I WANTS IT!!

I am looking into getting a cargo bike to become a little less gas-dependant. I want this one!




Check out Madsen Bikes by clicking on the picture!

down to a month...

I got the best birthday surprise last Friday. Some back ground info for those who didn't know: Since mid September, Sean's orders were changed twice; with the latest change he was going to be in Texas until middle of November and not going to be back until December 10th.
Alright back to Friday: Sitting at my desk, before I left for lunch with my parents, my cell phone started ringing Sean's 'International Harvester' song. I was a little surprised to actually hear from the husband in the middle of the day, but I'll take every phone call I can get from him! He had graduated the day before from the 1st part of tech school, and had most of the day to hang out and out-proess.
The conversation started with the usual, Happy Birthday, I love you, how is your day conversation. Then he followed it with "well I have some bad news and some good news" Good news, I sent you some flowers for your birthday. Bad news, they have changed my orders again. '
UGH!!! I was so frustrated and immediately started wondering if I had to change my Thanksgiving plane tickets to DC and when will he actually be home. Then Sean says "looks like I am going to be back home around November 19th." My wheels immediately started turning how we were going to work out being together for Thanksgiving since I was going to be DC with his family and he was going to be home--then it hit me SEAN'S GOING TO BE HOME EARLY!!! It took a few seconds for the whole surprise orders change to set in, but once it hit me I was beaming the rest of the day!!!
I did have to cancel my plane ticket out East, but it will be worth the $100 hit to have the husband home finally!

Now let me tell you about how proud I am of this man. Not only did he rope up to a Red Rope in the student leadership program (very few airmen get to the Red Rope) but he graduated top of his class too! And to add to his student leadership, he organized a boot drive for the squadron. Sean's boot drive got over 500 pairs of shoes to donate to the SonShine House in Wichita Falls. And once the PR Department of the Air Force found out about his efforts phone calls were made and newspapers interviews were given. Yeah, I'm pretty proud of my guy. And on top of that, he's taken it upon himself to come up with a squadron workout regime that would keep people motivated to stay in shape. Tonight he told me about something pretty cool that happened today: Sean was having a meeting with his 2 NCO's discussing his workout program when, who of all people came walking thru his meeting but the base commander. Sean was able to give a little overview of his plan to the commander and will get a quick meeting with him sometime this week to discuss in depth his vision for the program. And the commander gave him the best compliment ever; he had mentioned that there is a program that allows Commanders to, on the spot, appoint a person to a higher rank. Unfortunately, Sean is in the guard and not active duty, but it was a fabulous compliment.
Alright enough bragging--Sean will now officially be home November 19th-ish, and I couldn't be happier! Keep him in your prayers as he leaves Sunday for his 2nd part of Tech School in NC. Yeah he will be home soon!!!!

i remember

I was in my dorm room, getting ready for my 2nd class of the day. I had an early morning class and was let out extra early and had decided to take a shower and actually fix my hair for the day. I was standing in front of the little TV in my shared room, brushing the wet tangles out when a news flash broadcast that one of the towers had been hit. There was little information and much confusion as to what had happened; at the time it was kind of assumed that a plane hit it accidentally. I stood there kind of numb, but not yet realizing the significance of the 'accident'. I grabbed my books and headed over to the gym for my class. Walking down the little corridor that paralleled the teachers offices, I saw my professor, standing with his jaw dropped. I walked into his office in time to see the 2nd plane hitting the 2nd tower. It wasn't an accident, it was terrorism.
He herded us into our class room and hooked up the TV for a few minutes. One of the guys in the class started crying--he has a brother who works in one of the towers. We turn off the TV to try and lecture, but no one is really paying attention. I later learned that my classmates brother had been running late to work; he was a block away when the 1st plane hit. But other students were not as lucky. There were 8 students who lost someone they knew and loved when the towers crashed.
Class is over, and the whole school was on their way to chapel. We sat among the benches, comforting people and praying for safety and understanding. I remember walking out of the building after chapel and looking up--there was nothing in the usually busy sky. And it was eerily quiet out; not even the birds chirping their usual happy tunes.
The Pentagon got hit--I remember wondering and praying for safety of an old boyfriends father who was working at the Pentagon. He was home safe; I learned later that he had taken the day off to tile a room in their house. 7 years later, this man would be my Father-in-Law.
I remember the confusion and fear that quickly sprang up among the students and the strength and wisdom that came forth from our professors. We felt violated. Not understanding the what was going on so many miles away; wondering if a town in the middle of no where Nebraska could be next; the calming and soothing voices of professors guiding us through a situation no one had ever experienced.
I remember. And I'll never forget what happened September 11, 2001.

Whirlwind weekend!

I was able to make a quick trip over the Labor Day weekend down to see my hubby. I flew into OKC to spend a little time with my sister and her family then borrowed her car to make the 2 hour drive down to Wichita Falls where Sean is currently stationed. I was so excited about seeing him, I left in the early morning and drove faster than I planned. I got there around noon and had to find a place to hang out until Sean was released from class sometime between 4 and 5--the couch in the library and I made quick friends as I caught a quick nap and read almost all of "The Hunger Games" book. (I highly recommend the series by the way).
By 4:30 Sean was released and we were finally able to see each other after 2 long months of separation!



We spent the night in WF and ate at a awesome BBQ place. The next morning we were off making the 2 hour trip back to OKC--there isn't much to do in WF, so we opted for a big city to hang out in. We met back up with my sister and headed out to the zoo. It was fun to hang out with Jourdan, Brandon and Jacob. Love my little Shark boy!
The weekend was overall good--ate good food, walked around Bricktown with Sean and overall caught up on each others lives. Life is good! Only have to make it to Nov. 22nd to see him again! Yeah!

under the belt

Yup. I've got my 1st wedding under the belt. Not going to lie, I was a little nervous when I first started shooting, but having such a fun and laid back couple made the day roll along.

Look at this beautiful couple!


Check out sweet Ryan--the little guy was just having so much fun with his hat!


Love is simple and pure.

One month down...

One more to go! Yep, just one more month until I get to see my boy! God has really blessed us with timing our quick visits--exactly 2 months apart so far! Over labor day weekend I will make a quick trip to OKC to stay with my lovely sister and her family, borrow their car and make the quick 2-hour trip down to Sheppard to pick up Sean. Then we travel back to OKC for the long weekend--really who would want to stay in Wichita Falls when you have the huge metropolis of OKC just 2 hours away?

In the mean time, I've been keeping busy!! Let me count the ways:

1. 2 trips to Glacier National Park! The first trip was with my friend Meagan. We camped out at Apgar Village and met up with some people from Helena for a rafting trip down the Middle Fork of the Flathead. Then I took a trip to Glacier with my good friend Joleen where we camped out at St. Mary's and saw a black bear and her cub grazing along the road; We also saw many mountain goats on the trail.
2. Building bikes! I have finished my 1st bike and it is good! I try to ride it to work regularly in the afternoons. I am also working on a bike for my mom. I just can't get the rear derailleur to adjust correctly. But it is almost finished! Yeah!
3. The garden is busting out of the seams! HOLY COW I didn't know hops, spaghetti squash, zucchini and lettuce could literally take over a garden! I've also got tons of tomatoes that are not ripe yet. I just need a week or 2 of solid 85+ degrees and sun and I think I will have enough for tomato sauce! It has been a weird weather summer here in MT--right now it is 68 degrees and cloudy. Not optimal for gardening!
4. I am training for a 5k this coming Sunday; I tried to sign up for the Harvest Thunder triathlon but it was already full, so a nice 5k it is!
5. Jam time! My parents buzzed up to the Flathead area and picked almost 70lbs of cherries last week! I currently have made cherry syrup (I will have to reheat the syrup and try to make it gel up correctly) cherry raspberry jam, blueberry peach jam, and blueberry apricot jam. My neighbor down the street has blueberry plants in his greenhouse that bloom multiple times a year and had a surplus of them this year; he knocked on my door and offered me as many as I wanted. What a nice guy!
6. Photos Photos Photos! I have been blessed with 2 more family sessions in the past few weeks. And August 20th I shoot my first wedding! YEAH! I also have at least 3 families from church scheduled for fall/christmas time pictures! WOO!
7. I got attacked by a bunny rabbit. I know you are laughing right now, but a bunny rabbit really did try to kill me. About 2 weeks ago, around midnight, I heard this thumping every once in a while and assumed it was my dog dream running and kicking the bed in his sleep. Once Kaine joined me on my bed, I realized the noise was coming from outside my egress window. There was a baby bunny running laps around the window well. I went outside, in a thunder and rain storm mind you, to try and catch it. I would have waited until morning, but every time it thumped the window, the dogs would wake up and growl. So there I was, down in the window well cornering the bunny and almost had it in my hands then the unthinkable happened. It attacked! It ran up my arm and all I could see was it's teeth; I had a flash back to a movie I had seen when I was little where the rabbits grew to the size of cars and ran through a town killing everyone. Needless to say, I screamed like a little girl and jumped out of the window well as fast as I could. I ended up getting a bucket from the garage and dropped it on top of the little bunny and was able to scoop it out and release it. I think next time I will just drop Kaine dog down the hole and let him work his magic!
8. Sean and I are starting a new endeavor together--Life Group Co-Leaders. This year, Sean and I were asked to co-lead a small group every other Sunday with some good friends of ours. I know it is our goal, once Sean is back in Great Falls, to work more with the church. It hadn't crossed my mind to try and start this journey without him, but God surprised us with his perfect timing. I can't wait for our first meeting in September!
9. Work, oh work...some days I think it will be the death of me. Other days, it is quite enjoyable! My current job is about 10 months AHEAD of schedule. Yes, I said AHEAD! For a construction company that is GOOD!! For me that means this job will be over sooner than we planed for. There are always other jobs with my company I could move to, and it's possible for them to get one more contract here, but you never know! I am a little nervous to see what God has planned for me in the future, but for the time being, I am not going to worry about it and just try to go with the flow!
Alright...that is about it for now. Keep us in your prayers as you all are in mine! God bless!

He did it!!!

It was a rough 8 weeks, but he survived! YEAH! He worked hard, lost 20+ lbs and even managed to graduate with honors! He is now in Wichita Falls at Sheppard AFB studying and learning his job. And the best part is, I don't have to sit around waiting for a phone call--I can call him almost any time I want! These next 5 months should be a breeze!

Here are some pictures from my trip down to San Antonio!

Look how serious they all are!


Just received his Honor Graduate Coin.


The 1st time we got to see each other.



Love my Airman!