new adventures...

on sunday, i made one of the biggest and most important purchases of my life, so far anyway... i had been wanting a digital slr for a while and i finally decided to get one! i got a canon rebel xti (on a great deal!!) and i am so in love with it! i feel like i am taking myself more seriously now that I own a more advanced camera, which is an exciting and overwhelming thought. I have been playing with it a lot and i have been trying to learn as much as I can and so far it's been a blast! this is a whole new adventure for me!

here are a few of my recent shots:

also, this saturday i will be off on a new adventure... flying with my mom, sister, and grandma to go see my great aunt, who lives in ohio! i am so excited to have a break from work and to be able to "get away" for a little bit! i can't wait to see my aunt and spend some time in her georgeous log home in the forrest! we will be seeing my family's old farm and going to a wedding in the church that my grandparents were married in! there is much to be excited about! i will be taking my new canon along to help me document my adventures and that makes me even more excited! i will probably fill up my 4gb memory card!!! yay! i am so excited and thankful for all of these new adventures! i am happy & so blessed!

anyway, so i have a lot of work to do before i leave, so better get to it... also, i will post pictures & details from my trip in a couple weeks, so check back!

thanks for reading!

more manitou photos!

here are some more photos from manitou!

sunny day in manitou.

it was a beautiful summery weekend, and on sunday afternoon we went to manitou springs, colo. it is a beautiful place, and there is always something interesting to see and of course it is tons of fun to photograph! here are a few photos from a beautiful day:

*sidewalk cafe.

*sandi, at "the glass blowers of manitou"

*a beautiful tulip, there were flowers all over the place.

*my friends, chad and angela, are expecting a baby, so i took some pictures for them!

*one of angela, one of my favorites!

it was a wonderful day, and i have more photos to go through, so i will post moore soon! thanks!

nostalgia.

one of my favorite places to go,where i live, is downtown. i love the beautiful old brick buildings and walking along the streets and looking at all of the shops and little restaurants. also, there is an amazing train depot downtown, which is packed with tons of old trains. it's amazing to roam through the collection and think about the stories they could tell. i love downtown!

-shopping downtown, in a beautiful antique store called "victorian rose".

-vintage pop bottles, victorian rose.

-detail on train.

-sandi, at train depot.


love.

yesterday...

yesterday was a beautiful day! since i am out of school and i only work 3 days a week, i got to enjoy my whole day at home! i love that!!

i enjoyed a beautiful rainy day... it was the first rain that this "desert town" has seen for a while! it was the best kind of rain too... gentle. the rain drops just rested on the new spring leaves and then the sun came out and reflected off the drops of water. there was this amazing, spiritual feeling in the air, a certain brightness all around! there is just so much beauty and wonder in nature, and in knowing that it is all part of God's love for us.

there is a verse: "...Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you." (Matthew 6:28-30, New Living Translation)

so, i went outside to smell the air and feel the cleanliness of life around me... and it just felt like such an amazing gift. i took a few photos:

also, i got to spend time with my dog, becky! just thought i would throw this picture in too! :)

birthday!

i had an amazing birthday!

my sister got me a beautiful orchid and i have already re-potted it and i have taken several photos of it! i am totally in love... *smile*

also, my friends, Brittney and Scott sent me a beautiful mini rose,all the way from California... it's so cute!

(i am definitely going to have to practice taking better care of my plants now!)

i also had a little get together with my family and some friends. we all ate cake (made by my grandpa!!) & homemade ice cream and we played badminton (very fun!!!) & dominos. i got many beautiful cards and gifts from everyone... my mom got me a fossil purse, which i love! my friends, Chad and Angela gave me polaroid film (polaroids coming soon...yea!). Everyone spoiled me so much and I am so thankful!

love.

my new year...

Today is quite a day…
Today is the last day that I will be 24 years old. I guess that’s a pretty big deal… 24 has been a good year, there have been good things and bad, but through it all God has continued to bless me and I have definitely learned a lot about life and myself. I am so thankful and happy.
There is a musician and writer that I have a lot of respect for, her name is Joy Williams. She recently turned 25 and wrote about it… I felt I could relate to what she said, so I thought I would share it:

“I feel the distance of the journey yet walked, even though a few steps of it have been taken... just a few. Still, along the way, Heaven has dropped a few articles in my backpack of a heart- Polaroids of faces I've met on my travels, confetti from former celebrations, dust from different corners of the globe, laughter kept in jars from loved ones, prayers on paper, ashes from deep grieving and loss, cages too small to live in any further...unresolved questions that lounge around like loose change at the bottom of my bag. And as I rummage through it all, I am thankful...curious...continually humbled...forever a student on this earth. I am
still so stubborn, so impatient, so young... and yet so grateful for the chance
to continue learning on this journey...I am standing on tip toe to see what else
God's got up His divine sleeve, what else will find it's way into my backpack
along the way...Either way, I'm turning 25.”

I can't wait to begin 25... starting tomorrow! :)

Also… I just finished up all of my classes for the fall 2008 semester and I am at the beginning of a long summer break! Yea!! Right now, I am beyond excited to actually have some time to do the things I really love! Crazy thought!! Even though I am going to school to learn all about photography, I feel like most of my school time has been spent studying math and TONS of art history… I honestly have to say that the things that I have learned about photography have mostly been self-taught, from experience… which is nice, but honestly, I don’t feel like I know very much about photography. So… even though I am not taking classes this summer, I am going to be trying to learn everything I can about photography from books, experience, and other photographers… I want to try to talk to professional photographers and maybe get an internship or go to a workshop… Really I just want to take pictures of anything and everything and experience & document life with my camera! That is my main goal for this summer break and I am pretty excited about it.