Brandy Day119: Strength

We all need it at one point or another, strength. Sometimes its harder than others to muster up. There are times when you don’t know where it came from but you find it and keep going. There are times when certain situations are easier to find strength than others. Regardless we have it, lose it, want it, fight it.
Strength is s big part of who I am. How I got here. Where I will end up.
Jellyfish are the oldest multi-organ animal having roamed the seas for over 500 million years. Tuna, shark, swordfish & sea turtle feed on jellyfish making them vulnerable. With no shell to protect them. No teeth. Nothing other than their stinging tentacles and strength. Strength to keep swimming and keep fighting.

Brandy Day118: South End

My love of sunsets. My love of water. My love of beautiful weather. What a beautifully, naturally framed sunset. Just complete perfection.

Chandler Day 118: Getting Ready

In about a week and a half I will be on my way to the Biggest Week in Birding which takes place up along Lake Erie and the state parks outside of Toledo. Thousands of birders from all over the U.S. and the world come to bird the marshes, woods, wetlands, and water of Northern Ohio. There is a massive Warbler and songbird migration taking place and they flock to this little area. I was lucky enough to go last year for about two days and it was amazing. This year I’ll be up there longer and I’ll be camping, so it should be very fun. I can’t wait to finish school and get up there to find some amazing birds. In the meantime I’ll be studying my field guides and planning out where all I’ll be going.

Chandler Day 117: Those Wonderful Little Butterflies

I really hope I’m not the only one that gets this feeling or thought. Have you ever just looked at your significant other? Like really looked. I do that with Hannah. It comes at the most random times. I just look at her and all I can think is “Wow.” I get those butterflies in my stomach. Like the ones when you’re nervous or like you’d get around a crush or on a first date. I know it’s only been five months. But I look at her and I think of how incredibly lucky I am to be sitting across from her, looking at her. I look at her and see an amazing person. A person with a beautiful and inspiring personality. I look at her and see how incredibly gorgeous she is. I look at her how you would look at someone beautiful that you had never seen before. I look at her and my heartbeat picks up and I smile and I have to catch my breath. I think of how lucky I am to be loved by her. I think of the very first time I saw her and how I thought I’d never stand a chance with her, and here I am, sitting across from her, taking this shot and writing these words and I couldn’t be happier. And I realize how madly in love with her I am and I just smile even more. And all these thoughts rush up from just looking at her and all I can say is “Wow!”

Chandler Day 116: Hannah & Felix

This is Baby, or Felix. His real name is Felix, but Hannah and I don’t like the name so we just call him Baby. He’s sweet but he can be a little devil too. Hannah loves the little guy though. We decided to take him outside for a little bit to enjoy the nice weather. He sat there nicely in Hannah’s lap for maybe a minute and then started squirming and trying to escape. She calmed him down and then he proceeded to give her kisses on the nose. It was pretty cute.

Brandy Day117: Going To The Chapel

What a find! This quaint chapel in Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton. I fell in love.  So simple. So beautiful.
The pews were constructed of wood salvaged from a building after September 11. The glass window over looks the ocean of the banks its built upon.
A perfect replication of a southern Baptist Church. Standing there in the church I could imagine, almost feel as if I were standing there in the 1800s. The heat. Women fanning themselves. Small chatter as the sermon goes on.

Brandy Day116: River Street

I’ve been able to give back some happiness that Lilly has shared with me over the past 7 years. Today she took her first boat ride through the Atlantic Intercoastal and into Savannah. She LOVED the ride. We had lunch on River Street and then walked around a bit seeing some of the historical markers. What a beautiful place. She was worn out. Exhausted!
This photo was taken as we headed back north, Lilly facing the Savannah bridge as the sun began to set.

Brandy Day115: Simple but Powerful

I love this. The fact that this, holding hands, such a simple action takes place still today, is beautiful. In a world where we’d rather hold our cell phone than the hand of the one we love. As cliché as it is, it still speaks volume. A simple touch, a gesture, a look, a squeeze says way more than any amount of words.
I once asked someone why they didn’t say ‘I love you’ all the time. His response, ‘After saying it all the time, after every phone call, day in and day out, it looses meaning. Wouldn’t you rather be shown than senselessly told?’
Grabbing the hand of someone you love, may just be what they need to know that everything is going to be ok. Its going to work. 

Brandy Day114: First Time For Everything!!

My munchkin and I at the beach for the first time (for her). She LOVED it!!! She rolled in the sand like she had been off earth forever hahaha then went running into the waves, biting at them, then back out to the beach and back into the water. Several times.
I knew this day was coming for months! I was excited for her. I knew it would be awesome! What I didn’t know was the joy and fulfillment I was going to get from it.
I love her more than life and seeing her so happy and have such a great time,  was such an awesome moment for me!

Brandy Day113: Windows Are Rolled Down

Windows are rolled down, sun is setting high! Driving through the mountains just outside of Knoxville.
The golden light the sun gives off as its settling into the Earth. The warm air blowing through my hair.
To sit atop one of these mountains and watch the sun melt into the valley would be absolutely breathtaking! Having your best friend by your side. I’m sure words would be said, conversations had, but also moments of silence where nothing needs to be said. Just a look, a touch, that moment. That’s pure happiness, pure perfection, pure love.