Photoblog: 2012 in Review

A photographic look back at the year that was: 2012

Winter / Spring 2012

Photography continues to be my favorite creative endeavor, and I am loving the process of growing and improving in my art.  This past year, I continued to develop my photography skills, and enjoyed networking with local models and makeup artists.  I teamed up with Benicia and Imani to create the image below for a contest.  Radiant Cosmetics produces quality makeup and is actively working to fight human trafficking.  We were one of their chosen finalists and won a bunch of free lipsticks!  

I also partnered with Bella Vue, a boutique in downtown Sacramento, for several events.  They hosted a party for local fashion bloggers, and after taking several pics, I jumped at the chance to have my hair and makeup done to play model myself.  It is definitely weird for me to be on the other side of the camera!  I loved this dress so much that I ended up coming back for it!

In late winter, we reunited with friends for a weekend cabin getaway in Lake Tahoe.   The more time goes by, the more grateful I am for friendships that last the years.  Especially as they start having kids... wow.  It seems like just last year that we found out our friends were pregnant, and now their son is becoming a little man.  Their growing son and his buddy were the trailblazers on our hike down to Emerald Bay.  I love this innocent moment of childhood friendship: 

Summer 2012


Hiking and camping are among our favorite activities (they also happen to pair well with photography), and we are always trying to plan out our next trip to the great outdoors.  This year's big trip was a weeklong camping trip to Yosemite National Park.  It is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and home to my favorite hiking trails.

We were joined by my mom and a few special friends.  Highlights included deepening great friendships, seeing a bear, snagging a private constellation tour with a ranger, watching Christina invent new ways to make coffee, celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary, and climbing to the top of the world! 

This summer was also special to me, as I was asked to display my photography in my first art show.  RAW: natural born artists hosts nationwide events to promote local artists, and I was selected to share my photography.  Instead of selecting from images I already had, I decided to shoot a series specifically for the show.  It was a huuuuuuge project to accomplish in a short amount of time, but with the help of creative and devoted friends we pulled it off.  I was beyond happy with the outcome.  I loved the final images and felt that the display represented me well as an artist.  I am already scheming what I would like to do for my next personal project...

The summer was also the time to celebrate a great milestone - Gary's graduation from seminary!  He started taking classes at Western Seminary in 2001, to expand his biblical knowledge after we had started leading small groups for youth and adults at our church.  He started out one class at a time, and had to take a year off during our around-the-world mission trip.  He persevered though, and was finally able to complete his Masters of Divinity Degree. I am so proud of him for his accomplishment!

Last but not least, the end of the summer brought the realization that we would be moving into a new chapter of our lives in more ways than one: I learned that I was pregnant!  We are expecting a little baby boy to join our family in May 2013!  We are so very delighted and are really enjoying this time of expectation.  After 13 years of being just the two of us, it feels very surreal to imagine how drastically life will change in just a few short months.  In so many ways, though, the timing seems so very specific as to prove to us that God has a plan for this special little life.  Pregnancy has definitely been an exercise in learning to slow down (which I have been pretty good about embracing) and trust God (this has been more challenging than I expected).  All in all, though, it's been a great experience, and we are looking forward to parenthood with all of our hearts.

Fall

Each Halloween, we host an annual Candy Poker Night.  It's a good excuse to hang out with friends, play games, and eat too much candy.  Halloween falls 2 days after Gary's birthday, and 7 days before mine, so it's always a celebratory time of year.  We've carried on the tradition for at least ten years now (including the year we were in South Africa) and always enjoy welcoming new faces to the mix.  I'm pretty sure that no one has ever won twice!  Molly was this year's poker champ, and if we'd had a costume contest, she would have won that too.  She had the best peacock costume I've ever seen (it may be hard to see in this picture, but she has wings glued to her back)!

This year's Thanksgiving was bittersweet, as it was the first time that Gary and I spent the holiday apart.  His mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Gary went to southern California to see her
through a surgical procedure.  The surgery was right before turkey day, so he stayed to help and share Thanksgiving with her.  Fortunately, my mom and dad had planned to come up, so I was still able to enjoy some good family time.  I am pleased to announce that my turkey recipe is evolving nicely, and that I didn't forget to defrost the turkey (although how could I, since my parents make a point of reminding me EVERY YEAR about that ONE TIME!)!

After eating way too much, and playing too many games of Settlers of Catan, my mom helped me bring in our Christmas boxes and we set up the tree.  I was very thankful for the help, because lifting and reaching tasks have become a bit more, uh, challenging lately!  I have kept my promise to not inundate Facebook with pictures of my pregnant self, but couldn't resist including one for the blog.  This is me about 3 1/2 months along! 

All in all, I count myself blessed.  I have an amazing husband, a sweet baby on the way, friends and family that enrich my life, and a job and hobby that I love.  Life has its frustrations and heartbreaks, but the happy memories are what I want to remember, and the blessings are what I want to hold on to.  2012 has been memorable, and I expect 2013 will be even more so!  I am thankful that you are a part of my life and I pray that God blesses you richly in 2013 with an abundance of His joy.

Love,
Katherine  =)

My Year in Pictures: 2010

In January, we took a refreshing weekend get-away up to Shasta, and I got to play in the snow while Gary took pictures from the warmth of indoors! Looking back, that weekend felt like the turning point in our lives, closing the chapter on grief and survival, and looking forward to joy and hope.



In February, we took advantage of beautiful weather for a hike out towards Auburn. We discovered a path off the main trail that led to a little alcove with this view. The perfect place for lunch, and one of my favorite hiking finds yet!



In March, we attended the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Old Sac. We'd attended this parade during our first year of marriage, so it definitely brought out a lot of those "we're back home!" feelings. This was my favorite float, with the saddest girl scout troop ever! I don't know why they are so miserable, but they just make me giggle! Don't they look as if they are being punished? Poor kids.



In April, we were invited to spend the weekend with friends (from our old Fair Oaks small group) in Lake Tahoe. There was quite a bit of snow, but we managed to find a stretch of shore to walk along. It was the first chance we had to catch up since moving away, and it was a sweet time.



In May, we had the joy of celebrating with our good friends Eric and Stacy, as they officially tied the knot! I was overwhelmed with joy, as these two both are like family to me, and are deserving of such rich blessing together. The icing on the cake was that we now share wedding anniversaries!



June brought the first ever Fam-Bam camping trip. We took Molly with us to Fallen Leaf Lake, which is a little gem hidden just a couple miles away from Lake Tahoe. There was swimming, hiking, and bacon, in that order (though not all in one day!).



In July, I spotted this tabbycat snoozing peacefully in our backyard. I snapped this pic, which I later entered in the annual N magazine photo contest, resulting in my first publication! Many thanks, mystery cat!



In August, we fulfilled our dream to camp at Crater Lake, OR. In this picture, Gary is pointing to the peak to which we had hiked the day before. Oh, and yes, we know that we are dorks!



September was our trip to Heavenly Hills Family Camp, in Twain Harte. Our former pastor from Jacob's Well was coming down from Idaho to be the camp speaker, and a few of us decided (separately) to pop in and surprise him! If you know us at all, you've probably heard us talk about this church and what a special family we were. To reunite and share what God has been doing in each of us really felt like a holy blessing from God. What a gift, to love such brothers and sisters. I will never forget that weekend.



With October came our annual Halloween tradition, "Candy Poker Night". After years of hosting the event, Gary was proud to finally be a winner of said candy poker, even defeating Ron Burgundy to the last tootsie roll.



In November, we thought we'd be clever and do our own family pictures in a local photography studio. We got our traditional classy images, but I couldn't leave without having a little fun... here's one that didn't make the Christmas card!



In December, we had an early "Holly Molly Christmas" celebration so that we could enjoy Christmas together before Molly headed to Concord to meet up with family. After we all exchanged gifts, Molly and I headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. Baking together on my days off has been one of our special traditions over this past year, and we have discovered some yummy new (low sugar!) recipes. Christmas day was a special treat: orange chocolate pancakes. Mmmmmmmmm!!!!

Stacy and Eric

One of the highlights of this past month was the opportunity to spend some time with old friends Stacy and Eric, who were back in town for their long-awaited wedding! Stacy and I were college roomies back in the day at USC; she was actually the first person I met after moving in to Marks Hall freshman year (don't ask her about the story, she apparently has no memory of it!). We headed to downtown Sacramento for an engagement photo shoot. I don't think we could have had more fun, and I was thrilled with how their pictures turned out. Aren't they cute together?

Portland Memories

It's about time for more about our trip to Portland last month!


Gary and I had never traveled up north together, and February was the perfect time to go, while we were between jobs.


We had time share points for a place in a little town called Welches, about an hour east of the city. The setting was beautiful - trees, mountains, snow... just what this California girl needed to feel like winter had arrived!


There's not much better than getting away from it all, sitting by the fire with glass of wine in hand, watching the snow fall!


My dream for this year is to go somewhere to have a white Christmas, and these few days in the snow only whetted that desire.



The other highlight of the week was spending time with our friend Melissa, and meeting her husband Keith. Melissa was another founding member of Jacob's Well, our first church back in Sacramento when we were first married. We really connected over the fact that we were three of the five in their twenties at the church at the time! She moved up north a while back, and we haven't had a chance to visit until now. She's now got a great job, a sweet husband, and a baby on the way. Congratulations, Melissa!


Melissa and Keith had fun showing us around the city; and planned some memorable outings for us including a hockey game and an elaborate dinner at a Moroccan restaurant called Marrakesh.




Other highlights were the Japanese Garden, which I've already posted about here, an amazing setting to relax and enjoy nature, and a fun place called Noun, an antique shop / artist boutique, with a station in the back selling confections by St. Cupcake. Good times.

Wine Country Getaway - Photo Blog

Last weekend, we headed to Napa for a couple days with friends. Though the getaway wasn't intended as a Valentine's celebration, it worked out as a happy coincidence. This was our friends' first visit to Napa, so the hubbo and I enjoyed the opportunity to show off a few of our favorite finds, as well as discover a few new ones together.


The first night we enjoyed dinner at a great Italian restaurant in downtown Napa. It was one of those places with pictures all over the wall, and a waiter that was really excited to hand-grate the parmesan cheese on your food. The atmosphere was enhanced by live music, an incredibly talented guitar player occasionally joined by a female vocalist.


Following dinner, we headed over to Silo's, the only nightlife in town. This was a cool jazz lounge, with more live music - this time, an incredibly talented pianist. Who knew there was such great music to be found in wine country?


The next morning, we went on the tour at the Beringer estate, the longest operating winery in California. Isn't this beautiful? The original Beringers built this beautiful home for $28,000:


Inside the Beringer caves:


Friday afternoon, we headed to the Culinary Institute of America for a cooking demonstration. The teaching chef demonstrated a recipe for couer de creme with raspberry sauce. I'm sure I could be gourmet too, with a kitchen like this!




Happy Valentine's Day!

The Year in Pictures: 2008

January


When our JHers left the classroom and made a real difference in our neighbors' lives, they made "Love Your Neighbor" one of the best Sunday School classes we've ever done.

February


Oh Pizza Pucks, how I miss you. I'm so glad I got to enjoy you one last time, before the last shop that sells you closed its doors. Without you, the world seems a little sadder.

March


These five girls on my New Orleans team learned valuable lessons over the spring break mission trip about love, community, support, and prayer. They inspire me, and I am still learning from them.

April


It took us a while, but we finally found "our place" in the area: Napa Valley. Close enough for a day trip, but far enough away to feel like a whole different world. This picture is the garden at Copia (they actually use ingredients from their garden for the food in their restaurant!) I can't wait to get back!

May


We enjoyed our first camping trip with the Bonus; showing off our favorite sights in Yosemite as well as exhaustedly scrambling to the top of Yosemite Falls, one of the ten highest in the world (this pic is proof we made it to the top!).

June


We cheered on Molly as she crossed the stage at graduation. Two weeks later we cheered as she crossed a hospital room on her own two legs; praising God for the miraculous recovery from a (temporarily) paralyzing fall.

July


After 2 1/2 years of prayer, God blessed us by allowing us to bring a team back to work with our Guatemalan family in Lake Atitlan. (and yes, that's Molly right there with us!)

August


We were thrilled to join our friends the Berrys for a weekend getaway to a cabin in Lake Tahoe. One of my favorite parts of that trip was this hike down to Emerald Bay.

September


I tried my hand at wedding photography, and though I found it more challenging than expected, I really enjoyed the day. I'm so glad I could support my friends by helping them to capture special memories!

October


October saw the return of one of our favorite annual traditions: candy poker night!

November


As part of our annual 30 Hour Famine event, our students not only raised $3000 to send to World Vision, but gathered 200 pounds of food for the Monument Crisis Center, a local food bank.

December


Fellowship means celebration: here we are enjoying a Christmas party with the small group we joined last September. We've been so blessed by the friendships of these other young couples over the past three months.

As I look back over the highlights of these past twelve months, it's easy to see certain themes emerge: ministry, travel, and friends. I am so grateful to God for all the gifts and opportunities He's given me. I am thankful for the special people who have brought joy and meaning into my life. And I look ahead with wonder, with anticipation for what God will bring my way in 2009.