Show Us Your Life

so this week over at Kelly's Korner, the theme is Show Us Your Wedding Party. So here's my girls:



And the guys:



It was so cold! We got married November 13, 2004. Fall is my favorite time of year. That week it had been in the 70's until the day of our wedding when it was like in the 50s! Very chilly! We had an extremely cheap wedding which was awesome! One of my bridesmaid's grandmother got us the church for free, catered food at cost, and coordinated the wedding! She was amazing! Our photographer cancelled 3 days before the wedding (I think this is why I'm so passionate about wedding photography now) so we scrambled and BEGGED my boss at the time to take the photos. They turned out just fine for her first wedding and no preparation!

Here's my favorite picture of the two of us:



And almost 5 years later we're still going strong! Now we've just got to add some babies to the mix! :)

Exciting News

So it looks like vacation is back on! Yippee! In 13 days I should be at the beach! This makes me so happy!!!!
School starts back for me August 17, so I desperately need to chill out for a few days!
Life is about to get crazy! I'm working full time and taking 4 classes Mon-Thu. At least this semester I am not taking any Saturday classes.
Weekends will be all mine.

So I have found this fabulous site that you must check out if you are looking for more blogs to follow. You can click here. As of right now there are 685 blogs to choose from! And you can sort by key words or categories! I am so excited by this!
I know what I'm doing tonight!!!!

They Came. They Fought. They Lost.

Oh my goodness, what a night this was! The boys were pumped and ready to go.....that is until the pizza came out. The pictures don't really do justice as to just how big this pizza was. According to the waitress, 2 slices were the equivalent of a 16" pizza!!! AND that's as far as they made it. 2 slices each. BUT apparently that's about where most of the competetors give up. So they weren't failures! The pizza place has been open for 2 and a half years and only had 2 winners.....so this is quite the competition. Apparently the winners were doctors who trained for 4 months! Chris and Ronnie trained for like 3 days!!!
Needless to say, they were both miserable. The thing is covered in meat. The boys said the grease is what got them. Ronnie held his last slice in his hand for 15 minutes before deciding it was over. They just couldn't go any further.
Even though they didn't win, it was a lot of fun! AND the food is very tasty!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

My Dear Hubby...

...is at it again! He's always up to something wild and crazy. Well tonight, he and his buddy Ronnie are attacking this:


That would be the Carnivore Challenge at Big Pie in the Sky. It's 11 pounds, 30 inches and covered in meat. 2 people have 1 hour to eat it all and they win $250.

This should be interesting. I'll definitely post pictures tomorrow!

My 100th Post!!!

I've finally reached 100! And thanks to everyone for joining me for my blogging journey! So today, I have lots to cram in. Over at Kelly's Corner today's theme is Show Us Your Wedding Dress! Soooooo....here's a couple of pictures of mine:



Now on to something new. I wanted to share a little about me! You should blog a little about you too!
So here it goes:

Random Things About ME

*I am turning 26 in September.
*I will have been married 5 years in November. What a journey it's been!
*I hate vegetables. I really want to like them, but they make me gag.
*I am a starchatarian - my own diagnosis. I only like starches!
*I hate fakeness!
*I have horrible allergies and swell up like a blow fish when I mow grass.
*I am allergic to cats, yet I have always had one.
*I can't dance, but I really, really, really want to learn.
*One of my dreams was to dance to "Sway" by Dean Martin at our wedding. Instead we had no dancing! ;)
*My biggest fear is my house catching on fire while I'm in the shower and having to run outside naked.
*I am currently still in school trying to finish my degree in Middle Grades Education. However, my passion and dream in life is to make photography a full time job.
*My school mascot is an owl. We used to be called the Hooters. You can see why they changed it to Fighting Owls.
*I have never been to a college football game. Actually I've never been to a NFL game either. Hmm..got to get on that.
*My dream vacation would be a tour of Europe. I just can't get enough of it!
*I hate conflicts!
*I love the smell of fresh cut grass!
*I'm related to Jesse James - the bank robber!

I guess that's enough for now.

Happy Friday everyone!!!! Enjoy your weekend!

Goodbye My Little Girl

So today was an extremely traumatic day for Chris and I. Our kitty baby Gracie had a heart attack and died today. It all happened very suddenly.
See we have a routine every morning where she gets in the bed with me and loves on me when the alarm goes off. She did that today. She loved on Chris this morning. And then while we were getting ready, she laid down and died in the living room. As we were leaving this morning I found her. It was terrible!!!!

Did you know they have animal ambulances? Well we found that today. The kitty ambulance came and took her to get cremated. We're meeting the guy tonight to pick up her ashes.

This is especially hard because there was no warning and she was our first kitty as a married couple. She was my baby. I was literally the only person she loved.

So yes, this was a very sad day. Now we have to get used to her not being there.
Definitely not looking forward to going home tonight.

Change of Plans

Well, we didn't exactly make it to the beach. See working in ministry is all about meeting needs and compromising and sacrificing to meet those needs. We've had a bit of an emergency at church the last week. So Chris stepped up to meet the need we have for Vacation Bible School which started yesterday. We were able to get another adult to take the students to camp and we'll just reschedule our vacation. It's really no big deal....as long as I see the beach before summer is over! :)
The word of the week:
F.L.E.X.I.B.L.E.

So hopefully in a couple more weeks we'll be sitting on the beach under an umbrella!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

This Time Next Week.....

....I will be lounging my happy self on the white sandy beaches of Destin, FL!!!!! oh my goodness, I just can't wait.
This is happiness:


Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Chris and I are heading to Florida next week with a couple of students from church in hand. We're going to student camp! But the fabulous part is that there is several hours of free time per day! So I figure a couple of days Chris and the boys can do boy things and I will play on the beach!

5 more days, but who's counting?

Getting Real

Ok, so this post may be a little heavy. Consider yourself warned.
You see, I've really been struggling with a few things lately. I think I've mentioned in a few of my previous posts that I am frustrated with where I am in life. It was really funny a couple of weeks ago - I was praying and I told God that even though I wasn't where I wanted to be, I knew I was where He had me and I was ok with that. Ha! So the next morning I get a call from a friend telling me she's pregnant! Real quick I realized what a test that was. God was seeing if I really meant that. And after a day of crying about it, I do mean it.

Here's the deal. I'm just not doing enough for God. Now that may sound odd to some, but let me explain.
Our pastor has been preaching the last couple of weeks on time, talents, and treasures. One thing he keeps asking is "Does your life represent how big our God is?"
Wow. Slap me in the face!

Here's the problem. It's so easy to get caught up in the mundane tasks of every day life. How do you live life to the fullest each day? I honestly don't know the answer to that.
How can I sit in my cubicle for 8 hours and live it up? Maybe I'm just not being creative enough.

See God's plan for me started way before I was born. And the circumstances I have been through were not just for kicks. Obviously I went through them for a reason. Yes to make me stronger, but for what?

I'm truly sick of living a normal life. God didn't call for us to be normal. We are supposed to live a life that is evidently different and there are so many areas that mine is not different.

How do I get there?

I desperately want my life to reflect the hugeness of our God. He is so extraordinary and amazing - how can I mirror that? I want to reach people for Him. I want to tell people that there is so much more to this life than the mundane 8-5 job. There is a God who is waiting for each of us and who wants to love us like no other. Every day I am so amazed by who HE is and amazed that HE chose me. That He loves me despite all my shortcomings. That HE has a plan for ME. No matter how small I think I am, HE has made a way for me to be a part of HIS ultimate plan.
How amazing is that?
He knows my name.
He knows my every thought.
And the best part is that HE cares.

There is no other god in all of history that cared for his people and came to save them. That amazes me. It amazes me how much proof there is of this amazing God I serve everywhere I look.

So my question is - How do I reflect that? How do I live a life that is worthy of the calling He has for me?

What A Weekend!

Wow! I am exhausted!!!
So as I mentioned in my last post, Heather and I went downtown to take a few photos. Then I came home, cleaned, and had our first dinner party at our new apartment! It was soo much fun! Well Chris and I didn't make it to bed until around 2am. Now for those of you who know me, my bedtime is 10:30 at the very latest! I can't help it! I've always been the one to fall asleep first! :)

Well for the 4th, we headed up to Lake Blue Ridge in the mountains to spend the day at the lake with Chris's parents, siblings, aunt, uncle, and cousins. Soooo much fun! And a BEAUTIFUL view. Now I was the stupid one who forgot the camera! Ugh!

I joined the kids in jumping off the 20ft high deck into the lake. What a rush!!! AND the fireworks were awesome! And yes, it too was another late night with us not getting home until 1am.
Maddie and Nate spent the night with us and Nate hates our cats. We had locked them up and somehow they got out. So Nate, in the next room, calls Chris at 5am to tell us that the cats are staring at him!!! So Chris got up and created this elaborate system to keep the door shut. It was so funny! And of course we had to be up by 6:30 for church.

Oh yes, and the fun continues. So last night we were having dinner with Josh, Joannie, Bill and Tiffany when Josh (our pastor)got a phone call that one of our church members had passed away. This is a really big deal because it's the first death in our church which is only about 10 months old. Bob was such an amazing man and I am so sad that I didn't have the opportunity to spend more time with him! His happy face on Sunday mornings holding the door open was enough to melt even the hardest heart! I know that right now, he's the lucky one! I feel so bad for his wife and kids. Although Bob was 80, it is still NEVER easy to lose someone. I think it's hard too because he reminded me so much of my granddaddy. Mr. Bob, you will be greatly missed!

Lovely Atlanta

So today, Heather and I took a little trip downtown to Atlanta to take a few pictures of some of the city's most historic spots! First we stopped at Oakland Cemetery - amazing! I want to know all those people's stories! There was 48 acres that we explored today. Then we headed over to the Fabulous Fox Theater. And of course finished up at The Varsity! What a fun day! Here are just a few photos from our morning....

Happy Thursday!!!

I am so excited that I have tomorrow off for 4th of July! Yippee!!! My friend Heather and I are going to start the day off right with a field trip to Atlanta to take pictures. We're starting at Oakland Cemetery - very old and famous, and then moving up town. My boss asked me to take pics of Atlanta to blow up and frame in our office! How exciting!!!! Now the pressure is definitely on!!! But, it should be fun - no doubt about it.

And for the weekend....I'm thinking some serious pool action needs to be involved. I have been saying this every week for like 4 weeks and no pool. So this weekend it is a requirement!

I am definitely super inspired for redecorating the apartment. I guess it's just exciting because I finally have a vision of what I want!
Can NOT wait!
Oh, maybe I'll paint this weekend!

So the wedding pics are up on my photo blog and the bride is very happy with the photos.
Whew! I was nervous!
After looking at several hundred wedding photos in great detail for 3 weeks, you begin to over-criticize the work. So I'm glad I have handed off the finished product!
NOW, I just need some more business! I just got my new business cards - hubby did a great job on the design. It's the header of my photo blog.
Photography will be my only form of income in about a year for my last year of school. Soooooo, I need bookings ASAP! Anyone in need of some photography???
I'll cut you a deal!

Alrighty, well I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! AND happy 4th of July!
Happy Birthday America!!!