My Favorite Things Project: Finished!!

I can't believe I'm writing this...I actually, really and truly finished My Favorite Things Project aaaaand got the pictures up on my bedroom wall yesterday!!!

So, instead of doing another couple separate posts for the last few pictures, here they are:




First off- sisters! I've mentioned Sarah several times here on the blog, and those of you who know us in person know just how close we are. We're identical twins (mirror-image, actually - just ask us about who's left-brain dominant and who's right-brain dominant!) and we're inseparable. So of course I knew I wanted to include my dear sister in my project!!



These sweet munchkins in the above photo are Callie, an almost-12-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and Luke, an almost-11-year-old Lab/Shepherd/whoknowswhatelse mix. They are both precious and we love them to death. :-)



One of the other things I listed on my original "list" was "wide open spaces". I love being out in the quiet, peaceful country. Every October our family gathers with dozens of others for a weekend of fun and fellowship in the central part of the state, and I love this big field and hills. I've got lots of sweet memories from this place. So I was glad I was able to include this picture! (Notice the little cowboy boots? :-))

Okay- on to the finished project!!




Here's a "Before" shot - a blank wall that needed something else....



Putting the pictures in the frames and trying to get an idea of the layout...



And they're up! Hooray!





Left to right, top to bottom:
Boots - Dama's hands - Family - Camera - Candle - Sweet Tea
Laughing - Sunset - Sisters - Favorite Bible verse - Guitar
Apple pie - Playing the piano - Azaleas - Chocolate chip cookies - Red rose - Books - Wide open spaces - Sewing - The Dogs - Music

I had so much fun doing this project (even though it took me so long to finish it) and it's a great thing to do to make a room more personal. It's also a great way to learn more photography skills!

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Music!

Y'all are probably wondering when on earth I am ever going to finish this project. Well, um, I'm starting to wonder that, too....call me Miss Procrastination. I took this picture back in, what, early January?! And it's the last day of February and I'm just now posting it?!

Oh, well. Here 'tis: music! This piece is Mozart's Rondo alla Turca, which I absolutely love but my wrists can barely handle the octaves. (I almost got carpal tunnel on a similar piece!) Mozart is one of my favorite composers so I was glad my favorite shot out of all the ones I took happened to be this one.





Stay tuned for the next installment of 1000 Word Fridays! :)

Because of Jesus,
Bekah

Hands | Personal

Though these pictures aren't the finest in terms of focus/sharpness, I wanted to share them with you.

My beloved grandmother is one of the most musically gifted people you could ever meet. She began studying classical piano at a young age, spent a summer at the Julliard school of music in NYC, and has blessed the hearts of many ever since with her beautiful playing. She's easily comparable to Beegie Adair when it comes to jazz (name any Big Band hit and she'll play it - with no music) and I can't begin to list all the classical pieces she's played!

Her daughter, my dear aunt Emily, studied piano as well; she now uses the gift of music the LORD has given her serving as the pianist for her church and teaching little ones each week. I love hearing her play! One of our favorite things to do as a family when we're all together is gather around the piano and sing hymns.

As I've said before in my "Favorite Things Project: Playing the Piano" post, my sister and I took piano lessons for 10 years and, even though we don't study music as much anymore, the LORD has given us many opportunities to use the gifts He has given us. We both love to play for our church and a weekly Bible study, and it is one of my greatest joys to pass on my love of music to the precious kids I teach.

When my dad's side of the family gathered last week for Thanksgiving, I had the chance to take these pictures:

Three generations of pianists...

My grandmother, Alice

My aunt, Emily

My sister, Sarah


"...with my song will I praise Him!" Psalm 28:7

Because of Jesus,
Bekah

My Favorite Things Project: Cowgirl Boots

I never really considered myself a "city girl" and not really a "country girl" either until...well...um...I discovered country music. Then it was definite: I love country...most things country, that is. Not the "our necks are burnt, our roads are dirt, our trucks ain't clean / the dogs run loose, we smoke, we chew, we fry everything," kind of country, but the boot-wearin', pickup-truck-drivin', good-food-cookin', guitar-playin' way of life that is known in the American South as...country.

So anyways. Back to the subject of this blog post! When I was 14 I somehow had a minor obsession with the idea of wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat and learning how to rope like the good ol' fashioned cowboys...don't ask me how on earth that happened! So I bought a pair of (rather cheap) ropers at the local boot store with my birthday money. They weren't all that comfortable but I did wear them frequently for a while. This spring when we went to the horse show, my sister looked down and said, "Bek! Your boots are falling apart!" Sure enough, they were. Time for some new ones? Well, I'd have to think about that...

One of my favorite photographers, Jessica Shae, lives in Texas and I remembered she had bought a pair of boots a while back. So I went and checked to see what brand they were. "Ariats. Hmm. I'll have to do some research on those." I did, and was pretty excited about what I discovered: top-quality western boots with athletic shoe insoles! That sounded great to me!

So I saved up my money over the past few months aaaand...here they are! (Yes, I love them!!)






I love the color...Russet Rebel. :-)









By the way, these pictures aren't edited in the least...the color really is that pretty. :-) Oh, and I'd highly recommend the company I ordered them from: Cowboy Boots Online. They really do have the best prices!!

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Laughing

The Bible says laughter is good medicine, and I'm rather glad of that...because I really love to laugh. It doesn't take much to make me get the giggles, either!

I'm also one of those people who will burst out laughing in the middle of dead silence about something that happened yesterday...or a week ago...or 10 years ago!

I don't like crude humor, though.

What makes you laugh the most?



Thanks to my sis for grabbing the camera and taking this for me a couple of months ago...and thanks to our friends the G's for loaning me their (beautiful!) guitar for the evening!

Cooler weather is supposed to be coming down here this weekend so...I *might* get that photo shoot done!!

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Sweet Tea

Or, if you're like me, and you have a {slightly big} Southern accent, it's a little more like Swaet Tae. (grin)

I love it. :-)

If you're not from the South, or you haven't ever had a nice, cool, refreshing glass of tea....well, bless your heart!!! You just come on down to my house any time and set a spell and we'll drink sweet tea, y' hear? Just let me know. :-)




Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Coffee

I have to laugh when I say I like coffee...because growing up, I was always one of those kids that made a face when anybody mentioned it. I thought it was nasty and thought people were crazy when they said, "Oh, one day you might develop a taste for it." Who, me? Noooooo way!!!

But then I found out I liked cappuccinos. The perfect mix of coffee and chocolate. Now that wasn't such a bad idea.

Then the fateful day arrived when....I drank a mug of coffee...with plenty of sugar and milk, mind you, but coffee nonetheless.

It actually wasn't that bad.

And I liked it.

No, wait a minute.

I really liked it.




I'm thankful to say I'm not a "caffeine addict" (I drink it once or twice a week at the most) but I do love it...and we like our coffee raaaaather strong. No colored water for this bunch. :-)

So of course it landed on my Favorite Things Project list.

Oh and now that I have my new lens I might try to re-take it...the focus is on the mug handle rather than the coffee in this picture...actually I'll probably end up re-taking several of the pictures for this project. We'll see!



Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Apple Pie

When I was 15 I decided I was going to learn how to make apple pie. So I made two at once, for a church potluck- and, believe me, it was quite the experience. I didn't put a cookie sheet under the pie tins, and the juice spilled over and promptly caught on fire when it hit the oven floor. Yoikes. Since then I have learned, by trial and error, how to make better apple pies...and I like to eat them as much as I like to make them!

(Yes, I put it on a tablecloth on the grass outside...the sun was going down and our kitchen doesn't have good lighting for taking pictures of food. But outside during golden hour? Oh yes.)

I thought you might like the recipe, taken from my grandmother's Better Homes & Gardens red-and-white check cookbook- it really is the best, and so simple!!


Perfect Apple Pie

6 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly - anywhere from 4 to 7, depending on the size of the apples, and the size of the pie
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash nutmeg (or more)
Butter

Whisk the spices together in a small bowl and pour over sliced apples - toss to coat. Place bottom pie crust in pie plate and arrange apples on top - they should be flat, sort of; don't just dump them in there. Dot the apples with butter if you want to (the recipe says so, but I always forget). Place the top crust over the apples, trim to within 1 inch of the pie plate, and tuck under. Crimp with your fingers (or whatever way you like to fix the edge of your pie!). Cut slits for steam, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 400˚ for 50 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!


To quote Pioneer Woman:

Apple pies are wonderful
Apple pies are good
Not everybody loves them
But everybody should

:-)

PW recently posted her friend's perfect pie crust recipe- I'm going to try it soon! 

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Those of you who know me know I have a major weakness for chocolate chip cookies...I have a hard time not eating half a dozen of them at once! So of course I had to include them in my project. :-)

 

The best thing, of course, was making them.....mmmmmmm!!! My mouth is watering. :-)

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

PS--Just FYI I didn't write the poem in the last post! A man named Kelly Strong wrote it in 1988- he was in high school at the time.

My Favorite Things Project: The American Flag

I wanted to wait until today to post this picture...

I remember 10 years ago today like it was only 10 months ago...my grandmother calling my parents that morning to tell them someone had flown a plane into one of the World Trade Center towers...thinking it was just a private plane...turning the TV on, either right before or right after the second plane hit...seeing the footage of the smoking mass of rubble in NYC and the gaping hole in the Pentagon...sitting on the floor with Daddy in front of the TV and saying over and over, "This is going to make history..."

It did. 10 years later...I still remember. And I will never forget.

 FREEDOM IS NOT FREE 

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young Marine saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought, how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?

How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, Freedom is not free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
at the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, Freedom isn't free!!

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Sewing and Crocheting

Next up on the "My Favorite Things Project" list: sewing and crocheting!

I started sewing when I was probably about 8- a dear friend of my family who is like a grandmother to me taught me how to do very simple things on a sewing machine. As time went on I started trying to sew more and I realized I liked it a lot! I sew quite often now; mostly clothes for myself (I love creating my own when I can't find what I want in a store!) or the occasional DIY project. My latest this summer was making slipcovers for the couch and loveseat in our living room. It was QUITE the project and I don't think I'll ever do it again! But I learned a lot and had fun. :-)

A friend of mine taught me how to crochet several years ago, and it's one of my favorite winter time activities...summers are way too hot down here to have a blanket draped over me while I'm working on it!! I enjoy making baby blankets and hats to put in my hope chest. (Thanks, Sarah, for letting me borrow your hands...it's a little hard to hold your camera and snap the shutter without your hands! :-))


Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: My Guitar

About three years ago I picked up my dad's guitar to see if I could play anything on it. I printed out a chords sheet and, since I love playing by ear, I started trying to pick out individual notes to go along with the chords. I really enjoyed it, but I did have one problem: I couldn't keep callouses on my fingers!! After several months I started researching classical guitars, since they have nylon strings which are much easier to play. My dear Daddy got me this guitar (a Washburn C80) for Christmas 2008 and I have been "fiddlin' around" on it ever since!

I do have one question for y'all...does this picture make it look like it's in a coffin? My mom and sister said so....whaddya think?? :-)

I set it out in the front yard (this was in the middle of a terrible drought) and shot with my telephoto lens. I later edited the images in iPhoto and ran the "boost" action to make the somewhat-brown grass look a little greener. :-)

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Playing the Piano

When I was almost 8 years old I started taking piano lessons, and after I graduated from high school I began teaching. Ticklin' the ivories is one of my favorite things to do, and I like a variety of music- from classical to the jazz hits of the WWII era to hymns to whatever is running through my mind at the moment!

This picture was taken a couple years ago when my sister and I played background music for a fundraiser at a local bed-and-breakfast. Thank you, Sarah, for taking this for me!

What instruments do you play? What is your favorite kind of music? Shout it out in the comments section! :-)

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: My girls' Bible study group

I have the great blessing of leading a Bible study/discipleship group for about a dozen girls in our area, so I wanted to include a picture representing them. This is what I came up with- and if you've ever tried taking a picture of a candle in low light you know it's not the easiest thing in the world! Thank goodness for an image-stabilized lens!

To all my Bible study girls, I love you dearly and pray you will always reflect the light of Christ wherever you go!

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Favorite Books

Next up on the list for my Favorite Things Project: my favorite books! I love to read and these are just a few of the books I have enjoyed the most over the years. :-)

A little bit about each:

Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot- a compilation of Mrs. Elliot's letters to her daughter, Valerie, when she was engaged. Some of the best pre-marital advice in the world- so full of wisdom from Scripture and her own life experiences.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery- oh, Anne with an "e"! I have always loved her!! Though not quite as avid a writer as she, or as dramatic :-) I do think she is a "kindred spirit". :-)

My Bible- my well-worn, very much loved KJV that my parents gave me when I was 9 years old.

Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally- I am so thankful Sarah wrote this book! I would highly recommend it to any young woman.

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon- you can't be a true Southerner and not like the Mitford books!! The sweet, simple, and often humorous lives of Father Tim and the other residents of a fictional small town in North Carolina are much loved by my family.

Life and Campaigns of Lieut. Gen. Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson by Robert Lewis Dabney- I was reading this 742-page biography at the time this picture was taken, so I included it in the stack. I must admit I got only about 200 pages into it before Dr. Dabney (who was Gen. Jackson's close friend and adjutant) lost me in the mountains of western Virginia. I did enjoy reading the first part about General Jackson's childhood and his life before the Civil War; Dr. Dabney's explanation of why the war happened was quite interesting. Stonewall will always be my favorite Civil War general with the exception of Robert E. Lee. :-)

Joyfully at Home by Jasmine Baucham- I had been reading Jasmine's blog for quite a while when she announced she'd written a book, and I knew it would be good- is it ever! Both she and her dad, Dr. Voddie Baucham, have such a gift for careful, thorough explanation of the Word.

So Much More by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin- the LORD used what the Botkin sisters wrote to change a lot of things in my family, and we are so thankful!! I would very highly recommend this book and Joyfully at Home to any young woman earnestly desiring to follow God's Word for her life!

There are so many more I could have included...what are your favorites? Shout them out in the comment section!


Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: Favorite Bible verse

My favorite Bible verse is John 15:5:

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing."

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope

My Favorite Things Project: My Camera

Several months ago I realized that I still hadn't done anything to decorate a bare wall in my bedroom. I didn't really have any ideas but was tired of it being...well...bare! So I was walking around Ross one day and saw a set of 10 frames and a set of 3 collage frames that all matched- for $20! I came home and wrote a list of about 25 favorite things that I could take pictures of and put in the frames. I've been working on taking all those pictures this summer and am almost done! It's been a lot of fun and a great way to sharpen my photography skills. :-)


I'm going to post one picture every day or two- and by the time I'm finished I'll hopefully have my 50mm. Here's the first- my camera: Canon Rebel T1i and 18-55mm lens.

Sorry it's a bit grainy- I took it with my SX110 point-and-shoot and it was a little cloudy outside, so I had to up the ISO. 

Because of Jesus,
Bekah Hope