Wedding!

These two. I just love these two. I was so happy to shoot this day.
I learned A LOT and will be applying that knowledge to upcoming weddings.

Welcome to the family, Brian!

Highs and Lows

I received this box today! It's traveled to five different places already.

What's in it? A lensbaby. Basically, it's a lens that creates a tilt-shift effect. Thank you, Borrow Lenses, for shipping right to my door!

Highs

-Ikea meatballs. I don't know how they do that.
-Zach and I purchased a whole box of peaches from a local fruit stand for only TEN DOLLARS.
-My cousin is getting married tomorrow! I'll be shooting with a good friend (who also shot my wedding). We both shot our first wedding together, and are so psyched to mesh our ideas and see how this one turns out!
-My sister is visiting from Canada for the weekend.
-We held a party for all the horse boarders and office people last Saturday. It went off without a hitch!
-ELEVEN new chicks were born this morning! The mama hen is so cautious; rightfully so.
-Bubble tea with my favorite person.  

Lows

-One of my best friends is getting married and I might be in Asia when it happens.
-Fruit flies were bespeaking their power in our kitchen for a few days (they're gone now).
-School is fast approaching. I'm rather uneasy about one of my classes.
-Not nearly as much as I have wanted to read has actually been read this summer.

What are your highs and lows this week?

Have you read much this summer?

Living on a farm: in photos

You may have heard me talk of the farm in the past; horses live here.

Though we live in the city, it's as if we don't at all. There's a big chunk of land that happens to be 500 acres of trees smack dab in the middle of all the surrounding cities. 

We just so happen to live in the midst of all that.

It's rather pleasant. When we want to get away from people and busy streets and drivers who don't watch where they are going (one of our friends just got hit by a car while riding his bike a few days ago), we can retreat five minutes away to our abode 'in the country'.

My husband and I can't stand horses. As in, we really, really, really don't like them. But in retrospect, working on a farm in exchange for rent this last year hasn't been all that terrible. Aside from the bee stings, attacking roosters, communication mishaps with management, alfalfa runs, and hungry horse spasms, we are so blessed to be here. We are thankful for our little house by the barn and all the people we have encountered along the way. Though the work invested here may not seem worth it at times, the challenge is.
So this is life, and it is good.

Miracles as of late: Provision

It's hard to keep something so big out of this blog. And since so much happens in my life that I don't share on here, I'd like to be more transparent with my faith, but mainly to share what I believe. I will be doing that in a roundabout way, simply by sharing stories of real-life experiences, through a new 'series' of sorts, Who is God? So stick with me, even if you don't agree with everything I say; I'd love to hear your heart or understand what you believe, even if it's different.

After praying for two months about Zach's emergency room drop-in, the fifteen minute charge of $1,088 has been 100% written off! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son! Now we only have to pay the physician's bill!

After meeting with a bride to talk about her wedding photos (a friend that I haven't seen since 9th grade), I asked if there was anything I could be praying for. Taken aback by the question, she looked at me quizzically. "You could do a rain dance or something." Then she became serious. "I just talked with my grandma, she told me that we could live at her house after she moves out. But there's a slight problem; she kicked out the twenty people renting around her house, because they all share the same well water. The water has to be refilled every several years, but this time it's too expensive, the wells are almost completely dried up, and there's no promise that there will be enough water to last another week." I looked at her, the answer was simple, "Well then, let's pray!" Three days later, I received a text: "I just talked to my Grandma about the well. Both 900 gallon tanks are full." I asked her if anyone came out to fill the tanks, or if her grandma had paid for it to be done. Her response? "It just filled up." IT JUST FILLED UP. How GREAT and how AWESOME and how BIG is God?! SO BIG! After meeting with this friend this last week to follow up, I asked her what she thought about the situation, she replied, "I want to see this 'God' work more and watch what else he can do."  

Well hold onto your seat, friend, he's going to blow your mind.

Jehovah Jireh: The Lord will provide.

At weddings, we like to groove.

(All photos belong to Caren Morris Photography)

Top left: He's a little teapot. There is his spout.

Top right: Curly hair makes otherwise terrible dancing look a little bit more epic.

Below: There comes a point when one needs to just stop dancing and exit the floor.
...This was my cue.

When you look delirious, it's time for a water break. A very long water break.

Highs and Lows

Highs

-Camping last week!
-Running! Here's to hoping it stays consistent.
-One of my best friends recently became engaged! Although it took everything I had not to spill the beans before it was announced publicly, not even a peep came out. A visit to Portland was necessary.
-ALSO, the most amazing wedding in Oregon. Seth and Kristina, your celebration was truly one of the best wedding's that I've been to. I couldn't stop smiling during your ceremony!
-Paid our school bill in cash. Oof. But worth it.
-Met with two friends for dinner last night. We all went through our awkward stages together in middle school and haven't seen each other since. Nothing has changed. We laughed for four hours straight. 
-Blueberry picking. Blackberry picking. Fruit.
-Cabbage, potatoes, peas, and zucchini from my grandpa's garden. Vegetables for days. 
-I never realized how often Zach got me flowers until I started keeping a 'highs/lows' list. That boy knows the way to my heart: wildflowers.

Lows

-Complete scone fail. Blackberries, let's try this again.
-Z's new manager has been scheduling him all night shifts for the last month. 
-Fruit flies! I can't seem to keep up with eating all this fresh fruit on time! (No complaints, though.)

What are your highs/lows this week? Have you gone camping this summer?
Pick any good fruit/vegetables recently? Have a great day!

Part two, camping.

After leaving the family reunion, we represented our Seattle pride by wearing a Hendrix shirt, and bought Starbucks as soon as we could locate a coffee shop.  I guess we missed home a little. Seattle, you are too good to us by having a Starbucks/multiple bistros on every block (not kidding). 

We also stopped off the road to buy some blueberries from a local market.

And then continued driving through the heat.

Zach felt compelled to decorate a tree.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we had no map or gps with us, so we were driving where our instinct told us, and eventually we found ourselves camping at the bottom of a volcano.  

Mosquitoes were everywhere, so we burned citronella sticks, and began to play a few games of bananagrams.

Our final morning away was spent going on a hike to a hidden lake.
After that, we packed up and spent the rest of the day back home with our families.  

The trip? A success!