{wb}h winter [remix]

The 30 for 30 winter edition starts Feb. 1st. Are you joining this round?

I've been just a tad busy (distracted? overwhelmed?) lately so I didn't have time to put a lot of thought into my 30 items. You know that means the chances of me trying to trade items out later are great, right? I did include a few repeat items from the last time around. Those boots are back... chances are you'll be getting sick of them again soon. The good news is by the time this 30 for 30 is over it will be March. I saw a sign that said "spring is coming" today. Can't wait for it! But in the meantime... 30 winter picks for this round of the remix:

Happy Remixing!!

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all the generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3: 20-21

Talk To Me Tuesday: Your Purse

This week's Talk To Me (Show Me?):

Show us what's in your purse. Dig it out, take a picture. AS IS! No adding to or taking away.

Aye yai yai. Who knew one little bag could hold so much??

The goods (items cleaned out after realizing how much stuff was in there are in italics!):

Pack of gum.

Altoids tin.

Grey fabric flower waiting to be turned into a clip or pin.

PRAY stone.

Bag of leftover jelly bellies (from outside fall photo sessions- yikes!)

Gift Cards

My purse camera!

AA batteries (never know when you'll need them!)

A memory card (that coincidently is not for the camera that I carry in my purse)

Bath & Body works from the $1 bin.

Two Mary Kay lip glosses (same color).

Deep conditioner (sorry, Michelle- I promise to use it asap!)

Box of Valentines for Morgan and one for Maddox (I stuck them in there so I wouldn't forget them to give to my sister)

Wallet (which would have added a ton to my list if I would have taken the contents out).

School id & keys.

Hair ties.

New prescription I just picked up (I'm excited about this one).

Biofreeze samples.

Kleenex.

Pen.

Planner.

Dental floss (one day my SIL asked me if I had any and I didn't- the next day they were handing out mini ones in the parade- I took it as a sign I needed to leave it in my purse. ha)

Zyrtec.

Hand sanitizer.

Feminine products.

Clutch that holds most of the small lotion type of things.

Empty zip lock bag?

Cell phone.

Random papers: W2s, Christmas Shopping list, business cards, receipts, bubble gum wrappers, notes, to do lists, etc.

So yai that's a lot of stuff. But really you wouldn't know it with this bag. I LOVE the padded compartments and pockets in this thing and the fact that you can shove that much junk into a bag and still have it organized (if you remember where you put it). :)
See? :)

PS- You can shop for the Kelly Moore Bag here. They are actually camera bags (not the homemade version). This is the grey hobo. I also have the mustard boy bag. I would say it's too big for a purse though (my mom would probably even agree- that's a big bag). That one of mine actually does get used as a camera bag.

Next Week's:

What is your WORD for 2011? What describes you or what you want to accomplish this year.

Inspired by Ali Edwards. Via Ashley. :)

Childlike Faith

I'm guessing you remember the photo of Mini Agent I peeking in the bathroom to see if his top secret prize had been received yet. So it should come as no surprise to you that he was ready to go on another secret mission today.

This time, as he was writing his secret mission note (because as he noted, he knew exactly what it should say), his little brother wanted to do one.

"Brother you don't even know what it's for."

"Yeah huh. Do too. I want $5 McDonalds."

"No, brother. It's for other people with someone they love that cant come home from the hospital. It's going to make them happy for a little bit."

Uh. Wow. We had talked about why we were doing it last week but that's not how I explained the secret missions to him.

A little guy, all of seven years old, just wanting his own sister to come home healthy, and wanting to make other people at the hospital happy. Even if just for a little bit.

Truly I tell you, "anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” -Mark 10:15

PS- His mom did a secret mission of her own today.... and I'm enjoying the second half of it right now. Yum! :)

Take Heart Necklaces For 'Sale', Valentines Still Available

By popular request, a limited supply of 'Take Heart' necklaces are now for 'sale.'

You can also still order Valentine's, however I will not be taking new photo sessions for Valentine's photos. Please choose a photo from a past session or email a personal photo.

Please email me your Valentine or necklace order or if you'd like to be entered in the raffle.

We are still praying for rest and healing for Kylie's heart and for wisdom for her Drs. We are praying for comfort and rest for her family.

Thank you for joining us in prayer and support for this family that we love!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God.
(Isa. 43:2–3 NASB)

He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved. Psalm 62:6

It Is Well

It is Well (With My Soul) is one of my forever favorite songs.

This version isn't one of my favorite versions, but it does share the penman's story. His story reminds me of a conversation I had with my good friend the other day. We were talking about the song "Before the Morning" and how not quite a month ago we were both so sure the morning was coming soon. Then within a few weeks, it seemed like the morning wasn't here yet. But my friend helped me realize that our idea of dark and morning could be completely different from God's idea of dark and morning. I wonder how many times in our lives He's protected us from things we couldn't imagine.

Everything I Need

Whatever It Takes

I was telling my friend how much I hated to say God is using her little girl in such big ways right now- it must seem unfair that he would put them through that and why couldn't He find someone else's little girl to use.

I think that's probably how I would feel if I were in her place right now. It'd be easy for anyone to feel that way.

But not her.

You know what she said to me?

"Whatever it takes."

She said whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to reach people.

Can you believe that? She is amazingly strong.

But I'm still asking you to pray for her. And her little girl. And her husband and their boys.

Pray for rest and healing for Kylie. Pray that she will get stronger. Pray that her heart is healing and that she will soon be able to be taken off this medicine successfully. Pray for Kylie's mom and dad. Pray for rest and strength and grace. Pray for peace and comfort for them. Pray for Kylie's brothers. Pray for rest and understanding and comfort. Pray for the non-believers that little Kylie is touching. Pray that God uses them to do big things for His kingdom as He's used little Kylie in big ways to reach them.

Thank you for praying for them, friends. Thank you so much!

Bloom Book Club

Have you checked out the Bloom Book Club Book of the month? I'm excited about this one. It's on sale for $10 until Jan. 24th and if you buy two books with the code BLOOMBOOK you get free shipping.

Winterizing the 30 for 30

Did you know the 30 for 30 is going winter now? (I know... I thought it was winter last time around too!) I'm reluctantly signing up. Hopefully I will fall in love with it like I did last time... but since I've been in a rut of wearing the same few warm clothes over and over... we'll see how it goes.

Here's a preview. I know it looks similar to something from the last 30 for 30 but check out that scarf. My wonderfully talented aunt Peggy (Amy's mom) made it. She's awesome. And patient (she tried teaching me... I'm a slow learner). Maybe I can get a few (29?) more from her and just change this outfit up 30 times. ;)

Talk To Me (Show Me?) a RAK

Talk To Me Tuesday:

This one is a do rather than an answer.... Go out and do a random act of kindness. Post the idea on your page. (For ideas see Secret Agent L's blog... you may recognize one on there from my friend Secret Agent (other) L).

I've been wanting to do this one for a long time and just never did. I finally just did it -but admittedly only because it was the challenge for Tuesday and since it was a hard one I figured if anyone else participated, that'd be great but if I didn't even do it, that'd be really bad. So I just did it. And you know what? It actually wasn't that hard. It was actually a lot of fun!

The scoop: I've spent too much time lately in the waiting room of hospitals, emergency rooms, and clinics. I'm a people watcher and it's been making me really sad to look into the faces of a lot of these people sitting in those places with me. I have had so many friends in need of prayer lately but I've also found myself praying for these faces in the waiting rooms. I knew I wanted to do my RAK in a related space. Saturday, we were visiting our good friends in NICU and I thought that would be the perfect opportunity for a drop. I gathered up what I could from home and snapped the photo (I knew we wouldn't have much time for shopping the next day). I wanted to do two drops so I had to find things we had double of. I ended up with: pad of paper & pen, pack of gum, and a card. I made necklaces that said HOPE (at that point I decided I should do the drop in the women's restroom) and decided to stop and grab gift cards on the way. I also tucked in some candy we picked up on the way.

We had lunch with our friends and mini-agent I looked like he needed a special mission. We grabbed him and headed for a walk. He took his job of finding the perfect drop site seriously. As we were waiting by the elevator after the first drop, he was so excited to see someone walk into the bathroom. She was a nurse and didn't walk out with the bag. He was disappointed she didn't take it but glad we didn't get 'caught.'

Throughout the day he asked me if I thought anyone had grabbed the goods yet. We finally went for a walk and scoped out the drop sites. He was so excited to find the bags had been taken. Here is mini-agent I checking out one of the sites (don't worry, this one was a family restroom!).

Mini-Agent I and myself are going to have to do this one again. So fun!! Even if you didn't do it in time for TTMT, I recommend doing it anyway! It was probably more of a thrill for us than the ladies that grabbed the bags. :)

Next Week's: Show Us What's In Your Purse. Dig it all out and take a picture.

LOVE this one!!! I took my photo at the time of this post and will auto post as I knew I'd be thinking about it throughout the week and start cleaning out my purse before hand. I'm shocked at how much my bag holds!! Stay tuned for that. :)

Still needing an idea for the following week. As always, feel free to leave your idea in the comments (I'm talking to you this week, Ashley. You had a good one I wanted to do and I can't find it.)

Take Heart

I wanted to share this with you here in case you aren't on my facebook or didn't get an email from me. If you are interested in purchasing Valentines or entering a raffle for this necklace, please let me know.

I posted this on facebook to Kylie's momma today:

I really am so excited to see God working through this little girl already. Strangers pulling together praying for her. Non-believers reading Scripture and being touched by it. Friends rallying behind this family that I love. God wouldn't let me sleep one night until I got up and got the ball moving on this. I reluctantly did it thinking we might pull together gas money for them for the week. God has done so much more than that though. He is using this little girl to touch lives, to reach people. It's really an awesome thing to see. I'm in awe.

Thank you for lifting this family that I love up in prayer.

Updated: This post popped up in the 'other posts you may like.' That thing is pretty smart. :)

Resting in Him

As we sat with our friends recently, their littlest boy was obviously tired. His mom asked him to come rest with her. He fought it. He was so tired he couldn't sit still, for if he did he might fall asleep. His mom knew he was tired and knew he needed rest. She knew if he could get a little bit of rest he might feel better, his mood might change. But he fought it. He fought it as long as he could before it finally overcame him and he gave in to the rest.

I wonder how many times I do this? In His Word, He tells me time and time again to rest. To "Rest in Him." But how many times do I fight it? How often am I racing from one thing to the next? How often am I worrying about things I cant control? How often do I try to take things into my own hands?

He tells me to rest in Him. He knows I need it. Like my friend knowing what's best for her son, He knows it would be good for me. It would make me feel better. But I continue to fight it. I continue to keep the busy pace of running from one place to the next. I continue to worry about things I cant control.

Lord, help me to Trust in You. Help me to cast my worries and take everything to You. Help me to Rest in You. Rest.

Take Heart

Deuteronomy 30:10
if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 30:14
No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Joshua 23:14
“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

1 Chronicles 16:10
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

1 Chronicles 22:19
Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God.

Psalm 13:5
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

Psalm 16:9
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,

Psalm 27:3
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 61:2
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 86:12
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

Psalm 112:7
They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Acts 2:26
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 4:8
I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Some of our best friends, Ang & Gabe, are two of the nicest people you will ever meet. They would never ask you for a thing and would never want you to worry about them.

But. Right now they need some prayer. Their little girl, Kylie Josephine, was born with some unexpected heart issues. The Drs did surgery and said she needed more. I cant imagine how they are feeling right now. Would you pray for them? Would you pray for little Kylie?

pray.

please pray for my friends. they had a little girl yesterday and she's having a procedure today then will be in nicu. pray for their little girl.

please pray for my cousin. they lost their dog unexpectedly. it's a loss in the family. so sad.

please pray for all the sick and hurting. i feel like i've been surrounded by so many hurting lately. please pray.

Talk To Me.... YOUR Turn!

TTMT:

Readers choice. Comment, inbox me, facebook me- leave me ideas for some 2011 Talk To Me Tuesdays. :)

Okay- This one is updated because some of you emailed me great ideas and I must have deleted them or something because I can't find them now! Sorry. :( Leave them in the comments here (PLEASE!). :)

And I guess that gets me out of participating in this week's (actually I'm auto publishing this on Thursday so I don't miss the date again....). :) But PLEASE play this week. And get started on next week's if you haven't yet. It should be fun!! And since I'm auto-publishing and changing the date- can I point out that I love when the date is so easy to write... we get to do that three times this year.

Next weeks:

This one is a do rather than an answer.... Go out and do a random act of kindness. Post the idea on your page. (For ideas see Secret Agent L's blog... you may recognize one on there from my friend Secret Agent (other) L)

best of

We have been talking about the blessings jar around here forever for awhile forever. We talked about changing the November calendar to the every month calendar. We took a photo a day of all the good things. We like remembering the good times and praising Him for them. So this idea is (almost) perfect for us. Modified a bit to showcase the top ten of each month, here is our method for tracking the best of 2011:

While not 365, there's still a lot of spaces to fill in. That's a lot of good times ahead, friends. Happy counting your blessings all year round!

Happy Birthday!!

It's my friend Lisa's birthday- she's 28 (or so) today. ;)

She's a fabulous lady with a huge heart that would do anything for anyone. When I think back to some of the times that I needed someone the most over the last few years- Lisa's been there.

Happy Birthday, Lisa!!! Love ya! :)

TTMT (yes I know it's Thursday again!)

I've had a few people checking in on me as I skipped TTMT (again). Rest assured, the Hicks family is doing okay! We are just trying to get back into the swing of being back at work but still having appointments, basketball, photo sessions, and all the other things going on.

Here is another Thursday version of TTMT:

This week's:
What's a verse that you are leaning on right now? (Could be your all time favorite but doesn't have to be.)

Right now the verse I think about the most is Isaiah 40:31. It's a favorite of a lot of people (but ironically not one of mine). I actually have had it stuck in my head because I had made a necklace that said it for one of my best friends. It had been sitting on the counter waiting to be wrapped for awhile so I just tried it on one day before work and wouldn't you know- it fit. I ended up liking it a lot and made my friend another version of the necklace so I could keep this one myself wouldn't have to give her a used necklace. :) I've been reminded of this verse daily as I wear it bound on my neck and continually try to rest in Him.

One of my real favorite verses:

Hebrews 11:1- "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and sure of what we cannot see."

Though I have a lot of favorites, I don't have a lot of time right now so maybe I'll update this later.. and start taking my own advice on auto publishing TTMs so we can all play along a little better! :)

Next week's:

Readers choice. Comment, inbox me, facebook me- leave me ideas for some 2011 Talk To Me Tuesdays. :)

Okay- That one is updated because some of you emailed me great ideas and I must have deleted them or something because I can't find them now! Sorry. :( Leave them in the comments here (PLEASE!). :)

The next, next weeks:

This one is a do rather than an answer.... Go out and do a random act of kindness. Post the idea on your page. (For ideas see Secret Agent L's blog... you may recognize one on there from my friend Secret Agent (other) L)

Okay: So what's your favorite verse (or one you are currently leaning on)? Comment with your link to it here. And thanks for your patience as the Tuesdays roll into Wedn.... Thursdays. Love y'all!

Updated: If you don't blog, YES you can still play. Leave your answer in the comments.

For Sale

Just in case you don't check the {cb}h blog everyday. ;)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 2011

For Sale

In case Santa brought you a DSLR for Christmas......

These lenses have been sitting at the Hicks' Ranch waiting for a good home. I thought my little sister would have a DSLR by now and they would finally have a new home but she didn't and they don't. So I'm offering them to you. Email me if you are interested.

Canon 50mm prime 1.8 II: New $120/For Sale: $65 SOLD

Canon 55-250 F/4.0-5.6 IS: New: $299/For Sale: $150 SOLD

Perspective

As I'm reading facebook statuses of what everyone is looking forward to in 2011, it strikes me as funny how perspective is so different. I lost track of the number of statuses that were looking forward to not being pregnant in 2011. After reading the first one I felt a little sting; after reading the 20th+ one I had to laugh. Perspective.

When I say, "Wow, you are so big- you look great!" to a pregnant friend, she may hear, "Wow, you look like a whale." when what I mean is, "Wow, you have been busy growing a baby, that's amazing and you really do look great. Pregnant women everywhere are jealous of how good you look and I'm jealous that you have that magic superpower that I don't have." Perspective.

When people say to me, "Your time will come" "You'll make a great mom" You are so lucky to not have to deal with kids right now" and I hurt, I really need to remember they mean, "I really believe your time is coming" "You'll make a great mom" and.... well, I'm not sure what they mean by that last one.... Perspective.

I upset a few people with my post about "Please don't tell me." People told me it wasn't fair for me to say that and that I'm shutting people out by being so sensitive. For the most part I didn't respond to those people (and if you're reading this post, waiting for a response to that, consider this my apology for ignoring you). But I have to disagree. For me, that post opened a lot of lines of communication and I've talked to so many women about the very issue. What I realized from all of it is that it's okay for my feelings to be hurt by some of those things- that's human nature. But when I was so focused on how sad those things made me, what I really need to be focused on is the heart behind the person saying those things. When someone gives you unsolicited advice, I really do believe they think they are trying to help. When someone tells you how good you look, they surely mean it. When someone tells you how great you are, they do love you.

So I've been thinking about this perspective thing a lot. The other night, a friend was here with her three kids. I was having a pow wow with the youngest and she said to me what a great mother I'll be. I know you're expecting me to tell you how bad it hurt to hear that- but it didn't. It felt good. For the first time- I believed it.

Perspective.

Here's to a new year with a fresh, new perspective. Happy 2011!

{cb}h in the new year

2010 brought so many changes and exciting opportunities to us here at the Hicks' Ranch. I am excited to see what is ahead for us.
I'm also excited to see what 2011 has in store for {cb}h. What started as a hobby for me, has turned into a business and it is very exciting!
When I started, it was (who am I kidding... it still is) difficult for me to not do photos for free for everyone. While I did several (and that's an understatement) free sessions, I got to a point where I finally had to stop. Photography is an expensive undertaking and it is very time consuming. While it's something that I LOVE to do, it is still work.
Alex from M Studios said that they made the choice to not offer any discounting to family and friends to make it easy. She pointed out that they are friends with their friends because of who they are and because they like to hang out with them, not because they can (or cant) afford their photography services.
I have to say, I completely agree with her!
The other side of it is that not all of my friends like my photography style. And that's okay! I also don't have the same clothing choices and taste in decorating as most of my friends. That doesn't mean I don't love 'em! I would never want for someone to feel obligated to give me business just because we are friends. I have friends/family with long time photographers they've been using. I have friends that prefer Portrait Innovations (well I don't really know of any that do... I'm just giving an example). And it's really okay. Just like I can't afford to do free sessions for everyone, I don't expect everyone to be able to afford or even want a session with me.
So while I wont be doing free sessions in 2011, I will be offering a few special deals available to friends/family only. Most of them I'll email out- let me know if you want on that email list! All of them will be first come, first serve. And, of course, I'll still be having client specials on the {cb}h page that you can take advantage of!
Thanks so much for your support in 2010! I'm so excited to work with you (or not- we can still be friends!) in 2011!!