Image Map

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Goodbye June!

Here we are, at the end of another month. I seriously don't know how but these months continue to fly by like this (and I know I sound like a total broken record), but they do! I wanted to take a minute today to look back at June's goals! Because what's the point in making them if you don't evaluate yourself?!

Get up to date on our wedding edits - I'm counting this as a win since all of our April weddings are done and delivered (and loved by all the clients, yay) and we're almost ready to deliver the first half of May's as well! It's so hard to keep up with working at a desk by day!!

Lose 5 lbs - I CRUSHED this one. I have to say, I haven't been exercising all that much, but we've definitely changed the majority of our eating habits and been outdoors a lot this month, and I dropped 9 lbs total! I am so so excited. I definitely had it to lose, but I'm ready to step up my game in the gym now!

Get in touch with old friends - I think I did a decent job of this! Although, I'm challenging myself to do better in July!!

Finish the book I've been reading - while I haven't technically finished it, I'm down to the last few chapters but it has already changed my life and outlook on making my dreams happen. Yay for progress, not perfection.

Meal prep - while Caleb and I only meal prepped our breakfast/lunches (and not all of our dinners) and actually did weekly grocery trips, I'm considering this a win. This is huge progress for us! We only ate out a couple of times this whole month and that was always on wedding-days when we knew we'd be lower on calories and stayed in for dinner otherwise! Yay! Now to get better with dinners!

Get outside more - definitely nailed this one. Caleb and I took multiple walks after dinner throughout the month, spent an entire week outside for Sports Camp with our church, and shot 5 weddings - the majority of which are spent outdoors shooting!

Drink 100 oz of water a day - I actually did this a some of the time (or at least 80 oz), but not every single day, so this is a fail as well, darn it!

So overall, my goals weren't exactly 100% successful, but I'm pretty thrilled with the progress I did make! In other news, I made a hair appointment for next week (thank goodness) and cannot wait for the day I can put my hair in a PONYTAIL again. Woo! Yay for growing my hair back out.

How did your June goals go?!

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

If we could...

These last couple weeks have been good for my soul. As much as I love serving with my church, Sports Camp week took a lot out of me, but makes me even more thankful for the time at home with Caleb that I do get!

We took a long walk around our neighborhood the other night after dinner, and talked about the most random things. Caleb and I constantly talk about the future, we talk about things we "wish we could do/see", etc. I feel the list is so long that I wanted to make a post out of it...

If we could... {we would}

...move to Hilton Head. That place has a huge piece of our hearts. I've spent so many of my childhood summers there, we got engaged there, and have been back countless times. We long for the day we own a property/land down there! We technically COULD move as young adults, but I know we'd miss our friends/family so much!

...eat vanilla moon pies and donuts for breakfast every day. I suppose I COULD do this, but I don't really want to be 400+lbs.

...hang out with this sweet girl more. It's been months since I've seen her and I could almost cry I miss her so!

...eat crab legs for dinner every night. Well, maybe not Caleb - but I certainly would!

...work less, and play more!

...sell our current cameras and upgrade again. Photography is an expensive hobby/job, friends!

...go to fancy dinners more often (but we're both cheap).

...travel to a new state or country every year!

...lay out all summer long instead of sitting at our desk jobs.

...have a massage every month. We've never had one, I KNOW. Cue the tears.

...give, give, give!! We can't wait for the day we are in a better position to bless others like crazy.

...spend more time at festivals/carnivals with friends. Cheap, fair food is the best!

...run on only 4 hours of sleep.

...also, naturally be considered "morning people". It's not that we're grumpy come 7AM, but we'd both love to sleep in and wake up on our own timing (who wouldn't, though!?)!!

...be more adventurous! We wish we had more time for stuff like this!

Some of these things we absolutely CAN make happen, we just have to put our minds to them, or be a little more patient. So on days like today, where I just want to be outside, I remember why Caleb and I are working hard -- to set ourselves up for better futures! So we can adventure more later, and so we can give like crazy! Speaking of - Caleb and I are still rocking our debt-free plan and we're in the thick of it. It's hard, but with every payment we make, we are one step closer to where we want to be! I may just post a progress report soon!

Happy Wednesday friends!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

My nephew is perfect.

Friday evening was spent over at our best friends to catch up and of course, cuddle with our PERFECT NEPHEW! He's officially just over a month old, and you can absolutely tell! Every time we see him, he's changed! It's so insane to me how quickly babies change the first year. It was so fun to see him so alert! First picture of him on the blog...and its pretty much my favorite ever!

We hung out, played board games (hello Office Clue), I learned how to play Egyptian Rat Screw (intense card game), and ate some of the yummiest sugar cookies ever! It was so fun spending time with some of our favorite people!

It is so fun to see Erin and Jared as parents. I can't wait to snag a few family photos for them coming up. Nothing makes me happier than documenting moments that families will treasure forever...so to be able to do that for our best friends means the world to me.

It's also really fun for me to see Caleb as an Uncle. He loves kids, and he's amazing with them! It's just adorable to see the strong man that you love being so tender with a fragile newborn baby!

Our weekend was great, but it all paled in comparison to hanging with that little man for the evening! Hope everyone had a fun one as well!

Friday, June 24, 2016

A few on Friday.

This week was such an amazing break compared to the craziness that was last week. It's so good for my soul to get a few nights off, just come home, relax, edit on my own time, etc.!

-One of the gal's from youth group (who feels like my little sister), Greta, has a birthday coming up! Her boyfriend found my Instagram and messaged me to see if I could help him with part of her present before he left for vacation. He joined Caleb and I for dinner a couple nights this week while we made a photo collage for her room. Greta is a lot like me, and is obsessed with photos, so I knew she'd love it! He tricked her into coming over to see it all when we were done and she was so darn excited...made all those little sticky squares getting stuck to everything, worth it!

-Stalking Wayfair's website this week and eyeing these adorable pillows. I honestly cannot justify spending $25 on ONE pillow ever in my life...but these are so cute I may have to break that rule.
link
-I've been using my actual journal a lot more lately. There are some things I just don't want to write on the blog, and I think its good for the soul to write your honest prayers down every now and then.

-Caleb and I have been eating healthier for almost 4 weeks now (aside from the occasional cheat meal) and we're both finally seeing results. It's an amazing feeling! Can't wait to post about it.

-We have wedding number 5 of our 8 wedding stretch tomorrow and I'm really excited about it! Their day is very simple, and I can't wait to see her dress!

-I'm basically counting down the days until I can see the beach again and wear hats that are way too big for me.

I hope everyone has a great week. I know I've been blogging more this month but I don't quite feel back in my groove yet. Here's to hoping that comes back next week! Have a fun weekend, friends!

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Sports Camp 2016! AKA the coolest week ever.

I wanted to take today's post to recap my church's Sports Camp as a whole with some of my favorite shots. Basically we did the same thing every night. An insane amount of sweating, worshipping, walking and serving. It's overwhelming to see these kids sing to Jesus. It brought me to tears behind my camera more than a few times!

Sunday night was family night and we welcomed everyone into the park - this was also the night the kids got to meet all their coaches! The sports included flag football, basketball, soccer, cheerleading, backyard games and water wars. So much FUN!!







Monday was night #1 with the kids and we had the BEST time kicking off our week!







Just a few kids from our youth group!
Tuesday was yet another amazing night! Thankfully it was pretty overcast so we got a break from the sweltering heat for a night!




water wars is where its AT!






Sadly Wednesday night there was a huge storm brewing, so they had to cancel that night! But we came back Thursday and we went hard!







and Friday, we had ourselves a blast at family night! All the parents came and watched their children worship, win prizes and eat as much as ice cream as their little bellies could handle!






We gave away a brand new bike, and the boy who won already had one at home...so when no one was watching, he gave it away. I happened to catch it on camera thanks to someone noticing, and man, it really got to me! These kids are amazing, I love their generous hearts!

A huge thank you to everyone!! Every single volunteer (those who danced, those who packed snack bags for 300+ kids, those who sweat for Jesus, etc.), every parent who trusted us, everyone who donated money or gifts or supplies, and especially everyone who prayed for us, etc.! It means the world. We had the best week with these kids. Over 340 kids registered, 100+ volunteers...its always a highlight of our year!


Already looking forward to this event next year! I love my church!