BALLOONatics!

Today was a good day. I was going and going from the moment I woke up. Although it wasn't the most relaxing day I got a lot done! And it helped that it was a lot of fun stuff.
Brett and I created our first joint account! Woohoo!.. We sent out a wedding deposit... I finally finished and sent our "save the dates" off to the printer. (PS the save the dates ROCK. We found the idea on the internet and were in love at first sight. I'll post them once I send them out)... Then I was off to a meeting.. Ran some errands.. and once everyone went to bed Brett and I became BALLOONatics!
It's birthday season in my house starting tomorrow. 3 in one week! Tony's birthday is first. Brett and I filled the living room with balloons and put streamers up. He doesn't know but I bought yummy food to make breakfast for him in the morning as well. I tried getting as much done as I could today so Brett and I can have some adventure tomorrow! We shall see where the wind takes us... As long as I'm next to him and I can get my fingers on that camera it will be a good day!

deposit paying BALLOONatics!

"I have a pot!"

She has a pot! And she declared it loudly to us over a bean and cheese burrito...

She lost her 2 bottom teeth. One has grown in quite a bit and the other has left quite a gap...
Thus forming the shape of her "pot".
I thought it was genius! How did she even notice that?
hahaha.. she kills me.

I have entered the world of Skype and am so in love!
It is awesome.

Tonight we (Brett, I, .. and the whole family(minus beeba) including the dogs) go to talk and SEE our favorite missionary! We love Andres and couldn't be more blessed to have him as a friend.
He's such an amazing person and is doing some awesome things for the kingdom. We are so lucky that we have gotten to experience this adventure with him and we can't wait for him to come home!

Love Day!

Brett and I both worked all day Saturday so we celebrated Love Day on Friday the 13th instead!
Despite being super sick we had so much fun! I made Brett the usual dessert mountain full of all of his favorite desserts and a mix with all of our favorite love songs. We spent the day at the zoo. Brett had secretly packed a picnic lunch and we ate our favorite Antonelli's sandwiches on the tree house patio.. it was beautiful. We saw the entire zoo and I had my lens stuck to my eye pretty much the whole time. Poor boy.. I'll sit for 10 minutes easily in the same spot and just wait. He's so good about letting me shoot. He's such an encourager and he never complains. I love him so much! I took a TON of pictures.. I'll post the rest of them soon.
After the zoo we drove to downtown and had a delicious dinner at Bucca Di Beppo. We love Bucca Di Beppo! Then we walked around Downtown in the rain for awhile. It was an adventurous day and we had so much fun.

There were no candy hearts, no flowers, no balloons.
Just awesome animals, a camera, good food, and the love of my life.
A few of the things I love most:)
I loved our love day.
Hippo Love!

We were minding our own business, eating our sandwiches...
This elderly man and a couple of the people he was with walked over and stopped by our table to look at their map. Brett and I were chatting when we were interrupted by a loud fart coming from a few feet away from our table. We tried our best to hold in our laughter!
He didn't even flinch!

Brett built me a bear and surprised me with it before dinner.
It was SO cute. It matched him all the way down to the slim leg/dark wash jeans and aviator sunglasses! He named it Bretthollemew and it came with a little guitar strapped to it. I think this is one of my favorite gifts from Brett. I loved loved loved it.

Bates Nut Farm

We took our parents to the farm and showed them around. We had a lot of fun planning, looking at animals, walking through the fields, and buying some loot from the general store. I'm getting more and more excited about the wedding! It's all starting to fall together and I'm more in love with the farm every time we go there. It's perfect... It's us. I can't wait to go up again.

Ceremony Option #1: Oak Tree

Ceremony Option#2: Aisle of trees w/ two touching trees that make an arch at the "altar"
(these trees are going to be huge and green in July)

Reception (inside hedged area on left) and the fieldPolk-a-dot chicken!

The most beautiful peacock I've ever seen!

Baaah

eyeheartbargains

Anyone that knows me knows my love for finding a good bargain.

Something in me just won't let me buy $60 jeans and jackets and $20 shirts and $30 pairs of shoes. Bargain hunting is in my blood. I remember being young and shopping with my mom as she hunted for the best bargains. I would follow her around the store watching and learning the art and rejoicing with her in our finds. I don't remember the last time Ive spent over $20 on jeans. I don't even think I've tried on shoes that were over $15 in years. The last jacket I bought was $4. Actually most things I buy are in the $5 range the goal is always under 10. I understand this may seem extreme but if you set the goal it works. I know what I want and how much I want to pay for it before I shop. If it doesn't meet the criteria.. move on! I will always find it somewhere else and it will always be within my price range. Honestly I've never wanted something that I haven't been able to find somewhere else and that still met my goal. Shopping has slowly become a sport over the year and I love the challenge of spending the least amount possible on it. I don't know... with all the people in this world that only have one set of clothes to their name.. with the knowledge that clothes are for nothing but to cover our nakedness... with a job that says you have look like money in order to be successful... with the awareness of how materialistic of a culture I live in.. I just can't succumb to it and I love the challenge of a good bargain hunt!

All that to say... Today was the bargain hunt of all bargain hunts. My mom and I had a shopping date and when you combine the forces of two thrifty women... oh the damage that can be done. Now that the time has come to plan our wedding I knew it would be no different...

Today's Mission: wedding decor
Store's Visited: 4
Item's Bought: 19 different vases, 3 vintage birdcages, and one bundle of wheat "vibe" stuff
Total Cost: $25.23

Woo Hoo!

A couple of weeks ago I posted the video for the Inspire conference we're holding this Sunday. This past week I've been researching some creative things other church's are doing. We want to show some of these things as examples and inspiration for our own creative ministry. Anyway, so as I was researching I ran in to this website designed for creative ministries to share what they are doing with each other. I've been getting a lot of cool ideas from there and today I wanted to check for more one last time before we had our final planning meeting for this weekend. I pulled up the page and found this as the first post!

"The church is full of web designers, painters, singers and kinds of people that would love to get together and use it for God. This is a great example of what a church can do to inspire their members to get involved. Good Work."

Brett was sitting next to me and when I saw it all I could do was start smacking his arm and saying oh my gosh over and over again. Then I screamed and jumped up and down... called Grant (my Inspire partner). Then called my mom hahaha. Probably not as big of a deal as I made it but I totally had a moment today:) I couldn't believe MY video made it on a website as a "something good to do" kind of thing! Awesome!

I'm right up there with the blogfather! woo hoo!

Oh Thursday.

My new job can be a little draining. I'm required to be "on" all day. On my feet, meeting, greeting, talking, bending, stretching, drying, cutting, curling, laughing, complimenting, and looking sharp. I have never enjoyed my days off like I have been lately. I woke up with no agenda, threw on a beanie, and a tshirt and headed down to Balboa for some morning tea, time with God, the love of my life, and my camera. We spent the day under a piercing blue sky spotted with white cotton candy clouds and got home just in time for the storm to begin. I loved today. It soothed my soul, thank you Lord.

I;m the apple of his eye! :)

Brett was a good model but then he took the camera and turned on me.
I was so excited I finally got the camera in his hands today. I've been wanting him to pick it up forever. I think he's a natural! I can't wait to get his finger on the shutter again!

More Brett pics..

"There's Probably No God."

This really motivates me. I saw these pictures on a website today. If some guy can get this plastered on the side of a bus, what are we as a church doing? We must show the world that there is a God. We can think of better ways to proclaim our message. It has to be bold and it has to be outside of our church walls. The hand of the enemy is so obvious in our world. The lies, the brokenness, the emptiness. We have a whole body that is powered and led by a loving God. Why aren't we gathering and making more of an effort to get OUT and proclaim the truth?

Everyday is Sweeter

"Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. I wouldn't want another life."
"and as you grow in the Lord he becomes dearer. Everyday is sweeter than the day before."
"As you walk with Him it does get sweeter as the days go by."

I pray that I am as faithful and in love with my saviour as these ladies are when I am their age.
How sweet are they?!
The elderly hold such a huge place in my heart...
"If you want to strengthen your faith you need to spend lots of time with the Lord."
These ladies have spent LOTS of time with the Lord. I could sit and listen to them and love them all day long. They hold such wisdom. I consider it such a blessing whenever I get to sit and just listen to stories and hear advice.


Everyday is Sweeter from Marcus Hackler on Vimeo.

Super Snuggle

For some reason no matter what temperature the rest of the house is, if it's hot outside then my bedroom is a sauna and if it's cold outside my bedroom is a freezer. I considered buying a heating blanket last winter but the idea of sleeping with electricity wrapped around me sorta freaks me out... Thankfully I've found a more natural way to warm up. Anyone that has owned a boxer knows how extremely snuggly they are. They want to sit on your lap, they want to kiss you, they want to rest their head on you, and they want to spoon you. Samba and I have become spoon partners this winter. I love it! I'm always the back spoon due to his dog legs and he's the front spoon. I get to sleep nice and warm and he gets some extra puppy loving. There's a catch to every deal though... anyone who's had boxers also knows the power of their chronic gas. I've been the victim of numerous dutch ovens and morning farts but I'm hanging in there. Maybe this is just preparation for marriage.

Another gorgeous sky

little reminders...

Sorry...

I have a lot of posts that I need to catch up on.
With a new job and lots of wedding planning going on I've been slacking in the blog world.

I've been spending a lot of time with my camera, with God, or with my fiance, friends, and family.
Because I've been so busy I'm trying my best to fill my down time with as many things that keep my heart beating as possible so I don't go crazy!

I'll get those posts up soon!

Hilarious!!

I saw this video a few weeks ago and could NOT stop laughing!
enjoy.

Cadbury Eyebrows from Nils-Petter Lovgren on Vimeo.