View from the Prairie Box

Pajamas, check. Advent display to rearrange, check. Lollipop, check. Bandaid deliberately yet mysteriously placed on forehead, check.

Happy Halfway Point (or just past it rather) to those participating in the December Photo Project! If you’re anything like me, you’ve had at least one day where you’ve wandered around your house trying to snap an artsy shot of the lights on the banister or perhaps you’ve even taken a photo of your slippers as I’ve done tonight.

Livia gave me these slippers and I loooove them. She calls them Panda Slippers and I call them ankle-warming, furry delights. They’d be a decent focal point for a photograph anyhow, but they seem especially fitting as they mark December 2009 quite well for me.

In case you didn’t notice, we’ve changed the DPP homepage to show featured blogger photos at the top and my post at the bottom. Take a few minutes to peruse another blogger’s site and admire their handiwork by leaving a comment behind on a photo that really grabs your attention. We’ve developed a cool community of photographers here and I’m enjoying the opportunity to feature four of you every day.

December 11 Renee: lover of Ben, photographer extraordinaire, wearer of fun earrings

Renee Welstead is a woman for whom I have the greatest respect. I have long admired her photographs in local coffeehouses and churches. More recently, I have learned from her in person and I’m constantly challenged and encouraged by her skill in capturing beautiful, memorable and remarkable images.

It’s been a joy to see Renee’s work during the December Photo Project. Check out her DPP series The [GRAY] Couch on her blog. And while you’re surfing around, make sure you check out Renee’s portfolio.

Judging from my feelings of being cooped up, one would imagine I’ve been snowed in for longer than two days. I made a call of desperation to my dad this morning (aka The Man With a Truck) regarding outings he and my mom planned to make. The message was something like this, “PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU!”

The result was that the Runza cheeseburger I had tasted more delectable than it had any right to be. Seriously, it was perfectly salted and peppered. The fries were darn tasty, too. The other patrons looked like survivors released from home prisons as well; everyone was layered and wrapped in scarves, hats and earmuffs.

After that I was allowed a brief run to the grocery store. Though I felt like walking through the store aisles the same way I’d window shop at the mall, I tried to keep the pace moving in order to get out to the car where I discovered my child pitching a fit over the smallest puncture wound ever seen on a thumb. That one has quite a penchant for the dramatic, I’d say.

These photos don’t do justice to the amount of snow on the ground. Truly, it’s almost impossible for your average sedan to get through neighborhood streets. Jason couldn’t get out our alley this morning and another car was trapped on the street out front. Scooping the front walk reduced me to tears. Snow: 1, Rebecca: 0. It was just so deep and so heavy that I couldn’t get the whole thing cleared. Jeremy, my heroic husband, completed the job. I tell you, we’re not a power couple when it comes to physical competitions. One of us has no hands and the other has RA. Have mercy! (Actually, God is merciful. I fully believe he gave us a small yard for just this reason.)

Snow, snow, snow. I’m still not tired of it, but I will be glad when I can get my car safely onto main arterials.

The snow continues to fall. There are little snow pyramids on the posts of my back deck and the cedars and evergreens look absolutely majestic in their snow-covered states.

My daughter, face sweetly lit up in a smile right now at the movie on tv, wanted to play in the snow before breakfast this morning. We managed to feed her first, but then it was on with the boots, the snowsuit, the scarf, mittens, hat, and she was out the door. Renae and Simon joined us for fresh air and the snow fell, and fell, and continues to fall hours later.

It’s beautiful.

And I’m not even close to being tired of it yet.

Hello, DPP photographers! You may join the project up until Christmas Day if you so choose, but the cutoff for having your name added to my list of participants is TOMORROW.

FYI!

Livia’s Snow Agenda: Roll out of bed. Put on snow clothes. Play. Come inside because Mommy is cold and hungry. Eat breakfast. Drink hot chocolate with a candy cane for swirling. Ask to go outside again.

Today is my birthday and it’s been absolutely delightful. I’ve been showered with love from friends and family. At the end of the day, I feel quite blessed by all the joy in my life.

I’m feeling kind of stunted when it comes to writing something about my birthday. Let’s take, for starters, the photo I’m posting. No, it was not my finger that actually pressed the shutter button, but it was my camera and I picked the settings. (Thanks for the shot goes to my sister-in-law Kristin.) While it’s perfectly fitting, even requested (uh, thanks, Haley) to post a shot of yourself on your own birthday, it still feels a bit awkward. But, hello world!, this is the writer and photographer behind the scenes, and today I’m 32.

I am updating the blog today on the coolest birthday present anyone could ask for:

I have two things to say about this new laptop: 1) A million thank you’s go out to my husband who listens to me, supports me and loves me and 2) Bring on the freelance work! If you’re looking for a writer or need some work done on a photography project, let me know.

The icing on the [birthday cake] was that it snowed today. I loved it. Thanks, God, for the beauty of this season.