Friday, October 26, 2012

Nothing too exciting going on here.


 Just every day life. 

Jon's days have been a litte longer this week; they are getting a new system at work so they have to be trained. Usually he's home by 1:30. This week he's not home until 4:30. I miss our afternoons and I think Samuel does, too! But hey, more hours = more $$$. 

That we can save.

Not spend... :) 

Really, I just want to buy all the adorable little sweaters for Samuel. 

And maybe some boots for me. 

As weird as it might sound, I'm just really excited to have a budget again. To have some structure. To have my husband text me back and say "No, Samuel doesn't really need that adorable hat and glove set or the cutest little elephant costume you've ever seen." 

Instead of just surviving. Instead of relying on the government to provide our food and getting judgmental stares at the grocery store because we want to buy a little ice cream with our food stamp card.  (side note: I am very thankful that we had help at the time. It's a good thing, but like most good things, it must come to and end and it gets abused. We are excited to be getting back on our feet and support ourselves. Although, we will still rely on the government for our health insurance because Jon's part-time job [at 39 hours a week] doesn't offer it. So very thankful for that as well. Even though it may be a broken system, it's a system. It's better than most of the world.)

Well, anyway....

I'm just excited to have some structure back. I think I've been in a funk lately. I really think I get like that when I don't have a schedule. I remember when I used to work at Starbucks...my most productive days would be the ones when I had opened the store at 5:30 am and worked 8 hours. Since I was already up and out, I'd run all my errands and be jacked up on coffee so I'd do laundry and cook dinner and clean and just go, go, go. My days off...I stayed in my pjs and watched reality tv all day and had cookies for lunch. 

I don't have a typical job now. I don't work Monday through Friday. I work every day. No days off. No sick days. No vacation. Long hours. Most days I'm tired. The boss is demanding. But it pays well...






....it pays in smiles and giggles.






.....it pays in slobbery kisses and cute gibberish. 





Yeah, my boss is pretty cute.... 




















Some days will go smoothly. 

Others not so much.

But I rely on grace and the never-ending, overflowing love of Christ. I let that flow through me daily so I might raise this sweet child in the way the Lord sees right. 

Plus, my co-worker is pretty cute, too ;)



So I think I like this job the best. I think I'll keep it forever. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Swingin' in the sunshine.

Samuel is probably going to think that my camera is actually part of my face. 



And he has good reason to believe that. Because well, it kind of has been a permanent fixture. 

But I just can't help it! 

First of all, my son is incredibly adorable and photogenic. And second, I want to practice a lot and he's the cutest thing I have access to. 

So here ya go. An obnoxious amount of pictures of Samuel. Again. 



































Saturday, October 13, 2012

Practice, Practice, Practice.





I've always had a love and a passion for photography. Always taking pictures. I always had a disposable camera with me back in the day. Then I finally upgraded to a point and shoot. I tried to compose my pictures better and think more about what I wanted to capture. I LOVED digital. Loved that I could immediately see my picture after I took it.

And last year, my sweet husband bought me a DSLR! I skimmed through the camera's manuel to get the basic camera functions down, but I learn better by just doing. So I took about 1000 pictures of my dogs. Every day. For about a year. 

 I wanted to know more. Do more. So my thoughtful husband bought me my first prime lens: a 50mm 1.8 and I love it. It rarely comes off my camera.
I'd eventually love to buy more wonderful lenses, but if you know anything about prime lenses, you know they are pricey! So I'm trying to patient, making the most out of my lens right now and just learn!

So I scoured the internet and read articles and blogs. I still have lots to learn, but I'm really trying to pursue photography as more than a hobby. 

So I went to a photography workshop with my new friend Alina last weekend. The woman who did the workshop is Sally Manlove and she is awesome. Check out her page here! 





Caution!!!

If you do not want to see an obnoxious amount of pictures of my dog and my son, 
then move on!


So I'm posting these for your enjoyment and just to document my progress. Okay, okay, and maybe to get some encouragement (or constructive criticism!) 




































                                     



















Monday, October 8, 2012

Life in October.


Pictures! 


Just life the past few weeks. Samuel discovers grass, hangs out with Tibby, and we went to Tanganyika, a wildlife park here in Wichita. It's like a smal, interactive zoo. We fed giraffes and lemurs! 

Enjoy :)






Discovering grass!




Big gummy grin.

Trying to 
take off his hat!




He loves Tibby!






Tibby thinks she is a cat.




Little Bella-Mama watching her baby.




Love this view.




Sam and his Mema.



Kansas.
There are dirt roads here...



Giraffe!

Sam got a kick out of these guys!


We were so close. It was neat! We got to pet them, too!



These Alpacas were friendly, too.






I was amused.


Feeding lemurs! So cool! They would reach out and grab our hands!

We had  a blast!