Rainy Day

I've always loved a good thunderstorm. Growing up in Texas we got them all the time... they are more rare here in Connecticut, though. We get rain, but not always a good ole fashioned thunderstorm. Last night, however, we did! Adam doesn't share my love of storms because he's always nervous the digital cable is going to get knocked out! And I certainly do not mean to imply any insensitivity to those who have been hurt or have property damaged by a storm, but I just have many fond memories of my mom, dad, sister and I sitting in lawn chairs in the garage with the door opened and watching the rain fall, feeling the shake of the thunder and watching the lightening brighten up the sky. It was always awe-inspiring. And in the summer, they were frequent, so we'd end up watching the storms come in and out all the time. I even remember seeing the sky go green one time... a very cloudy, greenish hue when we were under a tornado warning.

It's raining now this morning... and I love it. I don't like rain causing a bad hair day, but I do love the rain. I find something comforting about it. Oddly enough, I love the picture of a storm being powerful and fierce and feeling a sense of the "unknown" about how long it will last, how strong it will be... but regardless, I want to be in the middle of it. Well, not literally standing in the middle of it, but instead looking out a big window at the wonder of it all.

I was thinking about that this morning. How much I really enjoy a good storm. I don't like them to cause any harm to anyone or anything, but I have grown up really appreciating the intensity they bring, and no matter how intense they are always followed by stillness and calm... even sunshine. I'm sure the irony is as obvious to you as it became to me this morning. I am in the middle of a storm. Adam and I both are. But we're not just looking out a big window, we are physically, emotionally, and spiritually in the middle of it. It's powerful, fierce, and we do not know how long it will last. But of all the actual storms I've witnessed in my life, even the ones that caused my sister and I to crawl in a bathtub with pillows over our head in case the tornado came our way.... every single one of them came to an end. Some of them ended just as quickly as they started. Some lasted a little longer. But all of them passed. The lightening went away. The winds were still. The thunder was silenced. And the clouds gave way to the sun....

____________________________________________

As I mentioned yesterday, Ethan and I were able to have a "Mommy and Me" portrait session and some individual shots of Ethan, on Tuesday of this week. It was an unexpectedly wonderful gift and when I went to pick up the pictures yesterday evening, I was in tears as I saw each of the photos. I hugged the staff at MotoPhoto and cried my gratitude to them. I immediately went to buy frames and my husband and I found the perfect wall in our home for them! In all my excitement, of course I had to hang them immediately! I took a picture of the pictures with my digital camera to try and post them here for you to see. The last 2 pictures are ones I took in the studio. The first is the Disney "wall of fame" (well, half of the wall) that each child's picture gets placed who are entered into the contest I mentioned yesterday. And then there's a close up of just Ethan's picture on that wall. Talk about a proud moment!