We went to Mineral Wells State Park this weekend with some of our friends. I took along our snapshot camera (Canon PowerShot D10). If you are outdoor-sy, looking for an easy to use point and shoot, high mega-pixel camera I would HIGHLY recommend the D10. It is waterproof (which has come in handy multiple times), 12.1 mega pixels and it takes pretty decent pictures for a point and shoot. Obviously it is no Mark ii (don’t worry, I’m not going to show up at your wedding with my PowerShot…) but it is one of the best point and shoot cameras I have used.

Dan’s rockin’ clip on sunglasses. When he wears them like that Lakoda calls him “Rabbit”.

I think some people may think it’s weird to take kissing pictures of their friends, but I take kissing pictures all the time, so I might as well take one for them! So sweet with the sun shining through.

That’s my crazy husband.

And that is Josh repelling down. I just watched

It was really nice to get away with a few friends and camp. It’s amazing how much life slows down when you are away from your house and technology. Dan and I have been contemplating the simple life for about four years now: wanting to live out in the wilderness somewhere off the grid, but wondering how realistic that dream is and practically how would it work out. Warning, this is about to get long and maybe rambly. If you are here for the pictures, you can scroll on down, there are plenty to view. However, this blog is also used as my personal space to vent and share from time to time and so I am about to do so.

As Dan was picking places to apply for residencies we were looking at both residencies that fit his field (Family Medicine with an emphasis in wilderness/rural medicine) and places that fit our simple life dream. We need a place that has a lot of rain, because we will have a huge garden and live off of it as much as we can (side note, read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver). We will need mountains because our kids will need a very large playground (especially if we are planning to have as many as we are currently thinking!). We will need cooler weather than Texas’s 110 degree heat, because we play outside a LOT and our poor skin is crisping up like crazy cakes. We also realize we cannot live completely off the grid if Dan is to be helping PEOPLE via medicine, so we will settle for a smaller city or town in which inhabits the same type of creative/artys/hippy/gardening lifestyle that we try to live by. So, our residency map has lead us to residencies all over the United States. From Northern California, to Arkansas, To Virginia to North Carolina. A few weeks before we were to turn in the applications for residency Dan and I both realized we had our hearts really geared towards one particular place. It was at this time that we both realized that the odds of us even getting an interview were slim, and that we needed to be joyful no matter where we end up. We believe in Jesus, we love the Lord, God has ALWAYS been faithful to us by surrounding us with amazing community and friends both in Waco and now in Fort Worth, so we needed to just chill out and trust that no matter where we end up it will be great. So we did. We are. But guess what, our number one pick emailed Dan and asked him for an interview the day after he applied. I peed in my pants a little. Dan was jumping around like crazy.

This realization of moving leads me to something else I have been processing a lot. Leaving friends and family. Dan and I are both from Fort Worth, thus, our families live in Fort Worth. We also have an amazing church that we dearly love, along with amazing friends that we dearly love. I have tried to figure out how we can all move up together and live on a giant farm together, but I’m beginning to realize that you can’t always “have it all”. I’m learning to trust in Jesus more and more. My post break in week has actually been extremely joyful. I have spent more time with the Lord, worshiping and reading and praying than I have in the past several months. I hesitate to say this, but I am almost thankful for it. It jolted me into slowing down and spending real quality time listening to God. In this past week I have become more peaceful about our move and live in general. Things have gone by really fast. It seems like just a few months ago Dan and I got married and moved into our little house and started our fun life together, and yet it’s been over a year and now we are about to move again. Eesh! Crazy cakes. I know, I’ve said that before in this same blog post. I need to adopt a new saying.

On a note that IS related to photography, it’s been harder for me to turn down weddings than I had thought. I really enjoy getting to know new couples and I hate having to reply to sweet and fun emails with, I’m sorry, I won’t be here after May 2010…

Oh the rambling! Thanks for letting me vent. I’m still not sure where my thoughts are. All I know is, I just got my computer set up at my new/temporary office and I need to stop talking and get to work! Ta ta!