life happenings

I can't believe I'm actually saying this...but life might actually be slowing down a bit.
Yeah yeah...my wedding is THIS weekend, so maybe it's not slowing down THAT much, but it feels like it.
Decisions are basically done being made, plans are all coming together, shopping trips are over, and as impossible as it may have seemed a couple months ago, I think I am ready to get married!
Praise the LORD!

had a few work days... so thankful for the wonderful ladies who helped us!

cleaned & painted the house one week...

enjoyed spending the 4th with Kirk's family...

got all of our stuff moved to our new home!  Can't believe how much stuff we have already!!

don't let the picture fool ya... the did carry in a few boxes! ;) 

trying on our mother's wedding dresses at my personal shower!  So much fun!

photo shoots...

Love you girls!  So thankful for all that you've been doing...planning...hosting...and so much more.  You ROCK!

Survived all of our showers.  They were such a blessing!  It's overwhelming how many gifts we've recieved!

Enjoyed an evening out with these 2...gonna miss our random last minute times together...but know there will be sooo many other special memories together!

Spent 10 days in Washington state with mom n dad n Jesse...

went on a tour at the Boeing factory...watched planes take off and land.

went on a few different hikes...this one was by Mt. Rainer

spent a night in Victory, Canada...went to Butchart gardens...so many pretty flowers!

Jesse wasn't so thrilled about looking at flowers all evening so he hung out on the grass with his Ipod!

went to Olympic Nation Rainforest...once again Jesse was quite thrilled! ;) 

Had the opportunity to meet up with this beautiful girl and her family!  So thankful I was able to see you for a bit, Tay. Love you!

God showing His beauty in the clouds on my flight home!

It's hard to believe that in a few short days all of the planning and decision making that we've done over the last 3 months will be over.  Life will begin a new normal.  School will be starting. And time will march on.  But that's the way life is.  We plan things.  Spend time looking forward to them.  And just like that, they are over.  To everything there is a season.... Praising God for all of his wonderful blessings!

May's Memories

A lot happened in the month of May.
For some reason I didn't do very well at documenting it all.
I guess you could say my mind was a bit distracted.

So I guess I'll give you a quick recap...
and even if you don't really care what I did in May,
I care.
And I don't want to forget.
And if you know me very well...you know I forget easily.
So it's best if I document :)

The first weekend started of with a trip to Taylor, MO with a bunch of wonderful ladies for a short weekend get-a-way.  K, T, and I had bought a "bed & breakfast" stay last year on the Fairview Haven benefit auction, so we were using up the certificate!  Despite the circumstances occurring in my life at that time, I still thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.

a cute little bridge we just had to photograph...

enjoyed singing around the piano

Spent the day Saturday touring Hannibal, a cave, and some old buildings.
Here is the whole crew :)

 The next weekend - Mother's Day weekend - was one that probably won't leave me memory anytime soon.  So thankful to have had these 3 wonderful girls to spend it with.

Saturday night

Sunday Morning...so many emotions...

 The following week was the beginning of an on-slot of decision making... we traveled to Chicago one day to fabric shop.  Thankfully it was a success!

Thanks, ladies, for helping my indecisive mind make decisions!

Special memories with mom & sis - love you both!

Of course ya can't pass up the cheesecake factory... :)

Then came a special evening with K & T...which included Kirk's interview/initiation into our friendship circle.  He passed and was accepted :) But he still had to endure the quaint picnic (which I think he secretly enjoyed) and a few of our other hair-brained ideas...

Somewhere in there we enjoyed a fun night out to eat at Kobe's Hibachi Grill with Kirk's sister and brother-in-law, Troy & Leann and nephew Carter...I do believe I fail at catching flying food with my mouth... oh well...such is life! ;)

Enjoyed a beautiful Sunday at my cousin Sydney's wedding.  Then went to a park in the evening with Brent & Darla and family.

attempted some engagement picts...I think they turned out perty decent! ;) 

Enjoyed a night out with 2 very special cousin's at 301 Mongolian Grill in Champaign...

Kurt was the only one who paid for unlimited bowls...but we still all got a second piece of bread! ;)

Enjoying our bread...

Walked around Champaign...and of course took some picts!
Credit goes to Kirk for the photo...he's learning!

And last but not least...celebrated a special someone's birthday.  Welcome to the 20 club, K!

And that was just a snippet of what May consisted of...add a few more random evenings out doing some things, a lot of decision making, numerous trips to bloomington, finals, and many walks, along with learning all about Mr. Intruder...and there you have a very full month of May!

So thankful for God's blessings and leading in this past month.  Expecting a few more months of craziness!

Seasons

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...

This verse seems to be the story of my life right now.
God gives us each different seasons in our lives.
Some good.  Some not so good.  Some expected.  Some very unexpected.
But I've begun to realize that no matter what the seasons are, or how long they last,
God deserves all the Glory and praise.
And even if God orchestrates a new season in our life at a time we didn't have planned,
I know and trust that His will is perfect and I praise Him for that.

So I'm praising God for the past seasons God has given me in my life.
Seasons of singleness, filled with so many wonderful memories that I can't even begin to describe.
And for the new season He has begun to so clearly show me over the past couple months.
Marriage.
A season that involves a lot of change and adjustments,
but I know will be filled with many blessings as past seasons have been.

So with that being said, I'd like to introduce a new member of my life to this blog.
His name is Kirk.

And one of these days...as soon as finals are over with (which I should be studying for right now) and things settle down a little (haha!), I'll do a more in depth post.  But until then, I'd just ask for prayers as we begin this new journey together in life; that no matter what comes our way, we will always put God first, because He is #1.

B+N Engagement

Golden, warm sunshine sprinkling across the golden grasses.  A soft summer breeze gliding through the trees.  Two grinning faces clearly falling in love.  And one nervous new shooter trying to hide her quivers!  Thanks Brooke and Nathan for trusting me to capture your first blossoms of love as a newly engaged couple and for being confident in my meager skills as a budding photographer and for not expecting anything too extravagant.  ;) 

Thought I'd share a few of my favorites from the evening! Enjoy!

Looking forward to taking this couples wedding pictures next weekend!  Let's just say I'm a tad bit more nervous for that! ;)  But by God's grace, it'll hopefully go just as wonderuful as this engagement session!