8.03.2011

An ode to wedding emotions.


So, you spend all this money on wedding photography (wayyyyy too much) and then they are just stored on a hard drive forever. I figured I should post a couple photographs from our wedding. To be honest (and I think I've mentioned this before) - I was very displeased with my wedding photographs. Even a couple months ago I really started thinking about it and started crying to Ricky. He listened and then looked at me with compassion and said, "Babes, you are now happily married and have a little baby son. I don't think those pictures matter much now. And the Lord is good, and speaking, and coming back soon."

A little dose of perspective.

But all of you married women know, if we let our hearts get muddled, we can start having some wedding regret.

And while we are talking about weddings, let me tell you I HATED planning my wedding. I had just moved to San Diego from Kansas City - away from all my friends and family and decided to have my wedding here (still don't understand why I thought that was a great option) in a a city 10x more expensive than my home without an ounce of idea where to start.

It was hard. Our whole engagement season was hard. So hard. There were so many tears. So much stress. I didn't care much about any of it. I didn't care about the food or the flowers or the colors or the logistics. I just wanted to move in with Ricky and start my life. I just wanted my mom or sister or best friends near. I just wanted to learn to love Jesus in this new phase of life - away from IHOP and living with another. 

and I really, really wanted to move back to Kansas City - as soon as possible.

Since then I've learned to live in and love the season I've been handed. It has been a long journey, but I've grown up so much. I don't cling to solitude as much as I did before. I've learned to find Jesus in the mundane. I've embraced the beauty of the sovereignty of the lot I've been given - rather it be new faces, small apartments, holding babies, boring jobs, few friends, or church searching.

"The fundamental thought is the universal government of God. All that comes to you is under His controlling hand. The secondary thought is the favour of God to those that love Him. If He governs all, then nothing but good can befall those to whom He would do good... Though we are too weak to help ourselves and too blind to ask for what we need, and can only groan in unformed longings, He is the author in us of these very longing... and He will so govern all things that we shall reap only good from all that befalls us." - Benjamin B. Warfield

So here is to a beautiful, yet trying season of wedding madness that lead to my simple life with the man I love and a son of promise. Amen.

And in it all - His goodness was shining.

 






My favorite, the Polaroids, can be found here and here.

 

here's to love and a sovereign God...

8.02.2011

i love you, dooner babe.

mom.

okay. so my mom. she is incredible. i am so blessed. amos is so blessed. i can't praise the Lord enough for a woman who walks with such a giving heart, poverty of spirit, and hunger for more of the Lord and more of His presence in her life. she's a fighter - and the banner over her life is endurance in this race.

there were so many precious moments this weekend watching her be with Amos. she would tell him about Jesus, while sitting on the floor with him and kissing his little forehead.

i love her.

here are some moments from our weekend. many of these are from seaport village downtown during sunset.


new camera strapsan diego summer eveningswindow washign time
ode to mom
in honor of my mom and her odd love of san diego trees.
hallelujah
portraitsbirdsgma time
AMOS






and a dinner with sharaya...


sharayasalad timelettuce 

and now he crawls...

Amos with Dad

So while Grandma was here, Amos finally decided to grace us with his crawling skills. So now my baby is mobile. Fully mobile. It's so insane to me, and I can't believe he's ending his first year. This is the last quarter of our first year together - and I want to suck up every moment I can.

These pictures were taken a couple weeks ago while we were visiting Ricky's extended family in Hanford, California. I wanted to document his last little moments of being a sitter (and a scooter, and crawler backwards) - since now he's standing and crawling and soon enough running around like a crazy boy.

i love him. i love him. i love him. My heart explodes as he takes his morning nap and I want to cling to him forever, but the beauty of motherhood is the raising up and letting go. i'm going to need God's grace - I can already feel it.

>photo 3
Amos cracking up
He's laughing here - really really hard.

Amos
amos with joy almondsAmos
Amos in grassAmos in grass 2

8.01.2011

2 year anniversary

so yesterday was our 2 year anniversary. i was so busy having an incredible day, that i forgot to announce it. my mom was in town over the weekend so we are leaving the REAL celebration for next weekend, but yesterday morning we did sneak away for a bit.

ricky woke me up early and surprised me with a drive to whole foods where we picked up some coffee and chai - plus some fresh fruit. then we drove north to our ceremony site for some good memories. we ate right where we took our vows and talked about the highlights (and hardships) of our first 2 years.

our highlight: finding out we are having a baby and then meeting him for the first time
our favorite part of marriage: the comfort of companionship that will never go away

praise God for His grace in marriage. we just love it.


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i know i don't look happy in any of these pictures, but i assure you i am. it was just verrrry early. :)

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