an interview

 

ready to wrap this blog up..but not without a final interview

we each made up some random questions to ask each other, dj was the first one to answer...

mrs.- what is your favorite meal to have for dinner?

mr.- i love chicken stir fry

mrs.- tell me about one of your happiest memories of this past year. 

mr.- i loved my birthday when i got knighted and people showed up and you took the time to surprise me. it was a lot of fun and creative and you made one of my random life goals happen. plus i got a certificate. 

mrs.- what is the stupidest thing we have gotten into an argument about?

mr.- hot sauce. o wait, we were just dating then... the argument about lady gaga's lyrics

    mrs.- what have you learned about yourself this year?

    mr.- i am not as patient as i thought i was in certain areas. also, i am a lot like my dad in some ways 

   mrs.- what have you learned about me or about women in general? 

    mr.- you are more emotional than me and just because i don't necessarily feel those same emotions doesn't         

    mean they're not valid

    

    mrs.- biggest challenge in marriage? 

    

    mr.- it's okay to not have to be right. putting my pride aside and knowing that little annoyances need to be  overlooked. 

   

 mrs.- describe your perfect day.

    

mr.- wake up, cook breakfast together, head to disneyland. or just hanging out together doing anything, i love that.  

    

mrs.- what are you proud of? 

   

 mr.-i have been working full time, going to school, not necessarily getting straight a's but getting competitive grades, and hopefully making you feel like you are cherished and appreciated. 

    

mrs.- what is one quirk about me that you think is really weird? 

    

mr.- i only get to pick one? you specifically ask for tiny pieces of chicken when we go to panda express. 

    you can't sleep if the pillows on the couch aren't fluffed. you eat hamburgers with a knife and fork. 

    

mrs.- where do you see yourself a year from now? 

    

mr.-hopefully applying to nursing programs. possibly having a kid.

and then danielle had to answer his questions...

    

mr. - what is one of the funniest moments from this last year for you?

    

mrs. - on your birthday when you gave yourself a haircut and we immediately had to go to the             

    barber down the street to fix it. 

    

mr. - what is a habit of mine that drives you crazy?

    

mrs. - you chew your food really loudly. is loudly a word?

mr. - what is something that I do that makes you feel the most appreciated and loved?

   

 mrs. - you do anything that I ask you to do without complaining, and you go on all of the random

    adventures that I come up with.

    

mr. - what is the stupidest thing that we have gotten in a fight about?

   

 mrs - The one time that I wanted to put mascara on you

    mr. - describe your perfect date?

    

    mrs. - ok, we get dressed up and drive anywhere we have never been. have sushi or thai food,  and then go somewhere for dessert and coffee. take a walk outside, maybe go to a comedy club

    mr. - where would you like to go on our next big trip?

    

mrs. - Bali, or Portland Oregon

    mr. - What is something as a wife you would like to get better at?

   

 mrs. - don't set unrealistic expectations and do wear heels more often.

    mr. - What dish or type of food would you like to learn how to cook?

    

mrs. - thai food, yellow curry chicken

    mr. - what are you most proud of from this last year?

   

 mrs. - trying new things. not being scared to take risks. 

    mr. -  what would you tell a newly married couple?

   

 mrs. - don't expect perfection. try not to take yourselves too seriously, have fun. put God first in all things and  

    that alone will make everything else easier. it is a really big adjustment so keep that in mind and enjoy

    the learning process. 

To anybody who still reads our little blog, even after it has been so neglected these last few months, thank you, we appreciate you! If you would like be a part of our latest adventures, come visit us at our website, urbanstillsphotography.com and click on "blog". 

 God Bless. 

no more!

A lot of great things have come from being married; joy and growth and maturity. But one thing that has also come with it is an anxiety that I did not experience before, and that is what is on my heart today. Next week we celebrate our anniversary and as we approach our second year of marriage, my goal is to leave behind the burden of worry that has loomed over me the last year. I don’t know exactly what brought it on but my guess is that when I said “I do”, I began the lifelong journey of loving another person with an intensity that I didn’t know was possible. I pray over him every morning and until I know he has arrived at work safely, I feel anxious. Whenever I hear sirens I get a little jump in my stomach and silently pray that nobody I know is involved. My future is so entwined with my husband’s that I cannot picture life without him in it, and so, I worry. What if something happens to him? What if we have kids and something happens to one of us? What if something happens to one of our kids? What if we can't have kids? These are just some of the things I think about constantly, and this last year I have experienced more headaches, more migraines, and more health issues than ever before. It has gotten to the point where I won’t even answer my phone or listen to voicemails unless I know for sure it is not bad news. I can be honest about this because I know that I am not the only who worries, and I know that there is an answer. The other day we were in church and during worship I just closed my eyes and silently pleaded with God, "can I just rest?" See, even when I know my loved ones are safe for the time being, I am not at peace. I am busy worrying that any minute things will come crashing down around us, and so my joy is being robbed daily. I refuse to live this way any longer. My friends and I meet for a bible study weekly and thank God for them because I have finally been able to talk about my anxiety with them and came to learn that we all deal with it in one way or another. And one of them had the awesome idea to write out a bunch of verses about worry and anxiety and look over them whenever we need a wave of peace to wash over us. I want to take the thing that weighs me down the most, and conquer it with scripture and with prayer. Today I came across a quote by one of my favorite authors, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength” ~ Corrie ten Boom. Next post will probably be a wrap up of our first year of marriage and a closure to this blog. I suspect it will be of a lighter nature:). For now, I will practice utilizing the tools that God has given me to stomp out worry and fear, and live with joy, even in the midst of the unknown.

~Mrs. P 

seinfeld moments

i was telling my mom about something that i thought was a serious problem and she responded by laughing and telling me "this is blog material-so seinfeld!" i paused and wondered if she was right. maybe this thing i saw as a big dilemma could be chalked up to nothing more than a silly situation. or maybe not. see, here is the thing, since 2007, i have been going to one of the finest-no-THE finest thai food restaurant in the entire world. you will probably balk at this statement and say to yourself, "no way, so and so is better" but i promise you that if you were to try this place, you would agree with me. i have taken friends to this place, and all of them are return patrons, and it was the first place dj and i went on our first alone date. he loved it and it became our place. we dream about it, drool over it, talk about it with starry eyes. it is a treat for us to eat there, and we make it a point to stop in san marcos every month or so for some pad thai with chicken, house salad with peanut dressing, and beef with spicy noodles. the people who work there recognize our faces now and the last several times we went, they gave us dessert on the house, or extra andies mints with our check, and stopped by our table for frequent chatter. they LOVED us.

and then it happened.

i  wanted to order something i had never had before so i asked for the red curry dish. big mistake. yes it was still very good, but it just wasn't pad thai with chicken spicy number 7, and it wasn't that satisfying. so i took a few bites for good measure and then told dj, "i can't eat it, what do i do?" he suggested letting the server know and see if they could take it back and bring me what i always order instead. i asked so nicely. i apologized profusely, i complimented them and thanked them. but it was to no avail. no longer did they linger for conversation. no free dessert. not even an andies mint graced our check. we didn't even get our usual warm goodbye. i hope it's not beyond repair. this is a relationship we must restore. soon.
~mrs. p

And we're back!

Well, we've definitely had a case of writer's block around here. We have written some blogs and then re-read them and said, "meh, don't wanna post that after all." Ever determined to stretch this out until our anniversary like we envisioned, we are trying to come up with fresh new ideas. I haven't read any marriage books lately, but I recently watched a movie about a couple about to get married and the future groom said something to his friend that stood out to me. He said, "it's weird, how easy it is to destroy something." It made me realize how true that statement is when it comes to our lives. Thinking of all the recent floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes that have devastated people all over the world, it is clear that nature and circumstances can shake our lives upside down at any moment. But this guy's statement made me also think about how we sometimes destroy things in our lives with our actions. It is kind of like playing Jenga. You can build your tower higher and higher but each time you take a piece out of it, you shouldn't be surprised when the whole thing tumbles to the ground. I don't want to have a marriage that is as wobbly and unsteady as a Jenga tower. I pray that we build a foundation that is strong and sturdy, and that we only add to our relationship, rather than take away from it. I don't want to hold my breath and hope for the best, I want to live deliberately. 

~Mrs. P 

Many a person has told me that marriage is a marathon and not a sprint and I have continued to muse upon that and see what that would look like. When one is running a marathon, they go through a great amount of stages in those 26.2 miles ranging anywhere from runners high, wanting to pass out and the infamous hitting "the wall" feeling. When one is going to hit "the wall", everything in their body is telling them that it does not want to run anymore, but one must with great difficulty push through that mental barrier and keep trudging on even if it is the hardest thing to do at that point. Now in a sprint, if you're running a hundred yards and you feel like you're gonna die, you probably should stop and build up to that level over time. One can't treat marriage like a sprint, because then you have "the option" to stop, and one must not consider stopping as an option. In the marathon, it's not only a test of physical prowess, but it can test you mentally and emotionally. Now, I have never run a marathon and I promised myself that I never will, BUT if I were to run one and finish, I would feel so much more accomplished having done that, than if I were to have just completed my hundred yard dash. I'm sure for most marathon runners it's for the love of the sport that they keep doing it, and I'm certain that there has been evil little voices telling them to just stop running cause it would be easier, but they kept doing it anyway. Marriage has been an absolute joy for me, and I have loved every step of the way. sure it has tested me a time or two but I leaped the hurdle and kept the mindset that I shouldn't be discouraged by a rough night, rough day or even a rough week, it's for the love of this beautiful woman that I will still press on and enjoy her company.

~Mr. P

june 9th

Two biggies

We’ve heard many times that there are two elements needed for a successful marriage.
Women need Love// Men need Respect. We thought it would be fun to dissect these two concepts a bit and share our perspectives.


Love: DJ can show that he loves me by listening to me and being interested in the things going on in my life. He can ask me questions and make an effort to discover who I am beneath the surface. He can spend time with me. This may be doing activities or sitting and talking or even reading together, enjoying the silence. He can appreciate and accept me for who I am and not compare me to others. He can value our marriage, and the strengths that I bring to the table. He can be patient with me as I continue to mature as an individual and as a wife, and help me grow in the areas that need improvement. He can challenge me to pursue my goals and not give up when things get difficult. He can remember things like my birthday, our anniversary, and other dates that are important to me. He can celebrate with me when we reach a milestone, or I accomplish something and he can have empathy when I’m frustrated or sad. He can encourage me by reading the bible with me and praying with me. He can be faithful to me and to our marriage. He can verbalize to me {often} how he feels about me and why he is glad that he chose me. And he can be giving of himself and his resources and hold nothing back. Lastly, he can be kind and give me grace even when I don't deserve it {which is really what grace is all about}.
*This may be different for every person, but for me, this is love*
~Mrs. P

Respect: Danielle can show me respect by not demeaning me or throwing me under the bus in public/family settings. She can let me show affection to her without pushing me off of her, or acting grossed out to save face including letting me hold her hand in public. She doesn't have to laugh at all my jokes, but please don't scoff at me to my own downfall. She can let me open doors for her, or let me pull her seat out for her wherever we go. Having her tell me how she appreciates me for going to school full time and working full time is a plus (since she's already done that and graduated). We have a pact to never compare days ("mine was harder than yours") and in that, we will continue to work as a team and pick up slack when the other may be fried that day. She can respect me by hearing me out when I'm trying to make a point, since it's not very often that I am serious and those are the times i feel I really need to be heard. She can ask my opinion and take it into account whether or not that is the path chosen. Last and most important of all, she can respect me by never listening to Justin Bieber in my presence.
~Mr. P

hmm...

ok, i don't consider myself superstitious, but sometimes my fortune cookie messages seem to correlate with whatever is going on in my life. when i came back from a mission trip to costa rica in 2008, i knew i wanted  to spend more time out in the world as a missionary. shortly after,  i got a fortune cookie that said "you will step on the soil of many countries"and then i went to africa, and then i married a man who wants to be a traveling nurse. crazy right?

so anyway, i will be totally forthright and say that i am a little bit overwhelmed and unsure of how to successfully launch my photography business and am relying a lot on prayer because things don't seem to be rolling as fast as i would like (granted, dj says i have the patience of a housefly). last week i got a fortune that said "all your hard work will soon pay off" and today my fortune said "you have sound business sense." this tells me three things: a) i eat at places that offer fortune cookies way too much and need to start bringing my lunch to work and b) maybe this is intentional encouragement sent my way.... OR c) it's just a coincidence and i need to continue to pray and have patience...

i'm going with a little of all three

~mrs. p

Does this headband make me look fat?

Supporting your spouse in their dreams and helping them along the way is one of the pleasures of being married. However when your wife wants to be a photographer, you find yourself the victim of a new kind of paparazzi. I am the bargain model that she uses when she: learns a new photo technique, gets a new lens, or when she gets a new prop and wants to know what it will look like in the sun. So here I am being the supportive husband wearing her new props in the parking lot of our apartment complex (makes holding her purse a welcome task now).
~Mr. P

on my mind today...

Is there something that has defined who you are? I think there are moments and words that stick with us throughout our lives. One thing that has stuck with me happened at the end of the year awards ceremony when I was in the 2nd grade. All the kids received awards and I remember waiting with anticipation to hear what mine would be. “Danielle Storck- best…all around student!” Now, if you know me at all, you know that I can rarely hide my emotions. Whatever is going on inside my heart and mind is showing up with clarity on my face. I guarantee that my face showed my confusion as I accepted this vague award that I thought was made up because Mrs. Schultz couldn’t think of anything else to give me. I had wanted to hear that I was good at something specific, something I could channel all of my efforts towards. I would have taken anything- academics, art, athletics, even the "best glue stick technician" would have been fine because it was more tangible than "all around" in my 7-year-old mind. Most of my life I have been trying to find out what I am best at, and where I fit in. And you know what? I still don’t know! And I am okay with that. I believe that if we set out to glorify God in all that we do then we are successful where it counts. When we forget this or start to feel discouraged, there are always the promises of God to keep us going. This verse DJ sent me has encouraged me this week: 


“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:8


~Mrs. P 

the visitor

Every month a strange thing invades our home. It occurs every 28-32 days and lasts for about a week. Last Saturday night it intruded on a lovely date DJ and I were having at the Elephant Bar. Out of nowhere it showed up and tried to ruin our evening by causing an argument. It doesn’t play fair! It causes grown women to break down into tears for no apparent reason and grown men to run for the man cave. It demands chocolate and Mexican food every day it's in town. It interrupts our romance and causes drowsiness and moodiness. It does not apologize for its behavior, simply arrives when it wants to, causes a ruckus and leaves again, promising to return again next month. As soon as it leaves everything and everyone goes back to normal. We are happy and content and don’t argue much at all and the romance returns just as suddenly as it left. Some consider this thing to be a blessing and others a curse. Every woman, and every man living with a woman is familiar with this thing. "What can we do to stop this?" you ask. I wish I had the answer for you. At this point all we can do is close our eyes, cover our ears, and wait it out. Oh, and keep the cabinets stocked with Toblerone bars. That seems to keep it happy. This month its arrival was marked with a little smiley face on the calendar so that next month we will be more prepared for it and not so caught off guard.

~Mrs. P 

O, the visitor. How can one truly be prepared for the arrival of the mother of argument, the child of outburst and the father of breakdowns? It storms in on the winds of emotional instability and leaves the wreckage of whatever was in its path. Dates and holidays have been it's victims and it leaves no prisoners alive. A lot like the arrival of a tornado it comes unannounced and like the unwanted family member during the holidays, can't leave soon enough. Once peace in the valley has set back in, it's like the end of a Charger season, we only have the pieces to pick back up and set things right again. Akin to the end of a good exorcist movie, I get the love of my life back and we don't mention what happened during the time of the possession. It's something that is both mutually feared and mutually welcomed (for that brief moment when the text comes my way that the visitor has arrived). Somehow during this time communication is increased but has ceased to exist at the same time (how does that even work). OK, OK, it's not that bad, but it is a thing that we all have to deal with, whether or not it feels like one or both of us are in the twilight zone. 

~ Mr. P

www.urbanstillsphotography.com

is here!
www.urbanstillsphotography.com

nicknames and bread faces

Nicknames really burn my toast.

They should be approved by the person to whom they are given but they never are. They are gleefully imposed by siblings, parents, and friends, and occasionally the playground bully. Sometimes they're cute but in my personal experience they are always unfortunate... Danny, Big D, Dizzle, Dano, Storck the dork. You can see why I'm not a fan. I've been nickname-less for a few years and that's been nice. Now the one person who is supposed to be my "safe haven" is calling me Boobers. Boo. Bers. Worst part is, he won't stop.

And now I'm responding to it.

Why not just ignore it? Nip it in the bud? Well because he is persistent and I don't have the stamina to argue this forever, so I conceded.

Pick your battles..

Speaking of randomness, doesn't this slice of bread look like it has a face?

~Mrs. P 

comfortable or complacent? another top ten list!

Happy Easter!

1. He gets a “good morning!” kiss whether I have brushed my teeth or not

2. I don’t feel the urge to wear perfume or fragranty stuff all the time to impress him, but I still wear deodorant so that’s a plus

3. Speaking of deodorant, I let him pick out the one I currently use because I trust his judgment and he is surprisingly picky about that sort of thing

4. I don’t wear sweats excessively (marriage books-let out your collective sigh of relief) but I also don’t feel obligated to look perfectly put together when we are just hanging out at home

5. My money/your money-thing of the past, having a joint account is simpler and unifying in our marriage

6. Hypothetical parenting conversations have changed from “if we ever have a kid” to “when we have a kid”

7. Praying together gets better and better the longer we are together

8. I am calmer about stuff that used to really bug me, like his pile (see our first top ten list). That just makes me laugh now, especially when he covers it with a pillow and thinks that solves the problem

9. I don’t have to be in control of every little detail. It is pretty freeing to say “it’s up to you” “whatever you like is fine with me” “how about you handle that?”

10. I have resigned myself to the fact that I cannot hold in certain bodily functions 24/7, sometimes things are going to slip out and it doesn’t bother him, usually it elicits a cheer or something embarrassing like that.

~Mrs. P

1. I never thought that I would be one to go to the bathroom with someone else in there, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.

2. “Mine” is very quickly and easily becoming “ours,” our IPod, our car, our books, our money.

3. I on the other hand get home and throw on basketball shorts ASAP. Oops!

4. Danielle was unfortunately under the impression that I was one of the rare men who do not fart all the time, Since being married I have proved her wrong. (Can’t win them all)

5. When I’m sick, I can’t just say that I can’t go out with you this week, She gets to hear all the sights, sounds and smells that come along with it.

6. I don’t hide pulling my nose hairs, instead I do it till I get caught and then she helps me find the more elusive ones.

7. Yes, brushing my teeth does include scrubbing my tongue until I gag, that way I know its clean.

8. I am a lot more comfortable when I drive! I’m not controlling, I swear.

9. She thought that I was weird and quirky before we got married, but since then, I have so many different characters, voices, and faces that they are all slowly but surely becoming named.

10. Sleeping next to someone was very awkward at first, but now I can’t sleep unless she is there even if I have to wait for her to come back at 2 in the morning from a concert in LA.

~Mr. P

love

The hardest part of being married and the biggest mindset change is loving someone else more than you love yourself. It can easily be done when you’re getting along but our strongest instinctual instinct is self preservation and when you’re fighting, that concept is hard to do. In the heat of the argument, I tend to stop talking if I’m getting mad or our voices are starting to become “whispering challenged”. I do get in trouble for this but my theory is that I would rather be in trouble for not talking then get in trouble for speaking out of anger and making things exponentially worse for myself. Don’t get me wrong, there are times for yelling and shouting; roller coasters, Charger games, and at star trek fans (because star wars is better! Does star trek have a nationally recognized religion in Britain? I think not). When Danielle and I started dating, I was at my most selfish, prideful point in my life, and I feel that I have come a long way. Through a lot of difficult circumstances, God was saying “grow up stupid!” I was shocked back into reality and was lucky enough to have a woman who loved me for who I am. Reading through Exodus right now, there is a time where Moses offers up his eternal soul so that the people of Egypt could have a chance of going to heaven. I wish that we could all be a little more like Moses and Jesus who both loved people enough to not only lay down their lives, but would lay down their eternal souls so that people could have hope. That is the most amazing example of loving someone else more than yourself. I love Danielle more than I love myself, I’m proud to say that I do, because I know that our marriage will not work if I am #1 in my own heart.

~Mr. P

I think DJ's idea to talk about a challenge that comes with marriage (loving another more than you love yourself) is a good one, because often, I believe it really boils down to that. However, it is not something we will become great at right away. In fact, the pastor of the church whose sermons we often listen to online, Mark Driscoll, has said that it takes about 10-14 years of marriage for our selfishness to dissipate somewhat and for us to really put the other person first. 10-14 years...WOW. In a way that is very encouraging because it means I don't have to feel like a complete failure for not having the whole sacrificial love thing down yet. Believe me, I mess up frequently in this department. Whatever movie quoted "love means never having to say you're sorry" was hugely misleading. As a person who had grown up with the idea that marriage is a shaky institution at best and hardly ever lasts, I really did not intend to go through with it myself. And then I went on a blind date with this goofy guy who I knew from five years back... and the idea of marriage suddenly didn't seem so unappealing. Now that we are half a year into this, I can say with certainty that I married the right person {for me} because even though I am a stubborn and complicated woman, DJ is really good at putting me first and laying his pride aside in any given situation. On my worst days when I'm snappy and irritable, and just want him to leave me alone so I can read a book and eat unhealthy amounts of sour patch kids, he doesn't use that as an excuse to be a jerk in return. So in a way, I am learning about love and sacrifice from him, and from Him. 

~Mrs. P

on the horizon

Happy weekend, friends! We are cooking up another blog post and in the meantime, here is a preview of a family photo shoot I had the privilege of being part of this week. More photos will be put up on our blog/website devoted entirely to photography-currently in the works-can't wait to share that with you{soon!}

beach

just a lazy sunday afternoon~ meant to go to church but accidentally overslept, trip to beach and farmer's market, cooking dinner together while listening to sermon~thankful for a good day.

april 9

every milestone is worth celebrating! thank you to all who have been on this blogging adventure with us so far, we look forward to sharing another 6 months with you!

montage

i have mentioned in previous blogs how patient DJ is when it comes to me using him as a practice subject. and since i love a good montage, i thought i would show just a few examples of my supportive and may i add, handsome husband. don't let the first picture fool you, he's actually very good natured.

sometimes

                                                

       it's fun to have a different perspective

dreams and stuff

I noticed lately that our blog posts are more pictures than words. My thoughts are that it is because neither DJ nor I fancy ourselves as writers and it is not something we jump up and down about doing every day. Usually one of us suggests a topic and we mull over it and at the last minute come up with something. It almost always relates to a situation we are currently experiencing. Noticing that lately our blog is filled with photos reminded me of something I think speaks to our marriage: supporting each other’s dreams. Many moons ago-14 months to be exact- DJ came to me with something really important he wanted to discuss. I had been away for a few days and he said my brief absence lead him to decide to not return to firefighting, a job he liked and was great at. He said he wanted to pursue nursing, as he always had an interest in that, and it was a more family friendly profession. He was worried about how I would react as it meant him going back to school and not having the financial stability he currently had. I told him to go for it. Inwardly I was relieved that he was choosing a different profession because I knew the challenges we would face if he stayed in firefighting. Fast forward several months later, we are fresh on the marriage train and I tell him that I don’t want to pursue my master’s in social work after all. I had been accepted into a good university and was supposed to begin classes in August of 2010 but that interfered with our trip to Africa so I deferred to 2011. When we came back from Africa I realized that: A) I don’t need a master’s degree to help people in third world countries & B) I really don’t want to rack up more student loan debt right now. So I told him I would follow him wherever he wants to go in nursing, as long as I can do photography in some capacity because I really enjoy it. He was supportive. He let me buy my camera and he tolerates being my paparazzi victim, which I'm very thankful for. In fact I got some nice shots of him cooking dinner tonight, and I know he wanted to throw a piece of chicken at me but he refrained. 
~Mrs. p


It's pretty amazing how plans can change as often as P Diddy changes names. I had my next 5 years planned out with my firefighting career, and making a good name for myself in the battalion. Falling for Danielle made me reanalyze my goals to not only be best for me, but I wanted to set up my family for success. I'm sure one could guess, but the divorce rate for firefighters is rather high, and it's not the most stable home for raising children so I made a rough choice. So after one our first hard talks, we decided that it would be worth a few rough years for me to go back to school and come out with a degree that will provide for the family and allow me to be the best husband and father that I can possibly be. So now I'm back to school but its painfully apparent that not much has changed since I left school, because all the cool kids still sit away from me. I was pretty shocked when Danielle came to me saying that she was considering not doing her masters program and after another plan changing conversation our plans divert again. Do I miss firefighting? Heck yes at times, but I missed Danielle SO much more when I was gone. Will our plans change again? Most assuredly, and we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Has it all been worth it? Absolutely and I don't regret my decision at all.
~Mr. P

brothers

what better way to spend a saturday afternoon than with a wonderful family and their three adventurous boys, Mattias, Magnus, and Axel. we had a blast chasing them around the vineyard near their house and the park, enjoyed Mattias' stories, and then had dinner together. DJ and i were introduced to grilled brussel sprouts which may have revolutionized the way we eat our veggies. thanks again guys-see you soon!