Week 1: Challenge 2018 Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!!

Here we are going out early for New Year's Eve!  Are tradition is to eat early and get home before all the crazies get out and watch the shows and ball drop.  As my Mom says, Ginger always looks good in her hats!  Let's face it she looks good no matter what she wears!  Every time I look at her I have to pinch myself, I have a really beautiful wife!  We had an opportunity today (Sunday) to fill in for good friends of ours that have greeting duty at church.  Talk about a flash back.  That is how I met Ginger, greeting (except it wasn't at church it was at Celebrate Recovery).  We had a lot of fun and it was fun to remember that 10 1/2 years ago our journey together began and we have grown closer and deeper in love.  I can still make her laugh (which is how I captured her heart if anyone is wondering the secret) and we can still talk about anything.  And my heart, well, it still skips a beat when I see her.

So Sophie our lil sugarfoot (Ginger's nickname for our little one) is adjusting nicely.  She is still being a little puppy, she plays hard and she sleeps hard as well:

Here is her little bed.  Her Christmas present (that green toy) is Rudy the Reindeer.  That is her favorite toy.  She loves to grab onto it and be dragged around the floor.  It really is cute to watch.  That is Gingerbread boy in the back, another favorite.  And her other present her big stuffed bone!  I'm not sure where Mr. Squirrel was, probably sleeping on it.  She has taken over our hallway, which is where she spends most of her time.  It is long so she can play fetch with anything at hand, including shoes!  Her favorite spot is still on Ginger's pillow or lap, though sometimes she'll crawl up on Dad's lap as well!  I still come home at lunch, get down on the floor and let her kiss my face and then take a quick shot for Ginger at work. 

So I am indeed starting another 52 week challenge.  I enjoyed going back through the last two years of challenges and seeing the progress and creativity that came from my work.  And it keeps me plugged in not only to my camera but to my blog and all of you.  As I write this I am listening to a favorite Christian band of mine, Thousand Foot Crutch.  Untraveled Road is playing now and one of my favorite lyrics in the song is "...light shines better in the dark."  And these challenges are like that, untraveled roads.  I do not have a plan other than a picture a week.  I let my creativity dictate what the picture will be.  Interestingly I can look at each years challenges and know where my mood was at at the time.  And sometimes those pictures come from dark places but that is so that light can be shined on the subject.  This year continue to expect hearing about Ginger's adventures in bipolar, my walk with sobriety and depression, more posts about our love and devotion to each other and God, our adventures with Sophie and of course photos.

Thank you to all of you who support us in our walk and journey.  We are blessed beyond measure to have dear friends, neighbors and family.  I pray this is a good year for all!


So here is the official week one photo.  A little sparkling apple cider, candles and of course our fairie lights throughout the house.  Happy New Year everyone!

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