happy T H A N K S G I V I N G 2016

 i am THANKFUL for...

(in 2 minutes or less...ready...set...GO!!!)

1. Jesus' unconditional love for me 2.my incredible husband and kids 3.Tuesday night sleepovers with mom and our Wednesday's together 4. lifelong friendships that grow deeper each day 5.the way my heart dances when I hear my daughter's laugh 6. long chats and laughs with my oldest son 7. that far away look in my younger son's eyes when he's making magic on his guitar  8. my husband's hilarious e-mails...such a funny guy 9.watching and playing volleyball 10. soft sheets and a warm bed to sleep in 11.my hubbie's warm feet when i sneak late into bed 12.long walks in the woods or by the river 13.the sound of water...rushing, crashing, trickling, splashing, lapping, rippling 14.morning mochas on the front porch listening to the birds or the rain, or the silence 15. good health to enjoy this life 16. our worship times at church...just gives me goosebumps to enjoy God's presence in this way 17. writing in my journal or re-reading old ones 18. favourite authors...books, words, poetry 19. watching my kids hug and laugh with one another 20. morning prayers all huddled in a hug at the front door 21.my sister and brother 22. car rides in the malibu with the whole family and the top down 23. scented candles and long baths with a breeze blowing in the window 24. soft jazz  on the piano or saxophone ...and big band music 25. impromptu parties with great friends and delicious food 26. everything artistic...i love when creativity just spills out and you can't do anything but surrender to it all 27. the respect my family shows one another...what a gift 28. times out on the boat with friends and family 29. long hugs...especially from husband and kids...the kind I have to reach up for now! 30.capturing magic with my camera 31. keeping gratitude lists around the house so that I can add to them any time I like....and then re-reading them

and so on, and so on, and so on....

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends this weekend. May your own list of thankfulness grow throughout this coming year...and may your heart lean closer into the One from whom all blessings flow.

xxoo

~melody~

P.S. Come join me over on instagram:  whisperingsoulstreams  and take a moment to spread the love by clicking on the "share" link below.  

words and images © Melody Armstrong 2016

quiet autumn mornings

:: 

wishing you

a few quiet moments 

to be still

and let childlike wonder

at all autumn's offerings

surprise and delight you

and warm you right through

::

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2016

the first day of fall

"What I mean by the first day of fall is that day when you suddenly understand with your whole body that the season has changed.  When the air feels snappier against your skin and the sky's blueness turns wistful, and the humming of insects shifts pitch, and you just know like you know your own name that summer is over."(Marisa de los Santos in Belong To Me) 

how is it possible

that the first day of fall

has come and gone?

I find myself

clinging to the hope

that fall will linger 

that sunlight

will still find leaves on trees

to bath in 

glistening gold

i catch myself

calling "noooooo"

to the wind

as I watch leaves whirling 

tumbling

lifting into the air

and away

leaving trees

a little 

less 

clothed

every day.

words and images (unless otherwise cited) © copyright Melody Armstrong 2016

things i love about fall

i love...

1. a mix of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg & crabapples bubbling on the stove. 2.long walks in the nearby woods 3.picking crabapples 4. kicking piles of leaves into the air and watching sunlight catch them on the way down 5.lingering rays of sun on the front porch 6.being enraptured by fall's beauty through the lens  

7. long walks with people i love 8.  making jelly and apple butter 9. soft worn-out blue jeans and brown boots 10.cool, fresh air infusing our bedroom while we sleep  

11. out-door parties around the fire pit and homemade pizzas bubbling in the pizza oven 

12.ginger squash soup simmering 13.volleyball start-up  14. back-to-school pics on the front step 15. snuggling up to my husband under our feather duvet 16. savouring that "new beginning" feeling 17. watching kids with basketballs, volleyballs & skateboards on the driveway  18. sunflowers smiling against blue sky backdrop

 19. cool,damp mornings hugging and praying and waving at the doors 20. low golden sunlight streaming 21. geese splashing wildly in the river as they take off into flight 22. crunchy leaves under my feet 23. favourite wool hats  24. saving seed pods for next spring 25. cozying up in front of the fireplace

that's me...now what about you?

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2016

art on a rainy day

there is something

rather dreamy

about a lazy rainy
day
to play

...when all the elements come together into

something wonderful....

for a lovely friend who wanted some blue.....


words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2016

waking in winter

There was another amazing sunrise this morning.  (Is it really the third day in a row that I've barely made lunches in time because I'm too busy taking photos out on the snowy deck in bare feet??)

Another moment to draw in a breath of pure wonder.  And exhale thanks.

What a crazy gift it is that morning after morning, the blazing skies draw our gaze upwards,  urging us to see past the circumstances that squeeze in so tightly, and fix our eyes on the expansive possibilities beyond our yesterday.  Each fresh wash of color and light across the canvas sky comes with a promise that new beginnings are possible again, even today. 

Each morning masterpiece offers a glimpse of the numinous in the ordinary.

It's so much more than my mind can comprehend, but my heart response is effortless.  

It instinctively knows to stop and oooooo and ahhhhhhh and call everyone's attention....it knows to give praise to the Promise-Maker, the one who paints the sky to remind us when we forget.

When my sister arrived at my house this morning, I just knew she would have seen it too.  And sure enough, I couldn't help but laugh a little when she exclaimed that the sky was so beautiful it brought tears to her eyes.  

She thinks He did it just for her.

words and images © copyright melody armstrong 2016

feeling blue...and loving it

some shots from my lving room and the old & new blue accents that I’m loving

images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2014