contemplation...

“you do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. what you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”
- thomas merton

 

what are you contemplating in the new year? i'm considering truly how to get healthy, make the best possible career switch, and putting down deep roots somewhere. i thought an apple a day's photo perfectly captured what it feels like to stare deeply into the future, and the unknown and be content. ;) happy happy happy new year!

ice, ice, baby...

 it was soooo cold outside this morning...for some of you, 18 degrees is nothing, but for us, it is COLD. frost on the grass, see your breath in front of you, hands freezing on the steering wheel cold. the best part of cold weather for me is how beautiful and clean everything looks... 

so, here are some lovely photos that remind of this this morning.

enjoy!

a perfect ten...

 

i was pretty excited when I realized that today is 10/10/10 since it feels like a really auspicious, important number. ok, maybe not as important as the number 3, but if you read a little bit about it, it IS pretty impressive.

anyway, my 10/10/10 involved getting to hear boone preach at church (he was fantastic, by the way) watching a law & order marathon, napping, visiting with our neighbors, and cooking. besides feeling a little yucky, it was a perfect 10. appropriate, right?

i want an easy plateau...

it's been another rough week for us (two car repairs totalling $700, thesis due and NOT finished, a banking mishap, and still no sign of a job) so i'm wishing for some respite and peace.

honestly, i've been feeling like i was in the actual emotional/mental desert with Jesus this Lent, so it makes perfect sense that Holy week would be a really difficult time, too. i don't know how good friday could be anything but dark, which means that the worst may be yet to come.

BUT i don't think i've ever looked forward to Easter and the resurrection like i'm looking forward to it right now. i've really needed to be reminded of Jesus' power over death (and power to give life) with everything going on. "In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!" he says in John.

so, this is me...looking toward the hope of Easter...and taking courage!

but i'm still wishing that we could have an easy plateau where life just flattened out for awhile and we could go paddling lazily on a cool, foggy, mountain lake... ;)

photos from our labor of love

wishing for a white wednesday..

i'm disappointed that the snow missed us today... maybe we'll get a little more before spring.

has anybody seen this photo? i have no idea where i got it.

weekend wonderland...

one day alice came to a fork in the road and saw a cheshire cat in a tree.
"which road do i take?" she asked
"where do you want to go?" was his response.
"i don't know." alice answered.
"then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter." -alice's adventures in wonderland




as you can imagine, i'm more than a little excited about the new tim burton version of alice in wonderland that's coming out in march. since it's been on my mind, i thought i'd share my favorite wonderland-inspired photos today... so go on.. "begin at the beginning and go on till the end: then stop."



vogue's rendition (see the whole shoot here)

and two versions of a mad tea party from somewhere... and follow this link for the first photo of drew barrymore as sassy alice

fun!

yesterday one of our wedding photos was posted on kathryn's blog (snippet&ink). it made my day, for sure. thanks pretty girl! :)

before the service...

our ring-bearer... this got a little dicey, but all was well in the end and he had tons of fun under there...






isn't my dad adorable?


if you like these... go check out the rest of joe's stuff.

it was wonderful!

we're married! and we're back in the US.... things are sort of busy at my summer job, but i just wanted to share a sneak peak of the fun from our reception that the photographer sent over. i'm salivating to see the rest!


the ceremony was so special for us, and the reception was BEYOND fun, but let's be honest... married life is even better. can you imagine?!? the claim that i'm making here is that marriage is more fun than dancing to brick house while being surrounded by all of your favorite friends. :) whooo hoo! more updates and a play by play to come.

engagement photos!

i've been meaning to share these for awhile now...











it was so fun.. thanks joe for these fab shots! (ps- mom called yesterday and said our announcement came out in the paper. whoo hoo.)

what IS this?

this little guy is creeeeepy. and super cool...

so some photographer at the inauguration took a little photo using this and his digital camera.. so now YOU can FIND YOURSELF (only if you were at the inaug. btw) by zooming in on the GIANT photo (yes! nearly anywhere in the crowd!)

nothing to wear...

so we're taking our engagement photos this weekend (now that my hives are gone and BEFORE Boone shaves his beard and has a mustache for Febru-hairy. more on this fun project later...)

but i have nothing to wear and basically zero dollars to spend on something new. I wish i had thought of this sooner and had made something (although i'm not exactly an accomplished seamstress) but i guess something will materialize from my closet...

sigh....i wish i had this outfit to wear for the pictures.

it's so pretty. too bad all i've got is an old pair of jeans and a plaid shirt.

i wish boone would wear his outfit that looks like this...

he loves that vest of his... so i might just get my wish. :)

fyi:the first photo was found via modish.

what boone got for christmas....

say cheese!

introducing.... the fabulous, the wonderful, the talented, Joe Martinez!
hooray! he's agreed to be our photographer for our wedding even though he's not technically a "wedding photographer" check out more of his work here, here or here.