MOVING!

Hey everyone. Wow! What a crazy holiday. Cody and I are so excited for our upcoming nuptials. The lord has blessed us in ways we cannot explain. God's timing is so wonderful and a love that is through God is the most amazing thing I've found in life. We found a little house to rent and call our home. I got a great job in an office and Cody is doing really well in school.

Okay, about the moving title. I have been tinkering with the idea of doing photography for a little while now. As you know my business is going to be called Simply Kissed Photography. I have decided to keep my prices extremely low as photography is something I love and there is such a huge need for low income families to have a photographer they can actually afford at their weddings and for their life events. I have created a new blog that can be found at the link below. I will be updating that blog more frequently and eventually moving over there.

Please keep in touch!!

Read My New Blog Here!

Goin' to the Chapel

So we went on a hike to our favorte spot yesterday. First time we went there we talked about dating. Second time we went there we talked about marriage. Third time we went there

WE GOT ENGAGED!

AAA! I'm so excited and so super happy! I am such a blessed woman. Cody purposed on top of our favorite hiking spot overlooking corvallis. It was amazing. I couldn't even say yes cause I got all emotional (of course) but was able to shake my head and later say yes :) I can't thank God enough for this man...my fiance!

Holy smokes I have a fiance! EEEEK!

He did good :)

YES!!!

Summer Update

Wow, I really have not been on this place in a looong time. I apologize to those I know who follow it. It's been quit the fun-filled and busy last few months. I feel so blessed with the life that Christ has brought me to. There is so much love and blessings I have been given and I just celebrate him for all that he has done and all that he is. His love is overwhelming and has washed like a flood into my life. So to give you a very brief update before I take off again here is where I am right now.

Family:

The family is great! My sisters birthday is today. I am sending all of my love out into the universe hoping she feels hugs from Oregon! Eva is doing well and is more beautiful in spirit each day. My mom is doing well. She very much enjoys the fur covered buddy that has been a therapeutic blessing into her life. Even the cat is beginning to like Chin Chin. Dad is just as big of a kid and father as he has always been. My family is small and we do not have much, but we love each other and thats what matters.

Work:

I strive to appreciate the opportunities that God has used as a tool to get me back to Corvallis. Although one job in particular is a struggle and often days I cannot handle the stress and trials it brings, the point is it got me back to the place I belong and therefore I am sticking it out until God presents the next door that I'm supposed to take. I feel blessed to even have a job in this time of trials and I want to help those that don't. I know life is hard, but if you surrender Christ will provide for you!

Love:

This has been the biggest blessing in my life recently. I fin

ally decided to take myself out of the drivers seat and judging booth. I made a list of all the things that I wanted in a man, all the qualities, quirks and characteristics. I told God that the next man in my life would be chosen by him...and so he was. Cody has been th

e most amazing thing that has ever come into my life. Until you love someone fully for all that they are, for their love for Christ and for the love that they have for you...I couldn't imagine my life any other way. He brings out my smiles, my laughter, my silliness, all my quirks and a love that I have never experienced before. There are days when I just stare, unable to fathom how lucky I am, unable to describe how much my love consumes & pours out of me, how easy it is to see that Christ was behind this one. I cannot wait for this to go places as I know it will. I love you Cody Taylor, for all that you are and for all that you make me :)

There's not much else for me to talk about. It is so amazing to see Christ's work in my life, in my heart and in my love. I feel his love pour through my body, blessing all that I am and all that I hope to be. I pray that everyone will come to know his all consuming grace. Thank you for leading me back to the Church I love so much, to a love I could only dream of, to a family that is standing strong and to a city that runs through me. You are the reason I have all that I do.

Thank you!

WEBSITE MOVING

Holy smokes I actually did it. I decided to pursue a real life grown up job! I took photos of a wedding this weekend and it went very well. All my prayers, thank you for all the ones I received from others, were answered and I truly believe that God has blessed me with a talent that I can love and grow into. I have decided to start my own photography business. It's not going to be huge or expensive because I am still learning. However, I will be able to grow in this profession as I advance in my skill level as well.

Keep your eyes open. Soon this website will be no more and my photography blog will be up and running. Oh the name of my company?...

"Simply Kissed Photography"

"Simply Memorable, Simply Treasured, Simply Captured, Simply Kissed Photography"

:) EEEEEEEK!!!!

Garner Girls Photo Shoot

Okay, I would write more, but I'm waaay past my bedtime. It's almost midnight and I have to be up by 5am...shoot. I took my two sisters out on a photo shoot recently. I made them be my models for a day. So click on the caption under the photo and enjoy :)

Click Here: Garner Girls Photo Shoot

Photo Update!

Yeay! I'm finally done editing photos! It only took forever and a day.

So the first set is when I took photos for Jessie and her daughter Cierra. Note to self, make sure the child has a nap before a photo shoot and that there is stuff to entertain her. I was pleased with this shoot although it was a learning experience.

Click Here: Jessie and Cierra

The next group is of the Oregon Coast. Cody planned this whole surprise outing! It was very sweet. We went to the beach. Thirty minutes on the beach and the dog cut his pad. He was so happy he didn't even notice. We called a doctor and got instructions to bandage it and then cover it with duct tape...yes duct tape. Then we had a really nice time, a candle lit hot dog dinner

and would have watched the sunset if it hadn't gotten overcast. It was the sweetest thing ever.

Click Here: Surprise Trip to the Coast

Week 1

I know I haven't posted much as far as the move home. Sorry, i've been so excited about Corvallis that I haven't even really gone near a computer. It's so weird when you unplug yourself. I don't watch more than 1 tv show, i'm rarely on the computer, I use my phone only a handful of times.

I swear I will get more photos up soon. So far i've hung out in the sun, gone running, star gazing, worshiping, to the movies, to the park, for ice cream and so much more. Oh and I went to a Jimmy Buffett surprise party. That was a total blast! All I've got so far of Oregon photos are ones I've collected from others. I'm going on a surprise date today so if it is somewhere I can take photos I will :)

until then, this is all I've got :)

Cody and I at the Jimmy Buffett party

We were laughing so hard I could barely sit still. You know you're jealous of our super awesome hats ;)

Embarrassed for the Year

So I think I just topped all of my embarrassing moments forever. There is this very good looking patient that always comes into the office and we chat. This time he came in and we were all talking about hot yoga. You know, yoga where you turn up the heat. Usually we talk about snowboarding and stuff. He was talking about how he didn't really like the heat and was more of a mountain guy.

I said, and I wish I was kidding, "When are you ever in heat?"
He got a funny look on his face and replied "you mean like the climate?"

I realized what I had said and quietly said "yes"

I don't think my face has ever been that read. Plus he has an appointment tomorrow. Awesome

....I just asked a guy when he was in heat...

God, I wish I was making that up.

Taking a Chance

I've been called beautiful more times than I can count, slow danced in the kitchen, watched the sunset over the mountains of Corvallis, have the same opinions, beliefs and ides on pretty much everything, have butterflies, can't breath, laugh so hard my stomach aches, hike to spots that are breathtaking, talked about everything under and above the sun, hold hands, had the door opened for me, worshiped with and am totally smitten with the boy who used to live next door.

Let the rumors and gossip begin :)

Home

Home is not a place that you can necessarily choose. It's the place that courses through your blood, warming your heart at it's mere existence. Home is the place you want to grow old around, the parks you imagine yourself putzing around in greeting others as they pass by. The place that makes your heart stop the moment your eyes fall on that small "Welcome To" sign.

Home to me is Oregon. Prayer after prayer has been uttered off my desperate lips. Call after call asking the Lord to grant me a way back to that small country town. There is no greater place that I can imagine living in. Driving through the country last weekend I could feel the land in my soul calling me home. The fields dance their bits of grain in the wind, floating across the landscape into my heart. My hand dances on the wind as we drive.

My very being aches for that place, that moment, that time, that city.

Ask and you shall receive...God is taking me home :)

I am going home! The thought makes my heart pitter patter against my chest. Warming my blood beneath my skin. My hands jitter as I close my eyes, going back to that field of gold and tan. The trees pepper the backdrop of the landscape all enclosed by the outline of the rolling hills. I breath in, sighing and looking at the clock. Counting the days until I can drive past that Welcome To sign whispering I'm back.

...home...there is no other word like it