It's been a long time since I hit the {personal} blogging circuit. Almost a year and a half since I got married, and while I've still been blogging, it's been focused almost entirely on the photography blog and partially on another blog. You could say that I've had bigger things on my mind.



Life has changed and yet remained the same. It's been a blur of delight and hard work and time spent with my husband and time spent studying in the Bible and talking and praying and maturing and working hard and playing hard and staying home alot.

What's been going on? In the meantime...

• I turned 29 and then 30! Ohmy, ohmy. ;) 
• We went on a great coffee adventure. 
• We discovered Dave Ramsey and the power of sticking to your budget. 
• Our first (and then 2nd) Christmas together. 
• Had our first New Year's Eve where we could kiss at midnight (we weren't even DATING, or within a hundred miles of each other in 2010!)... and I was shooting a wedding in 2011, so the kiss got delayed a little bit. New Year's Eve 2012 rocked though. 
• Discovered what the 'newlywed ten' or rather 'newlywed twenty' is. Hey, we like food {just look at my instagram feed). And we like snuggling instead of working out. Now we're working on both. 
• Shooting more weddings than ever. Now with my trusty assistant/husband. He's got an eye for classy photos. 
• Our regular day jobs "happen" to be 2 blocks apart. We commute together every day. It. is. awesome. 
• COLLEGE. Yes, after a year of marriage and Brandon establishing residency in PA, he's back at college pursuing his degree in petroleum & natural gas engineering. While he works full-time. My husband is amazing. He's intense, focused, humble, smart and he doesn't complain about spending (almost) every night studying until 2:00 am. So yes, life is good, busy, fulfilling, intense and a dream come true. 

The real question is, why would I return to a personal blog? Don't I have enough to do? Don't I say enough on the other blogs? In a word--NO.

I simply must write a tiny bit about my beautiful new life. I was thinking about how my life has changed. You know, I loved my life as a single girl. Owning a house and leading a youth group and working on becoming a good photographer. Life was interesting and super-busy and fulfilling.


And then, on August 6th, 2011, life changed drastically. Amazingly. Beautifully. And things has been going 65 miles an hour, non-stop craziness since then. It's been all enjoying LIFE and LOVE (not long-distance love anymore!). :) We have been challenged, in sickness, in finances, in job changes. We have seen God move and continue to move on our behalf in amazing ways. We have been changed by each other and by the working of God in our hearts. Undoubtedly, marrying Brandon was the best decision of my life. I tell him, "I love you more than anything and everything except Jesus." He agrees. :)

Anyway, this was supposed to be a Weekend in Review. Because it's probably been the most normal, though still crazy weekend since we've been married. It's still lots of hard work. But I like it. :)

Friday. I (heart) date night. Married-dates are even better than dating-dates or engaged-dates! Spending time together without having to say goodbye. And I also (heart) autumn. Walking hand-in-hand on boardwalks and bridges with the sun setting around us. Quick coffee break. Or chai tea, if you're me. Courageous the movie. Which was a *GREAT* movie. And definitely inspired much conversation. About what we agreed/disagreed with, Christian industry, the idea of making a program of walking-with-Christ and if Christian movies are a Biblical form of evangelism (they're not). Still think it's better than 99% of Hollywood's movies. Then it was onward to Sheetz. Because it's what we do. Milkshakes!!!
Saturday. Going to do a children's portrait session! Definitely a little lost but Pennsylvania countryside in autumn is hands-down GORGEOUS so we enjoyed it. :) Late brunch because I ran out the door without breakfast (that's what happens when you wait til the last minute to download your memory cards. :P). Coffee break at a new place in our-pretty-little-town. Along with deep conversation, because that's what we do. :D Finally home. And napping. It's been a loooong, too-busy week and we're all tired out. Sometimes I wish I was 4 years old again, and napping was required. Working hard at home. Reorganizing our office. Hanging pictures. Culling photos of the most recent wedding. Laundry. Dishes. Happy home-work. :) Late dinner of harvest tomato soup + homemade paninis by candlelight. Marriage is awesome. :)
SUNDAY. I LOOOOOOVE SUNDAYS. My favorite day, by far. Church! We have a new stage and it looks so good. Interesting morning because none of our sound-system cables were hooked up yet. But we made it. Amazing church service. The Holy Spirit spoke to us about many things, a sinner came back to Jesus and the Word was powerful, effective and very relevant to our lives. God's working in us is so precious. Then home for lunch and relaxing afternoon. I put together a beautiful inspiration board (like a real-life inspiration board, no Pinterest for me today!) that will be hung on the office wall. Keeps pretty wedding photography & my style in mind. Classy. Happy. Authentic. :) Then it was putting together some homemade lasagna for our pastor's family. Cuz we APPRECIATE them. Would you believe it's the first time I've ever made lasagna by myself? It's never been my favorite so I had no motivation to do so... but it looked delicious. I did snack on quite a bit of freshly-grated mozzarella. Love cheese. Love it. We watched a bit of Madagascar 2, until we decided to do the mature thing and go to bed early. :)

Ahh yes. This weekend was like a sigh-of-bliss. Lovely autumn. Unrushed times with my beloved. Feeling as if we have reached "some kind of normal." Probably related to finally getting *most* of the house in an organized and presentable state (let's not talk about the storage room! :P). Getting mostly caught-up with photography work. Or at least, having a manageable to-do list. And seeing God move in our lives, show us how we are gifted to edify the Body and what His heart is in how we are used by Him. <3