things that happened this year

 It was a good year. A growing year. A busy year. A year filled with memories. And lots of pictures. Like, lots of pictures. Here are a few that are connected with some of my favorite memories. 

I started out the year by taking some early admit classes at the college where my dad teaches. This fall I began full-time. I was a health science major, but then I changed to communications. 

I fell in love even more with this beautiful creature. (And I took approx. 15,000 pictures of her.)

I graduated from high school. 

Then about a week later I went up to my cousin's place to help her and her in-laws out for five weeks.

A few days after getting home, my big sister and I went on a road trip to visit family (and new babies!) in several other states. We also were in four states at once, which was pretty cool. 

I photographed my first wedding. 

We celebrated the Fourth at the most beautiful spot ever. Aka, the gravel bar in our woods.  

 And then went and watched fireworks. 

 My parents, sister and I went to a lavender farm.

And I went crazy taking pictures. 

 Yup. She just keeps gettin prettier. 

Oh, and I got a camera right after my graduation and started taking even more pictures than normal.

I worked at the same farm that I have for the last four years. 

 And yeah, I did drive the above machinery. 

 I bought myself a car. 

 My siblings were as...strange...as always. 

We had a lot of awesome bonfires down at the gravel bar. 

My sister headed to Africa for two years. 

 I counseled at Camp Tadmor for a week. 

The mud pit was by far the best part. 

 I started going to a college group at a church about 45 minutes away.

I photographed my second wedding. 

I photographed quite a few different people, but these two were among my favorites.

It snowed, my dad took a picture of my girl and me, and it turned out to be one of my favorite pictures ever.

I decorated for Christmas and made about 1,000 cookies and it was really fun. (Okay, not quite 1,000...it just felt like it.)

That's pretty much all the highlights of my year. 

If my dog decides to have her puppies before the stroke of midnight, I can add that to the list of awesome moments of 2013, but if not I guess it will have to go on the list of awesome moments of 2014. 

Speaking of which, I am going to go check on her. So adios folks. Have a fabulous last day of 2013. 

no and yes

In case anybody missed it, my dog is gonna have puppies. Today she is 63 days pregnant, and (theoretically) ready to have her puppies at any moment. (Dogs are pregnant for anywhere from 58 days to 63 days, but some go early while others go later.) Even though she is ready to pop, she is still acting as if she isn't carrying precious cargo around with her wherever she goes. Today we went for a rambling walk down in the woods and of course I brought my camera, so of course I am sharing the pictures with you. 

(L) I feel like this is a senior portrait for her or something...

(R) These cones were just so pretty I couldn't resist taking a picture. (That seems to be my life story.)

You think you live in a pretty place? Ha! That's funny. 

Do you have bodies of water in your woods that make hearts? I thought not. 

And is this your beautiful dog that stares at you with adoring eyes? Again, I thought not. 

I rest my case for living in the most beautiful place on earth. 

Oh, and in answer to the two most common questions I am getting right now: 

No, my dog has not had her puppies yet. 

And yes, she will eventually have them. 

Have a fabulous evening, folks. 

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The decorations are my favorite decorations ever. The house we live in can be difficult to make feel Christmas-y because it's so big, but this year I think I hit the nail on the head with the decorations. So I thought I would give you all a virtual tour since I am so proud of my accomplishment :)

My amazing father climbed on the roof to put the lights up on the peak, and my amazing dog "helped" me put the rest up. 

I made this wreath the day after all my finals. It was SO nice to make something with my hands instead of my brain. 

Because it is only my brother and I home for Christmas this year, I didn't get out very many of the nick-nacks, but this one I just couldn't leave in the box. (Can we please just go back to this time of my life?)

The very lonely ornament on the tiny, fake tree in my room.

This nativity scene was made by my Great-Grandma Straw. 

Aaaannnndddd...there are Christmas lights everywhere. Around the windows, strung up in the foyer and hallway, around the mirror in the bathroom, all over the basement...yeah. I may have a slight adiction to the pretty lights. 

Candles make me happy. They're just so cozy. 

The other night as I was watching a movie, I cut out a bunch of snowflakes and then hung them above the kitchen sink. It feels so festive! 

Does the fact that the candles are all different lengths bother anyone else, or is it just me?

I won't tell you what my brother claims these ornaments hanging in the window are, but I disagree with him. I think they look nice. So there, Matt. 

"Ho-ho-ho I should let the elves do this from now on."

"Who turned out the lights??"

"Ho-ho-ho good thing I only do this once a year!"

"Are these chimneys getting smaller, or am I getting fatter??"

"Ho-ho-ho I could use some help over here!"

Like I said, lights everywhere.

I have nothing better to say about this picture than this: aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. 

Five Minute Friday: Reflect

(Pretty sure this took longer to write than five minutes...but oh well. Also, in case this post makes it sound like I bought my dog for a reproduction machine, I didn't. And if this post makes me sound like I don't love my dog, trust me. Nothing could be further from the truth. With those things in mind, read on.)

It was something I started planning long before I handed over the money. I wanted a dog. But not just any dog. I wanted a female Golden Retriever. And I wanted to breed her. I had a plan. I would get through the first two years until I reached the end goal of breeding her. Then she would have her puppies, and I would make some money off them and have a good time. What I wasn't prepared for was the roller coaster of life that I would be taken on in the next 2 ½ years. And I definitely wasn't prepared for the way that little, fluffy, blond creature would wiggle her way into my heart and just stay there. The first year and a half past according to plan. But then things started to go downhill (according to my time line). Shortly before my self imposed time line stated she should be bred, I spent the money to have her hips x-rayed only to find out that one hip was not as good as the other. Que: stressful time. I remember sitting in the parking lot of the vet's office just staring outside and thinking, “why? Why can't both hips be good? I said I would still praise You no matter what, God...but why?” A few days and a lot of hard thinking later, during a conversation with my parents, we remembered an incident during her puppy hood. She fell off an ATV and was run over, and the only sign of injury was her dragging her hip for a few minutes. Since then she hadn't had any trouble. Crisis = averted. With the stud dog lined up, current on all shots, etc., etc., all that was needed was for her to come into heat. And once again, my carefully planned out time line wasn't going according to plan. Months passed and I became slightly depressed over the fact that she just wouldn't come into heat. But finally, it happened. She was in heat. Phone calls to the vet's office and the stud dog's owner were made and appointments were set up. Once again, things didn't go completely as I had planned, but unlike before, this time I walked away from it all with a bred dog. Now it was out of my hands. Four weeks (and a lot of looking at my bank account and shuddering at the thought of what would happen if she wasn't pregnant) passed and I finally took a picture to compare with the before-breeding picture. The amount of joy I felt as I saw the definite difference was about three times as much as a child on Christmas morning. Since that day, I have had moments of worry. Some days it seems as if she really isn't getting any bigger. Other days I start panicking about the whole process of birthing puppies (I grew up around calves being born, and have helped with my share of births, but dogs are a little bit different). But through it all, I have been reminded that now matter how carefully I plan my life, no matter how perfect I think my time line is, God's plan and time line is SO much better than mine. I thought I knew what I wanted. I wanted a female Golden Retriever who would give me puppies, and ok, sure, we can be friends I guess. But God knew that I needed a dog who would be my best friend. A dog who would challenge me and help me grow in my faith. (Hey. Don't laugh. God can use anything.) It's been a crazy ride, these past 30 months, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. 

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

I have a stack of papers I should be looking at/working on/studying for finals week next week, but the snow outside was too much of a draw. And now I am basically looking for any excuse not to do school. Shame on me. 

Dr. Frosty the Snowman!

Somebody was kinda happy with the whole snow deal.

She just looks so pretty in the snow!

That, my friends, is what a happy dog looks like.

Go get um, girl.

Is it really possibly to love an animal this much?

Doggy-angels.

I asked Dr. Frosty the Snowman to take some pictures of us, and of course she had to do her normal let-me-lick-your-face-instead pose.

But, he did get her to look...finally.

My heart really can't handle all that love in her eyes. (Or maybe she is just wondering when we can be done with pictures so she can go back to playing...)

Alrighty. I guess I will go study now. Enjoy the snow everybody!

30 things

This week, I am thankful for...

1. the smell of coffee early in the morning
2. baby smiles
3. crackling fires
4. country music 
5. hugs from a (almost) 5 year old
6. childhood memories
7. finished homework (before the weekend!)
8. everything about my dog
9. emails from my sister (even if they are only 3 short paragraphs long)
10. new friends
11. baggy sweatshirts, and yoga pants
12. having the house to myself for an evening
13. seeing old friends
14. hand lotion
15. shooting guns with my broskie
16. sore muscles
17. chatting on Facebook with my cousin
18. Friends episodes
19. the sacrifices our veterans have made 
20. fuzzy socks
21. new makeup
22. getting snail mail
23. good movies that I've never seen before
24. good talks with my broskie
25. hot cocoa
26. laughter
27. a long overdue chat with my Grandpa
28. young kids
29. my job
30. my family and the impact they've had on my life