Pour Your Heart Out: Interventions & My desire to spill the beans

Hello friends!

So...I have become obsessed with photography. I might need an intervention...but I'd just walk out, so why bother?!

I have always loved photography. The way the light and shadows and composition, etc. all came together to make something speak to you. I love landscapes, wildlife, portraits...all of it.

Then, I bought my Canon 550d and my universe was altered. Altered, I tell you!

Now, my nights are filled with editing, my days at work are filled with thoughts of when I can get home to my camera...sometimes I even bring it to work. I am constantly checking out photography Web sites, googling new methods/equipment and drooling over the next lense/filter/etc I want. I'm always looking at different photographers' work - getting hints, tips, ideas and dreaming of the day when maybe, just maybe I'll be "that" good!

I've been taking pictures of friends lately. It's been a lot of fun. They all tell me I should start doing it as a side job, but I know I'm not good enough for that...maybe someday though! It's been fun learning and I can't wait to keep learning more & more!

Anyway, it's a great new hobby & I'm LOVING it! My dogs are probably sick of me, my friends are hooked up with free photography sessions & I am happy happy happy! :)

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In other pour your heart out news-

Big changes are brewing in the Baker household....I can't spill all of the beans just yet, but I can say that I am ECSTATIC to start a new chapter in our lives, no matter how small or difficult it may be at first, I know God has a plan and I am more than ready to get this part of our journey started!

I wish I could tell y'all right now and shout from the roof tops with joy, because I am quietly shouting from the rooftops in my mind right now! I am SO happy!

I'll spill the beans soon though, PROMISE! :)

Peace, love & Red Beans,

~W~

Meet Mack

If you ever need cheering up, come see this happy guy, he'll have you laughing uncontrollably in seconds! He's gangly and young with energy to spare. You have to let him run wild for about 15 minutes when you first go to the back yard or dealing with him is a chore.

Mack is my favorite walking partner. He loves swimming and being scratched behind his ears. Mack is not a fan of his bark collar, but if he doesn't wear it, the neighbors will not be happy.

I sure do love my Mack-Attack!

Peace, Love & 4-legged friends,

WHIT

~Callie & Ethan~

Today I took a few photos of Callie & Ethan. They are really great "practice material" and I think we actually got several keepers!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Peace, Love & Turkey Feathers,

Whit

The way you know about a good melon....

Have you ever watched When Harry Met Sally?



If so, you'll know just what I'm talking about. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best romantic comedies ever. And my favorite thing about it is the couples who tell their "love stories" during transitions in the movie.



Here's my favorite couple's testimony from the film:

Woman: He was a head counselor at the boys' camp, and I was a head counselor at the girls' camp. And they had a social one night. And he walked across the room. I thought he was coming to talk to my friend Maxine, because people were always crossing rooms to talk to Maxine, but he was coming to talk to me. And he said -Man: I'm Ben Small of the Coney Island Smalls.
Woman: At that moment, I knew. I knew the way you know about a good melon.





"I knew the way you know about a good melon."



Kam is my melon. :)





As I watched this movie last night, I began to wonder how I would tell Kam & I's love story to our kids, even our grandkids someday.



I thought about my grandparents.

(Forgive the photo, it's a clipping from the newspaper, but they are still too cute!)

My Pa paid his county agent to go up to my Gran Gran at a horse show and ask her to go get a milkshake with him. She told the county agent if the boy wanted to take her out so bad he'd ask her himself. He did. That was over 60 years ago and they are still crazy in love.




From what I understand my NaNaw and TaTaw were a bit of a "scandal". She was from a "prominent" family and my TaTaw was from a family known for their wild nature. But she loved my TaTaw so very much. It showed in her eyes when she looked at him. I'll never forget the way she looked at him. I wish I knew more about their story, but I don't.


Then, I think about my folks.






My mom remembers my dad from playdays (horseshows). She said she remembers him harrassing his little sister in the stands and thinking how obnoxious he was being. They've been married 36 years now. And my dad still drives his sister crazy.




I think about my sister & brother-in-law.



They talked on the phone for weeks before they ever saw each other in person. She said the first time she saw him, he climbed out of his Dodge flatbed pickup with his pants tucked in his boots. He was still dirty from working cows that day. She was in love before his feet hit the pavement. They'll have been married 10 years in 2 days.

I will have to find out Kam's family's stories and share them as well. I can't imagine Dickie & Mid's (MawMaw & Pawpaw) being anything but sweet as they are some of the most wonderful, hilarious people I have ever met.

Anyway...





Kam is my melon. Our story on how we met?


He came to a party at my house with some of our mutual friends. We stayed up until daylight talking. We told each other EVERYthing. We became fast friends and soon there after we fell in love. (*a little secret...I knew I had fallen for him the second I saw him smile).





How did you meet your melon? I'd love to hear!


And if you haven't found him or her yet, here's hopin'!!




Peace, Love & Romance,


Whit

My BBFFFE

I have a best friend.


She knows the inner workings of my soul.

She accepts my faults.

She listens to me as I talk in circles for hours upon hours about nothing.

She spends half her day in a texting marathon with me.

She tells me her secrets, I tell her mine.

She's my favorite partner-in-crime.

She's my fellow Warrior Princess in God's army.

She's picked me up off the ground, I've done the same thing for her.

Sometimes I act like her mother, but sometimes she needs it.

Sometimes she has to remind me I'm not dead yet, and I always need it.

She is a free spirit.

She is opinionated, kind-hearted and beautiful through & through.

She has a wild streak about a mile wide.

She is a wonderful mommy.

She's my walking buddy.
Not much suits me better than making a g-cruise with her through P-town.

She's my hairstylist. I make her business cards.

She dog sits for me when I'm gone, I water her flowers when she's gone.

She inspires me to be the real me. I hope I inspire her as well.
She knows me & loves me anyway.

I love her even after all the strikes after the 3rd strike! (inside joke)

She is friends with my husband. I am on a mission to find her a man my husband actually likes!!
When all else fails, I know she's just a call or text away.
When all else fails, she knows I'm right here to help her through.
She's seen me at my weakest, she's defended me, she's told me to quit being stupid.

She's my scratch off ticket scratchin' buddy.
She endures trips to Hobby Lobby that last hours because she loves me.
I adore her sense of style in clothes, hair style/color & decorating.

Her son is my favorite lil chilly pepper. He melts my heart when he calls me "My Whitney".

She encourages me to live my dreams.

I cheer her on as she takes a leap of faith.

She's the one that gets all my "inside jokes".
I'm even the buffer between her and her non-date. ;)

She's my fellow lake bum.

She's my late night phone call.
She's my shoulder to cry on.

She's my happy hour honey.

And I am these things to her.

She is who I love to laugh with, smile with, dance with, sing with, share with and get in to trouble with!

I would fight for her, I have defended her. I will always be there for her.
I know I have the same from her in return.

She is my BBFFFE, (best, best friend for freakin' ever).

~I've known Miss Callie since, well, forever. I remember her blonde hair hanging underneath her cowboy hat and her chubby little cheeks smudged with dirt. This was way back before she discovered hair dye and piercings. ;) It's been a heck of a ride and I can't wait til we're the new Laurie & Dana (inside joke)!

Here's to my BBFFFE! In my book, you'll always be the best!

Peace Love & Cheers to my BBFFFE,

Whit

The link won't seem to work, but head on over to Friends You Love to check out the contest!!

The Joys & Frustrations of a Small Group Bible Study

A few months ago, the Lord laid it on my heart to start a Bible Study. I fought it and fought it. I thought "who would want to go to a bible study with me???"

I mean, I drink beer, I cuss too much, I don't pray enough, I rarely go to church...I AM a sinner, after all. But my love and faith in Jesus is strong. I know He holds me in His hands, so I fought it for a while, then decided to ask a few girls.

I know we are all sinners. And I also know how often God likes to use "unlikely sources" to lead others to Him...maybe I am one of those unlikely sources....

When I finally asked, it turned out I wasn't the only sinner wanting to try something new. We have a small group of 6, including myself. We are all in our 20's - some are mothers, some of us are married, some aren't. We're just a group of young-ISH women hoping to strengthen our relationship with God while becoming more familiar with the Bible and it's teachings.

I've really gotten to know these girls. I adore each and every one of them. BUT...I'm very frustrated.

If any of you read this...please don't get offended. My goal in this was to bring us all closer to the Lord and to each other in hopes that we could all be there for each other as it is often difficult to be a young woman in a small town full of....nastiness. BUT... I'm frustrated.


I've had to cancel our sessions several times because we are all leading very busy lives. I completely understand this, but when some of them do actually come, they don't do their lessons before hand, so I spend the entire class doing an "answer" session and we all miss out on glorious subject matter and discussion. And now, in week 6, which should have actually been week 9 and our final session on this study, only one girl showed up.

The same girl who always shows up and always does her lesson. Tonight it was just us. We covered the material and then visited about life in general. I truly think I've found an amazing girlfriend through this process, but I feel like a failure because the other ladies have withered away. I pray this study made some kind of impact on each one of them, I really do.

We have 3 more weeks before we are done. I was really hoping to do another study...we'll see. But right now, I just want to say that maybe God intended me to do this for all of us for different reasons, but I found my reason in session 5. God led me somewhere I wasn't really wanting to go and it was right where I needed to be. So no matter what happens at our weekly group nights, this has been worthwhile for me and I hope it has been for the other girls too.

If you ever want to do a women's study. I strongly suggest Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman by Beth Moore. It's pretty awesome - it'll make you want to put on your suit of armor and march in God's army as the Warrior Princess we as women of God are called to be!

Like I said though, this was not meant to rag on the girls. I adore them all. Some are old friends - dear friends and some where acquaintances I now count as good friends. This has been beneficial, I know it has. I am blessed to have been involved in this and I hope we do it again. I really do.

And now I'd like to pose one question: Why is it that when life gets busy and crazy, the first thing we seem to cut out is usually the most important? i.e. our time with God....

Peace, Love & Mustard Seeds,

Whit

Pouring my heart out....

I'm frustrated.

I have so many dreams. So much to say, so much I want to accomplish and yet I am stagnant.

Do you ever question who you are? How you do things? WHY you do things?

I have a "Bucket List".

Here's a few I have yet to accomplish and am, at this point in my life, quite afraid I will never accomplish:

1. Be a mommy.
I'm afraid I'll never be a mommy. This is something I want more than anything else in this world.

2. Own my own business.
When I went to college, I had a dream. I wanted to open my own therapuetic riding center. I volunteered all through college. It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. To see the relationship between those children and the horses was simply miraculous. To watch those kids grow physically, mentally and emotionally was a true blessing from God. After I graduated I had no money so I got a job. I live too far away and my job is too demanding to volunteer on a regular basis now, so I just stopped volunteering. I need land, gentle horses and equipment. I realize how hard it would be...I'm afraid I'm letting my dream die.

3. Live in the country AGAIN.
Again, this may not make sense to anyone, but town is KILLING me. I am not built for a city street. I'm made to be found at the end of a dirt rode, preferably a long one. If I didn't love my husband so much, I'd just take the tent and camp out somewhere far away from civilization for the rest of my life. Hey...that might be kind of fun actually! :)

4. Compile my poetry/prose.
I doubt any of it is any good, but I really think it'd be neat/healing/helpful/interesting/etc. if I could get all of it in one location - see the transitions from girl to teen to young woman. How I've changed, how I've grown. It's all in there. Love, loss, confusion, passion, sorrow - it's all in there. ~ You know, this one is very doable. Time to stop procrastinating!

5. Ride my horse every day just like I use to.
I use to ride almost every day. I covered lots of ground with a horse between my knees. It's been 9 months since I rode last. 9 months. Isn't that the saddest thing ever!?! Well...to me it is. To some, it's stupid, but to me it is extremely important. Riding helps me find myself and gets me back to ME.

6. Make a difference.
I want to make a difference. I want to help someone who truly needs helping. I want God's light to shine out from inside of me. I want to have SOULshine! Sometime I know I have it, but I want it all the time! I need to be this way all the time. I want to make a difference by being God's warrior princess just like I'm suppose to be. (If you've done the Bible Study, Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman by Beth Moore, you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't, I strongly suggest it!!!)


Most of you are probably thinking - Whitney, seriously you are only 25! You've got a lifetime to achieve your goals! But really...be honest. Once you let these things slip by, most times they are gone forever....sad, but true.

Here's hoping I make at least some of these dreams come true! (Lord willin' & the creek don't rise, of course!)

Peace, Love & Confessions,

WHIT