Come to the Manger

Angels called the shepherds in the middle of the night.
Come to the manger. Come and see.

Baby is born who will bring the world light.
Come to the manger. Come and see.

Light so bright it’ll chase away darkness
Come to the manger. Come and see.

He will bring salvation to everyone who harkens.
Come to the manger. Come and see.


Come, come, come. Come to the manger.
Come, come come. Come and see.
Come, come, come. Come to the manger.
Come to the manger, come and believe.


Star in the East bid the wise men, come!
Come to the manger. Come and see.

Witness the birth of the virgin’s son.
Come to the manger. Come and see.

Traveled many miles their gifts to bring.
Come to the manger. Come and see.

So they could worship the new born king.
Come to the manger. Come and see.


Come, come, come. Come to the manger.
Come, come come. Come and see.
Come, come, come. Come to the manger.
Come to the manger, come and believe.


The Lord is still calling to the hungry and the lost.
Come to the manger. Come and see.

Sinner, you are welcome. Won’t you count the cost?
Come to the manger. Come and see.

Born to die so that you may life
Come to the manger. Come and see.

Make the choice to take the gift he gives
Come to the manger. Come and see.


Come, come, come. Come to the manger!
Come, come come. Come and see!
Come, come, come. Come to the manger!
Come to the manger, come and believe.



Come to the manger words and music written by David Megill

Photo Hunters - Curve(d)

Photo Hunters - Curve(d)

Saint Francis Cathedral. Santa Fe, NM

Influenced by the French-born Archbishop Lamy and in dramatic contrast to the surrounding adobe structures, Saint Francis Cathedral was designed in the Romanesque Revival style - round arches separated by Corinthian columns and truncated square towers.

PhotoHunt

Photo Hunters - Technology

Photo Hunters - Technology

I better cut this conversation short. Think she's onto me. I'll text you tomorrow.


PhotoHunt

Thematic Photographic 74

Carmi's Thematic Photographic this week is orange.



Yeah, I had a hard time seeing past this amazing dessert to anything orange in this picture too. Yummmm.

Photo Hunters - Bird(s)

Photo Hunters - Bird(s)

Sitting on a beach in Hawaii this summer, his little guy came by to visit me while I was watching everyone in the water. He was pretty perplexed why I wasn't out there with them. Or maybe he just wanted to know why I wasn't eating anything. He is a red-crested cardinal and he made me smile.


More birds here.

A Miracle of the Heart

Laying awake for hours waiting for it to be time. A bumpy taxi ride. Washed-out muddy streets. A locked metal gate opened before us. A long driveway. Up six steps, we are ushered into the care center living room.

And then this:



My son. The first time I am able to take him in my arms. To kiss him and tell him I love him. We are together. My heart will never be the same.

Red

Thematic Photographic - Leaves Two

Leaving leaves behind this evening. But before we do I have just one more picture to post for Thematic Photographic this week.



Autumn 2007. This was the first fall my baby experienced here in the Land of Enchantment. Can't believe it was two years ago. We went out in the backyard for another first for her - a family photo. We took many pictures that day and this was one of them. This one must have left a more lasting impression on her though, because she talked about it for months and months afterwards..."Remember when we threw those leaves in the air...?"

Thematic Photographic - Leaves

This week Carmi's Thematic Photographic theme has been leaves. I've been mulling over whether to post anything or let it pass.

Then today Carmi, with a picture of fallen leaves, challenged us to shift our focus toward one who might otherwise not be seen or heard. I immediately thought of this photo which fit both challenges.



He is neither the oldest nor the baby. He is a middle child.
Sometimes, that is a difficult place to be.

Photo Hunters - Bags

Photo Hunters were in search of a picture of "bags" this week. This was a challenging one for me, until I stumbled on this picture.

Photo Hunters - Bags

Last fall, our family had a bake sale to raise funds for Free Wheel Chair Mission. We baked brownies and sold them outside our neighborhood drug store. Our goal was to raise enough money to buy one wheel chair for around $50. We were so thrilled when, at the end of our time, we had raised enough through the sale and donations to buy three!!








Bag it.

Skywatch

Kailua Beach, Hawaii

Yesterday it snowed here in the Land of Enchantment. Brrrrr! I hadn't expected winter to arrive this early - was hoping it would hold out for a few more weeks. The cold and snow wouldn't be such a bother except that our heater isn't working, and won't be until Monday. Brrrr! So I pulled on a sweatshirt and tried to think warm thoughts. Ahhhhh....my mind took me back to a wonderfully warm day I spent at Kailua Beach this last summer. I would love to be back there until Monday. Who am I kidding? I would love to be back there until next spring.




Gaze at more skies - SkyWatch Friday.

Photo Hunters - Sports

I spent some time at Kailua Beach in Oahu, Hawaii this past June. It's a beautiful beach that's rarely crowded and has plenty of wind. The perfect place for windsurfers. I loved watching them seem to just fly across the waves. The power of the wind is an awesome thing. I captured these images, which fit well with the Photo Hunters theme of the week, "sports!"

Photo Hunters - Sports

Wind Surfers - Kailua Beach, Hawaii




More sports.

Photo Hunters - Twisted

Photo Hunters - Twisted

The Loretto Staircase
Loretto Chapel
Santa Fe, NM


The Loretto Chapel. Santa Fe, NM. When was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Not uncommon of chapels of the time, when priests used ladders to climb into the lofts. But since Loretto was run by nuns, a staircase was needed. The chapel is too small for a conventional staircase. The sister prayed for an answer. Legend has it that a mysterious carpenter appeared and with only a hammer, saw, T-square and buckets of hot water for shaping the woord created the miraculous structure. Months later, the staircase was completed and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. The stairway confounds architects, engineers and master craftsmen. It makes over two complete 360-degree turns, stands 20’ tall and has no center support. It rests solely on its base and against the choir loft. The risers of the 33 steps are all of the same height. Made of an apparently extinct wood species, it was constructed with only square wooden pegs without glue or nails. When finished, the staircase had no handrails. The banister and balusters were added ten years later. It really is an amazing structure.




More Twisted Things

Photo Hunters - Upside Down

The Photo Hunters theme for the week was "upside down." Kids have a way of really turning your world upside down.

Immediately, these two picture came to mind.

Photo Hunters - Upside Down

TN Chick has more "upside down" at her blog and drop by Criz's place for a bunch "upside down."

Photo Hunters - Orange

Haven't played along with the Photo Hunters in a while and frankly I've missed it. This summer really derailed life in many ways. I dislocated my knee back in June. Tore my ACL and meniscus and damaged the cartilage on my femur where my bones crunched together. The summer itself was consumed with the repair and a long recovery, with very little energy to do anything else, esp. blog. And I still have a ways to go yet.

But the end of August symbolizes the beginning of fall (even though officially it will be several more weeks before it's arrival). And I'm happily saying "good-bye" to summer with a renewed hope that I can come back to blogging with new vigor. Time will tell I suppose.

So I'm jumping (figuratively, of course) back into The Hunt and have found a photo I took of something "orange."

Photo Hunters - Orange

I saw this photo that I took last spring and it made me feel happy. I could use a little more happy lately so it seemed like a really good choice.


You'll find more "orange" things at the blog of TN Chick - the creator of The Photo Hunt. (for which I'm grateful) And also, if you'd like to find a place with easy links to many Photo Hunters' blogs, you can always drop by my bloggy and photographic friend, Napaboaniya. Her photo choice for orange is terrific!

20 years

Twenty years ago, I was just a girl and he was a boy and we got married, because God had taken three years to lead us together.

Today, twenty years later, God still leads us together, a little more each day.

I know him better and I love him more. I "get" him better and I love him more. I love him deeper and more passionately and with a clearer understanding of what love really is. I am convinced that even the worst thing in the world is vastly better if I am with him than the best of things by myself; and I would choose go with him to hell and back as long as we are together.

He gets me. He loves me. He knows me better than any other human being and he still loves me.



It's amazing. It's miraculous. It's a priceless treasure.

We are blessed.

Thematic Photographic - Laundry

Carmi's Thematic Photographic challenge of the week is laundry. Interesting and fun choice.

Although we have mountains of laundry around here, I couldn't bring myself to take a photo of it. The battle itself of trying to keep the laundry at bay is tough enough, I don't need photos of it to remind me that I'm usually losing.

Instead I've chosen this photo. We don't have a laundry line we have this.



My daughter jokes that around here when the tree starts to bear this kind of "fruit," we know Spring has arrived.

Photo Hunters - Entertainment

This week the Photo Hunters were in search of photos of "entertainment." So vast a topic! Was it a tough choice for me, you ask? Are you kidding me!? I have seven children. We have enough entertainment around here I should sell tickets.

Photo Hunters - Entertainment

More entertainment can be found here.

Photo Hunters - Utensil(s)

Photo Hunters - Utensil(s)

More Utensil(s).

Photo Hunters - Garbage

Finally back to Photo Hunters this week. It's been a while. Today's theme of "garbage" threw me for a loop until I stopped by Carver's Place. I realized that "garbage" could be a part of my photo without being the primary focus of it. Then my choice came to mind right away.

Photo Hunters - Garbage

This is looking down the street from the frontyard of the home where we stayed in O'ahu Hawi'i. It was such a quiet and lovely street. Can you see why this picture fits the theme?


More garbage to be explored.

Thematic Photographic - Cloudy

Fell off the face of the earth for a few weeks. First, as a result of doing something careless and dangerous, I took a fall and hurt my knee. Won't know the extent of the damage for another week when I finally have a follow-up appointment with the othropaedic doc who will review an MRI of my injured knee. I do know at a minimum, I dislocated my kneecap. Ouch.

Double ouch that I hurt my knee five days before I was expected to fly to O'ahu Hawai'i with my daughter and a group of her friends for a week in paradise. Wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it but I packed my suitcase and took my bum knee on vacation.

Which brings me to these pictures which I'm posting for Carmi's Thematic Photographic challenge this week of cloudy. These are all photos I took on my trip to Hawai'i. Even with a bum knee, it was an amazing trip.