Our world changed fast in Lincoln this spring. We went from mild winter weather to summer-like temps overnight and the grass and trees and flowers bloomed really quickly.
I don’t want to take this beauty for granted though. I want to remember that just a few short weeks ago it looked like someone had sucked all the color out of our neighborhood, and every neighborhood. I’d be driving around town looking at houses for sale and feeling absolutely uninspired as I looked at bare trees and shrubs and yellowed grass. Bo-ring. But now, everything is alive and begging to be enjoyed. The sun is warm, less summer-like than before actually, and we can play in the park in short sleeves. We sit on the porch to eat dinner and we bend in the grass to pick weeds from the garden. We see the little blue flowers that spill over walls and sidewalks and admire the way the branches are layered and lovely on the burning bushes out front.
It’s the best free therapy on the planet, this world of green, growing things. And I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
More of the charming and adorable Johnson twins!
Check out these handsome, blue-eyed dreamy babies! I had the opportunity to capture them for their nine month portraits several weeks ago and found myself falling in love with their sweet faces while editing the images. So. darn. cute. For now, one shot. Tomorrow I’ll show you more!
It’s Easter morning—He is risen, He is risen indeed!—and I am at home blogging and partially watching episodes of My Little Pony on Netflix. The stomach flu not only knocked me out of attending Redeemer’s Good Friday service, it also left me as weak as a kitten Easter morning. So while our church family gathers this morning to worship our risen Savior, we are at home resting. The ingredients for our Easter feast sit quietly in the refrigerator awaiting a postponed meal with my folks. Fortunately Livia was still able to hunt eggs, an annual tradition with Grandma & Grandpa, yesterday afternoon. I’m pretty sure she would’ve burst into a million disappointed pieces if she had to wait longer to find all those fun Easter treats.
I leave you with shots from our egg-dyeing extravaganza Thursday afternoon. In the past I’ve run to the grocery store to buy more eggs to dye as one dozen is never enough. Lesson learned: three dozen eggs is just right to wear out my crafty kid. We had fun and she was ready to close up shop before the last three or four were complete—perfect. This year I baked the eggs in the oven per Renae’s suggestion, using this Alton Brown recipe. Though it felt incredibly odd to place the little eggs directly on the oven rack, I loved this method of hard-cooking eggs. They turned out perfectly and only a few cracked (with no drips at all). I should note that not only did I steal Renae’s idea of dying eggs in glass coffee mugs, I also requested those specify mugs for Christmas as I’ve long coveted Renae’s. See what living next door for eight years does for you? Identical kitchenware.
Happy Easter, friends. We worship a living Savior today, and every day of the year! Praise God.
I don’t know who is responsible for planting red, purple and yellow tulip bulbs in this garden, but thank you, thank you, thank you! They brighten up one small corner of my neighborhood in the loveliest of ways.
The Master Artist outdid himself this spring. Or maybe he does it every spring and I’m just particularly grateful in this moment. Whichever the case, I find myself praising God for his beautiful creation frequently. I’m thankful for eyes to see and the artistic inclination to capture the image forever.
As much as I’ve adored Canon over the years, I’m turning Nikon. It’s not hard to love Nikon when I’m shooting with a fabulous new-to-me Nikon D2x. The sharpness and clarity of the images pleases me to no end. It makes shooting springy pics like hostas rising from the soil and mulch that much more enjoyable.
See that guy working in the yard? Yeah, he’s mine. Te amo, Jeremy Tredway!
Our mild winter weather proved beneficial to this natural light photographer. The week after Christmas found me doing two shoots with families I really love. First up was the Kirk and Schlegel clan in Milford. Driving out to Milford under a clear Nebraska sky and photographing these families was such a treat for me!
