Sketchy Thursdays...

This week I've been working on a layout for a website called Sketchy Thursdays.  Its fun site that gives a weekly sketch and the idea is to take it and make it your own.  I used a picture of Aron at 2 and a current one of him at 10 1/2.  I cannot believe how quickly time is going by.  It seems like he was just my little boy and now he talks of being a teenager and driving!  How can that be??  I'm sure the next 10 years will go just as fast!  I am thankful for the young man he is becoming but how do you slow time down??

Another Seal...

We watched this big guy go into the water and keep "wading" out until he was in water deep enough to start swimming.  It was amazing!

Kaikora...

Saturday was a beautiful day so we took a drive about 2 hours north of Christchurch to the town of Kaikora.  We had visited there when we first came to NZ in 2008.  Kaikora is pretty famous for their whale watching boat and sky tours along with beautiful mountains and lots of beaches.  Some day we would love to go whale watching but for this day we spent our time on the beach.  The particular beach we were on is home to brown seals.  It was amazing to be less than 10 feet from full grow seals.  We particuarlly liked watching a little seal pup from about 2 feet.  He enjoyed playing in a "puddle" of sea water as we stood by.  At one point in time, he came a little closer as if to see if we were friend or foe.  We had such a great day watching the seals, hiking, and finding shells.  We are looking forward to taking another road trip to Kaikora some day.  Maybe we'll even encounter this pup again.

3 generations...

I am so thankful to have this photo.  When we visited my parents before moving to New Zealand, we took time to take many pictures.  Including this one of myself, my Mom, and my Grandma.  When I look at this picture, I see strong, loving, faith filled women.  I am so proud to be one of them.  My Mom and Grandma have been wonderful examples of wifes, moms, and ministery partners.  I have learned from them how to be a loving wife, an attentive mom, and a follower of Christ.  I am thankful to be a part of this family.  I love you Mom and Grandma!!

Birdling Flats...

Last weekend, we visited Birdling Flats.  Its a stone beach about 45 minutes from Christchurch.  We had been told you could find semi-precious stones there.  We had a great time digging around in the stones and watching the HUGE waves!  It struck me how beautiful and blue the ocean was that day.  It was a pretty contrast to the white waves.  Aden just loved sitting in one spot with his "digging" stick.  I sat behind him and just watched how intent he was on finding pretty stones.  Once he looked up and around to find me.  When I reassured him I was still there, he smiled and went back to digging.  It warmed my heart to know that he felt safe on that big beach with those huge waves knowing I was right there with him.

Published Again!!!

I was so excited when I opened the STAR newspaper and MY photo was the star of the week!  I have won 2 movie tickets, which here is a $32 value.  When I walk to the beach, this bench is the first thing I see.  I have named it my "wish you were here" bench.  Right now I'm really enjoying improving my photography skills.  Angles, lighting, my positioning...I'm enjoying it all.  I am going to keep sending in my photos.  Maybe this will turn into something more than just winning movie tickets.  You never know....
: )

Tunnel Hike...

I love this picture.  A few Saturdays ago, we took a hike called tunnel hike.  The hike took 45 minutes to get to the tunnel.  We weaved our way down the mountain all the while looking out to the ocean and seeing the wild flowers on the mountain side.  The path looked like nothing more than a sheep trail.  And it was muddy!  The boys splashed right through as Bryce and I tried hard to keep our shoes on the driest parts.  When we arrived at the tunnel, the boys were so excited!  And so were we because it was actually a tunnel.  We walked the 103 meters (307 feet) through it trying not to slip or hit our heads.  When we made it through the tunnel, we were right at the ocean!  Totally worth the hike and the tunnel.  The boys climbed on all the rocks with Bryce's help.  I, on the other hand, stayed well back and took pictures.  The waves were HUGE that day.  I love that I captured the wave pounding the rock in this shot.  After spending about 30 minutes climbing, exploring, and taking pictures, we began the hike back up.  Which took about 1hour as it was much harder than going down.  We are looking forward to taking more hikes like this and probably even going on this one again.  We are thankful to be living in such a beautiful country and having experiences like this.

Spring is Coming...

When we arrived in New Zealand on June 1, it was the beginning of winter.  Winter here is grey and rainy days but with green grass and trees.  Its not the grey, drab winter with snow that we are used to in the midwest.  I am happy to say that I have begun to see signs of spring in the last few days!  The days are lighter earlier and longer, the birds are singing when I wake up, and I've seen flowering bushes and trees.  I even have daffodils (I'm pretty sure) coming up in my back flower gardens.  Seeing the flowers poke through the ground are a sure sign of spring for me.  The signs of new life are always uplifting and encouraging.  Bryce suprised me the other day with these daffodils.  Not picked from our yard yet but still just as lovely.  

Ahhhh.....welcome Spring!!!  

For Maisie...

Monday morning before my daily beach walk, I skyped with my parents and my 13 year old niece, Maisie who is visiting from Illionis for the week.  Boy, do we wish we were there to spend time with her.  It was really nice to be able to visit with her along with my parents.  When we were signing off, I mentioned that I was going to take my walk to the beach.  Maisie asked that I take lots of pictures for her.  So this one is for you Maisie!!  Love you so much!  I hope one day you do get to come visit us in New Zealand.

Love,
Aunt Lydia
: )

Published...

I submitted a photo to one of the weekly free newspapers here in New Zealand and they published my picture!  I was really thrilled to see it in print.  The one I posted in my blog titled "Simply Beautiful".  I am going to continue to send in pictures and I am looking for an amature photographer contest in a magazine.  I sure hope to see more of my photos in print!  Exciting stuff!!  I'd like to thank my Dad for all the photos he has taken in my life and of my life.  I think I get my "camera gene" from him!  You can't have too many photos of the perfect picture, can you??

: )