annie groves

photo of the week {foto fifty weeks 16 & 17}

anniegroves — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:48:16 +0000

Apparently you need to renew domain names. My bad. Apologies for the site being down for a bit. In an effort to play catch up, here are the last two weeks of foto fifty:

Week 16 {lined up}

Week 17 {our life}

To see what the other ladies put, check out our flickr group!

photo of the week {foto fifty week 15 – imperfect}

anniegroves — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:11:17 +0000

Ah geez what a theme! I spent the whole week looking at my house, snapping pictures of the mess we make of our living space each day. Of the laundry that never. ends. (and rarely gets put away).

Of wall sockets that still need covers and chipped paint and dirty floors. Of the house that will never ever be pinterest perfect.

But at the last second, I decided to change my focus.

I’ve been thinking about character a lot lately. How we work through our imperfections and try really hard to be on our best behavior with each other and with God, and how none of that really works because God never asked us to “try harder.” Character building is much more in the surrender. In the offering of our broken, messy selves to the Only one who makes us whole.

And then I started thinking about dishwashers.

Every married couple works through domestic issues during their first year of marriage. Ours was the dishwasher. He was meticulous about the way it was loaded. She could care less.

I didn’t know it was possible to have hurt feelings over dishwashers, but somehow we managed. It was the first opportunity for mutual submission – and really, the beginning of surrendering to God the imperfect pieces of ourselves that Jesus needed to redeem.

These days, our dishwasher looks like a little bit of her and a little bit of him.

As always – please check out our Foto Fifty group on flickr: Foto Fifty

sweet, sweet melia jean.

anniegroves — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:46:21 +0000

baby girl,

you are a toothless, crawling JOY.

we can’t get over how utterly happy you are, 99% of the time.

almost 9 months old little one!

photo of the week {foto fifty week 14 – dream} + a few more photos

anniegroves — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:27:10 +0000

We are a dreaming family. The whole bunch of us.

My brother came for a quick visit this past week, and because we’ve been itching to GO… we went.

The Oregon coast is a haven for dreams.

I snapped this image on our drive home, from the backseat of our car. We eventually pulled over to take more photos, but the sun dipped just so the rays had disappeared. I chose this image, blurry fence and telephone lines included, because I do my best dreaming in the car. My favorite getaways usually include a window and God’s great beauty. I think sometimes God’s best work in me also takes place when I’m wearing a seat belt.

For fun, I’ve included a few more photos from our coastal trip!

photo of the week {foto fifty week 13 – Real Beauty}

anniegroves — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:42:51 +0000

Real Beauty is bold and brave and uninhibited.

It says yes to clashing colors, confident grins, and singing at the top of your lungs.

Why is it we tend to lose a bit of this inner gift as we grow older?

welcome bloom.

anniegroves — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:49:35 +0000

Just this morning rain splashed hard on asphalt as cars drive on roads familiar to wet.

The sun erases morning rain like memories in distant past.

Flowers scale tree branches and Oregon awakes to spring.

photo of the week x 3 {foto fifty weeks 10-12}

anniegroves — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:14:38 +0000

My apologies.

We’ve been busy – the good kind – over here in our pocket of Oregon. Claire turned THREE (which deserves a post), I sold a lens, bought a new one, had it shipped to Arizona because my brain has left my body, re-ordered it on over to its rightful owner, and have only just now been able to take pictures for Foto Fifty. Let’s be honest. I love me a 50mm 1.4 lens. My wide angle lens is nice, but it just doesn’t work quite as magically as the 50 for me.

Anywho.

Here are some catch up photos for our fun project. You can catch a peek at the other ladies over here: Foto Fifty

Week 10 {matching}

Week 11 {sleep}

Week 12 {everyday}

photo of the week {foto fifty week 9 – bedtime routine}

anniegroves — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:34:11 +0000

We aren’t much in the way of consistent bedtime routines.

Depending on the night, we may or may not take baths, and we may or may not read a story.

The one consistent ritual we have, however, is our goodnight routine.

We say our prayers, take turns snuggling each girl, and sing three or four songs before lights out (usually Amazing Grace, the Hawaiian & English Doxology, Jesus Loves Me, and wouldn’t you know – Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer).

photo of the week {foto fifty week 8 – STORY}

anniegroves — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 23:50:49 +0000

Life IS story. We are all part of a greater story, and we each live our own stories.

JD and I want to live a good story. We want to teach our kids about living a good story.

Story is why JD pastors and why I pastor with him and why I take pictures and write and why we live in community. Story is why we believe in hospitality and trusting God with everything we know and have. Story is why we open our home to kids once a week, with food and laughter. It’s why we gather on Monday nights with 80 + teens and sing and dress crazy. It’s why I stood in front of 600 teens at 5 months pregnant with one of our teen girls and danced hula as part of a talent show.

Our Story is HIS story.

This week I had the opportunity to witness a birth (a story just beginning), take my middle daughter to breakfast, watch the sisters read and dance and laugh and make believe, dance in the kitchen with my husband, and have coffee with leaders. All of it could have been a picture worth posting this week.

Instead, I chose a picture form our Young Life banquet last night. I was asked to photograph the event, and as always, viewing life from behind a lens gets my wheels turning and all I could think about was STORY.

We do Young Life because we believe in a good story.

Pictured here is JD’s Young Life leader and Keizer’s former Area Director, Jeramy Williams. Without his influence, JD wouldn’t be the man he is today. I’m thankful for his part in JD’s story.

On the widescreen is one of our students.

In front of hundreds of people, he is telling his story.

And it’s a good one.

sunshine and coffee

anniegroves — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:00:13 +0000

mama, want to take me to school today?

yes love, where shall we go to breakfast?

STARBUCKS!!!!!!

Done.

Mama look at this face!

I can’t stop staring.

Can we drive through the country today? The sun is shining.

Of course.

It’s been awhile since I’ve taken this one on a date. She lasted 20 minutes, but it was perfect.