Searching for the WOW factor

Lulu recently turned 19 months. I had intended to have professional photos taken when she turned 18 months. It didn't happen, which is not too surprising.

So, I took matters into my own hands. Lulu and I had our own spontaneous photo shoot in the back yard. I figured I have a nice camera and a cute baby, so I would give it a whirl.

Now you will see the reasons why I am not (though I desperately want to be) a professional photographer...

The bark on the tree is in perfect focus, but the baby (my focal point) is fuzzy

I was going for an artsy look through the tall grass, but it just didn't work

I was trying to get a cute little shot of her peeking out from behind the tree, but
it turned out more creepy than cute.

Again, dead grass in perfect focus. Baby running in darling rumba outfit? Blurry.

Not our finest moment, but it makes me laugh.

I definitely caught her being ornery on film...

(trying to eat a rock)

Ended up with some pictures I like...

And some I love...

It was a fun morning activity, and I'm happy with the photos, but I don't think I'll give up my day job. It would help if I knew how to use a more advanced photo editing tool than Picasa and Picnik. I tried to play around with color and only ended up with nauseating brightness...

I'm looking for more of an antiqued look not some sort of nuclear glow.

I want my photos to look like the ones in the Pioneer Woman's photo contests. I want the "wow" factor. But I have to ask myself, what is more important: the photo itself or the subject of the photo? I don't want to be so concerned with being a good photographer that I forget the reason I am taking photos in the first place. To capture a moment and remember it. And that can be accomplished with great photos, just okay ones and really horrible ones.

The reason for the photo shoot was to remember what Lulu was like at 19 months. And I think our little session captured that not because of my skills or editing. But because as her Mommy I know that it's Lulu, not the photographer, who has the "wow" factor...
Wow.

Job Satisfaction

Last week I got to give the talk to the students at our weekly meeting. It was so fun to be around them. Even though I am old enough to be their mother, I am still passionate about ministry to college students.

The process of giving the talk was really beneficial for me. One thing I realized is that I love being able to create something and see it through to completion. But I don't get this opportunity too often. I am an ideas person. And I am not a follow through person. That means that I always have lots ideas rolling around in my head, but very few of them ever make it out of there (such a scary fate). And even fewer come to fruition. But the process of writing a talk and giving it allows for the creative process to come full circle.

It also allows me to process on my own with the Lord as I write and then to experience what I've processed in the context of community as I speak. I also get to weave stories into it, try to make people laugh, and maybe just maybe I also like being the center of attention a wee bit. But even more, I love God getting attention or glory. Despite my admitted craving of the spotlight, His fame is the deepest dream of my heart.

Another benefit of speaking is, I am forced to examine my heart before the Lord and evaluate my relationship with Him lest I be disingenuous. I don't want to be merely entertainment. And I certainly don't want to stand in front of all those students as a sham. Inevitably, what happens through the soul searching, is that by the time I am standing in front of the students, it is almost just icing on the cake if the talk impacts them in some way because the process has already impacted me so much.

Such was the case last week as I prepared and just enjoyed God in the process. I have started reading "The Jesus Story Book Bible" by Sally Lloyd Jones in my times with God. If you don't already own it: buy it, read it, love it! We have read this most nights at bedtime with the kids for several years now, but we are currently walking through the Proverbs with them. With the "Jesus Bible" not in nightly use, I decided to pick it up for my own use and then read that story from the "real" Bible. It has been very sweet. The "Jesus Bible" is one of the most well-written Christian books of all time in my opinion, in that it is both simple and profound at the same time.

That's exactly what I needed. I thought it was time that I got back to the fundamentals. There are a lot of dynamics to being a team. I can forget to cheer the victories and instead wallow in the defeats. I lose sight of the goal. When you have so many balls to juggle, how can you possibly "keep your eye on the ball" without going cross-eyed? I feel like I drop more balls than I hold onto and that I let down this team far more often than I would like. But, I know that the best thing I can do for Team Kollar is not to be a good leader as a Mom. But to be a good follower as a daughter. Help me, Abba Father, to follow You. Thanks that you lead me smack dab into Your grace. Every time.

In a world where I am "only" 33

Melkam Adis Amet! September 11th is Ethiopia's New Year, Enkutatash. And because they are on a Julian calendar (not a Gregorian one like us) it is 2003 there. It's okay if you don't understand how it works. I don't really either. In the absence of understanding, I just pretend observing the Julian calendar makes me 33 years old again.

Before I remembered about Enkutatash, we had planned a cookout with our next door neighbors on either side. We heart them. This was an especially important cookout since one of the couple's ditched us moved to another part of town. So, we celebrated an Ethiopian holiday in an American way with burgers and hot dogs and Ethiopia-inspired decorations...
Even Ethiopia-inspired footwear...
Thank you, Walmart, for this shout out to Ethiopia! I'm sure that is what you intended.

No pix of the adults, though I did get pix of the kids who were reunited...
I think even the dogs were happy to be reunited...
Sometimes, Jesus' command to...
just comes easy.

I'm a guest blogger at Our Peaceful Home. You can read the post here. Becky is a friend and comrade. I knew her when she was a single girl and now she is a mama of two. And she does have a peaceful home...something I long for.

Perfect weather, a beloved lake cabin, and time with cousins made for a great Labor Day weekend. My four in our special numerical order are
Uno...
Deuce...
Trey...
Caboose...
"Baywatch"ing...

Frog catching...
Water...

(I love the above pic, but fear it kind of resembles a Tiger Beat Centerfold)

Sand...
Sun...
and Fun...
The weekend also included a trip to my home church. I put the emphasis on the word home because it truly was like coming home. What a loving community who really knows what it means to take care of the widows in their midst. As I worshiped there I was flooded with memories of holding my Daddy's hand each time we prayed (even as an adult), listening to my Mommy's angelic singing, and hearing them tell the pastor every week it was the best sermon he had ever preached. And truly meaning it!

It was all topped off with a family kickball game back at home...

(Bill is saying "Smile and say 'Blog Post'!" Why I oughtta!)

Someone decided she wanted to play a different game...
Jack to the rescue...

Not a quiet weekend, of course. We never can seem to get one of those around here. But a fun one!

Road Trip!

What could possibly be worth a 10 hour car trip (one way) alone with a baby?
Friendship. But not just any friend. After over 20 years of friendship, I couldn't miss out on Doobie's 40th birthday celebration with her closest friends. So Lulu and I headed for the open road...
She did quite well overall, especially considering the amount of attention she is accustomed to...
Yes, I snapped those pix while driving 75 mph on the interstate. Not the safest choice, but just look how cute she was!

I loved getting to laugh with Deb's friends and family...
And it was so meaningful to hear the hearts of these women...
Deb asked for us to share the answers to these three questions:
1) What used to be important to you that isn't anymore?
2) What is important to you now that never used to be?
3) How has your view of God changed over the past 10 years and how has that developed in your life?
She's not a shallow one, that Deb. It was just like her to have a party in her honor, but want the focus to be on hearing our hearts. Here she is delighting in our answers...
What a delight to be with one of her sisters and her Mom again. They are like family to me...
It blessed my grieving heart to see Shirley giving Lulu some "Grammy love"...
Gunga would be doing patty-cake with Lulu right now if she were still here with us.

On the way home we had a little snafu while stopping for some lunch. A delivery truck backed into the front of our car. Thankfully, the airbags did not deploy and the damage was only cosmetic...
The car looks a bit ghetto now, but we made it home just fine. If you are going to get in an accident while driving 1000 miles in 3 days, this is the best kind of accident. Bill told me I had a "Gunga moment" when he asked how I was doing after the accident and I answered "All things considered, it's been a good trip."

Even an unwanted fender bender could not dampen the joy of celebrating Deb in person. We haven't lived in the same state since 1993. But we still have walked the ups and downs of life together, even across the miles. We have changed a lot in the years since we first met as college freshmen and so has our friendship. We don't go dancing together anymore. We don't talk about cute boys-except for our husbands and teenage sons. And we don't go to Perkin's for The Chocolate Chipper at 4am. But we do talk about the deepest desires, dreams and disappointments of our lives. And we still laugh so hard that we almost pee our pants. Oh, the joys of a friendship that stands the test of time!