The Cone of Shame

First off, if you don't get the reference to the "cone of shame" you should immediately go out and rent "Up" - although a Disney cartoon, it is good for adults and one of the sweetest movies you'll ever see.  You will especially enjoy it if you like dogs! 

I haven't posted about Friday lately and several people were asking how she is doing.  In general, the answer is she is doing great.  However, we took Friday to get fixed yesterday.  I hated to do it, but that is part of being a responsible dog owner.  When I went in to pick her up, they told me she can't run, jump, or play and absolutely under no circumstance should she lick the incision.  The kind vet assistant told me, "It shouldn't be a problem today because they're so out of it she'll probably just sleep."  Of course, then when she brought Friday out two seconds later she was wriggling, jumping up my leg, and promptly started licking her wound. 

I brought her home and she was so tired and sore she could only lay around and whimper... and lick her incision!  So to top it all off, I am hanging out all day with a dog in a cone.  I can't help but laugh because it is comical watching her trying to get around.  Still, she is having a regular puppy pity party for herself and doing her best to try to make me feel guilty enough to remove the cone.


Trying to stay strong,

Here she is trying not to fall asleep. Actually, she's probably glaring at me.

Scott and Sarah: Wedding

One of my favorite photos ever is from the night I arrived: I'm in my mom's arms and I'm staring at my brother and reaching out for him, the joy on my face apparent as I grasp to be held by him.  We don't get to choose our family, but in my case my family chose me.  And since then I've been struck by how choice reflects a deeper and greater love than I could have imagined, for it belies a purpose and clarity of mind.  From the moment that picture was taken, my brother chose to take care of his baby sister and set about being the best big brother a four-year-old could be.

Throughout our lives, we've fought and cried and laughed with each other, but more importantly we chose to pray and hope for each other.  I've spent years praying for my brother's future wife; that she be a Godly woman and as giving of her time as he is since he has such a gift for mentoring young people; that he would recognize that she was chosen for him and it would be clear who she was... and that she can handle his long showers and stubborn will!  I'm very happy that he found such a woman and more in Sarah.

On Saturday, June 26th, they chose each other for life and began the new adventure of being married.


Enjoy!




P.S. Sarah and Scott's very talented photographer, Marissa of Maharaj Photography posted some incredible images from their day on her blog here.

Scott and Sarah: Rehearsal & Dinner

The day before their wedding, my brother and his fiancee gathered with friends and family for their wedding rehearsal and dinner.  (You may remember the engagement shoot we did last year).  It was such a fun time to come together to meet new family and catch up with old friends.  I couldn't help but snap some photos on the eve of their wedding to capture the joy as the anticipation and preparation all began to come together. 

Up in the Air

It seems I've been spending a lot of time in airports and on planes lately.  When I was home a couple weeks ago, however, I went on a very different plane ride.  My dad has been working on his pilot's license and took me over the the Oxnard Airport to show me around.  While we were there, his good friend Ron was kind enough to take us up for a short flight.  I didn't have my camera with me, so I captured a few shots of our adventure on my dad's camera.  This is not some flimsy point-and-shoot - my dad has many hobbies, and photography is a big one.  He is the one who got me into photography in the first place and bought me my first "nice" film camera. 

Soaring above the Ventura foothills, Oxnard, and even glimpsing Santa Paula I was amazed at how the places I had walked and driven thousands of times looked so much more amazing from the air.  I was reminded again of one of my favorite Bible verses - Psalm 121.  I lift my eyes up to the mountains - where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  Being so high up sure puts everything in perspective.


Enjoy!

Graham and Emily: Just Because

Graham and Emily are two of the most fun people I've ever met.  I've known Graham since middle school and I'd never met anyone who lived with his exuberance and love of life (or who could tear it up on a dance floor quite like him)... until I met Emily.  Together, these two are quite a pair.

On our recent camping trip, we went out for a walk (I would say "hike" but Scott informed me if I'm doing it in flip flops or Uggs it doesn't count as a hike) and I saw this rock formation with a tree.  I was like, I have to climb this thing and take goofy pictures.  When Graham and Emily happened to come along, they were like, "We wanna take goofy pictures too!"  I'm always looking for willing subjects to pose!

You can read Emily's more complete post on our whole camping trip here.

The result, I hope, captures just a small piece of what fun and fantastic people they truly are.

Couldn't have asked for better subjects.  Statues?  No problem!




Look at that air!