October Flashback

I can't believe it is already mid-November. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Korey's birthday in mid-October. I really wanted to do something special for Korey's 30th birthday, so I planned a surprise party for him....for a couple months....from another city... My eyes have been opened to how little unscheduled time I have and what an infinitesimal amount of that unscheduled time is not spent with Korey. Honestly though, we pulled it off, and I most certainly do mean "we." We = Korey's parents and sister, my parents and sister and the family and friends that came and some that helped set up because they like to be on time and I wasn't done when everyone started showing up, especially to Greg who helped get him to the venue and my dad (ironically also named Greg) who distracted him so that I could go secret shopping with my mom and sister for about half of the things I still needed, and last but not least the wonderful Ten Ring Sporter Range, an outdoor gun range, which turned out to be the perfect site for a surprise bonfire birthday party.

We began our weekend adventure with a family birthday at Korey's parents house. It was fun to have a quiet birthday dinner followed by his favorite Crossroads Deli red velvet cake.



I know it looks lopsided. It's not really lopsided though, it's just weighed down with excellence....ok maybe it is a little lopsided.  it still tasted awesome.



Clover cannot vouch for the taste, but she almost went crosseyed trying to get a look at the heavenly smell coming from the dinner table.



The next day my dad and Korey went and shot at an indoor gun range while my mom and sister and I went shopping for his party and then Korey went ziplining at Lake Lanier Canopy Tours with Greg, and we all headed over to Ten Ring Sporter Range to set up for the party. My dad and Korey's dad worked together to get the bonfire going.



My favorite table was the dessert table. There were s'mores ingredients, caramel in the crockpot for people to make their own caramel apples and a random assortment of other treats.



Korey's sister, Koleigh, made the "cakes" which were cupcakes arranged in the shapes of a mustache and bowtie. They turned out so cute!



Of course there was also plenty of Mexican Coke. Yes, it really does taste different than American Coke. Yes, it is better. :)



Koleigh also brought face paint for the kids and while we waited for Korey to arrive, many mustaches were quickly grown by all the littles, boys and girls alike. Mustaches know no gender.





Before we knew it, the mustache craze caught on and they started appearing on adults and children alike.



The types got pretty creative. Ashley and Korey's aunt Tara were graced with the "frenchman." Ashley also went for the optional mutton chops.





Arlene went for the "barbershop quartet."



Emily went for the "fu manchu" while cousin Brittany went for the ever tough "gangsta stache."



Koleigh got the ever illusive, "non-creepy mustache" and the baby of course, ended up with the "Hitler" due to his inability to sit still and not attempt to eat the paint brush as it came toward his mouth. In his defense, normally he is encouraged to open wide any time something wielded by an adult comes toward his mouth at the end of a utensil.



All the tables were set up in the nick of time and thanks to a little friendly deceit, Korey arrived soon after. Unfortunately, this blurry picture was all I got of his "surprised" face.



There. Much better.









He was surprised to find a group of mustache wearing friends and family ready to celebrate the day he was born!



The mustache epidemic continued to spread and I laughed so hard when I saw how far it had gone when I went to get a picture of Korey with Granny.





Ah. The "Gangsta" with the "Flavor Saver." Mustache win.

It was Korey's parents idea to have people roast their own hotdogs on the fire, and I bought pre-cooked chicken nuggets for the non-hotdog-loving people. At first the bonfire was so hot, that people got very creative with their hotdog roasting techniques.



As the perfect solution, several small cookfires were made away from the big fire so that people could heat their food without singeing their real or newly painted mustaches off.

The darkness made it difficult to take good photos, but the timing was chosen for a good reason.



After the birthday song was sung, and Korey blew out his candles, the main event began.



The lighting of the sky lanterns. 30 to be precise. One for each year of Korey's life. It was so beautiful and special and I want to do this every year for every holiday. It was magical.













I am so thankful for Korey and all that he means to me. Marriage is not always easy and sometimes it can be very good at pointing out all of the things about us that are different. There is definitely a learning curve in how to love each other and allowing ourselves to be loved in return. Marriage is one giant lesson in vulnerability and I can't help but wonder if God took a rib from Adam purposefully as a symbolic sacrifice; Adam giving up protection of his heart to provide for Eve. After first meeting Korey, I did not know that we would fall in love, that he would be my soulmate, at least not in my conscious thoughts. I did turn to my sister as we were leaving and say, "Me and that kid were cut from the same cloth." If poor grammar isn't proof enough that I didn't see how significant that moment would be and how it would be repeated 'til death do us part, I don't know what is. Marriage is tricky. In some ways, it highlights how separate we are, and yet, one constant remains. I love him. He loves me. There may be better ways to write it, but why dress it up. Those 6 words are strong and sturdy and beautiful. They will not be worn away by years of worldly stress. Here's to Korey, the best man I've ever known. My soulmate and the guardian of my heart.

Always.

dogs, babies and birthdays

Someone pinch me. Did I just wake up to the middle of October? Puh-lease. September just started, right? Right? No?

This semester is soaring by at lightening speed and I have no choice but to grab on to the days and hold onto them for dear life. Somehow, each one still seems to slip through my fingers. I am thankful for my camera those days. Most of my life has been enjoyed in retrospect anyway. Am I the only one who is built that way? Even really important days; our wedding day, the day Korey brought Clover home and the day I got the acceptance letter to dental school, are all a blur now. Time erodes the details of memory and soon all that is left is the faint scent of truth on an otherwise completely made up story of "what really happened." Photographs provide focus and hard edges for fuzzy details.

Occasionally, some of my favorite photographs are unplanned. They capture the details of mundane, every day moments. Take for instance, the photograph below. It was taken a few weeks ago on the way home for the weekend. The dogs had signaled that they needed to go out, so we pulled the car over and let them roam through the grass for a bit. They ran and jumped and played and did what dogs do, and then they both sat in the sunshine and looked at Korey as I took this picture. Now I will always remember the shininess of their coats, their exact coloring, and how different their noses are in profile. Blessed details. They mean so much to me.



Have I ever mentioned how beautiful my dogs are. Strong and sweet and shiny like the dogs on the cover of a magazine. At times I am overwhelmed that they are mine. "They will enrich your life," a friend told Korey and me when we were contemplating whether or not to get one. It was good advice and doubly true for us.

Speaking of beautiful and enriching things, the weekly photo shoot with Stella produced two of my very favorite pictures that I've taken of her so far. What a beautiful woman she is. It has been such a joy to take her picture every week and be a part of their little miracle.





This week, Brad made his debut and it was so fun to see them interact with each other. They are obviously very in love with each other and excited about the little life they've been a part of creating.



I can't help but laugh every time I look at this picture. After practicing listening to his bowel sounds, he did end up actually trying to listen for the baby and I think the progression turned out very sweet.







They have two dogs also. I didn't get any pictures of Ace, but Nannette made her presence known. She is so used to being the center of attention.





I digressed.

The reason we went home a few weeks ago was to celebrate my sisters 30th birthday.



Ashley and Eric recently bought their first home, and it seemed like the perfect place to celebrate so we had a cookout. It was mainly family early on and then friends came over a little later to hang out and have fun long past the bedtime of the smaller children.



Catherine came for the party and I was so glad she did. She and Ashley were thick as thieves in highschool and so much has changed since then. It was wonderful to catch up.







The cutest little girl from Eric's side of the family loved Ashley's cake. I love how children feel invisible when they are trying to do something sneaky.

Korey called me over and we both giggled while we watched this childhood right of passage.







The sneaking of the icing. It's a bridge every child must cross.





No one cared about the damage. Who could be mad at that little face?



Ashley's husband surprised her with a necklace and earrings.





And I loved her beautiful birthday flowers.





Ashley's cat and dog were both the life of the party.





Although Levi was a teensy bit camera shy.





So when we were all stuffed from hamburgers, hotdogs, side dishes and cake, we still had an icecream cake and s'mores to go through.





So we walked out onto the porch Ashley had decorated with these awesome lights and sat around her firepit to roast marshmellows and pass the time. Korey and I left didn't leave until midnight (We're more morning people than night people) but others stayed around the fire laughing long into the night. It was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person, inside and out.

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Happy birthday, sister. I love you.