see things... like treasures abounding

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so, you may have noticed... i changed my blog banner again. i wanted to do something a little more designerly, playing with type and photography and my love for both. i simply took a few photos -- two from my recent trip to florida, and one from my '09 trip -- and pasted them into the words "see things".

my blog name is still "it's just how i see things". but this time, i really wanted the words "see things" to stand out -- almost on its own -- sort of as an admonishment or encouragement or prompt to others and myself. SEE THINGS! do it!

sometimes i forget to. i get caught up in the "to do's" or worries of life. trust me... this whole time i have not been blogging, i've still been seeing things, and i don't mean in the "imaginary people-sized talking rabbits named harvey" sense of seeing things. i just mean, i'm still always looking around, looking at the details, looking for beauty or the interesting everywhere i go... whether i'm holding a camera or not. in fact, i'm constantly taking pictures with my mind, even if i don't take them with my camera.

anyway, goodbye old banner {above } -- so different from this new one, but i'm ready for a big change -- and hello new banner! welcome to summer and color and new life here on this blog.

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and speaking of seeing things, i was reminded by today's shutter sisters post about one of the reasons i am a photographer... i love to seek, see and capture life's little treasures. go read the post when you can if you have not already. it's a really good one!

and here is a little glimpse of something i treasure immensely in my life...

i actually took this photo a while ago, but had not necessarily planned on putting it on flickr or my blog, i just wanted a record of the little glass ornament that my husband and i always hide from each other for fun.

i don't know how or why it started, but one day, one of us decided to hide it for the other to find just to be cute... to give a little unexpected surprise when the cupboard was opened. then the finder reciprocated. then it became a game and a challenge to find creative, hard-to-find places to hide it. back and forth... when one of us found it, it was our turn to hide it for the other. sometimes it would be months before one of us found the other's hiding place. but what delight it is every time i discover his most recent hiding place. i'm like a kid again.

and when it's missing, i'm constantly asking him, "where's the ducky?" in my little kid voice. i've put it in his suitcase or overnight bag when he goes out of town. he has hidden it in my stack of bills, knowing it will be quite a long time before i find it there {wink }. those are just a couple of many, many examples.

we just have a lot of fun with it. it's been going on for about three years. maybe just our little way of adding whimsy to our lives until we are blessed with the children we desire to have... practicing for when we do get to have them.

the whimsy and joy this little game brings is itself a treasure, which makes the little glass duck something i'll always treasure. but it's also the added meaning that has come about that i treasure the most. you see... some days, i find this little duck when i absolutely needed it the most. on difficult days. on days filled with worry or anxiety about the hardships life sometimes brings. on days where i'm not feeling adequate. and every time, that little duck is a reminder of how good life is, how blessed i am to have a playful and caring husband.

and like today's shutter sisters post mentioned, it's often the little things that can be treasures... it even mentioned "the note your husband left on the dining room table for you before he left for work". in my case, it's the desk where the computer is that my hubby leaves me notes. the most recent one... the one i am looking at while i type {as it's perched in my little vintage flower frog holder that holds keepsakes }. it says,

"morning monkey. have a good day. remember to get out! don't worry so much about money, neighbors, etc. we're on our way! love you. ~me"

oh, how i treasure that note and others like it... the little things. him... the big things.

a few bible verses that i grew up hearing or seeing quite often are matthew 6:19-21, which says,

"do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." {ESV }

about the things i want to treasure in my life while i walk upon this earth... i want them to be small {or great }, immaterial, meaningful things. not the things you can't take with you anyway. but the small gifts that serve as reminders of the good things God wants to bless me with. so when i speak of treasures, don't get me wrong. i don't mean earthly treasures {though i often find myself wanting those things, too }. does that make sense? i hope so.

well, regardless, i hope you are finding treasures all around you today. if you're looking, you'll find they're EVERYWHERE!

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{thanks to all who have stopped by and said hello. in my mind, i'm still not back to blogging regularly. it probably seems like i am, because i've posted three days in a row. but i still have much to take care of in the coming days... but i just could not resist writing about this little duck, as i have been wanting to for quite a while. hoping you are all well and enjoying your summer... or whatever season it is where you are. big hugs!}