happy little liz

1. I am excited and grateful that I will have the opportunity to take a lot of fun little trips on my own - a photography retreat, trips to the beach, possibly a little getaway to Savannah, a mission trip to Guatemala… excited. :)
2. I’m looking forward to decorating the house without the interruption of questioning and budget debating.
3. I am looking forward to the handwritten letters I will be getting from Tommy. He’s a good letter writer.
4. I am grateful for all the people who have already come forward with their support and willingness to help me in any way while he is gone.
5. I am so soooo grateful that my job allows me the flexibility to get up and go whenever I want or need to. That is a great, great feeling.

This week, I’ve been super grateful for:

1. My calendar looking more and more empty until the end of the year. I have worked my butt off this year and made a strong effort to keep my calendar completely clear from Nov 15 - Jan 1st so I could actually ENJOY the holidays and not be totally stressed. I’ve managed to stick to my goal somewhat, but the sessions/events I do have booked will all be worth it. And all clients know my office work will be close to nill until after the New Year! Love it!
2. In just THREE weeks I can forever delete the “LC Work” tab from my google calendar!
3. I bought a real, live, paper planner yesterday. I love paper. And I love calendars. And I love planning. So maybe you can imagine how fun that was for me? :) It’s even leather and professional-looking!
4. The two vacations on my calendar before the end of the year. Beach in November, mountains in December. So excited!
5. Removing old “pay bill” reminders because so much debt has been paid off. :D

Love my calendar this week!!

Ahhh I just feel like I keep getting reassurance from God over and over and over again regarding my photography business.

The only reason I can even GO full time is because of a gift that enabled me to leave my job with a steady paycheck and live comfortably with my husband and his paycheck alone.

A gift.

Then… then I set a goal for my business. A BIG goal that required an outside vendor’s assistance. Said outside vendor had a wait list that exceeded my timeline goal by over a month! And suddenly… out of the blue… said vendor is ready to get started with me three months earlier than originally projected with PLENTY of time to meet the deadline.

Another gift.

For a long time I had a strong conviction about relationships in the business. I ignored the conviction to change out of complete confusion - thinking that was NO WAY what I was supposed to do. Finally, when I did make the change… God sent FLOODS of reassurance my way. Who knew.

Another amazing gift.

And finally… the most recent reassurance… a local area photographer who has a big name in town and has had his business for over ten years has approached me to be his associate photographer. Thinking this was too good to be true, I told him with a bittersweet response that I was pursuing my own business and I understood that probably was not ideal for him. Well… guess what? He does not mind at all and we’ll be working together in 2010!

I feel like God is just filling in all the little holes for me and all I have to do is sit back and give Him the glory!

This… this dream come true… has been absolutely amazing. I am so blessed. :)

I am so, so grateful for God’s goodness.

So here’s my future living room. :D

Think… hardwood floors… soft grey walls… crisp white wall trim… and:

Think… this buffet in a lovely shade of green:

I’m still thinking about the rug and lighting fixtures… and of course accessories throughout the room. :D

I am now brainstorming how I can warm up these cool colors with lighting, flowers, pillows and throws.

I am so! Excited!

Tommy and I  had an AMAZING trip to Atlanta this past weekend.

The awesome thing about Atlanta is that some of our very best friends live there. Both of us love both of the couples we visit. This is a rare find for Tommy & I. Here in Lynchburg I’ve got my favorite friends and he’s got his favorite friends and it seems as though every time we hang out with some friends here, it’s a compromise or a sacrifice for the other. I know that sounds dramatic… chalk it up to my love of drama.

So anyway! Atlanta! Amazing! Had a FANTASTIC time.

Our friend Levi married his beautiful fiance Lara. Levi is a Messianic Jew so they incorporated some of the awesome Jewish traditions into the ceremony and reception. It was so, so cool. All the respect of the traditions made me feel like it was respect for family and friends… the traditions brought everyone together. And seriously… it’s so fun to YELL during a wedding ceremony. I mean who gets to do that?! “Mazel Tov!!”

So Levi’s wedding was awesome. After a few days celebrating with him, we spent the next day with our friends Emily and Steve. We love them. Emily and I could talk and talk and talk for hours. Actually, we did. We also went to ikea and designed my living room from scratch. I’m actually SUPER excited about that and plan to share our plans/designs on my blog today!

So today I’m sharing my big, giant gratefulness for our great Atlanta friends. Oh! And a safe trip to and from, of course. :D

tonight, I am grateful for:

• the soothing sound of the rainfall outside
• pizza delivery
• a chubby husband (= a healthy husband in this case :))
• a day off with nothing to do but be productive @ home. (here’s to hoping I WILL be productive!)
• film cameras. i am looking forward to playing with a new one that should come in the mail shortly!

Wow… this weekend was a true fall weekend for me. I feel like the colors have ARRIVED! I hope they hold out for a week or two because Tommy & I are getting some photos taken of us and I really love those colors!! Annnnyywayyy… here’s what I was super grateful for this weekend:

• Finding the MOST DREAMY location for photos in fall/spring! It’s a little nook at a public park, but it is GORGEOUS! I can’t wait to go back!
• Cuddle time with all the little kids in my life. Tommy even showed Shelby how to “rub Liz” while I was sleeping… it was the most heavenly feeling. I love my affectionate family!
• Pumpkin Patch memories that were made.
• That I am going to be a part of a huge blessing in my sister’s life: living on her farm. Love love!
• How much my husband and I learning about each other. I love it… but most of all… I love how we continue to grow closer and closer through it all. :)

Today I am grateful for:

1. TV time with my husband (he’s calls both our thursday & sunday shows “desperate anatomy.”) :)
2. A whole DAY to spend with my family with NOTHING work related on the schedule! Ahhh can’t wait!
3. Graphic designers. Some of them are pure genius. :)
4. Facebooook. Soooo much of my business is from FB. Social networking rocks!
5. Rest. Somehow… someway… in between this busiest month of the year… I have been able to find time to just sit and rest with my husband. And that is a very nice thing. :)

Okay! It’s been way too long. I know.

Don’t worry - I am still extremely grateful for my life and so much in it! But, honestly, I think the easiest way to fill you all in is to just tell you what’s been up. So here ya go:

• We bought the Miata. Although I think you know that.
• Tommy is deploying after the new year.
• I am moving to Fredericksburg sometime after that.
• I will move back to Lynchburg sometime before the holidays of 2010.
• I am leaving my current job at the end of November.
• I will be a full time photographer after that. :D
• I plan on spending the month of December spending as much time as possible with my hunk of a husband. Except for the two last-minute weddings that were just booked today. Crazy! Good thing I love Christmas weddings. :D
• My life will be in limbo from Jan-Mar and trips I had planned may not pan out the way I had hoped. But really, it’ll all work out the way it is supposed to and I think that is even better. :D

Soooooo…. crazy!! Life changes! Our lives will never be the same again. It’s scary, exciting, frightening, nerve-wrecking, exciting, exciting and exciting.

I refuse to think of it as anything else. :)

So… hopefully I’ll be back in action around here soon! Oh and I’m updating the look a little bit so come over from your RSS readers and check it out!

Because it sure feels like a Friday! Things have been so great lately - my mood has been up, the weather has been gorgeous, my husband has been growing in the Lord (soooo exciting!!), I have been growing, learning, and being stretched…

All good things!

This weekend I am looking forward to a wedding IN town for once! Book ended by the cleaning of my home and office and finally catching up on little office tasks that need to be taken care of.

I am so excited about my photography business. (Did you know that?) I am resting in God and His timing, but I can see already that growth is happening and I cannot wait for what is to come!!

Tommy and I are buying a Miata tonight. I know, crazy! People probably think we are having a quarter-life crisis. haha. But, we really are trying to make Tommy’s long commute as enjoyable as possible… and if this will help, then by all means… let’s do it! Besides that, he told me I can get an SUVish vehicle in the next two years or so… so I am excited about that. :D

So today! On this Thursday! I am thankful for:

1. New (to us) cars
2. The exciting things on the horizon regarding my business (I should probably start disqualifying this on my list b/c I think it’s on every single list!)
3. My packed calendar for the month of October (this is always the busiest month of the year here in VA!)
4. Friends that listen to me ramble on and on about all the little things God is doing in my life - they just feel like such BIG things to me!
5. My workout partner, Megan. She has a goal and she’s gonna reach it, whether I am along for the ride or not. Now THAT is the kind of workout partner everyone needs!