I have so much admiration for people who can move through life with a smile in their heart, and joy in their step, in most any given situation.

My Brett is a nature boy. A mountain man. A guy who would love to live primitively.  I often think he was born in the wrong time.  ;)  When I met him he was long haired, had a burning passion to be a vagabond, learn more languages, and help people. Soon we were married with a baby on the way, and volunteering for AmeriCorp with a measly living stipend was not cutting it anymore. He had his degree in International Studies, but he had reached a crossroads of pursuing a career- to supply for his new family.

He went back to school for I.T. because that was “where it was at” in 1999. He settled into a job. He has taken care of us since.

I have so much gratitude for my husband. The love that he has for his family…..I have no words that could accurately express what his effort means to me. For almost a decade he has worked loyally and diligently at the same company…..and today he is moving on. Today he says goodbye, and life is changing a bit…..

I am so incredibly proud of him.

Brett- I can’t wait to cheer you on, hold your hand, and walk beside you through it all.  ~yours always, Jesse

Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes. ~Hugh Prather

I have to apologize for my absence as of late. Our life has been going through some changes/shifts and I thought it was just going to last a couple weeks, but it appears that it may be our “theme” for the moment.  I don’t mean to sound allusive, but suffice it to say that for a person who struggles with veering from the routine, I am growing in my patience and spontaneity. Growth for me in this area is a good thing. We are jumping into major renovations around our house which are requiring many decisions and much research, we are working on a *HUGE* biz re-brand (WOW, it’s gonna be soooo great!!!), tax season appeared out of the blue (always FUN), as well as other big shifts. Much more to come….and no, I’m not pregnant. Sorry folks who are rooting for Z-5. ;)

As we’ve been cleaning up around here and moving into our regular season of shooting again (yay!!) I have gathered together our personal photos from 2010.  Yes, I realize it is April and that 1/3 of our year is already gone (HOW CRAZY IS THAT??!), but we had SUCH a fun year in 2010 that I just had to compile it into a slideshow. Our blog also serves as a “family journal” of sorts, so having this to look back on is really special to us.

Last year we traveled to California, New York, New Mexico…..we had family dance parties, rode bikes and read lots of books. We celebrated birthdays and dear friendships. I saw my baby sister marry her true love. We cooked new foods and explored fantastic restaurants. We feel wonderfully blessed to share our lives with so many beautiful people. Here is a (very tiny) sampling of our 2010 year. Thanks for taking the time to view it and share in our lives.