new house...

finally!! here are some photos i snapped right before we moved all our crap into our new house!!

huge backyard-so excited about this!!

hall bathroom..


master bathroom (w/ jacuzzi tub!)

master bedroom looking toward hall closet & bathroom

master bedroom (yep, it's purple)..

bedroom (sarge's lair for now...)

bedroom (payton's room for now...)

dining room/extension from kitchen (we're going to use as office space)..

family room

beautiful kitchen (w/ lots of light!)

the day we picked up the keys!

our first home!

i'm an auntie!

i am officially "auntie em"!!! despite being a little early (10 days to be exact) and my brother not making the birth, december 14th was a beautiful day! my brand new nephew, anthony "noah" kiggins was born at 10:41pm, weighing 6.5 lbs and 18 1/2 inches long. both momma and baby are doing great and jason made it back to the states tonight to meet his new son.

i can't even begin to describe how excited i am and how i cannot wait to meet this little munchkin! luke and i look forward to seeing all THREE of you soon!

we love you, noah!!!

home sweet home...

"let love be your shelter. the world is noisy and confusing at times, so make a home that is a haven, a peaceful place where you can listen to your hearts and savor the comfortable closeness you share......"

this is a great beginning to a beautiful poem about love and marriage, but i thought it was appropriate for another reason. luke and i are..........





....official home owners!! we closed on our first home today and are so excited!! it's a cute little 3 bedroom, 2 bath rambler with a huge yard for playing! we have already started the packing process and are going to start moving sunday..the big stuff will move next weekend and we will be completely moved in by the end of the month! our lives are crazy right now (so i apologize for the lack of communication), but it's worth it! photos to come soon......

thanks..

i just wanted to send a huge THANK YOU to carrie stroud of carrie stroud photography! although i did not win the contest (but you should read about the family who did win-very touching), she decided to fulfill my request and offer an all-inclusive photoshoot as an auction item for my company's annual auction in march! yay!!!! thanks again carrie!

photo contest..

check out this awesome idea!!! carrie was our wedding photographer who also happens to keep a super cool blog!

http://carriestroudphotography.blogspot.com/2009/10/christmas-give-away.html

balloons...

my entry for this week's theme "balloons" at iheartfaces! check out more great shots by clicking on the link below!

congrats...

congratulations to our dear friends, cyndi, greg and jacob lubben on their newest addition, emily heather lubben. although she decided to come close to a month early, she is home, healthy and happy.

luke and i were asked to be her godparents and we truly couldn't be happier!! we're looking forward to meeting her (and seeing the rest of the family) soon!

pink..

my entry for this week's photo challenge...barely 3 months along here and i'll be an auntie very soon! check out more "pink" photos over at iheartfaces.blogspot.com!

excited

i'm pretty sure these boys were super excited to be done with photos! very cute nonetheless! check out more "excited" photos at iheartfaces.blogspot.com!

blue

this little guy had some beautiful blue eyes....

totally candid...

my entry for iheartfaces...

baker baby...

here are some more photos from karen (an OT i work with) & chris' maternity shoot...

contemplative

The entry I would've entered had I realized it in time for iheartfaces blog...

washington state flower...

blackberries are in full bloom and mom came out so we could take full advantage! and by we, i mean SHE picked (ok, luke, sarge & payton did some picking too), washed and made the entire batch of jam by herself. but the two of us made seedless jam/jelly-my first experience with the task and i must say, it's very delicious! it was totally fun too! see, i'm not completely helpless in the kitchen! that's me mashing the berries and momma using the new food mill!

baby silly face

i found this cool website (iheartfaces.blogspot.com) through our wedding photographer, carrie and decided to submit an entry, just for fun. our friends mat & sara welcomed their baby boy into the world in may and this moment i captured made me laugh.

rainy day engagements...

while we were in florida for our wedding, i was fortunate enough to snap some engagement shots of my brother and his fiance. it sprinkled off and on throughout and as soon as we finished, it poured!
ryan finished training in alabama and is now stationed in valdosta, ga. he'll go through a few more trainings before being shipped off to iraq. ugh. keeping my fingers crossed that the air force changes their mind while being totally supportive of my brother fighting for our freedom is a lot. i can't tell you how proud i am though, bean.
sarah recently became an RN and is working for the big cancer research hospital, moffitt, in tampa. so very commendable of her as well. :) they started their family early with a 6 month old west highland terrier named tonka ryan picked up this past weekend.

looking forward to their late summer 2010 wedding.....