Just As I Am.....

Who am I?

I am a Christian. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am an aunt. I am a friend. I am a photographer. These are just a few of the "I am's" about me. Hmmmmmm……. But, is that really JUST all I am. No! It's not. Lately, I have come to realize that those are only a few of the titles I wear. The greatest Hymnal of all time, Amazing Grace, says, "I once was lost; now I'm found…" That has been me. I have been lost in my titles. Now, I AM found. Sure, I am Jason's wife; Abbey and Morgan's mom; Julie's sister; my parents daughter; a friend to my friends and an aunt to my nieces and nephew, and much more. Knowing those things, does it REALLY tell you who I am?

Do you know that I love to laugh? It's my most favorite thing to do. Laughter is truly the best medicine. "Laugh and the whole world laughs with you." Have you ever tried to laugh while you're angry, mad, upset, frustrated, etc… Try it! You CAN'T. It's impossible to laugh and still feel those "bad" emotions. I AM a person who can find humor in almost any given situation. If not, I will try to search for it. I love to tell jokes, even if I screw up the punch line most of the time. I love to laugh; and, I love to make others laugh! There isn’t a more beautiful sound as that of laughter. Laughing has a way of making you feel better about yourself and life. Basically, I AM a goofball. I like to have fun and laugh while doing it.

Do you know that I am actually fairly intelligent? If not, don't feel bad. I didn't either. LOL. What makes me intelligent? It's not the knowledge I have that makes me intelligent. It's the stuff I don't know and my willingness to learn about it. If I don't know the answer, I'm not afraid to ask. I am smart enough to know what I know and I have the wisdom to know the difference. I just love learning. Simple as that. Therefore, I AM a student of life.

Do you know that I am fiercely competitive, almost to a fault? I've never allowed failure to be an option for me. However, I often, fail anyway. I realize now that failure and mistakes are both part of life's great lessons.

Do you know that I have a rebellious spirit? Ask my parents and my husband. They can testify to that one. (LMAO. My husband read this as I typed it. His reaction was, "HELL YEAH you are!") I wish I could argue differently and say he is wrong. But, I can't.

Do you know that I am an adrenaline junkie? I like to take risks in life. I do have limitations now. However, even with those limitations, I will still live on the edge as much as I can. Otherwise, life would be boring.

Do you know that I am a perfectionist? My family lovingly tells me I'm OCD. LOL. They're probably close to right. I am my own worse critic. I expect nothing less than perfection. That has been a great quality to have in life. Its also been a hindrance as well. I expect too much from myself. If I see that I can't do something perfectly, I, too often, will choose not to do it at all.

Do you know that I am in love with love? I love being in love. I love showing others love. I love that I have more than one love IN my life. To love with your heart and be loved is to be richly blessed.

Do you know I'm not perfect? Although there are a few in my life that think I am. Or, maybe, they think I'm perfect JUST AS I AM. I struggle each day with seeing what they see in me. Maybe, someday, I will.

Here's a few more just for fun do you knows about me. I drive to fast. I talk to much. I should've been a gypsy with my love of travel. I sing to loud and off key most of the time. I care to deeply at times. I cry at sad movies sometimes too. I am very passionate. I can argue until the cows come home. I am deeply spiritual. I am fairly social and shy all at the same time. And the list goes on and on with both the good qualities and the bad.

These are just a few things about who I am. I'll add more later. Now that you know a little more about me, I want to know more about each of you and not just the titles you wear.

A Picture A Day Challenge

A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. - Ansel Adams

I have been challenged to take at least one picture every day for a year. And, I've accepted the challenge. I think it's going to be fun, and cause me to stop and think outside the box. The rules are simple. All you have to do is take just one picture every day. And, post it. We can post them to Facebook so we can see each other's progress. That is the challenge. The picture can be of any subject. Doesn't matter what. No professional camera or experience needed.
Why did I accept this challenge? Simple. Photography is a passion of mine. But, that passion has been slipping lately. There have been times that I didn't want to get the camera out of the bag. Sad huh? Who would have ever thought I would feel that way??? I decided to accept this challenge because I want that passion back. I want to forget the camera's settings; stop worrying about the scene and composure. I want to remember the excitement I feel when I hear the sound of the shutter as the picture is snapped. Ahhh! Music to my ears. I want to remember the simple JOY of taking a picture and viewing my world through the lens. Not caring if it comes out a little blurry, to dark, to light, or has to much noise. I might even learn how to shoot only in AUTO again for a change. LOL. Yes, it's been awhile. And, I'm going to challenge myself to think outside the box on what I photograph.
I would love for everyone to join me in this challenge. This is also a great project to get your kids involved with. I love giving my kids a camera. I get to see the world through their eyes when I look at their pictures. They often see things that I would miss. So, join me and let's have some fun with this!
Now, on to part 2. And, just when you thought you were getting off easy. LOL. For all of my scrapbooking friends, and others who would like to join us, I'm adding an additional part to the challenge. Get those tools ready. I'm challenging us to create a scrapbook dedicated to this challenge. The only pictures allowed in it are the photo a day pictures. Keep it simple. Tell the story behind the photograph. Why did you choose that subject? What were you feeling when you took it? You get the idea.
So, to all my photography and scrapbooking friends, specifically: Sara, Sonya, Whitney, Missi, Michelle, Cici, Tamara, Krystal, Melissa, Jane, and Tonya, I'm asking you all to join me in this challenge. It should be a lot of fun! Anyone else that wants to do this with us is more than welcome. You can follow me with this challenge by viewing my album Fritts 365 on Facebook. I'll have it ready when I post the first picture. Let me know if you are going to be joining me. The official start date will be July 1st.
Now, get those camera's ready and start SHOOTING!

Happy Father's Day!

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."  ~Clarence Budington Kelland

I consider myself to be very blessed. Growing up, I had several strong male role models in my life. And, for that I am thankful. I think every little girl needs that. Through those male role models in their lives, they learn a multitude of things, strength, courage, faith, hard work, etc… They also learn how a man should treat, love and respect her. They give her the self confidence to not accept anything less. For me, I was blessed with 4 great male role models, my dad, my 2 step dads, and my grandfather. All 4 have taught me so much in life. And, for them, I am grateful. My grandfather is no longer with me. I still miss him every day. The gifts he taught me are kindness and compassion. He was the most compassionate man I ever knew. And from watching him, I learned to have compassion for others. My dad, well what can I say about my dad. He's nuts! But, in a good way. My dad is one of the funniest men I know. Through him, I've learned to find the humor in life; that laughter is the best medicine. I've learned not to take myself too serious. Other lesson's I learned from him is perseverance and patience. The most important lesson my dad taught me was to always have faith in Christ. My 1st step dad is the strongest and most intelligent man I know. Through him, I learned strength. I learned that knowledge truly is the key factor. He instilled a deep, lifelong, love of learning in me. I still love to be challenged with learning new things every day. My mother remarried 18 years ago; giving me a 4th strong male role model. He, too, is a lot like my grand father. He has the kindest and gentlest heart of any man I know. He has taught me the true meaning of the spirit of giving. He always gives of himself to anybody, regardless of the limitations placed on him. I am choosing to spend this Father's Day with him. His health is failing. And, my fear is that this could very well be the last one I spend with him. I pray that it isn't. Either way, I'll spend it with him and tell him how much I love him and all that he has meant to my life. There are many other lessons in life that I learned from them. But, I'm writing a blog, not a novel. The most important lessons all 4 have taught me is to love myself, love life, and to forgive. All 4 have kept me on that proverbial pedestal and given me their unconditional love, even when I made life a little tough on them at times. No matter what I did, they always loved me and forgave me. It's unfortunate that so many little girls go through life without a good, strong male role model. Me? I was blessed with 4 great ones! Because of them, I have never accepted anything less from a man than his absolute best. I've never let a man mistreat me. My 4 role models taught me that I deserved better than that. Now, I enjoy watching my girls learn these same lessons from their father, grandfather's, and uncles. They, too, are like me. They have been richly blessed with a lot of strong males in their lives. For that, I am tremendously thankful to each of you and all that you are in their lives. So, to all of the Father's in my life, my husband, father, step-father's, brother's-in-laws, uncle, and friends, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Thank you all for playing such an important role in all of our lives. I love you all!

A Blog Is Born....

When I looked into starting a blog, I did so with the intent of creating a blog to update everyone on our experiences with homeschooling Morgan. The more thought I put into it, the more stressed I became, specifically, the title and the description. As hard as I tried, nothing was coming to me. My next thought was to create a title about photography. What a perfect title for a blog written by me, right?! Yet, another road block. I skipped ahead and focused on topics I might want to blog about. Each topic was centered around things I am passionate about. Then, a very close and dear friend of mine asked me if I considered myself to be a woman of faith. My answer, of course, was yes. Easy answer, right? At that time, I thought it was a very simple question with an obvious answer. That question stuck with me. Am I a woman of faith? If so, faith in what? We use the word faith, usually in reference to our faith in God. My answer is YES. I do have faith in Him! But, what else do I have faith in? With that one simple question, this blog was born. I want to write about my passions, things closest to my heart, my thoughts, my life; and, what I DO have faith in, as well as what I struggle with. Once the direction was clear, all I lacked was the title. One of my favorite Contemporary Christian songs today is "And, Now My Lifesong Sings," by Casting Crowns. If you haven't heard it already, LISTEN to it. After much thought, I decided that song would be the perfect title for MY blog. The words in this blog are just that, My Lifesongs. Music is and always has been a passion of mine. More so, the lyrics and what the writer is saying. Every song written has a meaning behind it. My hope is that this blog will be the lyrics of my life song. I invite you to follow along and let my life songs sing to you…

**My daughter, Morgan, has a bracelet that reads, "Take it in - Live it out." That's how a life song is written; by taking life in - and living it out.