My summer indoors

I am wishing to be outside, to lay by the pool, go to the beach, walk. But the area has had a lot of smoke. So we have been staying inside a lot. See below post for reason of the smoke. I just thank God we are far enough away for it not to affect us much except for the air.

Fires along the edge of VA & NC.

Thick smoke from two large fires in North Carolina and Virginia traveled up the East Coast in mid-June 2008, affecting air quality in numerous cities and towns, including the nation’s capital. The Evans Road Fire had burned over 41,000 acres of the Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge as of Sunday, June 15, while the South 1 Fire in the Great Dismal Swamp had burned about 1,500 acres.
This natural-color image of Virginia and North Carolina was captured by the MODIS on NASA's Aqua satellite on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Places where the sensor detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. Smoke billows out over the sounds that separate mainland North Carolina from the islands known as the Outer Banks. (The large version of the image shows smoke spreading far up the eastern seaboard.) The washed-out appearance of the coastal waters is due to sunglint, the mirror-like reflection of sunlight into the sensor's "eye."
The Evans Road Fire was started by lightning on June 2, while the South 1 Fire appears to have been sparked by machines removing trees downed by Hurricane Isabel. According to local news reports, the fire in the Great Dismal Swamp is a great setback for refuge managers who were trying to clear and restore habitat for eastern white cedar trees. Historically, white cedars were abundant in the swamp, but they have been replaced by other species because of logging and other human land use impacts.
Both fires have the potential to generate lots of smoke because swamps have thick layers of peat—partially decayed vegetation that accumulates in soggy environments. When peat does dry out, it can fuel stubborn fires that smolder for months.

My Husband.

I am missing Paul as he has been in Ohio all week. So I decided to do a whole post about him!

I am so proud of him. He is working for CBN here in VA and this week they flew him, Justin (A fellow editor/shooter) and Amy (a producer) up to Ohio to do three stories. One I am not sure what it was about, but the other one is about my Dad's dear friend Sam Bender. Sam got the sports chaplancy program started in the states. He is a wonderful, energetic, and faithful 83 year old man of God. He has never had any stories done about him, so it is a blessing for Paul to be doing one to honor Sam's work. The last Ohio story being worked on this week is Pauls. For updates on it check out Paul's blog at http://film8622.blogspot.com/. My husbands story is amazing and I am proud of him for all he has gone through & overcome and how he is a stronger man of God because of it. He is a great husband & I thank God for his love & support and all he is to me.

How do we view things?

I watched the movie mona lisa smile today. I had seen it before, and didn't remember much about it. Today it seemed very thought inspiring to me. Maybe it was the point of the movie or maybe it was the mood I was in while watching it but here is what I got to thinking about during and after the movie:
There is a scene in the movie in which she shows her group of girls she is teaching (girls who think they've got it all, know it all and have nothing to learn) a painting she made for her mother as a child, a simple painting of a cow. She then said that it was art. Then she showed a picture of her mother, and said that too was art. The girls all disagreeded so she asked "If Ansel Adams had taken the picture, would you say it is art then?". This question got me thinking, who deems what art is? It kind of goes along with the phrase "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Who determines what beauty is? Who determines what we should view as valuable?

I think the point of the movie was to show that she got the girls to try and think for themselves. Even now in "real life" we have so many voices telling us how to think, how to live. Trying if you will to tell us what art is, what beauty is. Rather then encouraging us to create, to be confident, to learn to be ourselves. I love fashion, fashion magazines, cosmo and such magazines as much as the next girl, but we should never allow them to guide us in how to live, or make us feel less for not being "beautiful" in the sense that the people in them are. Everyone has beauty, just in different ways and we should learn to embrace that. I fail at that all the time, allowing media, movies, other girls to make me feel less. I want to try and be who God has created me to be and to learn to think for myself so to speak and not be so influenced by others. Just by God!

So next time you see a piece of art, rather then liking or disliking it by some standard out there, look at it with open eyes and judge it for yourself. Next time you look at yourself, don't go by others opinions..... remember God has made you and rejoice in it!

Tired

I am very tired and not at all in the mood to work today, so I am dragging my feet with getting ready & adding some rambling to my blog. I think some of my tiredness today stems from my headache, aching back & legs. I pray God heals my back. But regardless of my aches & pains and general Friday tiredness, I am reminded of Gods promise in Isaiah to renew our strength. I guess the encouragement to me and that I want to share is that even though we grow tired & weary, God will lift us up & give us the strength & energy to do what we need to do & what he has for us to do. I was looking at a picture on my computer this morning that I took this past spring.....

and then even though those aren't real birds or even eagles, reminded of that verse. Take God's promises to heart, as I am trying to learn to do as well. Caroline

My Family!




I feel as though I am a terrible blogger. I started this one in March, and look at how many great posts I have on it. I was inspired today though by other friends blogs and decided to try harder to make this a good blog. I was looking at the above photo the other day and overcome with how much I love my family & how great they all are. In the above photo Is right to left: My sister, Hannah, Dad, Mom, Great Aunt Esther & Edith.
Gr Aunt Esther and friend Edith came to visit my parents over Memorial Day as did my sister, who lives in Brookyln. Paul & I also came home for Memorial Day and stayed up at the Janssens. It was a fabulous trip home. Not only did we see my family, but also the guests visiting them. The E's (as lovingly referred to by friends & family) came in from England. Anyhow, back to how cool my family is, they just are amazing. Dad has done amazing art for years now and has recently been commissioned to do yet another amazing project. He was so excited telling me about the newest developments. Mom works in Customer Service related work, much like myself & deals with people and their various moods on a daily basis. But just seeing them reminded me that no matter what, through thick & thin, their neverending love for eachother & how much they enjoy their own company. Hannah is also a great person, phenomenal photographer....Paul & I get so jealous of her ability. She works at a coffee house, The Verb in a trendy NYC neighborhood. She travels a lot and inspires me in that & with her art. Well, enough said..... I have a fabulous family & Love them all very much.
For updates on my husband Paul (who I also adore & love) check out his blog....http://film8622.blogspot.com/,
Caroline