Kanka Photo Shoot with Joel & Amy

A few weeks ago James and I did a photo shoot for Joel & Amy. The sun was beautiful as it set in the mountains, and our models were pretty awesome too! Amy and Joel are wonderful friends of ours. Joel is a youth pastor at his church and Amy is a teacher and also volunteers with youth ministry with Joel at their church. They are constantly giving themselves to others, so we were thrilled when they asked if we might want to take some photos for them! It was a really fun day, the kind of day that makes me want to take more pictures :-) Enjoy!

Our Wee Little One

Exciting news....we're pregnant! And we're so happy about it :-) Today I went in for my first ultrasound. The Dr. wanted to confirm my due date and the baby's gestational age. It was such a lovely experience to be able to see my baby moving around and flexing its arms and legs. The technician was even able to capture a pic of the baby waving at me :-) I found out that my due date is now May 12 and I am a little over 11 weeks pregnant. Yay! Here are the pics from the ultrasound and some pregnant pics of me.

Pics

Its been awhile since I've posted pics...enjoy!

The rest of the Sequoia pics...

So my week was insanely busy...but here are the rest of the well awaited Sequoia pics. What a fun trip....where shall we go next? hmmmm.....

Preview & Edited pics from Sequoia

This weekend I finished up converting the pics from our trip to Sequoia National Park from RAW into JPEG format . Here is a sneak peak of some of my favorites. I took a stab at editing them in photoshop...I like the vintage effect it gave, but I have a lot more to learn. I'll post the other pics (non-photoshoped) later, for those of you who want to see the full trip and a ton of pictures! But for now enjoy this condensed preview version...

I've been slacking...

I've definitely been slacking in posting anything. I've been pretty busy with work and everything else. This week I went to my first pilates class. It was good, I think I want to go regularly now but we'll see how my schedule turns out. This weekend my friend Jen came and visited with me. She was a friend from my summer project and she's an incredible artist in so many ways. We basically took photos and talked the whole time. It was FABULOUS!!!! My friend from work needed some photos taken for his band. So we did a photo shoot at Venice beach with him and his family. I enjoyed the chance to get better acquainted with my new camera. I love it!  I think the pics turned out pretty good. But now I have to convert them to jpegs and do some minor edits. It'll keep me busy throughout the week nights I'm sure. I'll post some later. Today after church, Jen and I headed out to Santa Monica where we took more photos and had some yummy lunch. When I drove Jen to the train station we noticed a really cool cultural village by union station. I really want to take James there sometime, he would love the vibe it had.  Now I'm so tucked out, I just want to sleep...that's my definition of a good weekend!

Lake House Visit October 08

Better late than never.... In October James and I went to MI for my cousin's wedding and then headed up north to Gaylord, MI to spend time with my family at my brother and sister-in-laws lake house. It was beautiful as the trees were all in color. I can't wait to go back. Here are just a few of my favorites....

From Oct. 08 Lake House Visit

Labor Day Weekend Pictures!!!!

Thanks friends for all of the fun! To see the pictures on a larger scale or for any friends who would like prints just double click on the image and it will take you to our Picassa web album where you can view, download, and print the pictures. Enjoy!!!

Pictures from Michigan!

Cruisin with the Clugstons - Pictures!

New York, Christmas, and New Years Pictures are Here!!!

I forgot to mention that on Dec. 15th James and I and some of our friends took a day trip to NYC! It was incredibly cold! But it was a lot of fun we went to some interesting places, namely the indian restaurant that is decked out with lights from all kinds of holidays. I believe in one of the pictures it even says "happy halloween!" it was a riot! So have a look at our trip and notice the fun faces of the people around us!



For Christmas we went to Michigan for 3 short days and then flew home to VA on Christmas day. Being in my home town for Christmas is always so wonderful. My family was all there and I was able to spend a lot of time with them. We were all able to go to the traditional Christmas Eve service at the church I grew up in. When my family goes on Christmas Eve we take up a whole pre row!!! We also had a new addition to our Christmas festivities. My cousin Cathy is engaged and her fiancee Matt was able to come celebrate with us. When we came home on Christmas Eve the dogs had a party of their own and tore up all the toilett paper. Shredding it around the house like confetti! Of course James and I got some wonderful presents from both sides of our families this year too! On Christmas day we flew back to VA to spend it with James' family. That was really fun too! James' dad and sister had a present wrapping contest. Teralyn was announced the winner by the judging panel of Grandma Babers. James' Grandmas had just had knee surgery on both knees and was walking around all over the place. Despite the pain of healing I think she is feeling so much better. Christmas night James and I crashed, exhausted in a good way!



New Years was a blast! My parents came from MI to drive us our presents so we wouldn't have to ship them, and to spend New Year's Eve with us. It was so much fun. James and I got a tent for Christmas so after my parents got here we assemebled the tent in our 1 bedroom apartment. Well... the tent was actually very large! It took up our whole living area but it is so COOL!!! Not to mention it was a fun experience setting it up. Now James and I can really go camping in our new tent! I was able to show my parents where I've been working this past year, and we went exploring to some monuments that they hadn't seen before. For New Year's Eve mom and I made pizzas from scratch! It was fun and easier than I had thought. The only problem was the fire alarm went off 5 times that night... go figure!!! James parents joined us for New Year's Eve and it was fun! We played games, chatted and ate pizza and fondu. We really enjoyed having our parents over and the games made us laugh even after everyone went to bed! It was a really fun holiday and I was so blessed that my parents came to visit, I LOVE having them near. I'm counting down the days until the cruise in April that my Dad is giving everyone. Yay! Well have fun looking at the pics!

We Are the Champions!

So this weekend James and I played a game called sequence with our newly engaged friends Kevin and Drew. We decided to play girls vs. guys just for fun. The first game was a super quick and seemingly effortless win by the girls. Then came the second game which was won almost as quickly as the first. The guys still felt like they needed to play another round. The third game could have been called a lightening round, the girls won and totally triumphed in the game of sequence. It was hilarious!!! At least we thought so! They guys already want a re-match, they couldn't believe their defeat!

On other news, James and I have been editing all weekend. I have been editing wedding pics from a wedding that James and I shot for. He did the video and I did candid pictures. I love taking pictures it is so fun and yet I have so much to learn. And the more pictures I take the more I desire photography gadgets....as with any hobby. Also I've been helping to plan two big outreach events with the church. Its pretty fun! This next weekend we will be reaching out to refugee families in the DC area, so I'm excited to get it planned.

Tomorrow I have the day off so this week will be a short one!Thanksgiving is just around the corner and my parents are coming to visit James and I in VA!!! I'm super excited to make a thanksgiving meal with my mom! We make a pretty good team!

As I close I will quickly recap our halloween fun. James and I had the small group over and we carved pumpkins. James and I were ninjas, and I accidently scared two 4 year olds who were trick or treating.... all in all a fun and eventful night! Here are some pics!