RachaelHopePhotography

NEW BLOG!!!!

2009-05-07T21:14:00.001-06:00

Hello All!!

Please check out my new blog:

http://rachaelhopephotography.squarespace.com/journal/

It's new, improved, and this blog will be deleted in a matter of days. Let me know what you think of the new stuff and as always, thanks for stopping by!!!

RachaelHope

it begins...

2009-04-21T14:06:00.006-06:00

Right now I'm skipping class to sit under a tree on campus in Boulder and decided that I should catch up on blogging. Campus is busy today, everyone recovered from 4/20 and starting to get nervous about finals. While last week we were all indoors with a snow storm outside, the snow has melted and made everything green!!! I've been anxious for summer for weeks now and it's finally starting to appear.

Yesterday as things were starting to get warmer and I realized that I needed to pull out my chaco flip-flops, I officially decided that Boulder in the summer is one of my favorite things. If you've never seen it you have to come up. Everything is so green here and there are millions of trees. You can just walk anywhere to have a picnic or meet up with friends. They have drive in movies up here and life just moves to be outdoors. There is even an upper level lit class sitting around the tree next to me.

This time of year also seems to the busiest for me. While this time last year I was finishing up planning for my own wedding (almost been married a year! Yay!) this year I'm in the middle of finals, going on a quick trip to California this weekend to see my best friend, and gearing up for my beautiful sister Bekah's wedding in a week and half. But in the business I realize that even in the crazy stressful times my life hasn't gotten busier as much as it's just gotten fuller. I'm getting a new brother-in-law and Drew and I are really just settling into our lives in Denver. We love it here. I've been blessed to now be completely booked with 22 weddings for the year, something i never expected and I am so enjoying all that owning a business means. I can't wait to take a break from school and completely dedicate myself to my family and photography for the next four months. It's going to be great.

All that to say two things: first, keep checking in as I'm creating a new blog and the switch is coming soon. It's still going to be linked off the website but is going to be bigger and better so stay turned! Second, check out my most recent wedding from about 6 weeks ago in Denver. Ashley and Wyatt had a nice reception in Cherry Creek to celebrate their marriage and it was really beautiful. I loved every minute of this wedding and I hope you enjoy it too.

PS - leave comments and let me know what you think! It will make my day, especially since I'm in the middle of finals!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

mark & shannon...

2009-04-11T19:00:00.006-06:00

I have to start off this post by saying that Drew & I LOVE Mark & Shannon!! Before we moved up to Boulder/Westminster we prayed that the Lord would bring new friends and community into our lives...and he has! We met Mark & Shannon at theMILL at Northern Hills and we get the priviledge to serve with them every Friday and cell group with them every Wednesday!!!

Drew and Mark were immediate friends - sports lovers, poker lovers, etc. And Shannon is the most fun and friendly girl you'll ever meet! She dances for the Nuggets and is a very talented hair dresser!!! We've been blessed by this awesome couple and being friends already I had an amazing time doing their engagement shoot in Denver last week. We are counting the days with them till their wedding next summer!

Mark & Shannon...see you guys Wednesday :)

CUTE!!

One of my favs!

Favorite of the day!!!

These two have amazing smiles!!!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

another sneak peek...

2009-04-07T21:55:00.002-06:00

I really need to actually blog some of these...maybe tomorrow :)

Mark & Shannon's Engagement:

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

zac & meagan...round #3...

2009-04-04T14:07:00.009-06:00

Yesterday I ventured out to east Colfax, Denver (crazy!) with Zac & Meagan for their third and final engagement photo shoot. Since exhausting my own family as models...they're are tired of posing for me...I am now working on wearing out my in-law family! This is the third time taking out Z & M and it was awesome as always! It's always fun to try new poses with them because they are all about a fun and crazy time and we're all super comfortable around each other.

Anyway, we started out at the Tattered Covered Book Store...LOVE that place! There were so many fun places to shoot we spent our whole time there and didn't even venture around anywhere else. In return they got me a Burger King $1 Whopper and Meagan colored my hair!

Oh ya...Meagan is a fabulous hair dresser!! She did my hair for my wedding, she's doing my sister Bekah's hair later this month for her wedding, and she always cuts and colors Drew and I's hairs. Check out her new blog if you're looking for a new hair dresser, especially for an upcoming wedding! She's very reasonable and always does an amazing job! http://www.perfectdayperfecthair.blogspot.com .

Anyway...all this to say, I love Zac & Meagan and I'm thankful to be sister-in-law to both. I can't wait till they get married later this year!

P.S. - Please leave some comments and let me know what you think!!! I LOVE comments!!!!

Love this below...so z&m

Trying something different...what do you think?

Favorite!!!!

My new favorite ring shot!

Zac is going to be either a lawyer or economist we think...this picture describes him so well.

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

another sneak peek...

2009-04-01T22:59:00.004-06:00

As I'm editing, I just can't help myself to share another sneak peek. A full blog of this great Denver wedding will come next week sometime, but for now...I'm just really excited how these are turing out so far!

Also, I totally re-did our living room last week over Spring Break...pics of that to come soon too so stay tuned!

Finally, please leave comments! Comments totally rule and always make my day when I log on and get to read your thoughts! Please let me know what you think!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

jamie & nathan...

2009-03-27T13:10:00.008-06:00

Several weeks ago I headed down to the Springs to photography the wedding of an old friend. I met Jamie, and her now husband Nathan three years ago when I worked for the New Life School of Worship. She was an intern and he a 1st year student. By the end of the year they were dating and later engaged! The wedding was a long time coming, they were engaged for 10 months, and it was worth the wait. Jamie and her Mom created a beautiful ceremony and reception space that was overflowing with flowers and yummy desserts. The wedding party was hoot too, making the whole day fun and enjoyable.

Jamie & Nathan, thank you so much for letting me be a part of your day...I hope you're loving the married life!

Jelly Shoes!!! Those were always so fun!

There were beautiful roses everywhere!

A great pink wall we found in the children's wing at the church!!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

a colorado engagement...

2009-03-23T15:21:00.006-06:00

A little over a week ago Drew and I had the privilege of helping our old friend Wes Tongue get engaged to his love, Jo Warner. I know that I use the word privilege a lot but I truly am so honored when I am asked to participate or capture these amazing and memorable life moments. I am always blessed.

So, Wes is an old friend from New Life and my freshman year of college at ORU. Wes was always so great and let me ride back and forth with him from the Springs so I could see my love, and now Wes is marrying his love! The day was perfect and Wes had an elaborate plan that went off without a hitch...Jo was totally surprised!

Congrats Wes & Jo! I can't wait to see you guys again soon!

Below is my favorite!!!!

Beautiful ring!

a sneak peek...

2009-03-15T20:34:00.002-06:00

I forgot...I wanted to give a sneak peak of Jamie and Nathan's wedding!!!! I'll do a whole post on this great and exciting wedding next week but for now...

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

spring break on the way...

2009-03-15T20:13:00.005-06:00

At the beginning of March I knew that this month was going to be a busy one for me, and yet even with that knowledge I am completely overwhelmed now that all the business is upon me. I'm three engagements, one wedding and several consultations down though and I'm pretty happy with a lot of the projects so far. I need to take a little brake from editing for the next few days though because I have a HUGE paper due this Thursday before Spring Break and I haven't even started it yet! Yickes! I have big plans though for Spring Break, catching up on pics and house stuff (I'm painting and hanging pics!) So, I'll be back sometime next week with a ton of new posts and pictures!!!

For now, check out Sabrina & Hunter...another amazing and incredibly beautiful couple who made each other laugh our entire time together. I can't wait for their wedding this May! It's going to be beautiful, I have no doubt.

So hard to decide!!! But I think this is one of my favorites of the day! So romantic...

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

janelle & jon...

2009-03-05T20:41:00.013-07:00

Last Saturday Drew and I had the true privilege to head to Denver to shoot Janelle & Jon's engagement photos. They wanted an urban feel so we headed to down town Denver near the Capitol building and the Denver Art Museum. I can not rave enough about this couple. They were to sweetest, most in-love and just overall most awesome couple ever! Janelle even crocheted me an amazing scarf that I've been wearing all week! How amazing is that?!

The best part of the day is while we were shooting in front of the Capitol building, sharing the space with a wedding party that was having their pictures taken as well. Next thing I know Janelle and Jon were sharing an intense smooch, catching the eye of the entire wedding party and disappeared behind the wall to cat calls and hoops and howlers!!!! It was awesome and made for some amazing pictures!

As you can see...I really fell in love with this couple and I can not wait for their wedding in June! I can already tell that it's going to be a very special and anointed event.

Enjoy a lot of favorites from the day!

The famous kiss!!!

I really really love shooting in Denver!!!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

boulder...

2009-03-01T20:02:00.006-07:00

So last week I was really took some time to sit down and think about my photography. I have to admit that this thought was sparked by another photographer I follow who blogged about the same thing, but it sparked something in me to think about if and how I've been growing as I've gotten so busy. As I sat down I realized how fast this year has been moving already how I already felt like I was kinda in a rut. I sometimes struggle with finding new things like locations (though being in Denver has been a huge help!) and poses. It made me realized once that I need to continue challenging myself and working hard to become a better photographer in these aspects and so many more.

All this thought inspired me to work on a few of these areas in a 'just for fun' shoot. So I called up the brother-in-law and his fiance (Zac MacPhee & Meagan Taylor) to see if they'd be willing to go out on the town with me. They were up for it and so we headed to Boulder, CO!

I've been wanting to shoot several places in Boulder for a while now. Zac & Meagan were thankfully up for the drive since they were headed up for a visit and theMILL anyway! Sadly it ended up being an incredibly cold and windy day so we were only out for about 40 minutes...but I am really happy with the product anyway. I tried out some new poses I've seen around but tried to put my own flair on and the Flatirons are such an amazing backdrop. All in all I think I got some good shots and I enjoyed challenging myself a little. Let me know what you think!

P.S. - Thanks Z & M!!! Love you guys!

I love this one!!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

kendall & brett...

2009-02-25T14:09:00.007-07:00

Ever since we moved, I've really been enjoying being in the middle of all these great places in Colorado. Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado Springs...the list goes on and on. Living up here has been so much fun and I've been discovering so many great new places to do shoots.

So last week I went on location in Denver with Kendall & Brett! These High School sweethearts are a beautiful couple getting married this summer and I had so much fun with them on the most beautiful day at Cheesman Park! I've been wanting to shoot here for years since I was there for a charity walk. I can't gush enough over how fun this couple is so I guess I'll just have to show you!

They made each other laugh the whole shot! It was so so cute!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

rachaelhopephotography...

2009-02-25T13:49:00.005-07:00

the dream has become a reality!!! Most of you who actually follow this blog probably already know this, but just in case... http://www.rachaelhopephotography.com has been officially launched! I am so so excited about this dream finally coming true and I love being able to share more and more photos!!!

Check it out!!!

http://www.rachaelhopephotography.com

bekah & aaron, take 2...

2009-01-31T18:17:00.007-07:00

So...Bekah and Aaron (younger sister and soon to be brother in law) came to visit Drew and I in Westminster today. They came to see the new digs and to have part two of their engagement shoot with me. It was so fun and we got to explore Westminster a little bit too! It's fun to explore where you live!

Anyway, I can't believe I'm already posting these because I should save them for the website being launched in the next week or so...but they were just so great I can't help myself - I already finished them and I have to share them. So here are just a few...a sneak peak as always!

Love you Bek & Aaron! I can't wait for you guys to get married!!!

Having fun with ideas for Thank You card pictures!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

Manchester I...

2009-01-28T16:38:00.001-07:00

Drew and I have been thinking about getting a little doggie for awhile now...rounding out our family to three!!! Now that I'm working from home and not gone to much for school it was the perfect time to start looking for a little friend. We began by looking at adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy and so we came upon the Mill Dog Rescue (www.milldogrescue.org) located near Colorado Springs.

TMDR rescues dogs that are abused and from puppy mills. They do such a good work and so we decided to help save one of these dogs that just needed a good home. An application, interview, and one home visit later, we found ourselves at Petco last Saturday to begin looking at the dogs that were available for adoption. It was just about love at first sight and we couldn't have planned it out better. A miniature black male poodle, perfect for us because Drew and his family are allergic to all other dogs than poodles. Rescued from a puppy mill where he live

d in a cage his whole life, 61/2 years, as a stud. Pulled out of his cage by his head and neglected, 'Smudge' didn't know how to act like a dog. He was weary of people, men especially, of loud noises, quick movements and being picked up. It was so sad we just couldn't resist!!!

We quickly changed his name to Manchester I (yes, that's Manchester the first and yes he's named after Manchester United. No we are not calling him Man U.) Not quit a week later we are starting to see our little man's big personality come out. He's already adjusting well to our home and he loves to snuggle. Every time I sit down he's in my lap and if our bedroom door is open he's in our bed. I woke up this morning with him curled up against my back, taking all the covers! The potty training stuff is stumping us so far but hopefully we'll get him on a schedule soon. Crossing our fingers.

Now to some pictures...

every year a new beginning...

2009-01-22T20:55:00.011-07:00

2009 is here and so is RachaelHopePhotography!!! Stay in touch the next few weeks for my new logo and the launch of RachaelHopePhotography.com!!! I've been so blessed over these last few months to be so busy with my photography and I've officially made it my full time job. It's a life long dream and the perfect job for me. Thank you to everyone whose told others about me and helped me through word-of-mouth referrals. You are all amazing and I have enjoyed your families immensely!

Now to some pictures! Jada and Brandon gave me a call just a few weeks before their wedding when their previous photographer fell through. It was a joy to help them out and shoot their beautiful winter wedding in Estes Park, CO at the YMCA. We ended up with beautiful and not too cold weather so we even got to take lots of fun outdoor shots! Look for more shots in a couple weeks on the new website, but until then, here are a few sneak peek shots! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

All images copyright RachaelHopePhotography 2009

coming soon...

2008-11-11T21:49:00.003-07:00

I know that it has been so so long since I posted anything. I have so much to catch the few of you who actually read this up on! I have big plans for this to become RachaelHopePhotography's web blog...I've been super busy and can't wait to catch you up on married life and my photography adventures.

So stay tuned...!

Walk for Hope...

2008-07-21T21:23:00.007-06:00

As some of you know and many of you may not, in March of 2007 my father, Michael Ham, was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease. With the onset of this disease's symptoms in most people's 30-50's, my Dad is just in the beginning stages of the disease and if you didn't know that he had been diagnosed, you would probably never notice anything different about him than anyone else.

With the prospect of my Dad's movement, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms increasing over the next 15-20 years though, it would obviously be an understatement to say that this diagnosis has simply effected every part of our families lives, including Drew and I's courtship and marriage. Through it all though, through the realization of the effects of this disease on our family and the genetic ramifications for myself and my siblings, we have found hope.

Hope can be found in many places. For me, I've found great hope in the fact that my name is "Rachael Hope," and feeling like there was something in my name that would be called forth in a time like this for my family, to hope in and for the best in the face of a fallen world that has effected our family so physically. Obviously, we have all searched for and found our hope in the Lord and his word...even though it is often a daily search. We have found hope in the incredible support group of family and friends that we have been so blessed to have surrounding us, helping us through the challenging times and committed to stay by our side for all the years to come. Finally, we have found hope within the Huntington's community of the Pikes Peak Region, the Huntington's Disease Society for America, and the annual Team Hope Walk for Huntington's Disease.

Last year being our first year of involvement with this organization, we decided to participate as a family, still in the recovery stages of dealing with my Father's diagnosis, not really knowing what to expect. To help get the word out to our few family friends who knew what we were going through, we created a web page through the HDSA organization, with a goal to raise $500.00 to support HD research and sponsor our family at the Walk for Hope in Denver. Just a few short weeks later we were blown away by the response from the people around us who donated $3000.00 to HD research and our whole family was able to be sponsored to walk. What a miracle!

Walk for Hope 2007: Rachael, Michael (Dad), Laura (Mom), Shiloh (Sister), Judy (Grandmother, also diagnosed with HD)

Now, a year later, we are preparing to walk again, and this year we are ready to begin taking steps to raising awareness about this disease an how it has effected our family. We would love to have you check out our website to get more information about our family, this event, and the great work of the HDSA organization. And of course, more than your financial support, we appreciate your prayers and thoughts.

Our hope is that the Lord's purpose will be served through our family and that we will be able to bring this hope to all those around us, especially in the HD community on August 16th.

To him be all the glory,

Drew & Rachael MacPhee

www.firstgiving.com/hamfam2008

lost chickens...

2008-07-14T21:34:00.007-06:00

A funny thing happen on the way to our house...

Tonight Drew and I decided to take a nice walk around the neighborhood after dinner...enjoy the sunshine and being married...all that warm and fuzzy kind of stuff. But what was very peaceful and nice, quickly turned into a qu

ite hysterical experience. Read the following...

Yes...Tiko, the seemingly beloved pet chicken of one of our neighbors, has gone missing. Now, on first glance it would seem that this poster was recently posted. As you can see on the right, there is only one little phone number tab missing and I was the one who took it. It is now on my fridge just in case a see poor lonely Tiko.) So, all signs seem to point to this poster having been very recently posted. However, apparently Tiko has been missing since 2006!!!

So sad!

Anyway, I'm hoping that this poster just has the wrong date on it and Tiko hasn't really been missing for two years! My other worry is that maybe Tiko has been missing before and when the owner went onto their computer to re-print their poster they forgot to change the date from two years ago...maybe Tiko just doesn't want to be found?

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know, if you are around Boulder any time soon...beware that there is at least one (if not at least two?) chickens running around my neighborhood. Oh, and if you find her, beware, she may only "tolerate being picked up."

a few more honeymoon pics...

2008-07-09T21:05:00.007-06:00

the hunt...

2008-03-23T20:10:00.011-06:00

So, since I originally said that I would write about my adventures in planning your wedding on a small budget, I thought I would recount my most recent adventures as a BOB (Bride on a Budget.)

THE HUNT

Every bride experiences the hunt... for the perfect wedding dress that is. I often have to save a chuckle when I visit with women who say they never thought about what kind of wedding gown they would want or thought that they would like. Being a long tie wedding dreamer girl... often referred to as one of those girls', I respect that though this my be true, either way you will experience the 'moment.' I am a firm believer in the 'moment' and that every girl has one.

The 'moment' is when you experience the euphoria of finding the perfect dress. Even for those who haven't ever thought of their dress and have no idea what they would want, the moment comes for all who pursue the alter. Fo those few that think they know exactly what kind of dress they think you want... the moment usually comes when you put on the dress you insist you won't like but everyone with you wants you to try on.

Working in a wedding gown shop I get to see this process on a weekly basis, and though it can be quit tiring to go through the emotional process of trying to find a dress with multiple brides in one day, it is always rewarding when you see the look on someone's face when they realize that they don't want to take that dress off and so it's the one.

This was no truer than my hunt for the perfect gown.

It began just a few weeks after I got engaged. Convince that finding the perfect dress early would set the tone for our wedding 10 months away, it didn't take that long for me to start my hunt. Ignoring the annoyance of my mother and sisters who were dragged along with me to several bridal gown Wal-Mart's (also known as David's Bridal) and the most intimate boutiques where I found all the gowns I could never afford, I ignored the wining and continued on.

We started out with the very slimming bejeweled style reminiscent of a regal world...

We moved on to what I call the innocent bridal I think i probably saw in my dreams with a delicate bow...

Next came the flattering beach wedding gown...

What I like to call the wedding cake gown...see for yourself...

And finally, the gown of all gowns...the Cinderella gown...(so big by the way I could hardly get out of the dressing room and would not have been able to get down the isle by myself, let alone with someone next to me.)

I can tell you that I ended up with something completely different than all these. Unable to show you, hopefully for obvious reasons, I had the moment and found the perfect gown...or so I thought.

Here comes the part where I thought I was finished all the thing having to do with the wedding dress, and yet it was just the beginning. Unfortunately the euphoria wore off and when I woke up the morning after I was faced with the devil dress.

THE MORNING AFTER...

Not long after receiving my gown, the holidays were upon us complete with goodies and treats and all that the holidays entail for good red and green blooded Christmas lovers. The next time I tried on my dress, it did see a little tighter than it had been a few weeks earler, bit I didn't worry about it to much seeing as I still had 6 months to get back into shape and hey, I could still zip it up!!!

After wearing it for about half an hour, showing a friend and sitting and visiting in it with my Mom, I decided to go take if off so as not to tempt fate...and then it happened. It started as a little itch in my nose and next the noise my Mother equates to a horse's loud neighing came forth and then I felt the rriiiippppppp....

Everyone froze.

The silence was broken, "Well you had better loose some weight or not sneeze on your wedding day!"

Fortunately it seemed like a minor tear. The zipper's seam coming unattached was easily fixable and several weeks later I picked it up from the seamstress supposedly brand new and beautiful as every. Back in shape I could fit back into it no problem and the dress was back in the closet, off the list, and out of my mind.

I could again take it out and show my dear friends and they could get the beautiful picture without any blemishes. It was after one of these viewings that I forgot to put it back into its hanging bag in the closet. Several days later I noticed I had forgotten to put my dress back in its hanging bag and innocently went over to put it away properly like a good little bride. I turned it around to zip it up and all of a sudden it wasn't zipping. The zipper had detached itself from on side and was innocently sliding up and down without zipping the dress up!

"You have got to be kidding me!!!"

Over the next half an hour I tried in vain to reattach my demon zipper. Needless to say, nothing worked and next thing I knew, the zipper runner popped into two ieces and now there was no hope of zipping up my dress at all!

"WHY?!?!?!?!?!"

Needless to say, my dress is back on my list and at the dress shop again waiting for a new zipper.

I'm not sure what i did to deserve such a frustration with what seemed to be the perfect dress in the whole world. Flattering and beautiful, I had no idea it would cause me so many tears and be my arch nemesis in wedding planning. I thought my arch nemesis in wedding planning. I thought my arch nemesis would be 250 invitations, or the guest list, or keeping all the family members under control. But no...it has been my perfect moment dress.

So...be warned all brides near and far. Beware of the moment that ma deceive you into picking out a devil dress that could push you to the limits of your bride-ness. And if all else fails...we'll all be married at the end of the day.

this thing they call blogging...

2008-03-04T20:33:00.002-07:00

So I've decided I love blogging! But I have no time for it! Have no fear, I plan on continuing my adventures in blogging...especially since I was feeling so guilt ridden for not having written in a while. I still have a draft about the adventures of wedding dress shopping waiting in the wings for those of you who may be interested. ;) So, I just wanted to the big void I hope reads this know that I'm not gone forever...just for this week!

Until next time I leave you with this thought. How do you feel about the word 'hork' in the following context; "Don't just hork it (food) down!!!" I personally find this word quit funny.

a little road trip...

2008-02-13T16:01:00.002-07:00

It seems that I will soon be making a little road trip...to Boulder...and I have no set date to return to the Springs. That's right! Drew got a job offer. And though one might assume that this should be one of the most exciting things to happen for us right before we get married, which it is, I have felt anything but excited. Unfortunitly my processing over the past week and half has been riddled with sadness and anxiety. I generally find great great comfort in the thought of security and stability so I've been thinking about all the things that make me nervous about being in Boulder.

If you've never been, Boulder is a special place, in the sense that I don't think there is another place like it in the whole world. Boulder is one of the perfect Colorado towns. Every time I drive there I love driving over the hill on Hwy 36 and at the top you see Boulder in a little valley tucked up next to the Flatirons and a breathtaking mountain range. It's the perfect college town built around a huge campus that reminds me of pictures I've seen of college campuses on the East Coast that are built totally out of brick and have a the collegiate feel about them. Having attended ORU (which looks like it was built on Mars first and then sent to Earth) and UCCS (which is often lacking in personality or character of any kind), just being on the CU campus makes me feel smarter. Everything is outdoors and beautiful in Boulder. Drew said one of his professors told him that they tried to make the roads difficult to drive on so that it would encourage people to use public transportation or walk instead of drive. (and it worked because Boulder is the most frustrating city to drive in.) You always have to watch where you're walking or you'll almost for sure get hit by a biker or a long boarder. I told Drew that he would have to buy me a bike for the wedding because if I try to move to Boulder and I don't have a bike they will almost for sure kick me out.

The summers are hot and green and lush and the winters are cold and snowy. The have the most beautiful fall and the mildest spring. As I describe it it feels like the idyllic place to start a life with Drew and to be young and starting my career. So why the unrest and stress?

There is another side of Boulder that I mostly only know from word of mouth but have hardly experienced myself. It's the party, liberal, hard core side of Boulder. It's the side of Boulder that always gives me a stomach ache when I'm there for to long. It's the side that weighs heavily on my soul and attacks my heart and mind every time I drive over that hill. Beyond the normal stresses of moving away from home and my family for forever, how do I prepare to move to such a spiritually dark place? How do I prepare myself for all the challenges to my ideals, character and spiritual life that will no doubt show themselves within a very short time of living there? How has God prepared me to go to this place where I feel ill equipped to be?

I wish I could finish this blog by saying that after processing the last week and a half I already answered these questions that immediately weighed on me when Drew told me about this opportunity. Unfortunately they are yelling at me louder every day and the only thing that silences them are my times in the word and in prayer. For now, nothing else matters except trying to understand what God is calling me to do as he prepares me for this next phase of life. I wish it felt more like we were just taking a little road trip and would return soon.

Introduction...

2008-02-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

I just decided to start this blog to document my adventures as a young twenty something trying to balance life, a full time job, online classes for college and planning my wedding. All these things separately my not be considered all that exciting but put them together and I feel like I'm on a grand adventure. So if for nothing and nobody else, this is my catharsis as I navigate my way through the next year of job transitions, finishing my degree and trying not to succumb to the bridezilla inside.