3.six.FIVE.

my oh my.  what a year.  I can't believe that I'm done.  and I was ready with the picture by 4 pm today but I wanted to make this more than just a picture.  if I were to capture any year, I'm glad it was this one...so many things occurred in my life:

-greatest trip of my life to ireland, scotland, and england
-I crossed something off my bucket list : visiting stonehenge
-two of my best friends got married
-two of my best friends had babies (different friends)
-the first part of the last harry potter movie was released...can't wait for july!
-I rode the hogwarts express
-I attended my share of festivals
-my wyldlife kids are moving onto highschool
-I choreographed the greatest dance of my career...go dolls!
-I went to nine shows of the broadway variety
-imago dei church moved into its new home
-imago dei members moved to hondurus and I became closer to them then ever
-mhs basketball made history going to super-sectionals
-one of my best friends got baptized
-I moved out of my parents house and into my first on-my-own apartment
-my car got destroyed and then got fixed
-an 18 year old wonderful girl became one of my best friends
-I fell in love with the city of peoria
-I got sick...a lot
-I had the best trip to michigan that I can remember
-I made lots of new friends
-I officially became a stalker
-I started my own business

YOW.  crazy, huh?  what a year to capture!!  and here are some interesting stats for you, here are my photos, somewhat categorized:

nature: 34
feet: 10
lights: 11
people: 62
animals: 12
signs: 5
food/drink: 31
the sky: 28
reflections: 6
buildings/barns: 40
roads: 17
water: 7
festivals: 3

interesting, no?  and here's your final stat.  I thought it'd be interesting to try and figure out just how many pictures I took this year.  of course this is a rough estimate, there were so many deleted and discarded along the way.  my biggest month was july with 2,405 pictures...wanna hear the grand total??

15,266 pictures in 365 days.  holy crapballs.

my camera has been through the ringer!

and now to today's picture...

I was panicking.  I couldn't think of anything grand and glorious enough to encompass this journey.  but then I thought back...its never been about that, its about me and my camera and finding beauty in the simple pleasures of everyday life.  then I had a talk with some best friends of mine:) and they helped my mind go in the right direction.  so here it is...a conclusion to an epic journey...of a girl...and her camera.

heart of it all.

I didn't notice til right now, but that camera is right at the spot where my heart is...my heart is even racing faster as I type this and tears are coming to my eyes.  I can't believe its over but it truly was a piece of my heart to share with the world.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  what a blessing from God.  I have a new journey in mind so keep your eye out for that update on facebook.

what a great way to end this chapter.