My Wedding Dress Went to Goodwill

Our friends were coming to town a few days after Christmas, so Dave and I wanted to tidy up the place since we hadn't been home all weekend and then some. I left my sweet husband a honey-do list, and he honey-did. I came home to a lovely, clean apartment after working the day after Christmas. As I sat down to unwind with my guy, I realized that this box that we had by the door was gone. In my mind, I knew that that box contained both things to keep and things to purge. Well, in my things to keep list was....yes...my wedding dress!

I failed to communicate to Dave that I hadn't sorted through the box yet, and since he was on such a roll with cleaning and stuff, he decided to take a car load of stuff to the local Goodwill. Needless to say, I had a meltdown for fear that i'd lose my wedding dress to someone who wouldn't understand why it meant more than the normal amount to me. Our wedding photographers pursue to inspire forever, covenant, and "Don't Give Up" into the couples' marriage for whom they photograph. They have each couple pick something on which they want to write the word "prevail." In our case, we picked my dress. We would have picked the treehouse, but we weren't sure how realistic it would be to always have that with us wherever we would end up. Who knew that Sharpied fabric would become to dear to me.

Now the only thing I could see was my dress wadded up in a sad ball-- a needle in a haystack post crazy Christmas donations. Dave zipped out the door as soon as I confirmed that my dress just got handed over to unknowing strangers and drove back to see if he could get it back. When he got there, there were different people working and no one recognized him from the earlier drop off and vice versa. He came home--hands empty. The manager told him that they would keep an eye out for my dress (which was for whatever reason really hard to believe). That began the just-in-case grieving process--tears flowing.

I kept on telling myself, "If it's meant to be, i'll get my dress back." I, along with a few friends, said some prayers, and hoped for the best.

Friends, beyond good news!! I don't have to just remember my dress by way of photos. I can keep it and show our kids and maybe even our grandkids one day. Thank you Goodwill for your goodwill. They called Dave to let us know that they'd come across the bag with my dress, in a box, in a pile. Thank you, love, for making it your mission to get that back for me. I love you...so, so much.

That...was a close one.

Surprise: Sweet, sweet "revenge."

For some reason, my surprises I have or plan for Dave have always backfired. Take this for instance: for his birthday in July, I ordered a guitar pedal for him not knowing that I was logged on to HIS eBay account--good job, Liz!

The worst part is that Dave is great at surprising me, so i've always felt quite less than in the surprising department.

Well--I was doing laundry the other day in the garage and noticed this brown box in the back that I didn't remember seeing before. I just assumed it was a wedding gift that had somehow gotten overlooked. I spun the box around to see If there was any writing that would clue me in on what it was. And there, in beautiful, bold black typeface I read the words: KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

I believe my exact words were: "Whaaaat?! No way!!"

And the box was addressed to Dave's work, so I knew that this was something he meant to surprise me with.

When he came home that day, I walked over to him with my "I know something you wish I didn't know" face and told him what I had found. Turns out, it was my Christmas present!

Even though Dave was kind of bummed that the surprise was "ruined," we were both really excited to put the mixer to good use leading up to this holiday season. And truth be told, I was still completely surprised--just not as my darlin' husband had planned. Finally--a surprise that I figured out before the appointed time (doesn't feel so good now does it, babe?) ;).

Thank you for my lovely buttercup colored mixer, love. You've always been a good gift giver. The kitchen is going to get some serious action because of this new addition, and so will... Ah, I won't spell it all out for you...:p

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse: Making Our House a Home

As Dave has gotten back into the groove of work, I've been thoroughly enjoying my role of home-maker--being as resourceful and creative as I can. (Sidenote: I got an interview for a teaching job in Santa Barbara, which will take place in November 16th :))

One of the funnest things I've gotten to do is use decor from our wedding in our home--both decoratively and practically.

Let me take you on a little tour (mostly of our music space and our kitchen):

-using the paper hearts in the flower girl's basket as labels for jars

-using 1/2 gallon mason jars for food storage

- using the framed pictures we used at the wedding up on our walls

- cake toppers, dried bouquets, guest books, and lace piece on my dress as decorative accents

I am a cheater.

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.

I cheat you of your God-given destiny...because

you demand your own way.

I cheat you of contentment...because you

"deserve better than this."

I cheat you of knowledge...because you already

know it all.

I cheat you of healing...because you're too full of

me to forgive.

I cheat you of holiness...because you refuse to 

admit when you're wrong.

I cheat you of vision...because you'd rather look 

in the mirror than out a window.

I cheat you of genuine friendship...because

nobody's going to know the real you.

I cheat you of love...because real romance

demands sacrifice.

I cheat you of greatness in heaven...because you

refuse to wash another's feet on earth.

I cheat you of God's glory...because I convince

you to seek your own.

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.

You like me because you think I'm lways looking

out for you. Untrue.

I'm looking to make a fool of you.

God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...

If you stick with me

You'll never know.

-Beth Moore

I'll start and end with that.  I'm going to chew on this. 

You know--we all have "friends" that struggle with this... 

May we experience grace that will lead us to freedom through humility.

Today in Pictures: Staycation.

I'm still very much adapting to living at my parents' again. As i'm trying to figure it out, i'm exploring places that i've already known with new eyes.

With that being said, here's how I staycayed today...

---a good read in a good seat---

---sun-basking---

---vitamin D dosage---

---lovely little beauties--- 

...all in the comfort of the backyard.

Hodge Podge Friday: I love the mailman.

Ok, Ok, maybe the mailwoman and the occasional FedEx person. I don't know if our postal worker is male or female, but I do know that I love him/her.

1. Goodies that have come in the mail in the last week and a half:

My wedding shoes :D

Three cardio, interval workouts in a box:

Inspiring snail mail:

Engagement Pictures Set 1:

Engagement Pictures Set 2:

2. A lasting utterance from this past week:

"Being disoriented is good; it causes you to stop and be still--to really sit in the presence of the Father."

- Professor Liang

3. My current state with everything that's going on:

Disoriented. Well, at least know I know it's a good thing ;). 

4. Here is one of the pictures that I took of one of my best friends, Becca, this past week:

You can see the rest here: Life With [ED]

Have a great weekend! A few more final projects, a lot more moving, and i'll be more sane by my next entry--hopefully :). 

Blogg[ED].

A little dabble here. A little dabble there. I've finally started a separate blog for just photography-related posts. It's not just a blog for pictures, it's represents a lot that Dave and I will transition into once we're married--working as a team. The site is appropriately named "Life With [ED]." [ED]= Elizabeth+David--aka Team [ED].

I've been blessed with various jobs here and there--shooting engagement pictures, family portraits, even weddings (crazy!). We're really excited to see how God continues to shed light onto this part of our adventure. Dave has the business savvy mind, so it's been really encouraging to have him help me along the way with pursuing this as a more-than-just-a-creative-outlet type of thing. To be completely honest, there have been times when I've been a bit iffy about diving into the world of photography as any form of business venture, but there have been affirming moments along the way. Plus, life's all about faith.

I'm learning faith right now.

We're both learning faith.

Insert leap here: ___________.


We'd love the support; check out the new blog and follow us!

"We Made Teacher Cry."

I told them earlier on in the semester that I cry when I'm happy, I cry when I'm sad, I cry when I'm mad, and that I cry when I'm feeling about almost any other strong or noteworthy (sometimes) emotion. Although I didn't want to bank on the fact that I would, I had a feeling that I'd end up crying in front of my adult-aged students at the end of the semester--not because I was mad or frustrated. Instead, I'd be crying some mix of happy and sad tears--happy because the semester had been such a great experience and sad because I was going to miss my students AND because it'd mark the last class I'd teach at the American Language Institute at CSULB. 


With finishing my master's program, moving home to live with my parents for a few months before the wedding, and getting married, I find that I'm saying goodbye to a job that I love, friends who I adore, and a city that i've called home for the last 6 years. I had told my students this, and they decided to say goodbye in the sweetest fashion ever:

Next to each one of their pictures, they each wrote a note expressing their thanks and wishing me (and Dave) all sorts of  happy wishes for the upcoming wedding :). 

The minute my student Will pulled this cork-board-creation out of his bag, I knew that the tears were going to flow freely.


Grammar 3 Students,


Thank you for investing your time into this class.
Thank you for inspiring to be a better teacher.
Thank you for making me laugh.
Thank you for making me cry ;).
Thank you for making my last term at the ALI so memorable.
Thank you for blessing me.
Thank you for being such a great class!


I really just hope for each and every one of you that you become lifelong learners--in and out of any kind of school environment. For those of you who are going home, I hope that you take things that you've learned with you. For those of you who are staying here in the United States, I hope that you keep those things near as you continue to build on them. 


Love,


Liz

2 Moms+ 2 Photographers+ 2 Friends= One Engagement Shoot Blogged TWO ways!

This past weekend, Dave and I were able to experience something that is hard to put into words. Neither one of us are the editorial, really-good-in-front-of-the-camera type of person (well, at least i'm not). When it came time for engagement pictures, we weren't sure what our experience was going to be. Instead of having us pose, Rosina and Sarah showed us that they are on a photographic journey to capture couples as they are, to facilitate space for couples to just be, and to create an environment where couples are able to look back on that day and remember exactly what they were feeling towards each other and the adventure that led them up to that point. Thank you for capturing memories, and helping us make some new ones. We laughed, we cried, we sang, we danced; and in the best sense possible, it was almost as though Dave and I were the only two people in that beautiful field. That just goes to show how natural and easy it is to be around both Rosina and Sarah.

Thank you for being on a mission to celebrate love by way of capturing REAL moments. Your creative eyes are only outmatched by your beautiful hearts. You've blessed us with pictures that we'll be able to look at and reminisce with "for as long as we both shall live." I know it sounds cheesy, but the hope and knowledge of forever are anything but. 

Go check out their full blog posts from the shoot!

Rosina's post:

Sarah's post:

I was telling Dave my hope of these images being reflective of what the rest of our lives will be like--full of laughter, worship, and love. :)Amen.

Chew On It!

His 

faithfulness 

finds 

its 

home 

in 

us.

"Whoa!" is right!

Natalie.

We were roomies. Now we're neighbors. And for the last few years, we've both gotten to share some significant life stages with each other. I love this woman, and we thought that her soon-coming graduation made for a good excuse to go to take some pictures (and to hang out!).

She exudes a life of love and has a smile to die for, and i'm certain those are evident in the pictures you're about to see:

Musing Morsel

I sat down with intentions of being eloquent and catchy, but I kept on typing and deleting.
Instead, I'll leave you with two of the dominant thoughts as my 25th birthday approaches:

1) Time flies. 

2.) The reminder that we're made in the image of the Almighty, loving God is one that I need to hear and can hear over and over again as it becomes weightier with each utterance. 

"For You created me in your inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13


Thank You for Your life, Lord. Thank You for mine. Thank you for what you intend for our lives.

The Adventures of a 4-Year-Old and my Microwave.

What is this, you ask?

This, friends, was the result of some creative exploration.

My friend lovely friend Rosina  and her husband came out to Long Beach today for a sonogram for their third bun in the oven. Since the appointment was near my neck of the woods, she asked if I could hang out with her two kids for a little while. Personally, I think they're some of the cutest kiddos i've ever laid eyes on, so I was more than happy to watch them for a bit. We watched Toy Story 3, they helped me grind and brew some coffee, they colored, and I loved listening to all of their little anecdotes. The highlight, by far, happened while I was drawing with Abby. I heard the microwave go off, and I asked Caleb if his pretend food was done cooking. He looked at me and said, "No, iss my cawh." I don't know if he was in the mood for some hot wheels action, but the terrified look that came across his face when the beeps came was priceless. Bye bye, car. It was melty mayhem. I tried so hard not to die laughing in front of the two kiddos, but man did I have a good laugh with Rosina and Benny when they came to pick them up. Now Caleb knows that a microwave is only for edibles--not for his favorite cars.

Just for fun, I decided to take some pictures of them while they were playing and entertaining each other. Aren't they too cute for words? 

 [ The kiddos helped me make coffee :)They wanted some proof, so they could show off to their mama ]

I know, you're probably ooo-ing and aahhh-ing about how ridiculously good looking these two lil ones are. I had so much fun, and I think it would be safe to say that they did too :). I can only imagine what kind of memories are going to be made once baby #3 comes around.
Rosina and Benny, you are great parents with some equally fantastic children.