One Year Later!

August 14th 2007 was a big day for me. I was in Hood River/Mosier, i went to Mikes ice cream TWICE, and i also fell off The Pocket. The Pocket is a totally safe and fun way to beat the heat of August... you go, you jump, you enjoy the feeling of cold water all around you... and then you do it again! I never really got to do any of that on that crazy Tuesday last year... because i got really nervous... and instead of jumping confidently and embracing the scariness of the 30ft (approx.) leap... i hesitated and fell... tumbling down, hitting some rocks half way down and landing in the water head first... not so fun. My favorite line of the day was this, "what hurts?" well pretty much everything for the first 30 seconds... and then nothing.... except for my left foot when i bend it a certain way. 24 hours later i discovered i had a broken 3rd Metatarsal. After 6 weeks in a foot brace, a few weeks of crutches, and some great nicknames I was back to my normal self!

One Year Later I am in awe of all the things God has done in my life. That crazy Tuesday seems like lifetimes away, but at the same time the details will forever be etched in my memory. In order to commemorate such a fine milstone, i made a trip back to Hood River/Mosier and had a BLAST with my "family" (Dunagans and CCHR). To them;

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT THIS LAST YEAR!!! YOU ALL MEAN SO MUCH TO ME! I'M SO GLAD I WAS WITH YOU WHEN THIS SCARY DAY HAPPENED AND I'M SO BLESSED BY ALL THE LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT YOU SO FREELY GAVE ME ALONG THE WAY!!! I LOOK FORWARD TO MANY MORE VISITS TO MIKE'S AND AWESOME ''POCKET'' MEMORIES!

and now for the pictures....

I went to Mike's Ice Cream... twice =)

I went back to The Pocket.....

This is looking over the cliff from where i fell.
These are my feet hanging over the edge...
The cliff towering over me...
Happy One Year Later!

Check out my blog post from last september to see the diagram and pictures of the bruised foot!

Bread of Life #1

I love the word of God. The B-I-B-L-E yes! that's the book for me!!!! so i've decided that periodically in the next little i will have "the bread of life" moments on here... All it is, is the Word. Nothing long and super spiritual. Just the Word. Because there is POWER in it. Sometimes the world(and the church) don't need our ramblings about how we feel about a certain verse or chapter, we just need the verse or chapter. Let's take a break and just enjoy the Word, just like we would a really good meal. One of those meals that makes you sit back and slouch a little while you enjoy the after taste and full feeling.

~
Proverbs 13:12
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life."

thoughts from the road.

I like to drive. It just one of those random facts about who i am. I also happen to drive a lot. I bought my lovely Honda Passport on February 14th 2007(happy valentines day to me!) and it had approx. 89,000 miles on it. Today it has over 117,500... that's over 28,000 miles in about a year and a half! most of those mile spent by myself!!! I love long road trips, i love short-ish road trips, i like to drive. I like to think, laugh, listen, pray, dance, and sing while i drive. Yes, i did say dance. Ask Heidi... i can bust some rad moves while driving. I also like seeing things that make me laugh out loud, even though no one is around to hear it. for example but not limited to:

1. road names such as: Tweed Rd. Sagebrush Way. Bodacious Drive. and of course all the Market roads in Bend.

2. a cow. one, not two, not three. One random cow on the mountain pass.

3. motorcyclist with a helmet, but no face shield... I imagine small insects flying at your face at 55mph would not feel so good.

4. better yet, motorcyclist wearing a helmet, but a tank top and ripped jeans. Yes, his head will be saved, however the rest of his body will be shredded to pieces, if he happened into a wreck.

5. girl in bikini on the side of the road... standing on a snow bank attempting pictures under a waterfall. Can anyone say Hypothermia?

and last but not least

#6. woman standing on the side of the road wearing a sparkling(think tap dancing) hat, black t-shirt with an open back, holding a cardboard sign that says this, "$179,000 Waller Road." Did i mention that the lettering was glitter-paint? I'm not sure if she was trying to sell the road or house on the road..... hmmm not sure.

I also have become a fan of photography-while driving. It's a new art. The key is to keep watching where you are driving and just point the camera in the direction of the object you desire to capture and see what happens for example:

the small print says, "not a swear word."

ok so it's to small to read, but we've all seen the signs, "DEER"
and in small print "NEXT 3 MILES"
Will someone please explain to me how the deer instinctively know not to go further than 3 miles down this stretch of highway for fear of losing their life? Because for some reason, i don't see Bambi and his mom having this conversation;

Bambi, "Hey mom, can me and thumper go play chicken with those roaring, colorful, rather fast moving animals?"
Mama Dow, "Ok Babmi, you can go explore the wild and exciting road, where the automobiles play, but only within these 3 miles, because this is where they know and have been informed that we are. So beyond the 3 mile mark, they won't be thinking or looking out for us there. Please be careful. But have fun!"

Road Trip anyone?

Pancakes Anyone?

This is the coolest pancake i have ever seen in my entire life. Yes, it is a Frog Prince. Yes it is all one piece, and yes i did eat it. It was also very Yummy. Thank you Mr. Gilstrap!!!! My life is now closer to being complete, because i have experienced the world famous Gilstrap Frog Prince Pancake!!!!!

seriously people. Show me a cooler pancake, i dare you...

In response

The following is a response to a friends blog titled big faith by my dear friend Ann Dunagan. Thanks for the inspiration
---- --- ----
What a beautiful picture of faith. I am learning right now how to handle my faith, it's delicate like a flower, powerful like a lion, passionate like a dance and at times as confusing as a maze. What does one do when they have passion/vision/dreams/prophetic moments yet they are like that picture of the girl with the rock? TOO big for me to figure out and 'make' happen. Often too big for many to understand or see. What then.... then i must stir up my faith and cry out to the One who gave them to me in the first place... and then stand in FAITH believing He does indeed have a PERFECT PLAN that reaches beyond this moment, this week or even this life; His plan reaches into eternity. And so i stand in Faith. Sometimes my hands are lifted in worship, sometimes the standing turns into kneeling/crying out in prayer and sometimes i just sit in a silent moment and try not to think about it or figure it out.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1

We have all heard this verse in sermons, videos, plays... in the bible reading about a month ago. But when we stop to think about it here are the 2 things that come to mind;

#1- faith is a big deal and hard to wrap my head around.
#2- faith goes right along with Hope, and hope is something i can understand and wrap my head around. Hope is something we all have and hold onto. Hope is what the world needs. Hope is the message that makes sense to a world lost in darkness.

and my hope is found in NOTHING less than Jesus blood and righteousness.

uh oh i LOVE that hymn... i could go on for hours... but i'll leave it at that.

thoughts? words of wisdom?

Summer Camp 2008

The Westside-rs

These 5 girls are AMAZING!

This is me on the last day... not sure why my smile is so big?!?!
We were getting ready to come HOME!

We were a little "mis-informed" about dress-up night

Jenine got the memo...

The Black Hole

Gross games....

This is Casey.
The goal was to get the most Cheetos to stick to the face full of whip cream.

Jenine was in a race to see who could eat half a watermelon faster...

That's the basics folks. We had a great time. Lots of craziness. Lots of God moments. Beautiful Sunsets. Amazing People. And if you ever wondered when the line,
"when heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss"
was going to show up during worship... it has arrived! Not kidding.
more stories to come!

NEW PHOTOGRPAHY BLOG~

check it out....

http://justsmilesphotography.wordpress.com/

it's still in the works, but i think overall it's going to be better and easier for people to actually see a lot of my photography in one place!!!!

hooray!

J&J July 5th 2008

Check out my photography blog for more pics...

Part of my weekend up in WA was capturing moments for Jordan and Jen Williams on their Big Day!

so close!

We almost had all the Diacogiannis Kiddos in the same place at the same time... Carissa is still in Argentina and Jeremiah had a work meeting... but here's the rest of us....

L-R= Ben,  Josiah,  Gregg,  Elijah,  Josh, Rachel, Hosanna, Me, Sarah, Jacob and Lindsey! 

morning sounds..

Beep. this morning i woke up to a text message. i glanced more at the time than the text itself. 9:07.

9:07? for real?

I have been at my parents house for a long weekend and every morning except today i have woken up to the sound of one of my little siblings whispering in my ear.... everyday much earlier than 9:07. As i lay in bed, the sun broke through the red curtains with all the power it could muster, I could hear the birds outside and the quiet hum of the ceiling fan in the living room. I couldn't hear ANY people sounds. I wanted to hope that perhaps they had all slept in, but i knew that they had all gone to bed hours before me and my silence would soon be broken. I grabbed the comforter and pulled it over my head, hoping for a few more moments of sleep. Sure enough the door flew open and i could hear a little person approaching the bed. "cassie?" came the whisper... and then a second little person entered the room, "rachel! come back down stairs, cassie is sleepin'." I rolled over and produced the evidence that i was indeed awake; my half-smile half-yawn, the messing pile of hair and my squeaky voice, "good morning girls." Sarah and Rachel both looked at me, not sure if they had just woken me up, or if i had been awake under there. They starred at me for a moment and both hurried back out of the room and down stairs. I climbed out of bed and went to see where all the other little ones were...

as i walked down the stairs i heard the washing-machine spinning someone's laundry, the shower had just been turned off, and a chorus of little voices was drifting out from underneath the door of "the boys" room. I opened the door slowly and peaked in... six little heads turned to stare. "We're playin' UNO." "what's for breakfast?" "Are you leavin' today?" "Josiah's being rude." and "i want waffles" are just a few of the phrases that turned my half-asleep self into wide awake big sister.

I tried to answer all the questions as i backed out of the room and heading back of the stairs. The pitter-patter of little feet followed me. I told them i needed to shower and then i would figure out breakfast.(i can't function with out a shower and moments to pray about my day) I hadn't even had a chance to brush my hair when the pounding started on bedroom door. "He said i have to eat waffles and i want pancakes." "can we buy syrup?" "let's take a vote."

I got them going on breakfast and escaped for the office to check email and blog updates. I listened as they helped each other set the table and pour the batter. "it's hot, so be careful." "can you get me the plates?" "i want waffles and pancakes" "are the strawberries frozen?"

in a few hours i will be heading back to Bend. I will wake up tomorrow morning in my own house, with my phone vibrating the time, the sun shining through the black curtains and the sounds of the neighbors sprinklers starting off the day. I will lay there and wonder how the weekend went so fast and if all the pictures turned out good. The silence will be loud in my ear and i will turn on my itunes to break things up while i start my day.

The morning sounds are so different here and there. Here life is so evident by the sounds. There i might not have a conversation with another human until 10 or 11. Here "cassie" is as common in my ear as "pink? or No pink?" there.

11:01.

I glance at the clock and the office has now been invaded by 3 little ones. They all want to ask me something... Here i go to answer the morning sounds.

Sun, Boats, Wakes, Sets, Lightning!

Yesterday was a day for the books or blogs... or something! I went boating at Lake Billy Chinook with some great friends. We all enjoyed a full day of sun-bathing, wake-boarding, swimming, waterfall-gazing and eating junk food!!! i'll let the pics tell the rest of the stories!

let's start with these amazing people. this is Eric and Lindsay.

Dane started the wake-boarding off nicely...

Then Nicolette...

And then it was my turn... now please be gracious with my form and lack of trickery. This was the first time i have tried to wake board in 5 years!
I got up!!!!After my last run, my arms and legs were so tired i could hardly climb back in the boat... I collapsed on the back, still smiling, but totally drained of all energy. PS- i am feeling it today!

Tara was a pro...

Then came Eric. Perhaps it was because i have only seen this sort of thing in my imagination...or perhaps it was the fact that i am still learning... or maybe it was due to my lack of wake-boarding knowledge... it doesn't really matter. Eric is a Master of the wake. check it;

Not sure if you can tell, but Eric is jumping the logs...

Like i said... Eric is the wake Master!
I LOVE WATERFALLS!!!! so needless to say my heart was dancing when we came around the corner to this lovely view...
We set anchor and made the trek up to the fall... it was SO beautiful, however i couldn't bring my camera, because of the swim to get to shore... bum deal.

"my" Jenna Kay and me... lovin the summer sun...
it was hot...

incredible view of the mountain...
Note to all my Washington friends and family; Please inform me if i am incorrect, but i have never seen anything like this in any lake in WA EVER! This my friends is a "lake potty" if you will. Basically a floating metal box that you can pull up to and answer nature's call.
I was pretty content with my day when we returned to Bend. I had successfully wake-boarded. My tan was darker and in some places red-er. The lake was beautiful, the mountain and waterfall made me just want to do nothing but live in a tent all summer. Hanging out with quality people all day was a huge blessing and i so i was satisfied with my June 28th. I didn't really think it could get better yet it did... x2!!! Please enjoy this sunset;

I couldn't get any great pics, but after the sun went down the lightning came out to play...and play it did.. for over 2 hours!!! It was better than the Fourth of July. No rain. I couldn't hear the thunder. Just light. Bright white bolts, breaking the darkness in half!!! Amazing.
Of course the lightning reminded me of one of my favorite Psalms...

Psalm 97:1-6

The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.

Like i said.. it was a day for the books.. or in this case the blogs. Thanks for all the fun memories, all who were there. And all who were not... let's make sure the summer doesn't end without lots more boating blogs and pics, stories and laughs!!!!