Goal #2 - Life Updates: June

Um.... I'm not entirely sure what happened to the month of June. How am I already writing an update for it? Goodness sakes! My life is going by too fast.

To illustrated the fact that 1) I can't seem to remember much of June and 2) Life is zooming by, I present to you -  a bullet-point update for the Month O' June:

• My favorite part of this month was hands down the camping trip Devin and I took with our families

• My least-favorite part was that when we went to re-signed our lease and our rent went up :-(

• I found out another friend is pregnant - cue the baby fever (again)

• Two days later, I baby-sat for my nephew Joshua - baby fever cured (though I totally had a great time)

• I assisted Devin on a family photo shoot - Jackie and his son Chris were so much fun!

 (hmmmm... um... accessing the Palm Pilot in order to remember my life...)

• I had the pleasure of designing a t-shirt for Valley Christian H.S. that I like enough to actually wear:

• Progress on Project 101 is coming along nicely. To date, I've completed six goals and have twenty currently in-progress (some of them will be taking a loooong time still to complete).

• Living Frugally is going well. Looking at our budget, the percentages of what we make, verses what we spend, are making me feel good about staying home someday. 

That's all I've got folks. Have a great day!

Do We Really Believe?

I am (as you've probably gathered if you’ve ever read my blog) a high-performance oriented individual. Which means that I have a really hard time not getting caught up in the mentality of “I need to do more for God” and “I’m not a ‘good enough’ Christian because I don’t do enough.” I know these thoughts are twisted theology and that I can do absolutely nothing to earn my salvation. But I wrestle with this idea all the time. Very, very (very) often, I do not live in a way that a Christ-follower should, so I get caught up in question “What more I can do to live better?"


I don't think that I’m alone in this either. I see this same struggle so often in the lives of other Christians around me. I get convicted and frustrated when I compare the number of people who proclaim Christ in their lives with the number of orphans in the world, or the number of people who have had bitter, hurtful interactions with Christians and hate the church because of it. What is going on here?? Again, my instant reaction is “Why aren’t we doing more?”

But a thought hit me on the way to work this morning. Maybe the issue is not that we as Christians don’t DO enough of what the Bible says we should. Rather, I think that we just don’t BELIEVE the Bible enough to actually do what it says. Salvation isn’t about works, but if we REALLY believed what we SAY we believe, it would show in our actions, in our words, in our checkbooks, in our relationships. The problem is not, not doing - it’s not believing.

While nowhere does the Bible indicate that one can earn salvation, there are plenty of verses that point to our actions lining up with our proclaimed belief.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." - 1 John 3:17-18

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." - 2 Timothy 2:15
 
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Ephesians 2:8-10

So I guess the question I have to ask myself and the Christian community in general is this: If our actions reflect our belief... How is it that an entire society of Christians are believing without BELIEVING?

Happy Un-birthday to my Grandma

My Grandma Robison is probably the hippest grandma I know. She has an email account, a cell phone and a Facebook page. She has some of the best style sense of anyone her age, or anyone, anywhere for that matter. Plus, most of her friends are forty-some years younger that her (I've seen these friends with Grandma, they think she is simply the cat's meow.)

As ultra cool and modern as Grandma is, she still has some charming, old-fashion characteristics. For example: As long as I've known her, the expression she uses the most often is, "Oh, forevermore." This could mean she is mildly miffed about something, exasperated that you just beat her in a card game, or genuinely touched by something nice somebody did for her. I love this expression and I love when she uses it. She also, like any well-bred, old-fashion lady, does not relieve her age. And by that, I mean she has told us (her family) to stop celebrating her birthday. (She said, "When you're my age, you'll understand.")

So, this is not a happy birthday post. That is why it is posted one whole day after her non-existent birthday, so clearly this is nothing more than a random mention of admiration for my amazing Grandma. Who is one of the most faithful, full-of-grace women I've ever had the privilege of knowing. Plus, she is sweet. I'm not talking "pinch-your-cheeks" sugary sweet. I mean she is genuinely, care-about-everyone, soft-spoken, others-first, hardly ever (once that I can ever remember) raises her voice, SWEET.

Happy Random Mention of Admiration (not at all related to your birthday) Grandma! I love you so much!

Goal #44 - Dates with Devin (5 and 6 of 20)

Rent a movie, pop some popcorn and enjoy the show! - Dates on a Dime

Movie: Leap Year with Amy Adams, who I have always found completely and utterly adorable ever since I first saw her in The Office. She permanently endeared herself to me in Enchanted. (If you haven't seen it yet and love Disney and trivia, you must see this movie! It is full of hundreds of Disney references and is one of the most charming films I've seen in a whole long while.) But we didn't watch Enchanted. We watched Leap Year. Which was amusing, but not great. Amy Adams was as cute as ever, but didn't fit the role very well, in my opinion.



Popcorn: Apparently, placing a popcorn bag (which, of course, contains hot oil) atop a plastic, microwavable plate cover isn't a good idea. Be aghast by the destruction...

(The popcorn survived unscathed by the way... that is of course, until I ate all of it... by myself... because Devin doesn't like popcorn. Yes, it was a full bag. Don't judge me.)

And in other news....

Last night we ate dinner at home, then went to Barnes & Nobel for some coffee, photography book lookin' and a little bit o' public kissin'.

"Cuddle up in the corner of your library [or bookstore] with an art book or short story that interests both of you.  Choose a color, image or word and kiss each time you run across it." - Dates on a Dime (we added grabbing lattes to this date, but if you want a fun-n-free date, just skip the coffee)

We looked through three different photography books (oh wow where there some incredible images) and kissed at the color orange, any light above the horizon, and any sort of headgear (scarf, hats, helmets, etc.) There was a lot of kissing going on (don't worry, we kept it Disney-rated).

We were completely ridiculous and giggled after each kiss. Had I seen a couple doing what we were doing, I probably would have rolled my eyes or gagged. Devin was sightly mortified I think. I thought it was fun and would highly recommend it. Perhaps though, try to find a more secluded area. We were rather conspicuous and probably did, in fact, make a few people gag.

Photo from Interesno.

Goal #98: Camping in Woods Canyon

Goal #98- Go camping in Woods Canyon Lake (Devin’s favorite camping spot)

I have to be honest, we have been camping in Woods Canyon once before:

It was the end of November. The high was 33 degrees. There was snow. We had frostbitten fingertips. It was brutal. It is an irreplaceable, crazy-newly-weds memory that I love telling the story of, but its also a trip that neither of us care to ever repeat. Ever.

That said, I wanted to experience Devin's childhood camping ground in all it's true glory. Without the snow and below-freezing temperatures. 

This was also a momentous trip because it was the first Robison/Hanson family vacation. My parents and Devin's parents were there, along with my three youngest siblings and Devin's brother, sister-in-law and nephew. I am pleased to report that it went swimmingly and our families get along together great. We are already looking at dates for next summer.

We camped for three nights, four days, had no showers and made for quite the motley crew in our little five tent village. We hiked, made SMORES, played card games late into the night and fished (Well, some fished. I was quite content to sit by the lake a read). Devin and Jordan (my youngest brother) even went hunting for craw fish. Which they then boiled and ate. It was disgusting. I was so grossed out by it that I couldn't bear to let Devin kiss me until he had brushed his teeth. I know. I'm a horrible wife.

My favorite memory from the trip however was this: At one point (I don't even remember why), I said the word "Mama" in a sing-songy Queen (the band)-like voice. Without missing a beat, my dad starting singing Bohemian Rhapsody. He was quickly joined by my husband. They were standing on either side of me singing into my ears. They were in perfect tandem. Every lyric was flawless. It was... surreal. I guess it’s true what they say about girls marrying guys that are like their dads...

A More Managable Temperature

Well, I think my earlier post helped cure me of baby fever. But you know what's weird? While the baby fever of actually giving birth to my own child has settled down, my desire to adopt a little one in need is probably even stronger now. Interesting. Definitely praying about the timing of that one. (By the way, I will not be surprised at all if Marla comes home from her trip to Cambodia with an addition to the family... I'm just sayin'... I think it would be awesome to have a little Cambodian cousin).

Anyways.
(Sorry Marla!)

During my baby-fever-freak-out, I found this list (and we all know how much I love lists) of "20 Things to Do Before You Get Pregnant" and I must say, it was a crucial part of bringing down my temperature. I have added my own comments in parenthesis.

1) Go off the pill 
2) Cut back on partying (ummm... I think can handle this one)
3) Limit caffeine (Do you have any idea how many things have caffeine in them???)
4) Get in shape (I'm too lazy)
5) Go to the movies (because you'll be too tired to stay awake for 2 hours and too bloated to sit for that long, not to mention unable to hold your pee for that length of time)
6) Save a nest egg (makes "cents"... har har. Wow, that was not funny in any way. My apologies.)
7) Pop a prenatal supplement
8) Stock up on sleep (yeah right)
9) Find your sure-fire stress remedy (does that exist?)
10) Takes lots of life-before-baby pictures (because your life will be over in 9 months)
11) Make a restaurant checklist (because you will not be able to bring your squalling infant into these "it" places)
12) Deal with where you want to live (because moving with a baby or while 8 months pregnant is not fun)
13) Deal with your job (I'd like to deal wi--- Ahem.  Never mind.)
14) Ask your mom about her pregnancy (sounds good, but I don't want to get her hopes up too soon! ;-)
15) Pay your doc a visit (that involves a co-pay)
16) Don't forget the dentist (please refer to #15)
17) Book a girlfriend getaway and travel, travel, travel (HECK YES!!)
18) Go back to your roots (aka- stop dying your hair, you won't have time for the upkeep once baby arrives)
19) Stop buying clothes (because soon you will be too fat to fit into them)
20) Have a parenting talk with your husband (popping a hole in the condom without his knowledge is unacceptable)

Baby-fever: Cured.

For now...

Goal #89 & #91 - Learning more about photography

Goal #89: Have Devin teach me more about photography- specifically composition and lighting. 

Technically (at least according to my resume), I know quite a bit about photography. Compared to my professional photographer of a husband however, I know next to nothing. One of our goals as a couple is to run our own photography business full time and if I was going to be any help at all, I had a lot left to learn. Devin as been a very sweet, patient instructor - teaching me more about lighting, composition and editing.

Goal #91: Shoot at least five weddings with Devin (1 of 5)

I was able to put some of my newly honed techniques into practice two weeks ago when we had the pleasure of photographing Forest and Amanda's wedding. This couple was so relaxed and we had a great time capturing their big day. Below are just a few of my favorite shots (the first three are Devin's, the last three are mine.) You can see more of our images from this shoot by visiting Devin's blog. 

Forest and Amanda were so adorable during their First Look. They were just so happy and they couldn't stop hugging and giggling. 

This couple really knew how to have fun together.

Forest and Amanda recruited their dog Princess to fulfill the coveted role of ring bearer.

Congratulations Forest and Amanda! We had such a great time sharing in your special day. God bless you on this new adventure as you serve Him together!