Lee Dee

Leah is my sister.

She is six years younger than me. 

She's beautiful, funny, artistic, creative, and the most honest person I have ever known in my 20 years of life. 

She is a born again christian.

I love everything about her, from random moments of thought to the way she makes me want to be a better sister. 

I love the long talks we have when she is needing advice.

It's funny and ironic when she brings me a problem that I went through when I was younger. 

I love having sisters. They are my best friends and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world!

xo

Love you Leah!! 

<3

Photographer at Work :)

I want to live like that

This week I got to thinking about life and death. 

I thought about the legacy of a person, the pain of loss, and the moving on afterwards. 

I thought about all the people who have impacted my life, then were gone in the blink of an eye. 

James 4:14 says this:

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

I thought about how what happens on this earth before we die and how it impacts the way we die and also the people who are in our little worlds.

My aunt said the other day, 

"It's interesting how when people find out they are dying, that's when they decide to finally start living."

Here's a crazy thing though. What if we started living BEFORE something drastic had to happen?  What if we realized how precious life was and lived every day like it was our last? Maybe you already do this. Or maybe you have never thought of that before. 

It's something I want to strive to do daily. I don't know the day I'm going to die. It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be 50 years from now! It doesn't matter to me though if I die today or tomorrow; I am not afraid to die. What I want though, is to live my life for Christ, recklessly abandoned like many amazing people that have lived before me. 

Jim Elliot

Nate Saint

Julie Kurrle

Joshua Eddy

Corrie Ten Boom

David Livingstone

Hudson Taylor

William Borden

Amy Carmichael

Living for Christ is the only thing that matters. Living a full and glorious life for him. 

If you don't know Jesus Christ, the first thing I ask you to do is find a Bible and start reading it. I hope he grabs a hold of your heart and shows you what it really means to live.

My desire is that you come to know Jesus, and to live your life with no regrets, a reflection of God's amazing love.

<3

(If you would like learn more about the amazing people I have listed above, please feel free to copy & paste their names in a search box!)

‎"I want to show the world the love You gave for me 
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King 

I want to live like that 
And give it all I have 
So that everything I say and do 
Points to You
If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that."

-Sidewalk Prophets

Andrew

You've seen tons of photos of baby Sawyer. You've seen his chubby cheeks, blonde hair and blue eyes. You've noticed his cuteness... :)

....and how much I love him!

What you might not have known was that he has a contrast. 

His older brother Andrew.

Seven years of puppy dog brown eyes, thick brown hair and an adorable personality to go with. He told me that the girls at school thinks he looks like Justin Bieber. (totally adorable!)

Whether we are watching Spongebob while Sawyer is sleeping, or playing baseball outside, we have a good time.

I'm glad to be his cousin and favorite babysitter. 

I love you Drew-boy!

xo

Andrew and his many faces; he's showing off his fun personality.

He is no Fool!!

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

                                                                          -Jim Elliot

Dear Sawyer

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”

-Winnie the Pooh

I loved getting to spend the week with you, baby boy. :) We had so much fun together! Your new obsession is cars so I bought you some at the store when we were shopping. You hugged them tight and giggled and yelled "car!" every five minutes.  You love being outside, swinging, going on walks and just taking a drive in my car; all things we did together this week. I missed you Thursday morning when you had to go home.I know that you miss your mommy and daddy though!

I love you Soy.

xo

Jor-Jor

Summer has begun!

Never in my life can I remember liking summer so much.

Normally summer is my least favorite season. I dread the long days, weather so hot I sweat even walking out the door, and cars with no air conditioning.
This year though, I've never loved the thought of summer more.
It's probably, mostly because I'm older now and can appreciate it in a different way.

Like the fact that I can take my favorite baby boy swimming.

photo credit goes to my sister Leah.
Then am I Strong (Leah's blog)

Or trips to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis with friends.

The fact that I got a new Fisheye lens. (Yay!!!)
10mm f/2.8

Maybe it was the excitement of starting Weight Watchers & a new exercise routine this month. (Walked 2.5 miles today and felt GREAT afterwards!)

healthy eating....mini bagel, fruit smoothie and coffee

Maybe it's because my cousin is getting married next summer and she asked me to take her wedding photos.
Oh, and her engagement photos which I took last Saturday!
(shhhh....no one is supposed to see this yet!)

I'm sure it's all of those things and so much more. The older I get, the more I appreciate and understand the things God has given me or placed in my life.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
James 4:14

Dear Sawyer

"Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved."

-Winnie the Pooh

I love you.

<3

Jor-Jor

That Day

When sadness comes to tear
Me all apart
Torrents of ran begin to wear
Down my heavy heart

I know that I am safe and sound
But my heart is in a greater trouble
Sadness, greif, & hurt all around
Threaten to break down and turn my heart to rubble.

I know that someday it will all be okay
But now, the future is uncertain
The things they will say
Will become to my heart a curtain

When I look back on this
Years and years away
I know that I will not miss
The greif and sadness of that day.

-Jordan Eaks
5/5/2012
12:17 pm

and then i loved them

I looked him in the eye demanding a straight up answer.

"Well," I finally said, "Did you?"

He gulped and looked away avoiding my eyes. This wasn't right. I shouldn't even have to ask him this. My heart felt like it was going to explode and I knew I couldn't take it much longer if he didn't answer.

"You are a coward." I whispered as tears began sliding down my cheeks. 

I kept watching him, hoping that he would answer. Praying that he would. 

His silence was all I needed to know that it was true.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

*and then i loved them is a series of stories written and published on the blog thetreessinghispraises.blogspot.com by Jordan Eaks Copyright 2012*