A new blog post - finally!

I've been away from this blog for so long now and so many important things have happened. I've done a bunch of photo shoots and have yet to blog even one of them. I will be posting a few photos from all of my shoots, but as my husband and I just bought our first house, I will also be posting our "remodeling" projects as well.

See you soon!

Congratulations to my husband!

Today has been an amazing day for my husband, A.J. and as a result, for me as well. Today is the day that he is DONE with graduate school. This afternoon at 1 PM he defended his thesis and at about 2:30 it was declared that he had completed.

I was overwhelmed with joy when members of his committee came out with their thumb's up! Even as I sit here, knowing that this day is coming to a close and a season of our life is over, I can't fathom that it's actually over.

So here is my husband, who woke up today at Mr. and will end the day as a Dr.
(A.J. outside of Nelson Auditorium at UCI)

The Ph.D. has been awarded. A million congratulations babe! I love you! I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us now.

Does anyone what a dog?

One of my good friends, Tanya is a missionary in Mexico. She currently has an apartment but she will be moving to "The Ranch" which is operated by YUGO next week. Since she is moving and she can't take her adorable dog with her, he needs a home.

His name is Aslan and he is a Golden mix. He has been fixed and has had all of his shots. He will be 1 in November, so he is still a puppy and he needs someone to walk and play with him and most of all to love him. He is very good and knows some commands but he is super smart and should be easy to train.

Email me for more info and please pass this on - he needs a home next week.

Chris and Janine - Save-the-date Card

Here is the Save-the-Date card that I put together for Chris and Janine. I just finished their invitations and I am looking forward to posting them as soon as they send them out!

My husband lost his wedding ring!

I have to post this because it is just soooo weird. Last Wednesday night, while at our home group, A.J. lost his ring. We were all sitting around talking and I wasn't paying attention when Jenny noticed that A.J. was looking all of the ground for something and she asked him what he was doing. He said, "I dropped my wedding ring".

So we all started looking for it: Karen, Jenny, Christina, Jeremy, Tammy, Nancy, Jim, A.J. and myself. The girls were going through our purses and a bag that A.J. had brought with him (and I have to mention here that these were gone through several times by several different people), the guys were moving the couches, we removed and went through everything on the coffee table - photo albums, piano books, etc. Someone checked the lamps, we moved the side table in their house, had A.J. check every one of his pockets, we checked the bowl of chips on the table and the dips.

It was basically insane and we stopped to pray several times during the search.
Finally, Jeremy was convinced that A.J. had left it at home and that we would find it when we got home. So after 1 1/2 hours of looking for this ring, we stopped.

When we got home, I immediately checked to see if A.J. had left it in the "ring box" and it wasn't there, so I knew for sure he had it with him and he must have lost it somewhere in their house. Just as A.J. is calling Jeremy to tell him we don't have it and I was logging on to the computer, I notice the ring.

Now this is the unbelievable part. It was on the outside of the bag that A.J. had with him. On the outside! Here's a picture of the bag with the ring on it on our messy table:

Okay at any point after we left Jim and Karen's, A.J. could have lost the ring - it was on the OUTSIDE of the bag. Leaving their house, walking down the stairs outside their house, tossing the bag in the car, parking in the garage and carrying the bag from the garage into our house through the complex. God really answered our prayers on this one. Not that it couldn't have been replaced, but that it would have driven everyone crazy trying to figure out where it went to.

Thanks to all of you who helped us look and prayed with us!

The Three "J's"

Justin ~ Josephine ~ Jacob

Last Friday I had the opportunity to hang out with the three of them and grab some pictures. Jacob is adorable and was such a happy baby, despite the heat and the strong sun. Jacob is 8 months old and is just a dear.

By the way, Justin and Josephine are optometrists and own their own business in Lake Forest - South County Eye Care. If you need to have your eyes checked, give them a call - you might even see some of my work on their walls :)!

Here are some favorites from the day:

CLICK HERE FOR THE SLIDESHOW!

Jimmy & Katie - ENGAGED!

Jimmy and Katie met 6 years ago through his brother Adam. At first they were just friends, until 2 years later when they first started dating. They dated for nine months, however, it was just not the right time. Over the next 4 years, they remained friends and talked frequently about life's ups and downs. Jimmy moved several times over the years, each time finding his way back to California. They continued to hang out and talk on the phone. As the friendship grew, so too did the possibility that they would become more than friends.

Finally, last December, after 6 years of dancing around with the idea of a romantic relationship, Katie and Jimmy decided to start dating again and Jimmy asked Katie to go with him to his company Christmas party. It took Katie just a little while to realize that this time, the timing was right. In July, while in New York, Jimmy proposed to Katie on Liberty Island with a ring designed with her grandma's wedding diamond and diamonds from her mother. The wedding is set for April 11, 2009 and they are so comfortable and so loving to each other that we know their love will continue to grow and grow and grow!

Jimmy and Katie, you two were made for each other!

Jimmy and Katie, you guys were an awesome and we had a blast with you! We can't wait until your wedding!

Click here for the Slideshow!