light and love

A few days ago, my friend April brought her family over to mi casa for a photo shoot with her family.  Until she mentioned it, I never really thought of my place as an adequate location for a full shoot.  Come to think of it, though, the number one thing I look for in a location is great light.  And my house has it!  For the entire shoot we used natural light streaming in from the windows.  No overhead lights necessary.  It was a dreary, rainy day, but it doesn't matter at my house.  It's always super bright.  It's one of the reasons I really love the Barker house. :)

Here's a shot from the session with no light adjustments made in photoshop.  I love the soft light...and I love that little squishy in the picture, too. :)

To see more of this adorable family session, visit my other blog!

emotion to action

I've been reading comments on facebook and on my other blog about my trip to Ghana.  First of all, if you are one of the people who left a comment - thank you!  It is really wonderful to hear that my images and stories have helped some of you connect with what is happening over in Ghana.  

I have been back for a little over two weeks now, but I have to tell you.  Part of my heart is still there.  I pray for the ones left behind every day.  I pray for the 8 rescued boys every day.  I pray for Jake and Chanda who are living there for a year.  Every.  Day.  Sometimes I think, "why couldn't I have stayed just a little longer, God?".  But then I'm reminded of what I felt like God spoke to me on the plane ride home.  The only reason I want to stay is so that I can get hugs from those boys every morning.  I can't offer them food or clothing while I'm there.  I couldn't give them the education they need.  So really, my wanting to stay is selfish.  Ouch.  I can do SO MUCH MORE from here.  I can make money to help support my family and donate to The Father's House.  I can gather needed materials that aren't available in Ghana.  I can raise awareness with blog posts (hint hint) so that my readers can donate as well.  :)

If you have commented on one of my posts, or wanted to and didn't, I'm talking to you right now.  If you cried over the images of the boys in the lake or were moved emotionally by my story, I'm talking to you.  Even if you were the one who cringed a bit when I started talking about child slaves in Africa and quickly changed the subject - I'm talking to you.  All of that emotion, whether positive or negative, was God-given for a purpose.  It's purpose?  In this case, I believe it is conviction.  But how much emotion will it take for us to step into action?

One more story. :)  I heard a Christian singer say on the radio recently that he was praying deeply about the Nashville flood victims of this past year.  He prayed that the Lord would send people to help and that people would be generous with their money.  Then he heard God pretty much say back "aren't you people?".  So he kept praying, but he also gave 'til it hurt and got his hands dirty in the rehabilitation of Nashville.  Awesome, right?

This is a call to pray, and to continue to pray, for the children of Lake Volta and for The Father's House.  But just like that Christian singer, it is also a call to put your money where your mouth is and help sponsor a child.  Some of you have already done what you can.  Thank you!!!!  Some of you just cringed at the word "money".  I totally get it and I'll be the first to say that is sometimes my first response as well when asked for money for anything.  But that "cringe" emotion could just be conviction and I dare you to talk to God about that!  I am not, and will never be a salesperson, so I don't want to shove this down your throats.  But this is too important for me to shut up about.  Someone has to speak for those children.  Please pray and consider giving to the Father's House. 

You can give to this amazing cause by going to the Father's House website. :)  You can also support the cause by attending Ghana Rock!  Tickets will sell fast, so make sure to grab yours while you can!

Goals for 2011

If you haven't noticed, home improvements have pretty much come to a complete halt at the Barker house.  There are a few reasons for that.  Money and time.  But I am determined to change all of that once my wedding season kicks off!  Yes, I'll still have no time but at least I'll have the extra cash flow!  Ehh, I can sleep in November. :)

Here's a list of things I'd love to accomplish in 2011:

1.  Wainscoting.  I'm thinking around the back of the kitchen island, through our long hallway and maybe even on a floor to ceiling focal point in the master bedroom.  Depends how ambitious I get. (Image below from Centsational Girl blog)

2.  Garage door.  I think this is super important since it is the part of the house that is closest to the street.  Adding windows will make a huge difference in that dark garage as well!

3.  Outdoor lighting.  What we have now is the definition of builder grade.  A quick change to something fun like this will boost curb appeal, I'm sure!

4.  Learn to sew.  It's my new year's resolution.  Two years ago, my mom bought me a sewing machine (or at least gave me the dough to buy my own) for Christmas.  I have yet to do anything with it.  If you know someone who likes to teach people how to sew in exchange for pretty pictures let me know! :)

5.  The foyer.  We have the world's largest foyer for a house under 2,000 square feet, so it needs to be addressed.  I'm thinking a built in bookshelf on the right with crown molding and lots of drawers on the bottom for extra storage.  On the left, an old church pew or fancy bench like the one pictured below.  The perfect spot for getting shoes on/off, right?  I'm super excited about this one!

6.  Pendant lighting.  The current lights over the island make me want to gag every time I look at them.  The glass actually has petal patterns on it.  As soon as our budget allows, those babies are coming down!!!  I doubt we'll go with something as industrial as these for re-sale purposes but a girl can dream can't she?

7. Paint the front door.  I'd love to go with a funky color like one of these, but our HOA would skin me alive.  Something eggplant might just squeak by as acceptable, though.

There you have it.  Well, most of it.  I have a few more projects up my sleeves, but a girl's gotta have some mystery to her life, right? ;)

Somebody else loves yellow and grey :)

The ladies over at Decor8 just posted a lovely color inspiration piece on my all-time FAVorite color combination.  Here's a sneak peek from the post, but for the whole delicious set, check out the blog here.

back from Africa!

Yeah, I pretty much disappeared.  Sorry about that!  I've been editing images from my recent trip to Africa and kind of lost touch with reality.  I'll have the full post ready soon, but here's one picture to tide you over until then.

I know, I know.  I'm such a tease. :)