February 28, 2013

Living in the Moment: February Edition

“What day is it?"
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.”  (A.A. Milne)

Yikes, this last month flew by entirely too quickly. It’s once again time to celebrate living in the moment. Please visit the other lovely photographers in this loop - all women who are intentionally appreciating  and celebrating the beauty in the “mundane” (common, practical, “ordinary”, typical or characteristic events of worldly/earthly life) everyday moments. Anika's blog blog is next …
playgroundHe ran.  He slid.  He jumped.  He climbed.  Wash-rinse-repeat.  Multiple times.   IMG_2431IMG_2434slideIMG_2455Meanwhile, Middle Dude was patiently waiting for his buddies to arrive and the soccer game to begin.  His days of playground enthusiasm have probably come to an end.IMG_2474
Isn’t his t-shirt a hoot?  We Kellers kinda like bacon. A lot.

Logic: Money buys bacon.
Bacon makes happiness.
Therefore …
Money buys happiness.

waitingIMG_2475But this short afternoon at the park reminded me that despite two of my dudes being “beyond” playground days, I still have one dude who clearly still feels the love for the park.  Methinks I need to be way more mindful of adding playground time into our days.  IMG_2464

February 23, 2013

All Creatures Great & Small …

Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights above.
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Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.
Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.
Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at His command they were created,
and He established them for ever and ever—
He issued a decree that will never pass away.

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 Praise the Lord from the earth, 
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,

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you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women, old men and children.

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Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for His name alone is exalted;
His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

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And He has raised up for His people a horn,
the praise of all His faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to His heart.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 148

February 18, 2013

Weekends.

Two weekends ago looked like this:

biking by the beachPerfect cloudy day for a bike ride by the beach.


And then this last weekend looked like this:  canyon twilight hikePerfect, warm evening for a walk in the canyon.  

And then we ended the weekend on this note: 


20130217_192947_resizedUltimate Frisbee game collision.  Methinks this coming weekend will be …. a little less active.

February 14, 2013

Happy Love Day.

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A happy man marries the girl he loves; a happier man loves the girl he marries.

"I've fallen in love many times... always with you."

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." – Aristotle

The four most important words in any marriage..."I'll do the dishes."

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. - Benjamin Franklin

It is impossible to love and be wise. - Francis Bacon

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” – Charles M. Schulz

 Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.  C.S. Lewis

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.”  Neil Gaiman

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” – C.S. Lewis

No man is truly married until he understands every word his wife is NOT saying. 

I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear.  Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.  Mother Teresa

“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” – Jane Austen

“Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind.” – G.K. Chesterton

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”  Lao Tzu

A woman know the face of the man she loves as a sailor know the open sea.  Honore de Balzac

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.  A. A. Milne

The great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.  Victor Hugo

Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.  Mark Twain

Who, being loved, is poor?  Oscar Wilde

“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”  Albert Einstein

My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep;
the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.  Shakespeare

Lord, grant that I might no so much seek to be loved as to love.  St. Francis of Assisi

“There is the great lesson of 'Beauty and the Beast,' that a thing must be loved before it is lovable.”  G.K. Chesteron

Love conquers all.  Virgil

A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  Jesus

February 12, 2013

Newborn Days in the NICU :: Newborn Lifestyle Photography

It was my pleasure to meet Baby N this last week as part of my affiliation with Pictures of Hope.  He burst upon the scene far before his due date, has since doubled his birth weight, and soon will be going home!  And, can I just say:  he fits perfectly into his father's and mother's arms.orange county newborn photographyuci 2uci 3uci 4uci 5orange county newborn lifestyle photographyorange county newborn lifestyle photographerorange county baby photographer18964662orange county newborn photographerorange county newborn photography4654orange county newborn photographerorange county newborn lifestyle photographybaby NSometimes he just prefers to suck on his oxygen!  What a cutie!46974712orange county baby lifestyle photographyorange county baby photographeryawnSuch BIG yawns …  Sometimes waking up is just hard.yawnSo happy I got to see his beautiful eyes before I left!finally awakeuci

February 11, 2013

I Love where we Live.

IMG_2134IMG_2135IMG_2136sea slugIMG_2156empty shells

This whole area where The Strand and Salt Creek Beach intersect is usually submerged. Super low tide exposed it all.

IMG_2162IMG_2171IMG_2173IMG_2175tide pools

These are hundreds (thousands?) of tiny anemones, curled inward, covered with shells and pebbles.

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