Wednesday In The Works

A little bit of our day:

She likes her books!

We found a baby bird at the park!

Isn't he super cute?

Our gorgeous Capitol park. =)

Little flower girl. She held them the whole way home.

Waterfalls Galore

Steve and I headed out to Silver Falls State Park today with Jon & Kari and their kids. It was a gorgeous day! Sunny and warm with big, fluffy clouds to give us a little shade from time to time. I just discovered we hiked two miles with two 3-year-olds and a 5-year-old. They were great! I also learned that I've now seen four of the ten falls! Yay! I've seen the North (136 ft) & Upper North (65 ft) Falls and the South (177 ft) & Lower South (93 ft) Falls. They're beautiful! Pictures will come later. These are the next ones on the list:

*Double Falls (178 ft)
*Drake Falls (27 ft)
*Middle North Falls (106 ft)
*Lower North Falls (30 ft)
*Winter Falls (134 ft)
*Twin Falls (31 ft)

After walking and hiking for many miles and hours in my Keens, I have to recommend them for anyone looking for new sandals this summer! My only complaint is that rocks sometimes slip inside, but it's nothing that can't be fixed by a quick shake of the foot or by slipping your sandal off for a second. They're expensive, but definitely worth it!

From "Achoo!" to "Zzz..."

This weekend has flown by so fast. I had a great week with the little girl I watch, and found out the day before that I wasn't going to be watching her Friday. I was very happy. Teething is hard on everybody! Let's just say she looked very similar to this little tyke most of the Wednesday and Thursday:

I was exhausted by Thursday evening and not in the mood to contend with rush hour traffic on an empty gas tank in order to get to the humane society on the other side of town to volunteer. I pulled onto a side street after I couldn't get over to the lane I needed, and called to say I would be in on Friday instead. Then I headed home, VERY relieved.




On Friday, I volunteered at the humane society for 2.5 hours. There is a little guy who tugs at my heart every time I see him. He was adopted for a few days and brought back, and he always looks super sad. I wish someone would give him a family and a home. As a last resort, I wish I could take him home! His name is Spike. He's a sweety.

I think my buddy, Duke, may have just been adopted this weekend! I hope so! He's so snuggly and well-behaved!

Friday night, we went to Jon & Kari's for an amazing dinner and a photography lesson. Our assignments for last time were shallow depth of field and long exposure. Here are my submissions:

This is the newly reopened Union Street Pedestrian Bridge. It was converted from an old railroad bridge to a traffic alternative for those who bike or walk and want to avoid the vehicular rush-hour and safety risks on the Marion Street bridge. Gorgeous angles and beautiful views of the river. You can see how the focus of the photo is very close to the front, or shallow. I love this photo because it not only shows the height and strength of this historical marvel, but it also shows its new purpose and the people who enjoy it.

This shot was my long exposure. Kari and I went out to shoot some traffic while it was sprinkling. We found this awesome S-curve that made for really great lines. The wet pavement also adds some great texture to the shot. =)

On Saturday, I lead the first Women's Bible study at Mt. Olive! It went great! Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement! We're all very excited about where this ministry will go! I might post the transcript of the message in a future entry.

Steve and I attended Teresa & Brinnon Tyler's wedding reception at our church. It was an intimate gathering with some great food! Brinnon even ran home to bring some of their wedding pictures! I was in Wisconsin at Matt & Mareike Siler's wedding on the day Teresa & Brinnon got married. What a great Saturday! It was so great to see the Tylers and their wedding photos. They had a beautiful wedding!

Between the bible study and the reception, my allergies kicked in. ACHOO! It was awful! I was very blessed though! haha I guess that's what happens when you sneeze in 3's! I ended up going to bed around 9pm. According to Steve, I didn't sleep very well and, therefore, neither did he! Sorry, sweetheart! He woke up feeling sick to his stomach with a headache. We didn't make it to church, but we're feeling better now that we've had a bit more sleep and some time to chill out. Looking forward to bible study tonight.

That's been our weekend! Look forward to more pictures and stories! Hope you're having a great June so far!

10 O'Clock & All Is Well!

All is quiet on the homefront. Little girl is down for her morning nap. A little grocery shopping completed. Husband hard at work at the office. Me? I'm reading a little Beth Moore in preparation for Saturday's women's bible study premier while sipping a mocha frappucino WITH whipped cream. It's a whipped cream kind of day. Some days need a little extra sweetness.

Through some miraculous wheeling-and-dealing, Steve managed to get himself a free second-hand MacBook.

Thank you, Lord. He's been needing a new laptop. My laptop is gradually crumbling to bits, but it still works. Hang in there, my little Lacintosh! It's a Dell with an Apple sticker. Yes, I'm a geek. I'm currently typing on a MacBook whilst Meebo-ing my husband on my iPhone. Meebo is the instant messaging application we use to get around the cost of sending texts. Welcome to the Hornaday's House of Nerddom. Come and visit! It gets better! ;)

The rest of the day will most likely contain Legos, chimichangas, a walk, baby tears and smiles, cute puppies at the humane society, and hopefully a visit to the in-laws. I hope your day contains a lot of happiness! Especially since tomorrow is FRIDAY! Yay!

Indiespotting & Amanda's Obsession on Etsy!

Check this out! I love the copper necklaces and earrings! Super cute!

Where does my help come from?

I recently received an email newsletter from SettingCaptivesFree.com entitled "The Gospel for the Church in Recovery: Part 2: Chained Captives". I'll let you read it for yourself, and then I'll give my take on it. Feel free to add your own two cents.

We people face many problems in life. Sometimes, like Job experienced, hardships and troubles come in numerous ways, seemingly all at the same time. When difficulties come and we face trials of many kinds, it has been the habit of many people throughout history to turn to other people for the solution. It seems far easier to trust in man for solutions rather than to seek the Lord and call upon Him.

And yet turning to man and trusting in man demeans the living God and puts a curse on man. As Jeremiah 17:5 says: “⁵ This is what the LORD says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.’” If we want God’s blessing instead of cursing we must learn to turn to Him, ask for His help, seek His face, and trust in Him.

Oh how true this is especially in the area of “addiction”, or rather dealing with our sin problem. Numerous groups and programs abound encouraging us to “work the program” or “follow the steps”. And all the while, God alone has the solution, and is Himself the answer to our sin problem.

We come now to our second study in Psalm chapter 107. There are four word-pictures given to us in this chapter. These word-pictures show us that God is the answer in each and every situation. It is my hope that these studies will help to wean us off of our fatal dependence on man and turn us to the living God. To read the rest, click here. [I didn't read the rest of this.]

Featured Testimony: "Though raised in the church, I turned away from God because I didn't want to live like the people I knew that attended church. I walked away from God and became enslaved to sin. I sank deeper and deeper in sexual immorality, becoming a fornicator, adulterer, and slave to pornography and sexual gratification. I was drowning in sin and harming everyone within my influence. My wife compelled me to seek help through a conference. I did that and had accountablity, but was still enslaved to sin. My brother and wife told me to take a bible study through Setting Captives Free. Through this bible study, God's grace and revelation, the chains of sin has been broken in my life. I was determined to be free even when I attended the conference, but SCF helped me to understand how to really be free. Jesus already dealt with my sin even before I was born. I have received his work, God's grace and mercy, and I am walking in the Spirit of the Holy and Living God. I felt the chains being broken immediately after I started this course. It took a long time for me, but I am at the finish line and ready to continue the race that has been set for me. I will run without sin dragging me down. I am free because I have been set free by Jesus himself. I have been walking in victory for about 7 months now. I know that I am set apart for the work of my master. I Love God.

I have to say, I somewhat agree, but there is a point I don't agree with. Yes, God is the answer to our problems, but that doesn't mean he won't use other people as instruments of His will - like "Setting Captives Free", for example. Different strokes for different folks. Don't knock twelve step programs and conferences. They help many people, even if it's only one step in the journey to healing.

Trying Tuesday

Today was full of some trying moments. But they were just that. Moments. Most of the day was quite fun. Some of the trials included the family of four squirrels trying to eat my strawberry plants and the little girl I babysit testing the limits of "Don't touch." We solved the squirrel problem with some cayenne pepper. One little squirrel must have learned the hard way. He sat up in the tree over the patio chattering out his displeasure - or screaming, if squirrels can do that. Steve could even hear him upstairs on the opposite of the house! The "No, don't touch" testing was solved by some consistency, redirection, and some awesome Legos! Glad this day is over though. We were all tired. =)