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2011: A Year in Pictures

Dawn — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:29:20 +0000

I‘ve found that although memory is increasingly splotchy, I rarely forget a photo, the cement that holds moments and memories together. On this last day of 2011, I’m strolling through the year in images and revisiting the posts that illuminate them. I hope you enjoy it, too.

January

SNOW! (That’s big stuff in Georgia.)

Snow Ice Cream made me popular with my kids and the neighbors, too. (Click that link to learn how to make it.)

(in)courage gals at Blissdom

The BlissDom Flashmob (I cannot believe I was in not one, but two flashmobs this year!)

Facing Fiona (the healing is in the comments).

February

Father/Daughter Dance

March

Baseball Season Begins

Striking a Pose at the High Museum

April

Spring

Enjoying my New Lens

Field Day

Easter

May

A Baptism on Mother’s Day

A Team that Prays

Spring Concert

Strawberry Picking

Memorial Day

June

Year End Carnival with Homeschool Group

A Graduation

The Instagallery (in 5 1/2 years of blogging, this is currently my most popular post ever)

Blood, Sweat, and Song in Alabama (part 1 & part 2)

July

Homegating

Homeschool Heroes at the Southeast Homeschool Expo

August

Lake Time

Family Time and Meeting a New Cousin

Disney Summer Social

September

The Hubs (and three friends) Ordained as Deacons

(in)courage Girls in Hilton Head

Mother/Son Outing

Worldwide Photo Walk

October

Disney on Ice

The Relevant Conference

November

Veterans’ Day

Thanksgiving

December

Straight No Chaser Concert

Christmas

The Defense of the Faith Seminar at Church

If you made it this far, ~~you’re probably a member of my family~~ thanks for hanging in there with me! Going through my flickr stream made me realize how much I love seeing the Instagram (camera phone) photos from the year, too. They’re less a record of the big events and more of the day-to-day.

Can you believe tomorrow is a new year? Did you capture this one in photos?

2011: A Year in Pictures is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

Following My Bliss

Dawn — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 06:44:51 +0000

I love BlissDom, where blogging moms feel like rock stars for four days. In an everyday life filled with cooking, cleaning, laundry, and homeschooling, it’s a fun and welcome change of routine. (Thanks Alli and Barbara!)

One of my boys—my oldest child at home—turned 16 that week so I took him with me. It was a no-brainer: be a loser mom who misses her son’s 16th birthday or a cool mom who takes her son on a four-day trip to Opryland Hotel in Nashville. I am so thankful for the fine folks at DaySpring who not only gave him a job while he was there, but provided him with food, friends, and male fellowship in the sea of estrogen that is BlissDom.

That’s us being silly on the way back to our room after the (in)courage beach house party, which I told him was in honor of his birthday.

DaySpring and (in)courage

Speaking of DaySpring and the second annual (in)courage beach house party, they had a gorgeous suite full of products, which they gave away both during and after the event. My son loved the “Everything is Beautiful” canvas on the top row of this collage, so it’s ours now.

I can hardly describe what a blessing it is to be part of something like (in)courage. Not only is there a strong sense of community in the website itself, but among the authors as well. I love spending time with these women and I’m looking forward to good things in store for (in) this year.

Journey of a Flat Friend

My buddy Sprittibee couldn’t make it this year—her new baby bee was born just three days after the conference ended—but I took her along with me in spirit. “Flat Heather” had a great time!

Photographic Evidence

I even have proof that I was there! I’m so glad I passed my camera around and got some photos with these lovely ladies: Jenn, Ruthanne, Melissa, Edie, Abby, Amber, Sara, and Ashleigh.

Jenn is a fellow Quaver Advisory Council Blogger, and Abby is their PR whiz who brought us on board.

Like my fake curls?

THE FLASH MOB!

The experience of BlissDom this year was THE FLASH MOB! Around 90 of us were part of a secret Facebook group that contained videos, individual “wave” info, and everything else needed to pull off an Improv Everywhere-style event.

At the end of the closing keynote by Unmarketing’s Scott Stratten, Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA” started playing and the flash mob began. We popped up dancing in multiple “waves” throughout the double ballroom. I was in the second, or blue wave.

At one point we all moved toward the front of the room, into the space between the stage and the front tables, and that’s where we finished the song. It was just a phenomenal experience, an adrenaline rush!

Kudos to Jana for recording the videos, organizing this, making us believe we could do it. She truly enabled a dream-come-true moment for a lot of women.

Because I can’t get enough BlissDom flash mob, here are two versions, edited and unedited:

BlissDom ’11 Buzzword: Vulnerability

If I had to summarize the “theme” of BlissDom this year, it would be vulnerability. Brene Brown, opening keynote speaker said, “When you tie yourself to what people think, you lose the capacity to be vulnerable.”

I can say without question that I have allowed a fear of vulnerability to inhibit what I write in this space.

Scott Stratten’s closing keynote was excellent, too, with quotes like “It’s not my job to tell my market HOW to consume my product. I just want them to consume it.”

This post has turned into a compilation of all the smaller BlissDom recaps I could have written.

If you attended BlissDom, what was your favorite moment?

Following My Bliss is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

31 Days of Encouragement: Make a Joyful Noise {Day 26} – a special guest post and a Quaver Music giveaway

Dawn — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:30:54 +0000

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
~Psalm 98:4

In November I wrote about the top secret trip that I took, working with a new music brand. Finally, the time has come to spill the beans!

A group of music professionals and a few blogging, homeschooling moms were brought together as an advisory council for a new music program, Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music. While Quaver was unknown to us and the public in general, this amazing group of musicians, producers, and technical wizards had been crafting the program for years.

They treated us to a fun getaway weekend in Nashville; picked our brains; fed us fine Southern cooking at B.B. King’s Blues Club; and gifted us with cool Quaver jackets and iPads for everyone!

I consider myself blessed to have been asked to contribute feedback when Quaver reached that point in its development.

I would like to introduce you to Graham Hepburn, the inspiration and embodiment of Quaver itself. Graham is guest posting for me today while I’m at BlissDom.

At the bottom of this post I’ll tell you how you can win a Quaver kit if you’re a BlissDom attendee.

It seems evident to me that life itself is underscored by music. The beat of our days, the pitch of our moods, the rhythm of our families, coming and going, growing and changing. Music is everywhere.

But sometimes, amidst all the noise, we miss the most important notes. Children, especially, forget the songs they once knew and begin to tune out the music around them. They need encouragement to tap into that native talent and truly make a joyful noise . . . for their Creator, for their families, for themselves.

Growing up in England, I studied music and performed on the piano, leading really energizing music workshops in grade schools. Now as Quaver I own an imaginative Music Shop where I have all the instruments and equipment to help kids discover and love music.

There is nothing more exciting to me than bringing that love of music to life in children. This is what I was made to do: to help them tune their creative antennae to the station they were meant to hear, to give them the tools and understanding they need to truly make a joyful noise in their everyday lives.

I believe music can transform lives and ignite children’s imaginations for success in all their endeavors. It all starts with just one note, one beat, one very joyful noise! I hope you’ll encourage your kids to let their imaginations’ soar through the wonderful world of music!

Written by Graham Hepburn

Graham Hepburn has a passion for igniting a love of music in the hearts and minds of young kids. He has served as an elementary music teacher in Illinois and his home country of England, is an accomplished musician, and is the heart and energetic force behind the Quaver character. To learn more and join in the fun go to QuaverMusic.com.

BlissDom protects its conference sponsors, as it should. There’s no promoting of other brands there. After BlissDom, Quaver will be giving away a music program kit to an attendee. To be entered in the contest, just give your business card to Abby Barnhart, @dearabbyleigh on Twitter. Exchanging business cards is A-OK!

Abby is pictured on the right next to me in this photo.

What’s Quaver all about? Take a look!

Connect with Quaver Online:

Website (site launch soon!)
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

31 Days of Encouragement: Make a Joyful Noise {Day 26} – a special guest post and a Quaver Music giveaway is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

Winners of the BlissDom-Only Giveaway from DaySpring

Dawn — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:29:26 +0000

The winners of the giveaway are:

Alison at aPearantly Sew (God’s Heart for You necklace)
Cyndi Spivey at Walking in His Grace (One Thousand Gifts)
HopefulLeigh (One Thousand Gifts)
Oh Amanda! (Mr. and Mrs. Mugs)

Ladies, just find me at BlissDom to claim you prize. I look like the picture there in the sidebar, only much less Photoshopped.

Winners of the BlissDom-Only Giveaway from DaySpring is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

31 Days of Encouragement: A Hiding Place {Day 25}

Dawn — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:00:23 +0000

Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
~Psalm 119:114

This week’s BlissDom conference is the kind of environment that can open up our stored insecurities: new people, environment, situations. For some, it’s their first conference or trip that they’ll make alone.

God can provide us with a hiding place, safety and shelter from the troubles of the world.

I hope that I can be a safe place to stop and talk, for someone who needs it.

Please visit the other ladies participating in 31 Days of Ministry Online at A Woman Inspired:

Amy Bayliss – 31 Days of Heart Matters
Karin – 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
Jen – 31 Days of Social Media
Lisa Boyd – 31 Days of WordPress
Karen Lewis – 31 Days of Praise
A Martha Heart – 31 Days of Prayer

Links to all posts in this series, by topic, can be found here.

31 Days of Encouragement: A Hiding Place {Day 25} is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

BlissDom-Only Giveaway from DaySpring

Dawn — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:13:22 +0000

Although it wasn’t my original intention to start a tradition of holding BlissDom-only giveaways—prizes delivered in person at the event—it’s been way too much fun to stop now (2009 & 2010 links). DaySpring is sponsoring me this year, and we’re giving away four prizes. Woot!

Prize #1: God’s Heart for You Necklace

God’s Heart for You – Rhodium Plated Necklace: I own this necklace and it’s just beautiful, very delicate, with the words created, chosen, celebrated, and cherished engraved on each side.

Prizes #2 & #3: One Thousand Gifts

Two copies of Ann Voskamp’s new book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are published this month by Zondervan.

Prize #4: Set of Mr. and Mrs. Mugs

The Mr. Mug and Mrs. Mug are just just so stinkin’ cute. I gave the set to my dad and stepmom for Mother’s and Father’s Day.

(in)courage Beach House Party

DaySpring is sponsoring the second annual (in)courage BlissDom Beach House Party Thursday night at 9:30! It will be held right there in the Opryland Hotel. Please click the link to register; it’s free, just easier to prepare with a head count. You might walk away with a DaySpring product. There will be a pre-BlissDom (in)courage twitter pre-party Monday Night at 9pm EST.

Enter to Win (do one or all, leave a separate comment for each)

Leave a comment. What is your BlissDom goal? Learn? Meet other bloggers? Run away from home?
Tweet it! Include @dawnMHSH @DaySpringCards & link to this post http://bit.ly/ijO2It
Share on Facebook. It’s easy – just click the “Like” button at the bottom of this post!
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Giveaway ends on Monday, January 24.

{Disclosure: Links are affiliate links.}

BlissDom: Your Bliss • Your Blog • Your Conference

Dawn — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:41:55 +0000

At the end of this month I will attend my third BlissDom Conference in Nashville. Last year’s conference was wonderful. I got to meet some of my blog buddies in real life for the first time, like Marsha, and reconnect with others, like Heather and Melissa.

Several of the (in)courage girls will be there again; they’re so much fun. This year DaySpring is hosting another (in)courage beach house event on Thursday evening at 9:30. My son turns 16 that day and he’s crashing the party!

I heart Holley and Stephanie.

Last year’s entertainment was Harry Connick, Jr. We shared a moment. :-)

This year I will once again be one of the Wisdom Workshop presenters for photography along with Mishelle, Deanna, Lotus, Casey, Angie, and Amy. Our session is from 1:00-4:30 on Wednesday, January 26, three and a half hours of hands on, one-on-one photography instruction. I’m also one of the community leaders in photography for the conference.

If you’re able to be in Nashville January 26-28, I can’t recommend BlissDom highly enough.

(See my Flickr set from last year here.)

http://www.livinglocurto.com/

What Brings Me Joy

Dawn — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:08:29 +0000

Daughters who are also best friends…

The (in)courage gals and our silly email threads…

Best friends you can be silly with…

Online friendships turned real-life…

[Photo credit: Jo-Lynne]

And these really require no words…

This post is part of SOYJOY‘s What brings you joy contest. Learn more here.

What’s in Your Wish Jar?

Dawn — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:12:10 +0000

Morning found this jar sitting in the window sill above my kitchen sink:

My nineteen-year-old son is rather deep, almost poetic, and I knew that this was his doing. It made me smile, and throughout the day it continued to pop into my mind at unexpected times: What would I put in my wish jar?

Later my ten-year-old daughter brought me two four-leaf clovers. (Whoever decided that they were difficult to find didn’t know my kids. They bring them to me on an almost daily basis.)

“Put them in the wishes jar,” I said, and then had to explain since she hadn’t seen it.

Some of my jewelry is very symbolic to me, and this necklace brought the jar to mind again.

The charm was a generous BlissDom gift from The Vintage Pearl. It speaks to me of sailing, soaring. Taking chances. Fun and freedom. More for the simple Mason jar of wishes sitting on my window sill.

What’s in your wish jar?

Living by Faith, Shooting with What I’ve Got

Dawn — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:17:38 +0000

Walking by faith isn’t always easy. It’s a combination of trusting that you’ll be provided for, and being thankful for the blessings you’ve received, even when you yearn for more.

Last summer provided a window of opportunity when I could upgrade my camera, something that I couldn’t do either before or now. I chose a dream of a camera—the Nikon D700—based on the full-frame body and high ISO/low noise capabilities. The sacrifice: my two most functional lenses, the 18-55mm kit lens and 18-200mm VR, would no longer work (they’re not designed for the full-frame body).

Since August 2009, I’ve been shooting primarily with a 50mm f/1.8, a $125 lens. Outdoors, I also have a 70-300mm f/4-5.6, a $135 lens. My BlissDom shots were shot 100% with the 50mm. Other lenses just aren’t in the budget in the foreseeable future.

It would be crazy to feel sorry for myself. My camera is amazing. So I’ve learned to shoot with what I’ve got.

Right away I realized that my angle at BlissDom wouldn’t be the speakers (unless I wanted to climb up on stage with them, which is generally frowned upon), but rather the human interest stories, the audience.

And of course, the babies.

My shots of George Duran on stage were tiny, but I was able to head to lunch early and get shots before everyone arrived, and then later when he was there and I could get closer.

Do you really complain about having to get closer to Harry Connick, Jr.? I don’t.

iHeartFaces ran a contest with a grand prize Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 lens; BlissDom attendees could submit a second photo to the “Girlfriends” challenge Flickr pool. There were lots of prayers going up: Please Lord, if someone else needs that lens more, then give it to them, but if not, I’d surely appreciate it.

As it turns out, one of my photos was selected for the Top 10, however, someone else won in the random drawing. I won’t lie, tears gathered even before seeing the winner announced. I just had so much invested emotionally.

This is an area where I struggle, but I just have to live by faith; more equipment will come someday. In the meantime I’ll continue to do the best I can, shooting with what I’ve got.

Do you have an area where you struggle with contentment?

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