Photo of the Year

No description necessary.

This photo of Aaron and Abby on the Great White at Sea World makes me laugh out loud.

Abby's Baptism

Sunday was a very happy day. Abby made the decision several months ago (though she's really been talking about it for a lot longer than that) to give her life to God, and this week she was baptized! Not only was it a very cool event on it's own, but Aaron was the one who got to baptize her, and it was so special and meaningful.

After church, the grandparents came over and we celebrated with cupcakes! We were so glad they all got to be a part of Abby's special day.

Abby reverted to her one year old self and dug into her cake! Ha ha!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Another Favorite Photo (08/13/06)

Carson (10/19/07)

I love this picture so much. I always loved watching my precious babies sleep. So sweet and snuggly.

And they still are. :)

I'm Sorry

It is no secret that Abby loves her little cousins. I mean LOVES. Since she was nearly a baby herself, she's been hardly able to resist touching, picking up, and taking care of any baby in the vicinity... and she's gotten pretty good! Well, Sunday, she was toting Madi around all over the back yard, then set her down on the bench and Madi fell off and got hurt. Nobody made a deal of it, but Abby disappeared for a while and came back with this card for Jason. She felt so bad that Madison got hurt.

I'm very proud of Abby. She's a very thoughtful kid, whether it be with apologies or just a note to tell you how special she thinks you are. We have piles and piles of homemade cards for Mom & Dad, for friends, grandparents, and teachers. I absolutely love that about her! 

Goodbye to my 20's!

Well... it's happened. My twenties are now behind me. I always wondered if I'd be nervous or sad about this day. I'm neither. I mean, it is a little strange. Thirty means you're a real grown up. But I'm cool with that. I feel like I did a lot in my 20's, and there's no reason to stop now!

I started my 20's off by moving into my very own apartment in San Antonio. It was 495 square feet and I paid $350 a month. It was the first time I had ever lived on my own. I loved it. At the time, I was still undecided about where I'd go to college and what I'd study. I'd been taking classes at community colleges since high school, just hadn't decided on THE college or THE degree I'd pursue. On the table were Interior Design, Photography, Journalism, Photojournalism, and Visual Arts in Ministry. There were road trips to Chicago, Tennessee, and Abilene. A lot of those almost happened, but for one reason or another (uncertainty, being waitlisted, etc.), none really panned out. I kept going to San Antonio College, working at my first salaried job (R.L. Worth & Associates), and helping out at River City Community Church with the youth. The summer after I turned 20, I met this guy who started coming to our College group at church. Truthfully, even though we didn't know each other very well, I felt like I knew him because I was good friends with his brother and his mom. One night at Starbucks, we got to talking until they had to kick us out. A year later (almost to the day), we got married. A couple months after that, we found out out we'd be becoming a family of three! Even though I was a bit scared, we were super happy when we got to meet Abby. I quit my job at Worth (cutting our income in half), and I decided I'd start my own business doing photography and graphic design. We were pretty broke, but I have fond memories of those days. Laid back mornings in bed with Abby, watching the entire Dawson's Creek series, afternoons trying to get my business off the ground. Not long after that, Aaron came on staff at RCCC as the youth pastor. Officially a pastor's wife. In 2006, Carson joined our family. He was so precious and the perfect fit for our family. Not long after that I started working at RCCC, too, doing graphic design/media. I did that for a couple years, being able to (for the most part) stay home with the kids. There came a point though where it was more than I could do, so I stepped down from my job at River City and went back to being home with the kids and tried to get my business back up and running. Since then I've been really happy with how Powerhouse Studios has grown and the ways it's allowed me to be flexible and have fun! At the end of 2009, Aaron and I both (separately) started feeling that God was getting ready to move us. As we talked and prayed, we felt led to launch a new campus of River City in northwest San Antonio. That's been quite the ride, and I've gotten to wear a lot of different hats. Meanwhile, our kids are getting bigger, smarter, more fun, and are turning into fabulous little people!

Looking back, I am so amazed at all God has done in my life. I remember feeling so lost in my early twenties, like I was floundering. Part of me was really bummed that I never did the college thing. But then I look at it, and realize... I wanted to study photography -- I'm doing it! Creative Ministry and Media -- doing it! Graphic design -- doing it! We were going to wait a while before having kids, but now I can't imagine it any other way. God has orchestrated every thing perfectly. He put every person, every circumstance in my path to lead me right here.

I love being Abby and Carson's mom. I love being Aaron's wife. Even though there are uncertainties at times, I love everything about where I'm at right now, and I wouldn't change a thing about my life.

I think I'm ready for the next decade. There's a lot to look forward to! It'll be an exciting new chapter/decade in my life (that I've just realized will end with Abby graduating high school. *gasp*). There will be no shortage of exciting moments in the next ten years, and I'm excited to see what's in store!

Overcoming

I've got some amazing people in my life. I hope to talk about them all at one point or another, but today, I wanted to tell you about Nanny and Pawpaw. Growing up, I always loved going to their house (still do). It was always full of kids (my cousins and/or the kids that Nanny babysat), love, and good food. We have a great family that I've always loved being around. (I think when we all get together, there's nearly 50 of us now.) One of my favorite memories at Nanny and Pawpaw's was the week that I spent with them -- just me -- when I was probably 13. It was strange at first not having my sister or any number of cousins there to play with, but I had the best time. We ate ice cream, watched movies, and Nanny taught me how to play Hearts. There were mornings spent talking out on the deck and afternoons listening to Pawpaw tell the story of how they met and how he saw fireworks the first time he kissed her. It was great. They've had an amazing life. I suppose I could go on a while, but I thought I'd share this newspaper article Nanny tucked in with a letter a couple months ago. She thought I'd like to have it since that's my dad in the picture, and I'm so happy to have this little piece of family history!

WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEE!!!

Well, this is actually kind of old news now, but I never got around to posting it. Furthermore, I generally do not make it a practice of talking about our finances with other people. However, this is something that I want to remember, and I especially want my kids to remember as they become adults, so for that purpose, I am telling our story.

Several years ago (or more -- Abby was just a little thing), we were fairly newly married, had two car payments, student loan debt, and a good chunk of credit card debt. We were pretty normal, I suppose, but always felt the weight of all the payments and never feeling like we could get ahead. On a visit to my parents' house, my dad started talking about this guy he'd been listening to on the radio and what he'd been learning. Turned out this guy was Dave Ramsey, and my Dad offered to pay for us to go to his Total Money Makeover event here in San Antonio if we'd be willing to go. Well, we weren't going to turn it down, but it was admittedly a little hard to get excited about going to talk about money. We went, though, and were totally inspired. There was hope. We didn't have to live this way!

So we decided on a plan. We saved up a little emergency fund, cut up our credit card, and we began to pay off debt. I won't say it was easy. It wasn't. And there were a couple points where we lost focus (we bought two cars along the way, adding to our debt). BUT... the more we paid off, the faster things got moving and the more excited we became, until five years later (PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS PROVISION!), we finished paying off every last dollar! (Except for the house.)

All along (especially the past year or two) the kids have been very involved in the process. When we paid everything off, they were thrilled about calling in for Dave's Debt Free Friday, and screaming "We're debt FREEEEEEEEEEE!" But with our schedules, we never seemed to be able to get all together at the right time. So a couple weeks ago when I heard that Dave would be in town for a book signing, the kids asked if we could go meet him and tell him about being debt free. So we did! We got the chance to meet him, have him sign our book, and (though the kids chickened out and hid behind me) tell him we were debt free. We didn't scream in the book store, but he and his team said, "Yaaaaaaay!!!" It was quick fleeting moment, but it was fun. :) Our friends Daniel and Amanda were there too and were kind enough to snap a quick pic.

While paying off debt was thrilling, I think the most exciting part was being able to buy a car without a car payment in August. That was one thing we just never thought would be possible! It wasn't expensive or fancy, but it's not dragging a payment with it, and THAT feels good!

School Portraits

My kids came home with their school portraits today. When I explained to Abby that we probably wouldn't be buying them because I had a rockin' photo shoot planned soon, she was like, "Awww, man! Can't we just get these instead? Please?!" Like, Mom, you're so uncool. Ha ha, oh well. As generic as they are, there's always been a special place in my heart for the old school photo, so even if I don't buy a thousand wallets that will never get handed out, I wanted to at least document these precious photos for all posterity.

Abby, Second Grade (Age 7)
Carson, Kindergarten (Age 5)

The List

When Aaron and I were dating, he took me to this little Mexican restaurant here in San Antonio. As we sat there waiting on our food, we began talking about all the things we’d like to do, places we’d like to go, etc. So, Aaron grabbed a pen, and right there on the paper placemat, we started “The List”. The list was put in the glovebox, and went with us everywhere. When we thought of something else, we’d add it, and then we’d mark things off as we did them. It was great!

However, somewhere along the way, our list got lost. Over the years, we’ve mentioned it now and again, but I guess the demands of life and small children distracted us. (That, and I always had a special place in my heart for that paper placemat.) But then on Monday, as I was finishing up some e-mails, Aaron came into my office and said, “Let’s get this list started again.” So we did. We talked and dreamed and wrote as much as we could think of on a blank notepad. It felt good. It was fun.

After our list was done, we went out to lunch together. I wanted to take him to a little Thai place a friend had taken me to. As the waiter sat us at our table, we both couldn’t help but smile as he set our drinks down on our paper placemats, to which we promptly transferred our list.

P.S. I think we’ll be adding a section to the blog with our list and our experiences, so stay tuned!

Dirt Face

Lest you think I am a bad mother, I use the term "Dirt Face" in the most endearing way possible. Carson is adorable and sweet and adventurous, and he has the gift of dirt. My son seems to ooooze it. We always joke that we could put him in a sterile empty white room, and he'd still somehow end up with a dirty face. We laugh but I'm starting to think it might be true!

Playing frisbee golf the other day, after five minutes, there were just streaks of dirt all over his face. (This picture does not do it justice.) Where does it come from?!

Also, Eight Years Ago...

I was looking through our wedding photos and came across these pics. Jason and Natalie were not "an item" at our wedding... but got home from our honeymoon to discover they had gone out on a date! Looking back I'm so thankful that Natalie was a part of our wedding, even though we had no idea we'd ever be family.

Eight Years Ago

Eight years ago today, I married my very best friend. There's no way I could've anticipated all that was to come -- the abundant joy, the challenges, the laughter, and the deep and ever-growing love we share. I love you, Aaron!

Then

by Brad Paisley

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you

You had me mezmorized

And three weeks later, in the front porch light

taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight

I hadn't told you yet

but I thought I loved you then

And now you're my whole life

now you're my whole world

I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl

Like a river meets the sea,

stronger than it's ever been.

We've come so far since that day

And I thought I loved you then

And i remember, taking you back to right where I first met you,

You were so surprised

There were people around, but I didn't care

Got down on one knee right there once again,

I thought I loved you then

I could just see you, with a baby on the way

And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray

What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more

But I've said that before

And now you're my whole life

now you're my whole world

I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl

We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in

And I'll look at you and say

And I thought I loved you then

And I thought I loved you then

Pic of the Day

There are so many things I love about this picture.

2010 in Status Updates

Road Trip!

February 2001 at South Padre on the way to Mexico with my Mom, Dad, and Sister

Growing up, we were very lucky to be able to travel a lot. We never had lots of money. We were never extravagant. But my parents made it a point to show us all the wonderful, beautiful, interesting places that America (and beyond) has to offer.

We always drove, never flew. My mom is an adventurer at heart and a free-spirit. Half of the excitement of the vacation was the trip itself, not the final destination, and I still feel the same way.

We rarely ate at chain restaurants. My dad preferred to take us to those mom and pop restaurants we found along the way. As a kid, I always wished we could eat at McDonald's instead, but now I find that I came to appreciate and remember so many places by their food. (What does it say about me that I recall places by the restaurants we ate at?! Oh yes, I remember going to Memphis! We ate at that BBQ restaurant!)

We didn't stay at fancy hotels. Sometimes it was the Motel 6, and sometimes we didn't stay at a hotel at all. Sometimes we'd camp. And I loved it. I grew to appreciate beauty and nature in a deeper way that way. And when we did stay in a hotel, we thought it was the coolest thing ever!

These experiences impacted me so deeply and helped shape who I am. I'm not sure how or why, but I can't deny it's true. Perhaps it's the sense of adventure. Or maybe it's the realization that the world is far bigger than the tiny little corner of the planet where I reside. Whatever the reason... I LOVE to travel.

I've listened to John Mayer's "3x5" about 10 times since Saturday. That song just gets me itching to take a road trip. So...

One of my goals this summer is to plan an awesome vacation for as little money as possible. I LOVE road trips (this might be an understatement) and I LOVE getting a deal. We're trying to be a lot better with our money lately. But I REALLY want to go somewhere fun, relaxing, beautiful and exciting during our week off in July. So now I've made it sort of a game for myself. I'd already been thinking about it, but lit a fire under me when I booked a night for this weekend at the Westin in Dallas for $63 earlier today (I love Hotwire.com!). I'm feeling pretty good! Stay tuned to see how the rest of the planning goes well and if we're able to make it happen.

And I'd love to hear any of your kid-friendly, budget-friendly, highly fun, beautiful, and relaxing trip ideas!

Memory Lane

The other night we spent a laid back evening with Aaron's parents. Somehow we ended up spending a good chunk of the evening looking through old photo albums (I think it started when we were looking for the picture of Sandy's head in Shamu's mouth... but that's a story for another day). It was a lot of fun! I love looking through family photos, and it makes me even more passionate about my job as a photographer. Telling stories, capturing history, memories, and moments that might otherwise be forgotten. Abby loved seeing pictures of everyone and couldn't get enough. I think we all had fun. :)

My favorite photo of the evening. Love these two! So thankful that they're still just as in love today as they were then!

The Way to Travel

Every time we go shopping, this is the way Carson likes to travel. He is content as he can be laying down on that bottom rack and watching the world go by. Give him something with wheels to roll along the floor as we go and he's in heaven.

I don't think a whole lot of it, but I've noticed that it always makes the people we pass smile and laugh to see him riding that way, and as we walk away, I can always hear the old ladies saying, "Awww... now isn't that just the cutest thing?!"

"Pleazy Sweetie Hearts?"

Carson is a little stinker. And he makes me laugh pretty constantly. Lately he's been doing this thing where he'll ask for something he really wants, and if I say no, he puts on his sweetest little smile and says, "Pleazy sweetie hearts?" It is SO cute. (Not cute enough to make me change my mind, of course, but cute nonetheless.)

This morning while I got my last few minutes of sleep, Abby and Carson got out their boxes of markers, etc. to color and when I got up, I found this...

Carson said, "Mommy look! I'm all decorated for church!" He had stamped himself all over and was smiling very proudly. (This picture was taken post getting in trouble, so the proud smile is gone.)

This boy is something else and he makes life very interesting. :) He loves falling down and imitating all sorts of people, animals, sculptures... you name it. He's very affectionate and is good for a snuggle any time of day.

I'm so thankful for my little boy!

Being Entertained

Carson can pretty much always be found doing one of these things: eating, sleeping, watching a "kid movie", or playing with his cars. Lately he has spent hours upon hours playing with his matchbox cars. He lines them up on the back of the couch, then on the rug, then somewhere else... Little cars. Everywhere. All the time. He loves them so much. It's really cute and I love that he's so easily entertained. :)