It was an early Sunday morning in January when I crawled out of bed at 6:30 am. Normally, I would not arise at such an hour as it is warm and comfy under the covers. However, this particular morning everyone had already left for church. Yes, serving in church requires getting there early but that could be another blog. I figured if everyone else was up, I might as well get up too and get with my day. As I headed downstairs to let the dogs out, I noticed this gorgeous sunrise.

Excited that I decided to crawl out of bed, I headed back upstairs in order to dress more appropriately for the extremely cold weather. I layered my clothing and grabbed my boots. Checking my phone for the hour of sunrise (7:09 am), I hurried to gather both my coat and camera gear in order to capture what I was hoping to be an amazing sunrise; my first documented sunrise for 2015. While I love to watch the sunrise, I do not like getting up in the cold, dark winter hours in order to see it. I would rather wait until the sun is up and then arise to enjoy my hot cup of java.

I walked around exploring different spots to capture the sun’s wake-up call.

I love watching the sun as it begins to present itself.




The sun came up pretty quickly giving nature a kiss of golden colors.

Once the sun provided more lighting, I focused on the frozen river.



Frozen and ready for a hot cup of coffee to warm my icicles called fingers, I felt satisfaction for venturing out to document such a gorgeous, winter morning. God has given us beautiful things in life to enjoy, like a simple sunrise. Take time to appreciate and notice the little things in life He has given you.