christmas pictures!

last year, tyson and i sent out christmas cards to our close friends and family. it was a last minute thing that involved a box of walmart cards and a picture we stuffed inside. the picture was a sloppy self timer picture of us in front of our christmas tree.

although it served it’s purpose, this year i was determined to do better and go all out. the past few weeks i have scoured online card websites and finally tyson and i agreed on a design we both liked. the website (www.tinyprints.com) is awesome and has everything from baby announcements and party invitations to calendars and planners. since the site was having a great deal on holiday cards this weekend, i knew it was prime picture time.

unfortunately, tyson was leaving on friday to go hunting with his friends catlin and mcchristie. but that didn’t stop me. we woke up at 5:30 friday morning to get some shots while the sun was going up. as much as i wanted to get a photographer to take them (sad face) it just wasn’t in our budget this year. so we used the self-timer again, but this time i planned ahead a little better and i think the pictures came out pretty dang good! here are some of my favorites:

    this was our first one of the day! and it came out pretty good :)

 

sometimes i don’t know how i lucked out in finding such a good looking guy!

i was pretty proud of myself and happy with how our christmas card turned out. it’s nice that we saved a few bucks taking our pictures ourselves, not to mention gas money since we took them all in our backyard! there are many more and you will see them this year on our spectacular christmas card! ho ho ho!

my return to the blog world

hello blog world,

i’ve returned! it has been a crazy summer/semester and as much as i’ve meant to keep up with my blog, it clearly hasn’t happened. but this time i’m back with a vengeance and i want to keep this up to date!!

currently, i am substituting for alamogordo public schools part time and going to school full time. it has been a difficult semester for me, school-wise. online classes are completely different than regular classes and it has been a challenge to motivate myself. thankfully, i have progressed in this weakness and i am better and stronger. last month i was accepted into NMSU’s Teacher Education Program, so in January i will be taking my block A classes at NMSUA. i am beyond excited for this! three more semesters until graduation. praise God.

things with tyson have been so good. he is making progress with his business and finally has all the tax stuff and whatnot dealt with and he is “legit” as he likes to say. i am so glad that he wakes up each morning knowing he is doing something he loves. i feel the same way when i go to schools. i know not many people love what they do, so i feel doubly blessed for that.

it has been a difficult transition for me moving to alamogordo, but i’m starting to get more and more used to it. (maybe not a good thing?) although most people might think that moving here has made me more dependant on another person, i would argue that i have become much more independent! since tyson is pretty much the breadwinner of our household (substitutes don’t get paid much!), i contribute by doing all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. tyson’s gotten pretty spoiled by it, but i enjoy it because it keeps my mind occupied and i know that i’m helping out somehow. i miss my friends and family so so incredibly much here. it’s true you never know what you have until it’s gone. i don’t have anyone i would consider close to family here, and sadly i don’t even have anyone i would consider a real friend besides tyson of course. my sister and i were talking about it and she mentioned that it was like “feeling lost in a familiar place”. that’s it exactly. i love tyson and it feels right to be here, but sometimes i don’t know how i cope.

one thing i know for sure is how amazing it is to go to deming every few weeks. i have taken for granted how wonderfully my parents raised me and how they continue to take care of me. i can never repay them for all their love. they are true parents. just thinking about them brings me to tears. they have paved the way for me to be who i am today. i owe it all to them. they are my role models and heroes. i finally feel like i am out of the resentful teenage years and i can appreciate those around me for who they truly are. my parents would sacrifice anything for their children, and i am grateful that they believe in me and my siblings that much.

until next time,

katie

fishing <3

Yesterday Tyson and I drove up to Bonito Lake to avoid the hot summer sun. It was 102 degrees down here at the house, and much much MUCH cooler up in the mountains. It was a bummer because we were up there for over two hours and we didn’t get a single bite, but it was still fun. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner in Ruidoso. Here are a few pictures from our fun day.

welcome back, summer!

Well summer has begun and it’s not quite what I thought it would be.

My awesome job that I was so excited for turned out to be a disaster. My supervisor was unorganized, irresponsible, and frankly, just clueless. There was little, if any, accountability for the children, and I was extremely uncomfortable. A couple hours after I got there, I left on my lunch break in tears and met Tyson in town, sobbing. I stuck out the rest of the day, but called home to my parents that evening. They agreed with me that a part-time summer job shouldn’t be such a liability, so I quit the very next day. I’ve been sitting at the house ever since, filling out application after application. I haven’t got a single call yet, and it’s getting pretty depressing. Tyson isn’t my husband, and I hate having to depend on him. I just want to me independent me again. Keep your fingers crossed that my luck changes soon.

In other news, I am so happy to be living here in La Luz. I love being with Tyson; he makes me so happy and takes such good care of me. Living out in the country is the best, too. I can play outside with the dogs all day, go on long walks, tan on the front porch, and watch the beautiful sunsets in the evenings. Since I’m not working, there’s been lots of time to brush up on some hobbies: reading, cooking, baking, and napping :) That being said, I AM very anxious to go back to work.. somewhere, anywhere.

Tyson’s 24th birthday was on the 15th of May. We celebrated with a big party here at the house. I cleaned everything until it was spotless and cooked massive amounts of food. It was so much fun and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. My 21st birthday is two and a half weeks, so that’s exciting, too.

tomorrow!

Tomorrow Tyson and I finally move in together. I could not be more excited or ready. It is such a thrilling feeling- like my life is barely beginning. This may be a wild ride, but there's nobody else I'd rather be on it with :)