Delight 365 // Days 16-26

I decided that I should post my new 365 photos once a week, instead of whenever I feel like it to help me keep track of it better. *smile* So, here are my photos from the last 10 days:

Day 16

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."

Ansel Adams

Day 17

Word: color

"Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

"Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas 

Day 18

My brother's basketball game.

Day 19

Word: joy

"You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning.

And when the oceans rage

I don't have to be afraid

Because I know that You love me.

Your love never fails."

Your Love Never Fails

Day 20

"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen."

Leonard da Vinci

Day 21

My little funnykins who loves to come and hang out with my while I do homework.

Day 22

Word: ring

"It's falling from the clouds

A strange and lovely sound.

I hear it in the thunder and the rain.

It's ringing in the skies

Like cannons in the night.

The music of the universe plays.

Singing, You are holy, great and mighty.

The moon and the stars declare Who You are.

I'm so unworthy, but still you love me.

Forever my heart will sing of how great You are."

Cannons by Phil Wickham

Day 23

Word: celebrate

"While we are living in the present, we must celebrate life every day, knowing that we are becoming history with every work, every action, every deed." -Mattie Stepanek

One night while I was babysitting, the three little girls and I ate a simple supper by candlelight. It's the little things that make a big difference.

Day 24

"Raindrops rolling off my brim. Street lights got the pavement glistening. Touchdown, I fall into Your arms right where I belong, Your everlasting arms. And where would I be without You?"

That's me without You by TobyMac.

Day 25

"Now, you come downstairs and see if a good cup of tea and some of those plum puffs I made today don't hearten you."
Marilla in Anne of Green Gables 

Day 26

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” 
Epicurus

It made my day when I figured out that my hair is long enough to go in a sock bun. Again, it's the little things. *smile*

It's been a busy week, but a good one. This weekend I was at a music festival. At our concert, we did an audience sing-along which was a lot of fun. I've been getting a few orders in my shop which is really encouraging.

How has your week been?

Do you have any favorite quotes?

What I will choose to remember

Written at the end of Christmas vacation

After three snow days delayed the beginning of school this year, this prolonged vacation is over. I've loved every minute, even if I didn't always feel productive.

But that's okay. Sometimes the most "unproductive" times are the most memorable. In a month, I'm not going to remember all that time I didn't spend on that essay. What I will recall is the way Natalia sings "Redeemed" and "Let it Go" into her little microphone. The way Abbie laughs while trying to blow out birthday candles. The way Chloe loves to cuddle while watching movies. The way the boys get each other going just to sit down 10 minutes later and trade sports cards. The conversations my cousin Tia and I had each night in Canada before falling asleep at 2:00 am. The way Ne-Ne, my grandmother, bustles about while Grampie swaps stories with their three children. 

All of that is what I will remember, and that is what I want to remember forever, once school is over and grades fade into a distant, unimportant memory. Once I am far away at college and don't see my family every day.

These things matter, these memories, more than any grade or stress or online game or Facebook update.

This is what I will choose to remember.

making and longing

Reading:

A Tale of Two Cities

Beloved

Wearing:

leggings under skirts to stay warm

cardigans

hot pink

Listening:

The Gaither Vocal Band

movie scores

Frozen music

Seeing:

a new layer of snow covering up the brown slush

exquisite golden skies

quilt threads

mistakes written in pen

Touching:

soft yarn

smooth paper

wet walkways

guache paint

laptop keys

mandolin strings

silky scarves

Knitting:

an aran sweater

cabled fingerless gloves

a hat

Longing for: 

graduation

pretty yarn

more snow, less ice

perfectly white teeth

more free time

more sleep

handknit socks

the ocean

Feeling:

unmotivated

excited

apprehensive

stressed

relieved

unprepared

unsure

Making:

mistakes

paintings in art class

messes

Sometimes I...

Sometimes I...

just want to knit all day, every day

long to curl up with a book on rainy afternoons instead of leaving the house

am envious of some people's artistic talent

read the same sentence several times before focusing long enough to comprehend what it says

wear hot pink pajama sets

worry too much

don't want to go to high school ever again

am terrified to leave high school

have cold hands all day

make a fool out of myself

cuddle with my little sisters

get frustrated at anything and everything

search for a pencil I am holding

use neon colored index cards

leave nail polish on my fingernails for over a month because I'm too lazy to remove it

bake muffins instead of doing homework

have the same things on my to-do list all week

play music instead of doing homework

procrastinate

stay up too late watching Sherlock

sit and just touch soft yarn or knitting things

buy a rug because it was on sale

write long lists

And sometimes, I start an Etsy shop. It's something that I've been wanting to do for quite some time, and I finally took the plunge. Feel free to visit my shop, Goldberry Artisans, and take a look around.

Delight 365 // Days 10-15

Day 10

Chloe, my little funnykins, put on a dance show for me.

Day 11

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” 

Victor Hugo

Day 12

Working on some knitting pictures for a soon-to-be-revealed project.

"Ask her what she craved, and she'd get a little frantic about things like books, the woods, music, plants, and seasons. Also freedom." 

Charles Frazier 

Day 13

"Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us, and see the beauty in ordinary things." 

Thomas Merton 

Day 14

"The earth has music for those who listen." 

George Santayana

Day 15

"The beauty of winter is that it makes you appreciate spring." 

The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery 

So much has been going on lately. Making plans for the summer (or, at least, thinking over my options), schoolwork (who assigns essays over Christmas vacation?), more schoolwork (AP Statistics. That's all I have to say.), preparing to teach Bible lessons and lead youth group song time, and fangirling over season three of Sherlock with some lovely girls (Grace, Eve, and Mikailah).

But I have had time to read some wonderful blog posts lately. Here are a few of my favorites...

To anyone who is a blogger or that once was: I hope you remember

Just love

Battling shoulds

This morning

Think about your life today

Life won't begin at your next milestone

What posts or articles have you enjoyed recently?

What has kept you busy so far this month?

Hugs,

Emily.

If that isn't love

Lately, I've been loving traditional hymns like "Precious Memories", "If that isn't love", "What a Friend we have in Jesus", and "I know Who holds tomorrow." Those songs seem to have more meaning than a lot of the music written today because of their timelessness. They've been around for years and will keep on being sung, as long as I have breath. 

These songs were written in a time before the internet made it easier to popularize songs, before auto-tune existed to make everything sound perfect, by people who just loved God and weren't afraid to show it. These people didn't write music to get a top selling hit, to get a lot of fans, or to play on television. They focused more on the words and meaning of a song than on creating a catchy tune or good bass line/drum solo/whatever is popular. 

I love all kinds of music, but those hymns mean more to me than any song written today because of their depth and history.

I encourage you to take the time to sing or listen to some of those traditional hymns and timeless gospel songs.

365 challenge // days 1-9

This year, I am attempting another 365 photography challenge with Delight. I tried one last year and didn't make it all the way through the year, but I still enjoyed getting my camera out more often. That's my goal for this year: to have my camera with me everywhere and capture those shots, even if they're not "perfect" or well-lit. So, here are my first photos.

Day 1: New

"Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning;Great is Your faithfulness."Lamentations 3:22-23

Day 2

"Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
Psalm 105:4

Day 3: Fresh

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" 

Anne of Green Gables 

Day 4: Relax

Day 5: Praise

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights." James 1:17

Day 6: Cold

"Let me warn you that a genuine interest in knitting can keep you fascinated, eagerly pursuing it, and never satisfied, through a lifetime."

Rose Ingalls Wilder

Day 7: Fashion

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." 

Audrey Hepburn 

Day 8: Snow

“One cannot creep upon a journey; one cannot help getting on faster than one has planned: and the pleasure of coming in upon one's friends before the look-out begins is worth a great deal more than any little exertion it needs.” 
Emma 

Day 9

"It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will." 

Anne of Green Gables