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