Photographs

It's been a rougher couple of days, but my whole perspective changed after a tour of Wynnewood and Family Pathways yesterday with a prospective donor. I had never been to either ministry, and I tagged along to learn and see. Wynnewood is a large community center in a South Dallas apt complex where the average family annual income is $13,000. They have a food pantry, a recording studio (incentive for teens with good grades), a game room, library, after-school program, youth leadership council, karate classes, kids choir, stomp team, tutoring, counseling, domestic violence center with emergency safehouses, senior ministry (Club 55!), and have recently started a church. They are saints, and they are saving families through the power of Christ.

At Family Pathways, moms can live for almost no rent in a safe place while they are full-time students and also have full-time jobs. This mom I met, she drops off kids at three different schools, goes to school all day herself, picks up kids at three schools, spends 1 hour with her kids making dinner, goes to work 6-10, then comes home at 10:30 to start her homework, bed at 2, wake up at 6, do it again. Every day.

My definition of 'having problems' needs a daily shake-up of reality, as does my justification for feeling sorry for myself, ever.

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The rest of this post is random photographs that captured me this week, from all over, and have been swirling around in my mind ever since.
This dining room reminds me so much of Kennedy and Plu.
And this one of Anne and Ivy.
And this one of SatPack and Mel- "I like to live in a chaos of color", right?
I've discovered the Life photo archive (www.google.com/images) and love the old photos of Dallas.

This photo is from over 50 years ago. Having recently been in India, I can tell you nothing has changed for most everyday people there.

A gentle-lady reading a British newspaper over tea during WWI.

Billy Graham, in the 50's.

Parisiennes.

I could hardly believe this one. This is the Apollo 13 crew getting ready for take-off. My family's favorite movie is Apollo 13, and this looks exactly like the scene in the movie.

70's, reading in a park. This looks like it could have come straight out of my dad's high school yearbook.

Getting ready for a ball in the 40's. Love that gorgeous chandellier.

Next, a few that aren't old at all...

Olivia, the cutest flower girl that ever was, hanging out with my ShiTzu Sam on my wedding day.

And now my Dauschund, Libby:)

This one of my brother Matt is just for fun, courtesy of his girlfriend Kelsey. Matt is a Marine stationed in Cuba, and they love Skype.