What a week. I learned that a missionary friend, age 30, in Uganda was killed in auto accident and one of my former students father, age 52, died from a massive stroke. What a week.

Today was the memorial service for Nicks father. Nick was one of those students I worked with who either was going to be a minister or in prison. I know, I sat in court with him one time. However, prison was not where Nick would end up. There is a God... He is alive.

Seeing Nick today made me feel proud of what this young man has accomplished. However, today, he would bury his father. Fifty-two is to young. It breaks my heart that Nick will be married in 3 weeks and his father will not be there.

Nicks father was an awesome man. I heard it from many.

It made me think. Listening to Nick speak about his father, hearing co-workers sharing about Dale and his employee of the month award which he received for the month of January 2007. All stories of a man who cared for others, laughed and loved life. It made me think...

What will my children say about me? Who will share at my memorial the life they saw me live? How do I live as seen from others? Do I know? Could I stand up and say a few words myself? (of course if I did that would be freaky but pretty cool).

All I know is... There is no promise of tomorrow on this earth. I'm not even guaranteed today but I do have an eternity. What will I leave my family, my friends to hold on to until we meet again? Again? What a blessed thought. Until we meet again.

I hope my legacy is a life of Grace received by a Father who rescued me. He came looking for me when I was hurt and alone.

I'm not sure what I'll leave behind, or what people will think, but I hope it was a message of salvation that lives beyond this lowly shadowland.

peace.
johno~

Just an update on our storm situation... The storm front was "deflated" and our "2nd" wind storm turned into a breeze storm. A true blessing. There are still around 7000 families without power. Many have loss and some lack insurance. I came across this terrible scene... A single mom and her daughter went shopping... when they returned home they found their car destroyed. When I spoke to her she had already been without power for 24 hours. It was warmer outside than in her house, she told me.

It's amazing. May none of us ever forget how a life can be changed in a moments notice.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.

For those of you who have been praying for my friend Nir and his daughter... Thank you. I have to say I misread what had happened to Tamar, Nir's daughter. Today, however, she was in her second major surgery for her ankle which was the only thing physically injured in her accident.

Lift her up today, please. Ask God to give her a strong spirit and a body which heals quickly. It is a true blessing she is surrounded by a family who loves her.

If you live in the NW, you might have been a part of the major storm that moved through on Sunday. Here in Central Washington, we had the worst storm since I've been here.

Wind gust up to 73 MPH for 7 hours. As I drove around today, I thought I was back in Louisiana doing Katrina relief work. I have never seen so many trees and fences blown away.

Our home is surrounded by 7 larger trees of which 7 still stand. Amazing. Many others didn't fare so well. Thank you Lord for protecting our home.

We received another report that a similar storm will be here tomorrow. We are stocking water and getting out the candles. Large parts of the city are without power. Again, I'm blessed to be writing this. After the storm, tempatures are said to be dropping low into the single digits. Not good for those of us who rely on electric for our heat. (Note to self... get blankets ready.)

I've included a few shots from my outing today. Most of these shots are from a park near by where I take the kids. Looks like there will be little shade this summer. It's terrible to see so many wonderful large trees destroyed.

Keep us in your prayers.

peace.

An entire year has passed and I have arrived at the end of my photo-a-week project. I can say it's been a lot of fun and it has been a real pain. Sometimes the photos came early... other times, late Saturday night. Yet, 52 photos have come to an end and it really has been a blessing. I've been able to see things in a way I've not seen in the past. Now, everything is a photo captured in my mind with or without a camera. It's amazing the things you see when you look.

I think that's why I love photography... Seeing things differently. Many people walk past the photos I take and never see what's right there in front of them. Sometimes it's grand... sometimes it's humble, but, it's always there. Funny, sometimes people can look at the same thing I'm looking at and not see what I see. I guess many of my pictures are a glimpse into my mind.

So what's next? After seeing my friend Jason Hill's picture of the day for December, I thought, "I can do a picture-a-day for a year." My wife was nice enough to remind me of my schedule and how I don't deal with failure very well. Sooooo, I suppose I'll take another shot at the 52 picture project again... And one other photo project.

"photo 52 people"

I'm not sure how this will work yet... a project that will grow on it's own I'm sure. I can see the 52 people project using the talents of several other photographers I know... Jason, Nir, Allan, Dustin, Cody and a few others. We will see. They may not want to participate... But I'm sure it would be fun.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to another year of life... God willing, it will be great.

peace.
johno~

P.S. To those with an active prayer list:
Please add to your prayer Tamar Alon who was in a motor bike accident this last week. She is the daughter of my dear friends Nir and Dorit Alon who live in Jerusalem, Israel.

I pray the this time of the year you are reminded of all the TRUE blessings you have.

peace.
johno~

Well, I'm having a fun time in my little home studio... our dining room. I have to thank my friend Jason Hill for pointing me to this site Stobist. My lighting skill are challenged because my studio is small... It's small, really small, but it works.

Mondays are my day off and so I usually get some time to play around and wouldn't you know it, I have my own models. However, today came at a $2 per kid per hour rate. I think I'm in the hole. Anyway, Dawnette, unfortunately, works on Monday. I guess it good, it gets her out of the house because it gives her a chance for "grown-up" talk and I get the kids. She does get to keep Adam, at least for now. All I can say is, "look out Adam, the "studio" is waiting for you."

So here are some of my shots of the kids taken today. I know, I know, no shots of Adam, but remember, he was with Dawnette and I'm in charge of dinner for Mondays and so the dining room had to be back in order before Dawnette and Adam came home.













OK... I couldn't leave Adam out... Here's a shot taken in the "downstairs" studio about a week ago.



So, for friends and family, so that you know, all is well and we are blessed... Happy holidays.

peace.
johno~

First off, my apologies to everyone waiting to hear how things are going with Adam. I am very thankful for your prayers and thoughts.

Adam is doing very well. At his last appointment he weighted in at 13 lbs. and 15 oz. That's only one ounce off from the target weight set one month ago by the Doctor. This is a wonderful thing. We are blessed.

However, we have been blessed, even without Adams weight gain. God is not a God who blesses only in the good but may also bless in the bad. Without this difficult time, we would have never known how blessed we are with so many friends around us... Even our dear friends in Jerusalem. Thank you Nir.

Since October 31st, this has been our families life:

Adam - Weight loss
Hannah - Shingles
Miriam - Chicken Pox
Caleb - Croup
Adam - Chicken Pox
Dawnette and Adam to see GG in California
Miriam - Fever
Caleb - Fever
Johnathan - Cold
Dawnette - Cold
Hannah - Fever
Johnathan - Cold and youth retreat

That pretty much brings everyone up to date.

CONFESSION:
I have felt a bit lazy or un-motivated to write... This is due to the blog post that almost "killed" me. After Adams last check up, many of you may have been surprised by the short post updating Adams situation. Well, I had written a long thought out post which was lost when I hit spell check. I was bummed. I had really poured myself out and of course had no more energy to re-write it. So I am saving this as I go... Don't want to drop off the world of Blog for another 30 plus days.

I wish I could say I've not been on for a while because, "I've been saving the world" but, alas, it's just not been that exciting.

It's a wonderful time of the year. My Photo of the month project is coming to an end... Only 3 photos left. What a challenge. I thought about doing a photo a day, however, my wife thinks that's a bit much. We'll see what comes about.

I'm glad to be back and want to wish everyone the best.

peace.
johno~

P.S. Thanks Jeb for bringing it up to an even number 4.