Sufjan Stevens - Come Thou Fount (With Aminals!)

Moonlit Reunion

This is another one of my miniature raven paintings. I haven't developed a fascination with ravens or anything, it's just that there is a good demand for them on ebay.

Miniature Raven Painting

This is a miniature (trading card sized) painting I did recently. I usually rely very heavily on my references but this one was done from imagination, which is probably why there are so many problems with it, but also why it is more whimsical than most of my stuff. I like the miniature format, it has a throw-away feel that takes a lot of the pressure off.

New Cat Sketch

Sketched this on the honeymoon one morning while Ross was still sleeping. The reference was a photo in a cat calendar, but I picked it because it reminded me a little of JoJo. (JoJo's eyes are much more beautiful though!)

The Dust is Settling

The last entry (the pictures of South Haven that those of you who still stop by have had to look at for months and months) was posted the weekend that Ross and I got engaged. That weekend was the beginning of a whirlwind that is just finally subsiding. Maybe in a future entry I'll tell you about all that craziness, but right now I want to update everybody on where we are at now.

Ross and I were married a month ago yesterday! The ceremony and reception were perfect and so much more than I was expecting. I'm not a party person, and definitely not a standing up in front of a hundred people person, but I'm so glad now that we had the wedding we had, I will cherish the memories forever.



Since our honeymoon had to be scheduled for the 29th, two weeks after the wedding, we spent the next couple of days at the bridal suite at the Holiday Inn in Elgin. We were close enough to my apartment that we could visit the kitties but still feel like we were on a bit of a holiday. It was a deliriously happy couple of days. And then it was time to get ready for the big move!

Ross bought a house in Lombard in February. It was a foreclosed home that had been empty for most of two years and he was able to haggle a great price on it. It is a 1940's cape cod style home with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. Hehe, that makes it sound grander than it is! The rooms are all smallish. It has a cottagey feel that makes you feel at home right away.



Ross was all moved in before the wedding, so it really did feel more like his house than ours, but as soon as I got the cats and my books moved in it felt like my hom too. My favorite room is my office. It has a little half bath and lots of nooks and crannies. I have a special closet just for my art stuff, which is so much better than having some of it in the kitchen and some of it in the living room and some of it in the bedroom like I did at the apartment. I can't wait to start painting again!

Anyway, after the big move it was time for the honeymoon! Ross's grandmother, Geri, has a timeshare in Los Cabos and she let us use it for our honeymoon. Thank you, thank you, thank you Geri! It was beyond belief. Everything was SO beautiful and SO perfect that I felt like it was an elaborate movie set, it couldn't possibly be real.



We had a magical week in Los Cabos and I'll have to do another post just to tell you about all the fun thins we saw and did while we were there.

Early on the 6th we got back into town and got to work settling into our new life together. I still accidentally call Ross my boyfriend sometimes, and I take my wedding ring off to do the dishes and forget to put it back on, but the married thing is sinking in one day at a time.

Pictures from South Haven

Looks Interesting!

Ross showed me this trailer last night - it's a full length documentary about intelligent design and it's going to be in theaters in February. I just started reading Lee Strobel's Case for a Creator this weekend which has rekindled my interest in the subject. Can't wait to see the movie!

I Dug Up a Diamond, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris

Vacation Pictures, Part III

September.

Just took a look at the calendar...that can't possibly be right! How was everone's September? Y'all ready for cold weather? (((Moment of silence))) Anywho, it was a busy month for me! There was the trip to North Carolina, of course (There are more pictures, some with people, even. I'll post them eventually.) and the adventures with the garage cat (who is now cheerfully inhabiting the 6'x4'x5" space under my bed) and another car breakdown, and a move at work.

September was also a good month for getting things started. Ross and I enrolled in the 6 week "Two to One" seminar at Willow. The first class, The Designer's Plan: Discover God's Design for Marriage, kicks off this Friday. Also on the schedule; Cracking the Communication Code: Learn effective communication, The DNA of Emotional Intimacy: How to connect emotionally, Fighting Fair: Resolve conflict successfully, Purely Intimate: Understand God's perspective on sexual intimacy, and Let's Unpack! Recognize the influence of family backgrounds.

This month I also FINALLY signed up to sponsor a kid through World Vision. I've only been meaning to do that for about, oh, ten years. Her name is Leitketseng and she's from Lesotho. I can't wait to get my packet so I can take her pretty little picture to work and put it on my desk. It doesn't cost a lot to sponsor a child so it makes you wonder what kind of difference it can make, but I hope that if I combine it with a whole lot of prayer it will make a difference to Leitketseng.

Wishing everybody a happy October!!!!!

Vacation Pictures, Part II

These pictures are from Ross's parent's house on Lake Gaston on the North Carolina/Virginia border.

Vacation Pictures, Part I

We flew into North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon and spent the first two days of our trip at Ross's parents house in Raleigh. This is the little courtyard between the garage/guest house building and the main house. Even with the drought they've been having there, the garden was beautiful!