we love you.