Abby & Brandon’s Blog

I am sitting on the couch taking a little break before I continue to work on my “to do” list. Brandon is playing Halo ODST, one of his Christmas gifts, I look up every now and then to see how he is doing.

My job at Johnstone Photography is done now. I went back for one day last week to do some cleaning and help with a session, but I am now officially done. I have a mountain of job applications waiting for me and the endless possibilities for job search on the internet, but for now I am enjoying being a “housewife”.

My discoveries as a housewife:

I like “The Fox 9 Buzz” and “The Bonnie Hunt Show”

If I don’t get out of my pajamas in the morning I will not accomplish anything

The only thing I can have playing on TV and still accomplish things is “Friends”. It’s the one show I don’t have to watch to know what is happening (yes, I basically have it all memorized)

I should write out a list every morning so I have something to accomplish

Emailing Toni is a whole lot of fun!

I’m sure I will continue to discover good and bad things about being at home. For now, I really love it, but am happy to go back to work whenever a job opportunity arises.

We still haven’t come up with a name for a studio but we do seem to be narrowing things down and will hopefully be choosing one soon. We have a couple weddings booked for this year which is exciting and we are hoping to get more!

As I look back over this blog I realize that I write like a “Hojem”. Hojem is my mother’s maiden name and it is a long standing joke in our family that my mother, brother Tucker, and myself tell stories like a “Hojem” (I however, am by far the worst). To tell a story like a “Hojem” you must insert much detail, so much detail in fact, that by the time you get to the point of the story most people are no longer listening or have forgotten what you are talking about. You must also be a bit rambley, jumping randomly from topic to topic, filling people in on every little thing. And last, when you do write, you must write it in such a way that people have to read over it more than once to figure out what in the world you are talking about!

I must now go clean up the mess I made in the bedroom, which is my landing strip for everything that doesn’t belong in the rest of the house. It’s the one room where I can close the door and no one really needs to go in there.

Good luck deciphering my “Hojem” ramblings!

So, even though I am sure not many people, if any, read this blog, I happened to click on my tag for it and thought why not write a little something?
Brandon and I have been married for almost 6 months now and we are loving it!
The last few months we have been concentrating a lot on starting a photography studio. We are at somewhat of a standstill, though, because we CANNOT think of a name. We have been name hunting for a few months now, we have enlisted the help of friends and family, have poured over lists of words we find inspiring, have made lists of things we like, have talked endlessly about what message we want to send and still have not settled. We had a few good ones, but often find that these are already taken! It is definitely exhausting and we can’t get very many other things accomplished without our name, our inspiration.
My job at Johnstone Photography is nearly done and I will miss it! I have learned so much these last 8 months working in a somewhat high volume studio (at least in my opinion it sure seems high volume!!). I could hardly believe how much more learning is done after school. I had the tools given to me at school, but working at Johnstone’s has taught me how to start using those tools! I am sure there will be a lot more learning to come.
Well, I am out of interesting things to say (life doesn’t change too much, lately), but HOPEFULLY in a short time, I will be blogging as a photographer! (with a name for her studio…grr…)

Until next time!

Hey Everyone-

We noticed an issue with getting to Mount Carmel this past weekend.  Some one decided to start road construction on the main road out to the chapel.  Thus, we have to adapt and move on!

So we have some options for you. View a visual redirected map from Google or read/print the below directions.
(To get back to Holiday Inn, just reverse the directions.  The Holiday Inn is on the corner of Hwy 29/Broadway and I-94–where you will exit)

Directions to Mount Carmel Ministries During Summer 2009 Road Construction

• Take Exit 103 (Hwy 29/Broadway) and continue North through Alexandria
• Turn left on County Road 82 and follow for .7 mile.
• Turn right at the Douglas County Fairgrounds onto County Road 22 and follow for 2.3 miles.
• Turn right onto Arrowwood Drive/County Road 104 and follow for 2 miles until the road ends at County Road 34.
• Turn right on County Road 34 and continue for .5 mile.
• At bottom of the hill, turn left onto County Road 11. Continue 4.5 miles to Mt. Carmel Drive (just past the entrance to the Luther Crest Bible Camp)
• Turn right onto Mt. Carmel Drive. Continue for .5 mile to the large Mount Carmel entrance sign at the driveway into Mount Carmel. (the entrance will be on your right)

Again you can view visual directions and print a PDF from Google here.

So much to our surprise…we were in the Echo Press paper much sooner than anticipated.  At least sooner than I anticipated.  So I’m very sorry for not informing anyone.  Anyway, here’s the link if you’re interested!

http://www.echopress.com/articles/index.cfm?id=63896&section=weddings

Well the invitations went out and let the fun begin!

Abby and I spent a lot of time on those invitations working out all the details and finally getting them printed (only after a few attempts of printing did we end with the final versions!).  A special thanks to our dear friend Toni Edwards, who graciously designed the invitations for us and worked with my critical eye and desire to see many alterations!  Thank you Toni, they are beautiful and wonderful!  Also, a huge thank you to my soon-to-be mother-in-law, Suzie, for spending a good amount of time with addressing the envelopes for us.  I wasn’t allowed to address, since my handwriting is well…not as good as the outside of the invitations are!

The RSVP form is up, but I’m working out the last little issues and will hopefully have it solved very shortly.  In the mean time, either respond by mailing the card back, or check back soon!

We look forward to having you join us on our wedding day and celebrating this wonderful event with us!

-Brandon J.

Well things have been rolling along as we prepare for our wedding and graduating from school!

The invitations headed out the door yesterday, on their way to our friends and family. Everyone always asks how wedding plans are coming and I’m sort of at a place where we are doing little things but there is nothing big going on. All the big things are set and ready to go. We have the church, the reception hall, the tuxes, the dresses, the flowers, the invitations, and most of the centerpieces.

Our next big thing will be the ceremony. We basically have it ready to go but we will go over a couple more times making sure it’s how we want it to be. Then we can get those ready and sent to the printer. We are also working on our centerpieces, making sure we have everything we need and then getting it prepared. The wedding is coming soon!

Almost one month ago Brandon and I got in a car accident. God has been taking this time to stretch us in our faith and our patience! It wasn’t until yesterday that Brandon started driving his own car.

God is so faithful. He did amazing things while we waited for a new car. He always provided Brandon with a ride (his roommates were wonderful) he opened up the door so Brandon could purchase a new car and so many other little things. We are so thankful that Brandon finally has a car to drive, one that is actually his. Praise God!

Well the day is beckoning to me, so until next time!

Well time is just flying by! Spring Break has come and gone and suddenly we only have 2 months left until we are married!!

We have been plugging away at all the wedding stuff, lots of little details. The invitations are the next big thing. We are having a little invitation party on Saturday and sending them out Monday! YAY!

Our first shower is this Sunday. It’s the church shower and it is co-ed. I’m so excited to spend time with people and of course see the wonderful things people have gotten for us for the start of our life!

We have some other major things in our life. A couple weekends ago Brandon and I were in a car accident. Thankfully we weren’t hurt but the car didn’t make it We are in the process of finding a new vehicle. God is really teaching us patience and trust in Him. He is taking us day by day, providing for us like His word promises. It sure is a stretch of faith!

We also leased an apartment for our future! We get the keys this week and we can start bringing our excess stuff there We are also going to be painting which will be a blast! We have been working on picking out the new colors and finding some bedding to match.

I got an internship and a job to start in May! I’m so excited and so thankful. It is a perfect fit for me. No weekend work and a really wonderful couple to work with. I won’t be taking photos, but I will be assisting in the camera room and helping with all the shoots which will give me a lot of time to observe!

Brandon and I had our engagement photos taken which was SO MUCH FUN! Joe and Ashley Schoenack are wonderful photographers. Visit their website at www.visionaristudio.com  We did the photos and then went out to eat with them. It was such a great night!

Well this was a lot of little tidbits to catch you up on everything that has been happening. Hopefully in the next weeks I can find a little more time to blog on here!