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It’s been too long since my last post, but after two straight days of packing and moving, about 1,030 miles of flight time, three states, three Great lakes, and a hot dog I have some words.

Day one:  on Friday Josh and I decided to move in with our friend Jesse.  Day two:  on Monday evening, after arriving back home from an extended stay in MN, we were packing.  Day three: on Tuesday we were packing and moving simultaneously with a break for some tears, reevaluation, and a giant hug.  Day four:  on Wednesday we were still packing and moving simultaneously with five hours of that time on my shoulders alone.   By the end of the day we transformed the front room of Jesse’s house into a mere “hall of stuff.”

Day five:  today I flew to Boston.  My friend Nicole is my gem from Uganda, the kindred spirit I met amid my deepest pits of despair and mountains of jubilee.  For the afternoon we sat outside with a pair of smoothies and catch-up conversation.  For the evening we sauntered over to Tufts, her choice for higher education, for some free food and conversation.  I met the lot of Chemistry Master’s students including one particularly interesting male, Nickodus de’ Willis (commonly known as Nick Wilton.)

Nick spoke as an open book for a good long while.  In that time he spoke of several confusing, yet interesting, topics and several highly discussable subjects.  We talked of love.  As soon as he found I was married he launched into his life’s story of love as a poly-amorous individual.  Some food for thought… maybe I can develop this statement further later.

“Everything in life is art.”  Including painting, chemistry, and relationships.

About four or five years ago my family adopted three Malard Ducks.  We got them when they were the size of a baby’s fist, so small that their swimming pool was a gallon ice cream bucket.  We named them Dawson, Isabelle, and Tipsy.  At this point we didn’t know who was a girl and who was a boy, but it seems we guessed well because when they sprouted into teenagers Isabelle was the only brown, camo backed duck of the three.  Tipsy grew out of his name quickly though.  As a duckling he was duck-footed, go figure, so in his constant excitement he would spend his time sprinting, tripping, and getting back up.  In a matter of weeks he became sure-footed and manly ;).

Unfortunately a couple of incidents occurred, leaving two of our lovely and spunky ducks dead.  But guess who lived… Tipsy!  Lo and behold the gimpy duck held strong through the trials of natural predators and fear.

After Tipsy’s feathers grew in fully we brought him to my dad’s school to set him free in the pond.  We visited him for a couple weeks and the last day we saw him he was with a lady duck.  Every spring there are usually some Mallards that visit the pond at my dad’s school, we’ll never know if it’s Tipsy, but I like to think I see him now and again :).

It’s been a while since my last post.  Business has been crazy, so my “photo a day” has been postponed until today :).  Although, I do have to note that the business work does count, it’s just posted to my website 🙂

When I was in Milton, WI this past weekend I had the privilage of a lovely sunny weekend and a little bit of light rain for the camera.  The rain didn’t last long at all, but long enough to grab a couple shots.

The world flourishes, breathes, and lives all around us.  Even the most inanimate objects are a part of the life because they ever, whether intentionally or unintentionally, interact with the world.

Choosing to draw near to life is an adventure.  The bark of a tree comes alive as if it were a mountainous terrain, too dangerous to venture on.  A leaf begins to look like an ex-ray of a human hand, zoomed in to see the network of capillaries.  And a rock appears to be a sponge or a grouping of colorful boogers or an array of precious gemstones.  Up close, such mundane, small, and forgotten objects become treasure troves of detail and surprise.

Today’s post is for the remainder of the fire photos from this weekend.  These requested titles of their own.  As I was editing them I could see different scenes in them.  They are all real life scenes, most of which I have experienced personally (all except “birth” and “abortion”).  Let these images take you over as you look over them.  Engage with them.  Hopefully you will see and feel what I saw and felt in those powerful life moments.

Turning Away

Doomed

Pursuit of Love

The First Night

Abortion

On the Cross with a Dove

The Death

The Resurrection

Born Again

Dancing with the Savior

New Life in Love

A Wedding Dance

The Birth

Going Home