Saying "See You Later"

Hello again everyone! I can't believe it's already March, exactly two weeks away from the first day of Spring, and it's supposed to snow today! A few days ago we were facing tornados (or the weatherman's new favorite phrase "gustnados"). Ah, you gotta love good ol' Oklahoma. Where else do you get this kind of excitement in the weather? Anyway, let me fill you in on the last month's worth of events.

Little Miss Makeroo has decided she wants to start using the big girl potty. First off, Kimi and I have no idea how to potty train a kid. So Kimi, being as smart as she is, went out and bought a potty training book to educate us on what Makenna is going to be going through. Her Aunt Jan bought the book "Everyone Poops", which in my opinion is graphically obscene and just disgusting, but I'm told it covers some basic unanswered questions that children have concerning the normalcy of going to the bathroom. If you haven't read or seen this book, wow, you have to at least check out some incepts online. Anyway, she has adapted fairly well to going on her little potty but we've got a ways to go still. She will tell us about half the time she has to go "POTTY POTTY POTTY!" The other day she waddled into the living room with her pants around her ankles while holding up her diaper, which was full of "stinky", to tell me that she went potty. So funny but totally gross. Haha! Kimi's going to hit the potty training hard during spring break. We'll see how that goes.

"And the Best Husband Award goes to..." Valentine's Day was extra special for us this year. Kimi and I needed a quick trip away for some "us" time so I took her to a bed and breakfast! We stayed at this very cozy little cottage in the woods which was just perfect. It was a two story cottage decorated in a country theme with the bed and shower area up some stairs in the loft. They have a Jacuzzi tub, a big flat screen tv, a sauna room, a full kitchen, and much more. This picture is only a glimpse of the beauty of this place and I would highly suggest any couple to go stay at a B&B sometime. If you want to know where we stayed, I'll gladly share it with you. Just shoot me an email or reply back to this post.

On February 29^th, the day my mom turned a whopping 12 years old, we got the family together and headed down to the Fort Smith National Cemetery in Lawton, OK to bury Jerry's ashes. It was a very windy day but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was a cool 65 degrees out but it was just perfect. His ceremony was short and sweet. He has a fantastic view of Mt Scott from where his resting place is at, as you can see from the picture. Right after the ceremony, we all drove to a little hole in the wall place in Meers, OK which, I'm told, is famous for serving Texas Longhorn burgers! The building is over a hundred years old and was in serious need of some remodeling but it really had a down-home country feel to it. The Longhorn burger was as big as the plate it was served on! Kimi and I split it and you know, it tasted just like a regular hamburger... but it was my first BEVO burger and I'd say it was worth the extra money.

Right after we all ate, we headed up to Mt Scott to make a toast to Jerry. Afterwards, most of the family went home but some of us stayed around to go make a hike over to the 40-foot-hole to spread the remaining ashes. We took to the hiking trail and made our way up to the special place where Jerry always loved to go. Sherry asked Ben to do the honors of spreading Jerry and his two favorite dogs' ashes out over the gorge. It was a bit surreal but the moment wasn't lost on us.
We all just sat down for a few minutes basking in the sun, dwelling in our thoughts of Jerry. It was what he wanted and we were able to do that for him.

You can see more pictures from the day here at our Flickr site. I'll write again soon. We're taking a trip out of town soon and we should have some great stories to tell afterwards. I hope you all stay warm and safe in this crazy weather!

Jason

Sara and Danny's Wedding

A couple of months ago, Kimi's cousin Danny and his fiance Sara, brought up the subject of photography with me. Knowing that I have been getting much more serious into photography, they wanted to see a few pictures that I'd done for other people. After a bit of discussion and a slew of emails back and forth, they asked me to be the photographer at their wedding! That request alone is such an honor because this is the most important day in their lives, aside from their salvation and the birth of (future) children! And to ask me, a relatively new hobbyist photographer to capture the day for them, well, I was blown away! I knew enough about weddings to know I needed to ask for help and do a lot of research before the big day! So I asked my photographically skilled step mom, Brenda "aka Nonnie", to please, oh please help me! She took pity on me and accepted! :)

We spent about 5 hours shooting the events at the wedding, which happened to be on New Years Eve. Weddings are usually hectic, stress-filled events but because of Sara and Danny's planning, it went off without a hitch! We had to overcome multiple challenges in lighting and locations but all in all, I believe we had a successful first wedding! I'm using this as a learning experience for me. I've been deep in thought lately on what we did right and what didn't go as planned. I know it was our first time but I know we can keep getting better. I'm including below several of my favorite pictures from the wedding. Let me know what you think!

To see more pictures from the wedding, you can go to our Flickr pictures here. If any of you, or someone that you know, are interested in doing a picture session with me (weddings, engagements, senior pics, family, etc), let me know! I'd love to start building up my portfolio as a possible launch into turning this into a business someday. Also, if any of you know a little something something about the ins and outs of the technical side of photography, I'd appreciate some constructive criticism or tips.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Thank you again Sara and Danny for giving me the honor to capture your wedding days memories! Thank you also Brenda for all of your hard work and creativity! We should do this again sometime! :)

We miss you Jerry

How do I sit down and write out the words that would describe what has happened over the past few months? I know I haven't blogged about anything. None. Nada. There has been SO much that I’ve wanted to write about but I just haven’t found the strength of will to put down my thoughts into words. Mainly because of what had been going on with my father-in-law, Jerry. On the morning of January 6th, Jerry went home. His health had declined rapidly since Christmas and it was a painful and emotionally draining experience for everyone that was there. Leading up to the morning he passed away, he was with his friends and family and everyone was there comforting him and telling him how much he was loved. After we went to bed that night, I think he was at peace in his heart and was ready to go home. He had been in so much pain for so long, I truly believe he received the answer to his prayers that morning.

His service was just incredible to me. Yes there were some tears but it was one of the most joyous events I've been to in a very long time. His best friend and his sister spoke about the amazing adventures he had experienced in his life. Its funny how much you learn about someone after they are gone. And in this case, Jerry was an amazing man. He was quiet and soft spoken in his recent years but when he spoke his mind, it was full of wisdom. I only hope that at my memorial service (hopefully a long time from now) they can find half of the fantastic stories and comments that were made for Jerry. He was the man who gave me permission to marry the one person that made my heart whole. His face always lit up whenever he was around his grandchildren and you could clearly see the love he had for his wife. I know he was beyond grateful for everything that Sherry did for him for so long. The kind of patience and strength that she was able to muster for him was saintly. But that was just a token of the depth of their love. They were married for 32 years. THIRTY TWO! How many marriages don't last 10 years... or even 5? They were pillars for their children and inspiring examples for anyone that knew them.

Christmas was tough this year, with all the traveling we had to do. But we were able to spend several days down in Texas, treasuring the time we had left. One special memory from Christmas was the fact that Jerry hand picked out all the gifts that he got for everyone. You should have seen the look on Kimi's face when she opened up the gift he got for her, a cross necklace with a pearl in it. It was the perfect gift for her, hands down. Now she will treasure it for the rest of her life.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your prayers and kindness during this tumultuous time in our lives. We are making it day by day but we still ask for your prayers of strength and rest. We KNOW Jerry is waiting for us up in Heaven and its not our time yet to go see him again. But just knowing he is pain free and watching over us makes it a little easier on the grieving process. We love you terribly Jerry.



This House Believes