December lights.

December: we flip our calendars to that final page. Thinking back to past months it feels like it was only Christmas... and now it's that time again. Time to fill our home with decorations. Time to play the Christmas music. Most importantly remember Jesus Christ's birth. To celebrate.

♥ 

December: one of my favorite months.

What is yours?

There's always time to be grateful.

Tomorrow, my family and I will be going on a trip. We'll be going out of the country, doing several things such as leaving my oldest brother in college and visiting family. Today has been a rather busy day, mainly because packing and getting ready have been the main activities. 

As I write this, heavy rain pours outside, its music accompanied with the roaring thunders. I must say, it calms me. For me, there is nothing more soothing than the sound of rain and thunder, especially in the later hours of the day. 

As I heard the first drops of water hit the ground, I stopped putting things into my suitcase. I decided to stop and think for a few minutes. Take some time to be grateful. 

Life- it's a very busy journey. So busy that sometimes all we do is worry and do things just because they need to be done. But we forget about doing the things that matter the most. One of them, for example, is being grateful. How many things does God give us? Everything. How many times do we thank Him for that? 

So here I am, taking a few minutes from what I was doing, and writing the things that I'm thankful for today; right now. Because the Lord is good, and His gifts are endless.

I am grateful for: 

The rain.

The sun, moon, and stars.

My brother, who is ready to start, ready to live his adventure in college next month.  

Traveling. It is such a blessing that we get to travel a lot, to live wonderful experiences when we don't  deserve any of them. 

My mom. Always so loving, always so caring.

Summer days. 

Sunny days.

Sweet tea.

Fun with friends.

(photo of me, taken by a friend.) 

Laughter.

Family. 

Music.

Busy days.

Lazy days.

The book of Psalms.

Friends.

My sister, who no matter what, always has the ability to make me laugh, to make me love her more everyday. 

My dad, always so thoughtful, always so gentle.

Hugs. Tears. Comfort. 

Mexico: my home.

Flowers dancing with the wind.

Books.

Hot chocolate.

Photography.

Sunsets. 

What else? Just everything. Because the Lord is good, and His gifts are endless. 

-Annie

♥ [Because my family and I will be traveling, I will not be able to post in some days. I'll be back soon!]

To mom.

♥

Without a mom, there would be no laughter.
Without a mom, there would be no tears. 
Without a mom, there would be no special moments to remember forever. 
There would be no life to share.
Without a mom, there would be no songs to sing.

Without a mom, there would be no letters to write. 
Without a mom, there would be no butterfly kisses.
Without a mom, the world would be a dark place with no moon or stars in the sky.
Without a mom, there would be no flowers during spring. Without a mom, there would be no smiles.  
Without a mom, there would be no walks and talks about just anything.
Without a mom, there would be no beauty.
There would be no happiness. 

{picture taken by dad.}

There would be no secrets.
Without a mom, there would be no sparkles.
Without a mom, there would be no I love you's.
Without a mom, the days would be quiet. Still.
Without a mom, there would be no snuggling together to read a book.Without a mom, the entire world would crumble down. Into little pieces. 
Without a mom, there would be no nights next to a warm fire and cups of chocolate. 
Without a mom, there would be no cozy hugs after a loud storm.
There would be no magic. 

Without a mom, life would not matter as much.
Without a mom, life would be different.
Without a mom, my life would be incomplete.  


Dear mom, I love you. Happy mother's day. ♥
(Here in Mexico, Mother's day is today, which is the reason I'm posting it now, and not Sunday.)
-Annie

I wanted a sister.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my sister? She's precious. The most perfect 7- year old girl and sister in the entire world. I remember back in those days when I was about 8, and I dreamed to have a sister. Sure, my life was practically complete with my two brothers, one being older and one being younger than me. But somewhere in me I wanted another girl in my life. 
A sister.
 And here she is. Her beauty shining through her every single day. My dream came true.

(for polka dot's portrait contest)

(for polka dot's portrait contest)

As the days go by, I never forget to give thanks to Him, who gave me such a perfect sister.

I love you, little sis. Thanks for being everything you are ♥

-Annie

Changes.

In the past few days, I've been thinking about how fast this year has gone by. It feels like only a few weeks ago when I was traveling overseas visiting Paris, Belgium, and Germany, living one of the biggest dreams I ever had, having the best time of my life. It feels like yesterday we were singing Christmas carols and putting up our pine tree. Then one time, in the blink of an eye, the year changed, and I had to start writing 2011 instead of 2010 in all my school notes. Then suddenly, January transformed into April, and I didn't even realize how big of a change it was. Until now.

Last summer, I knew this year would be crazy. I knew we would have so much going on, but I did not really want to think about it, for I wanted to enjoy each day at a time. I also felt like time would go slower, but now as I flip back through my calendar's pages, I realize how many days, weeks, and months have gone by since then. Time's really flown by. 

In about two months, our life will start to twist. School will come to an end, and a busy summer will start. We'll be mainly traveling, visiting friends, and even welcoming a new member into our family. But we'll be also experiencing my oldest brother going away to college. I always thought that would feel normal after spending 15 years of my life with him. But as the time gets closer, I realize it is really going to be a big change. My heart feels like a box storing all kinds of mixed emotions. I don't really want him to go away, I wish he could stay longer and we could build more memories together. But I know it's time for him to go, and I know he will have a good time. 

The end of school and beginning of summer are getting closer and closer. And while one part of me can hardly wait for all the upcoming adventures, and the other wishes time would slow down, I will keep on praying and trusting Him, whom I know has a perfect plan for me, my family, and everybody else living through times like this. 

Life will change. But not for God, for He always knew this would have to be experienced. 

♥

{Belgium. Summer 2010}

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

-Annie

Little bear

My little cousin's love toward his teddy bear is real.
Here is the story...
He told me some bad guys were planning on taking his teddy bear as a prisoner, and then lock him in a dark, "scary" dungeon. But he then said he would never let the bad guys do that to his "best friend". So he picked up his teddy bear, cuddled it in his arm, and pretended to shoot the bad guys. "I will never let them take you," he kept whispering to his teddy.
Definitely best friends.

♥

 I love the way he is holding it. I love how he is having trouble getting the toy gun straight, while the teddy bear just about to slip through his arms. Love. Love. Love.

Little kids are the cutest.

Do you remember having any stuffed animals that you loved when you were little? ♥

-Annie

I heart faces: best face photo

This week's photo contest at I heart faces, has the theme "best face photo 2010." I absolutely love photographing faces. Portrait photography is definitely one of my favorites. So, I have decided to enter this contest with this entry right here. 

♥

This is a photo of my little sister blowing a bubble. I love it in every possible way. I love how the bubble frames her face right around it, and you can see her through the colored soap perfectly. 

Although it was hard coming up and choosing one single "best face photo," I decided I couldn't go any further but with this one. ♥

Annie

Things I love.

♥

The true meaning of Christmas. I love to think about how wonderful it is that Jesus came down to earth, and it all had a purpose. He would die for our sins, and forgive us. It is just incredible. Every Christmas, I try to focus, remember, and think about this true meaning, rather than being carried away to other thoughts.
Sparkly Glitter. My sister and I have covered lots of pretty decorations with it. We love it because it gives them a really pretty, shiny silvery touch. 

Two week break. It has felt so wonderful to take a two week break from all my daily school and homework. I can really enjoy this holiday a lot when I don't have to think about getting stuff done before they are due. 

My home. Specially during this season! We decorate about every single part of it. It gets all "Chistmasy." I love to walk around, and all I see are pretty lights and ornaments. And I love to share it with my family. 

Spheres. I love love them. Every year, my mom and I go buy some. We don't hang them on our tree though, because they are just so fragile. They are made out of really delicate thin glass, and have gorgeous little details, or are covered in velvet. We hang them with long laces from our chandeliers, or put them in vases:)

Bokeh. Lately, thanks to all of the Christmas lights we have around our home, I've been taking lots and lots of pictures of them using the bokeh effect technique. It seems like in the beginning I was not very fond of it, but I'm starting to. 

Cold weather. We don't get any snow in Mexico, but it still gets chilly and cold during the winter. And I love going outside for walks, and feel that frigid wind rushing through my sweater. It makes me want to get some yummy hot chocolate. 

Christmas Magazines. I totally love flipping through their pages in search for delicious recipes, and then writing them down. Which also means I love to cook. The menu for tonight makes my mouth water just to the thought of it. We'll be having really good things :)

  Decorations. We have bought quite a few of them in the past couple of Christmases, but I have always had one favorite. I have loved this one ever since we got it. It was probably four years ago.

♥

My mom. She is so, so wonderful. It wouldn't be Christmas without her. Today, we cooked and baked the whole entire day. It was really fun! She is such a good teacher, and usually makes me laugh a lot. 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Luke 2:14 

What do you love today? 

Merry Christmas♥

-Annie

Paper flowers-simple

Have you ever felt like doing something cute and creative, but that does not take a whole lot of your time, and is really easy to make? Well, I have! And here is a pretty sweet suggestion.
Flowers made out of cupcake liners.
That's right! All you need is some cupcake liners and pipe-cleaners. It's really, really simple. My sister, mom, and I made some the other day and they turned out really pretty. We got the original idea from this place.
My beautiful sis, had the honor of being my model and show the pretty paper flowers.

♥

Of course, she started to have lots of fun. She was telling me funny stories, and so whenever she laughed, I snapped the picture. I am completely in love with the next two pictures. They'll be in  frames in no time, I can let you know that for sure.

Isn't she absolutely gorgeous?  She has such a sweet warm smile, and it's so perfect. 

 ♥

Do you feel like making some of  these now? I know, they are totally pretty.
You're welcome.  ♥
-Annie

A bit more sun and sand

Obviously, the beach pictures I have posted so far are not the only ones I took during our trip. I usually take about 1000 pictures per trip, but I really try to reduce the amount, and keep the best shots I got. And trust me, it is not the easiest thing to do... :) Sometimes I feel like I want to keep them all.

But that's not possible.

At least not for me, anyway. 

I have decided to write this to upload the rest of the beach shots that I kept and liked, instead of blogging about this topic forever.  

 ♥

Do you have any idea of what this might be? No? That's fine. I probably wouldn't know either. This is a picture of one side of my shorts. I thought it would turn out into a cool shot, although it was rather hard to take because I was standing, and could barely see anything through my lens. Either way, I liked it. :)

For this shot, I pointed and focused the camera to the light on the ocean, just to give the hammock the effect of looking completely dark. Like a silhouette. And it worked!

This shot was a big success. I asked my brother to dive just so I could get him in the middle of the air. After jumping in the pool like 10 times for me and getting several pictures, in the end I decided this one was the one I liked best. I set the shutter speed at around 1/300 just to get the motion right. Isn't the pool incredible? I like how it merges with the ocean behind it. 

My sister and I found this cute little ocean crab. In fact, she named it "Lelo." I have no idea why, but she was completely in love with it. 

Hoping you all have a happy Christmas break!  ♥
-Annie