Just a couple of the shots I've been taking for my photography class. I think they show up way different in terms of colour and quality which is unfortunate.

The next succession of pictures is an exploration with lighting, and some of the pictures are supposed to show up a lot darker than others but they changed temperatures, which is too bad. I'll have to figure out why it does that. 

Ferris wheels and Keith Urban

The view at the top of the Ferris Wheel. 

A couple saturdays ago Soph and I ran away to Seattle to explore for the day. The border guards had a hard time believing us. Heeeeyyy can't a little pour student travel on a budget?! We stopped at the outlets, and went on the Ferris wheel (it was soooo rainy and windy!! Quite the adrenaline rush!) And topped off our tummy's at the Cheesecake Factory!

Rainy Seattle

Lobster anyone? 

Then that same week we got to go to the highly anticipated Keith Urban concert in Vancouver!! Soph and I have always loved country music for as long as I can remember! And for aaaaggges we have talked about going to a concert together. This one was ideal!!! And it was my first concert EVER! Our lovely Keith did not disapoint! 

Now that my husband got me a DLSR for christmas - the photo quality on this blog should start to improve =) 

peace and love, 

glor

Natural Hot Springs

Before the snow hit, back in November, nick and I adventured to find these hot springs we'd heard about near the top of Harrison Lake! Nick and I tried to find them once while we were dating, which is a story in itself, and a couple weeks before this we tried as well but ran out of gas on our ATV :( so this time finally we made it!! We took the truck on about 80 km of dirt road there and another 80 back!! It was totally worth it! 

Top of Harrison lake 

Trail head down to springs 

Steam coming up from the springs below! 

We're sooo close!!

Crossing the river 

The pools were actually sooo hot!! You couldn't sit right beside the water fall. And there was moss growing up the sides of the rock walls! It was beautiful!! A nature wonderland! It's times like those where I feel the most serene! And since they are pretty difficult to get to (you need an off road vehicle, and it's a loooong drive) they weren't that busy!

I like to think that was a day well spent!

Let it snow

Our first snowfall of the season! Here it's hard to find, and I treasure the light that snow brings. It's so dark in the lower mainland... Always raining... (I don't so good with this type of weather) ... When the snow falls it says lighter after dusk because all the light reflects off the white stuff!! I still have a child-like giddyness when it comes to snow. When I was thinking of it this time around I thought, it feels like a blessing to get snow like this. Snow...quiet and gentle in its beauty it covers it all and brings peace (at least until traffic the next morning!! Baha!!) well... I say... Let the blessings fall!!

Look at all that green stuff pokin' out... Go away green stuff!!! 

Edmonton visits vancouver

A while back my good friend Elizabeth returned me the favour of a surprise visit when she and her little family came into town! (You can read about my surprise visit to Edmonton here.) I finally got to meet baby Naomi and Nick finally got a good taste of why I like these people so much! 

We went to the Westminster Abbey in mission, and went to a brewery and ate sushi in vancouver. And Andrew and Elizabeth dipped Naomi's feet in the west-coast ocean! She told us the water was cold. Here is a couple pictures of our time together. (Sorry about the bad quality iPhone photos!)

23

On Friday the 11th I turned 23. 

It felt weird. Why weird? My brother Arno was 23 when he passed away in a fatal accident in Australia. And I was 18, and ever since then I dreaded turning 23. You see, I grew up in a family where everyone was older than me. Arno was my older brother, and in a strange sort of way - that maybe only people who know grief this way understand - I didn't like the thought of turning older than my brother. I still don't. I guess it means another moment that shows life is moving on. Which for people dealing with loss, is a hard one to swallow. It was one of those milestones, like that first dreaded christmas after and his first birthday, and my wedding day, and every year when that day comes around of when we first heard the news. I'd like to think I've healed well from it, but pain never goes away. And these moments are moments where the pain floods over my heart again. 

Recently, I read a blogpost of something that opened my eyes for the second time around. Have you ever heard of the saying "God will never give you more than you can handle". Well I have believed this for a long time, and then a while back, I heard somewhere that it wasn't true and then I forgot about that piece of truth and tortured myself with that quote again, and then when I read the blogpost again, I remembered. And in a sad sort of way, life made a lot more sense again. Because, God has definitely given me MORE than I can handle in a number of ways in the past couple years. (and I'm sure many other people too). But when I kept telling myself that "He won't give me more than I can handle" It made me resent God more for not keeping to his word. And so in a weird sort of way - I felt like I could release God from his "promise" that wasn't actually his. 


Here is the verse where I assume this christian jargon stems from:

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” 

This verse only talks about temptation. Nothing else. 

And further more, there are plenty of verses in the bible that say there will be lots of suffering, and even verses where Paul himself expresses how burdened he feels. I'm no biblical scholar or pastor, and the last thing I want to portray is anything of the sort, but I told you I'd be truthful and vulnerable on my blog. So here's one of those guys.

It helps me to ask God instead - God you KNOW this is too much for me, give me strength to endure it, or a way out. And often if I am that broken, I don't say much else. 
 

Arno in Australia @ 23

Couple weeks before I turned 23