What to do on a summer day.

The days slowly become shorter. Summer is coming to an end. As I sit on the couch with a hot cup of chai, I look back at some of my favorite moments; like this one: little sister and her cousins having a water fight under the warmth of the Canadian sun.  

♥

I refill and refill their buckets with water, getting ready for more captured water droplets and momentary smiles and eyes tightly closed. 

 And as the water comes, I stay close to their happiness. I don't step back, trying to avoid getting wet. 

 

The sun goes down.

  

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!]

Summer goods.

Have you noticed? With the help of my wonderful mom, we changed my blog design. And I think I like the change. I like the fact that the photos are now bigger, and everything looks nice and clean. What do you think? Any thoughts? I'd love to know! 

♥

♥ Summer is going by beautifully. I am truly enjoying it. The weather has been perfect; sometimes rainy sometimes sunny, sometimes windy, but always warm. The days have been filled with bright smiles and laughter. And as for me and my camera, we can't stay away from each other. How could it all be better? 

♥ I've been searching for a way to make simple objects, the simplest every-day things to look beautiful. 

(my entry for "sea green" over at project 64.)

♥ I've been loving these verses: Psalm 147: 7-8:

"Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

Sing praises on the harp to our God,

Who covers the heavens with clouds, 

Who prepares rain for the earth,

Who makes grass to grow on the mountains."

♥ I've been enjoying some of my time with beautiful friends. 

♥ And of course, eating my favorite kind of chocolate: Belgian, raspberry- filled chocolate. It is wonderful. 

Its sweetness combined with the sourness of the raspberries just make it, every single time.  

How has your summer been so far? Do tell. ♥ 

-Annie

Beach favorites.

Every time my family comes back from a trip, I enjoy cuddling up on the couch with my computer, perhaps with some chocolate on the side, and look through all the pictures I took during the trip. I pick out my favorites, and while doing so, the created memories run through my mind. Last night, I picked out my beach favorites. 

♥

 Needless to say, Isabel absolutely loves to jump over the small waves as they slide on the shore. 

-Annie ♥

He knows what should be.

The ocean. That being the place where I am, is the reason for my absence from blogging. But right now, having a short amount of time, I sit down to write this. During these past few days, all I've been doing is enjoy the world till I cannot anymore. I've been spending the days waking up to beautiful warm mornings complete with the perfect sound of birds singing with the wind, along with the crashing ocean waves. And during the day, I've been going to the beach. Oh, how I love it. Just the sight and sound of it are enough to please my heart. 

♥

Ocean has always reminded me of life. I see it reflected on every wave that falls upon the sand. It reminds me, and makes me think that it is just like it. The water goes and comes, back and forth, and always has. And some waves bring happiness, while others bring sadness and destruction. At times there is peace and calm, while at others there is confusion and an unsteady ground. 

And we are in this life. We are moving along with it. We are walking its ups and downs, sometimes with  tears of joy and others with sorrow. It sure is a crazy ride, but He is in control. He is. And our human flesh sometimes finds it easy to forget that. It moves us and deviates us. 

Sometimes we wonder why certain things happen in certain ways, we wonder why some waves destroy while others don't. We wonder why we do or do not this-or that- or why some things must be the way they are. Truth is, our sinful soul and human mind cannot understand such things, so all we must do is put our trust in Him. He knows the answers to all the things we wonder and yet do not know their meaning, He knows why some waves are peaceful and some are deceiving. 

We don't. And that's okay. 

Because life goes on, just like the ocean waves, ruled under His control and steady hand to guide unsteady ones like us. He brings happiness just at the right time. He brings unhappiness just at the right time. And all of this is for a purpose- a perfect plan for us, while we still live in this world. He knows what is best while we walk towards Heaven. He never fails to make things His way. 

God never stops the ocean, never stops its waves. He never stops doing what's best for us. 

He never fails to be perfect. 

-Annie

What summer means.

I look at my calendar. In the 21st square, in perfectly printed letters I read: "First day of summer."
Summer. 
.... What does it mean? 

♥

It means clear, refreshing water sprinkling and showering nature... bringing it to life. 

Keeping it alive.  

It means smiling. It means breathing. It means living. 

It means reading books under the shade, while the wind blows its soft songs and the sunshine glares its beautiful splendour. 

It means jumping into a pool- swimming.
 It means the wrinkly hands.  

It means wearing pretty sundresses. 

....And bright tie-dye shirts. 

It means enjoying magic hour, the time right before sunset. The time of the day when the warm, golden sunlight spills its beauty during the last moments of the day. 

It means watching the sunset. It means looking at the sky create magical colors... every single one of them. It means not missing a single one. It means looking up until the world is dark. 
Dear summer: won't you stay? 
♥

-Annie