Sara's Place...Where Melodies Ring On...

i was blessed to spend an afternoon at the Children's Village at Lions Park in Cheyenne recently. it was a chilly and windy afternoon where a small gathering of family and friends came together to remember and celebrate a life lived but a moment. they gathered to dedicate a place of peace, a place where children would gather and play for years, a place where melodies can ring out among the laughter and the giggles of the tiny feet that run about.

moments of silence were brought to an end by the sounds of the children running among us all. they would strike a melody in sara's place, giggle with glee as they dug in the sand, and shouted with joy at the chance to splash in the many water areas.








as we spent time walking around...thinking about a sweet life gone too soon i couldn't help but be watch all the children running around playing and and think about all that is and all that could be... all the hopes and dreams that were represented in each little foot print. as i reflected, thought and watched a song came to my heart-

"beautiful Lord" by Leeland "When the storm is raging all around me, You are the peace that calms my troubled sea and when the cares of this world darken my day You are the light that shines and shows me the way.
Oh, the beauty of Your majesty On the cross You showed Your love for me!
Beautiful Lord awesome and mighty, I’m captured by this love I see. Beautiful Lord tender and holy Your mercy brings me to my knees.
It’s Your mercy that has made me free, beautiful Lord.
When my sin is all that I can see Your grace remains the shelter that I seek and when my weakness is all I can give Your gentle Spirit gives me strength again and oh, the beauty of Your majesty on the cross You showed Your love for me.
And I am lifted by Your love to sing! It’s Your mercy that has made me free!
You’re beautiful, my Lord. You’re beautiful, my Lord"

it was a sweet day with friends... may Sara's song go on in the lives of those who loved her and knew her even if it was only for a moment....for moments are memories for a life time!

sing your song...play your melody....and dance!
Lizzy

Herding Buffalo...AKA a road trip across Wyoming-Buffalo, Wyoming to be exact!

I have always Loved Wyoming and all that it has to offer. It truly is one of the most beautiful States I have ever driven through... and I have driven from one side of the United States to the other, so I don't just say that because I was raised here. It is not a bias statement. There are plenty of things about Wyoming that I get frustrated with, like our forever Winter weather- I mean just today we had snowflakes, rain, amazing sunshine and sleet all in a matter of hours... it can wear on a person. BUT all that aside... there is something about driving through a flat, dry almost barren dust bowl to have the road dip out and suddenly you are looking at the foothills of a National Forest, the foothills of the Rockies, of the Big Horn Mountain range, the Grand Tetons, Yellow Stone... the list goes on.

Recently I had to make a trip to Buffalo Wyoming-- yes it is just as exciting as it sounds. BUT it is also one of the coolest little old towns you could ever visit. I didn't take any pictures of the town, but one day after sitting in a training all day I decided to take a 20 min drive and go into the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains... and more importantly "Crazy Woman Canyon". I took my trusty camera along and grabbed a few shots as this was my first 're-entrance' into all things "Wyoming Mountains". ENJOY

Anyone up for a little hike???

You're safe...I'm shooting with a Nikon today!

Not sure if you can see him...but this is what we call "open range!" little grazing taking place... ahh I love being HOME!

Take me home...to the place I belong!

Pure BEAUTY... takes my breath away!

This is where the road dips down into "Crazy Woman Canyon" as I walked down into the area to take a few photos this old man comes around the corner with 2 dogs. Kind of startled me. He was exactly what you would picture for someone living down in the canyon. A bigger man, missing a more teeth then he had, had on a plaid shirt and bib overalls that didn't button on the side due to his girth. He spent a good amount of time sizing me up. I'm sure I looked good in my "business casual attire" of capris,semi nice top, and my half sandal/shoe footwear...a little out of place for a walk in a canyon... not to mention camera in hand. So he looks me up and down and then as he starts to walk off.. looks over his shoulder he says "well if we ever needed a poster child for Crazy Woman Canyon, I think I found her" and on he went...I wanted to say something smart back... but I was in awe of all that had just happened...probably a good thing.



The road leading out of Crazy Woman Canyon...and the road home...

I thought a lot about coming home. What it has meant for me personally. I also thought about what Crazy Canyon Man said to me... maybe I could be the poster child for Crazy Woman Canyon...not a bad thing really. Life is really one long journey anyway right? and there will be some paths that cause us to dip down into canyons... canyons that will be filled with strangers that cause us to laugh and wonder and canyons that remind us a little bit more about who we really are and where we came from.
ENJOY your journey and try not to loose focus of what is important.

a lil girl's best friend...memories before goodbye

So Jaidyn and her little buddy Gadget (and Momma) spent some time together on a somewhat windy Saturday afternoon in Cheyenne to record some moments and memories as Gadget had been fighting a battle with cancer. It was very sweet to see the love affair between a little girl and her best friend.
We knew that it wouldn't be long before Gadget (lovingly called 'fat-head' by the Momma) wouldn't be around to take the 'walks' Jaidyn loved so much...we just didn't know it would be two very short weeks.

Rest in Peace- Gadget May 1998-April 23, 2010

Looks like Jaidyn is telling Gadget a story:"look Gadget I have it all figured out..."

It is LOVE!

"come on Gadget one last run!" says Jaidyn

In the end it is all about the journey "home"... like Gadget I hope I have a faithful friend....someone who loves me to lead the way... someone who will hold my hand and make it all okay...

Run and play Gadget...run and play!

Happy Birthday to my lil Stinker!

It is hard to believe that it has been a year already! But alas it has... and my lil stinker is all grown up and is becoming a 'big boy'... *tear*
Before I left Midland and made my trek home to Wyoming Jack and I kidnapped his Halloween costume and headed out to a local park.... where if I am honest some home-school moms accused me of being a horrible mother for 1. allowing her young child to experience the 'horrors' of Halloween and all of Satan's charms. 2. dress her child as an animal that smells nasty (they should smell Jack-o's diapers!!) and 3. adorn my body with *gasp* tattoos.... they proceeded to make me a lesson to their children talking about me like I wasn't even there...
Well 1. Jack is not my child... but the son of 2 of my greatest friends and I feel blessed they entrust me with him... 2. the costume is amazingly cute and Halloween is what you create it to be and I grew up with a very healthy outlook on it and believe I turned out very okay! and 3. I am okay with the fact I could be your object lesson for the day. Just wish you would have taken the time to come over and meet me... taken the time to hear my story as I would have loved to hear yours. But alas... this is not about the day... but more about the person... AND the fact that today.. TODAY my lil JACK-o-lantern is 1... AHHHHHHHH

Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday dear Jack... Happy Birthday to you!!!! Your Aunt Lizzy Loves you very much and knows you will become great as you have been blessed by Him and loved by many!!!!!!

now enjoy some more of my lil Stinker... and keep in mind that your witness is in who you are and the words that others can hear.... we are who we display ourselves to be!!! lil stinkers and all!!!!

Be blessed and Bless always!
Lizzy

Sebastien Thompson...a lil man with BIG insight!...

it never fails... I will be in the midst of taking pictures of a lil one... we get to talking about things and something they say totally blows me away. to be fair to them, usually they are unaware that what they are saying has such amazing impact.

Take Bash... if you will remember back to the first of this year I shared some time with Bash as we were awaiting our outgoing President (good o "W") to come to Midland so we could "welcome him home". Bash and I were talking as I was taking some pictures of the 'little' crowd gathered. as Bash and I talked, he asked me if I knew what kind of man "W" was, and if I thought he was the kind of man that would spank a kid if he and done wrong or he would just look past the bad in people and see the good... if you think about it those are some really deep thoughts. Well that and the fact that someone might have been in a little bit of trouble at school that day... But still I wonder what kind of people are each of us? do we take the time to look past the blemish of people to see the good in them?

well I got to spend another day with Bash here recently- in fact it was one of my very last days in Midland, Texas as I prepared to pack my things and relocate my life to try and find a new start... as Bash and I were in my friends backyard starting the picture process he asked me why it was so important to take so many photos... I decided to turn the question back to Bash... I said gee I'm not sure Bash.. what do you think? he kind of kicked the ground smiled a lil and said... "I think it is because people want to remember the really really good things about you, so when they are upset or sad- they can look at the good things and be happy"... I told him that was probably the right answer. that photos were the ability to take a moment and keep it forever to remember what something or someone looked like... he thought about that for a little while while we were taking photos... and while we were looking and flowers he looked and me and said.. "yeah I won't be almost 6 forever and these flowers won't be here forever especially if I pick them or step on them"... YUP he is ALL boy... O and for the record... we didn't step on or pick ANY of Mr. Bruce or Ms. Martha's flowers... just smelled them!!

Celebrating Volunteers!!!

As I have been spending time in Florida making contacts with churches and looking into some student ministry openings... I have had the AMAZING opportunity to stay with my SWEET friends Greg (the Gal) Harford and her husband Larry and their housemate Paul.
Greg works for the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church doing Disaster Recovery Ministry. It is AWE inspiring to see her and her co-workers go at it... be it at a training, as they plan to go into action in a recently (or not so recently) effected area... or as they did most recently CELEBRATE those who selflessly give of their time and their talents to reach out (to others) and reach up (to God) to be the hands and feet of recovery in devastated areas.
It was awesome to hear the stories of humble heart-ed people. To meet some pretty sweet people who use the gifts and talents they have and are taking the time to be trained and learn new skills to bless others... So I heard stories, saw pictures... and became part of the background to capture their celebration in pictures... here are a FEW of the 200 I took... yeah know...if you ask me to capture...I will capture!
ENJOY!!!