:: Team-up Thursday ~ Moment in Time ::

When I Jaimee suggested the Moment in Time theme for this week, I was really intrigued.  I already knew where I’d be and began thinking about how I would go about capturing a shot in the middle of our church service without it being considered rude or inappropriate. 

It was interesting too, how much the specific details of the task made it feel much clearer, but no less creative and interpretive.  even better…when I saw Jaimee’s awesome shot I was thrilled with both the similarities and stark differences between the two.  Perhaps my favorite connection between the two is how I was in a church service in Michigan hearing a sermon about the importance of the fellowship of believers…and Jaimee was in Texas enjoying such fellowship. 

Hosted by Megan and Melody.

:: Team-up Thursday ~ Through ::

Once again I’m lovin’ this challenge!  When I opened Jaimee’s shot and saw it was another B&W I couldn’t help smiling!  I know many of the teams find themselves with similar shots as their partner…makes me wonder if we chose our partners because of a similar style or if working together has more influence that we even realize. 

Either way, here’s how things are looking through our eyes this week.  I absolutely love the adorable expression and Cole’s curls! 

Thanks Megan and Melody for hosting!

:: Team-up Thursday ~ Unknown ::

Is it just me, or have the days and weeks been passing unbelievably fast?  Seriously, when I emailed Jaimee yesterday to check about a theme, I was in denial that it was just one day before our team-up challenge.  As it was, we opted for the theme of unknown, and don’t ya know – it totally works.  I’m always in awe of the way she captures a subject that might be considered ordinary and creates art.  Simply gorgeous!

My shot today is one of too many I captured last weekend when tragedy struck our extended family.  Saturday night, we got word that my aunt and uncle’s house was on fire.  After a few frantic hours of phone calls and eventually finding them nearby at a friend’s birthday party.  Of course, we are blessed that no one was injured and while we know full well that it isn’t about material possessions, it doesn’t make the loss of so many collected treasures and the memories attached to each piece of artwork, photo or family heirloom any less heartbreaking. 

Today, I’m asking a special favor that after sneaking a peek at this image, you offer up a prayer for strength, comfort and encouragement for their family.  There are so many unknowns that lie ahead of them, and I pray that they are able to see that like this tiny tree which bears the scars of this ordeal…it’s still there, reaching toward heaven searching for and yet filled with hope.

Hosted by Megan and Melody

:: Team-up Thursday ~ My Weakness ::

When Jaimee suggested the theme for this week, about a million possible subjects ran through my mind.  Chocolate.  Ice Cream Flurries.  Shoes.  Then, I smiled a little thinking back to just yesterday when the ice breaker of our professional development seminar was to create our Superhero teaching alter-ego.  Aside from identifying the super-powers we employ the classroom on a daily basis, and describing the metropolis areas we serve, we also had to share our “kryptonite.”  I suppose it says something about my outlook that I found it a bit challenging to meet some of the criteria, yet I immediately knew what my weakness would be.

There are so many aspects of teaching that are exciting and fulfilling.  For me, however, grading papers doesn’t fall in that category.  Managing my time and staying on top of the paperload is a goal I will constantly strive to attain.  In the mean-time, I choose to focus on the moments of excitement that come from working with talented middle schoolers.  That, and the way a picture of graded papers reminds me that it’s possible to feel “caught up” for the brief and beautiful beginning of a new quarter!

See the Team-up Thursday creativity piling up, thanks to our talented hosts Megan and Melody.

:: Team-up Thursday ~ Books ::

The lifetime book-lover and English teacher in me was thrilled with this week’s theme.  Just this week, in preparation for a much-needed and fast-approaching spring break, a colleague and I were discussing how much we miss the days of adolescence when we could read into the wee hours of the morning, only to roll over on a sunny Saturday morning and pick up where we left off and read until well past noon. 

The reading I get to do as an adult is often more out of obligation and necessity than pleasure.  And yet, there forever lives  the insatiable desire to soak up the stories hidden between the dusty covers.  Hours spent poring over the new releases on bookstore shelves are hours of pure bliss. 

So, how do I reconcile my responsibilities as a wife, mother, teacher and reader?  Technology, of course!  While nothing beats the tactile experience of curling up with a romantic tale on a rainy afternoon, I’ve recently realized the benefit to listening to unabridged books on tape or my iPod.  Now, it isn’t just lying in the hammock on a sunny afternoon that I get to enjoy a good mystery – wait!  Since when have I enjoyed just lying in the hammock at all, let alone to read? 🙂  Now, the characters of my recent stories journey with me throughout chores, errands or exercise.

Perhaps the strangest book I’ve “read” was Feed by M.T. Anderson, a science fiction book  that follows teenage main character who meet one young girl trying to fight the “feed” that practically everyone has embedded into their brains at birth.  In many ways, my iPod felt like my feed, which was both disconcerting and ironic. 

Currently, I’m reading Three Cups of Tea in preparation for the author’s visit to a nearby university next week.  So far, this book too feels slightly “wrong” to be experiencing through technology.  Hearing about the upper elementary students meeting for “school” at the top of the mountain, without the benefit of a teacher to teach them because it costs an entire dollar per day which the community cannot afford – it seems inappropriate to be sharing their story in the midst of my own excess. 

Yet, those feelings, those challenges and thoughts that are stirred within me are exactly what I love about reading, about the transformational power of books.  I also, can’t help but listen with curiosity to Mortensen’s experience as Garth and I prepare to take a missions trip to Panama this summer.  Beyond the subject, there’s so much I enjoy about the way these shots go together.  Jaimee captured a beautiful image in honor of the upcoming holiday.  I love the reds in these shots and while I am only early in the book, I can’t help but connect the content of my text and the “Sorrow Will Turn to Joy” heading in Jaimee’s shot. 

Speaking of books…thanks for reading my novel of a post today!   Be sure to swing by Melody’s to see what other’s came up with for this week’s Team-up Challenge!