Thomas - Snitker Wedding preview

Amy and Sly

Here's a little sneak peek at Amy and Sly's Engagement we had so much fun!! It was a beautiful day and they not only had fun together but just being with them it is so obvious how much they love each other :) 

And then it died ...

So as my last posted stated we had a struggle getting our tree, here it is all set up and pretty by our window ... no thanks to Elbie who slept the whole time we set it up :) 

And then I noticed a LOT of needles ... I had watered it every day but because of how long it took for us to get the tree home and into water ... I think it is now repaying us by dying. I am so sad!!! But can't really keep it inside any longer because there are literally handfuls of needles piling up on my floor ... and if you so much as breath near the tree you are covered in a shower of green. I am so sad! 

We got our first Christmas tree as a family :) 

I grew up in Massachusetts where you go out, pick out and chop down your own Christmas tree ... Peter is used to getting the tree out of the attic so I introduced him to correct way of finding a Christmas tree :) We had so much fun! The day started with me, so excited that I was jumping on the bed .. literally haha. We have 1 car and its a small one so we drove to Peter's parents about 40 minutes from our apartment to borrow one of their cars. From their house we drove 1.5 hours to get our tree! (there aren't very many tree farms in DC :)  

Pretty sure Peters favorite part was the saw :) 

We found the perfect one! Isn't it so cute!!?

It's ours!

Me and my puppy! He had fun too, chasing rabbits and peeing on all the trees ... lucky for us he hasn't peed on the one in our house yet!

So after all of that we drove straight back to our apartment to leave our tree and dog and head back to Peter's parents to switch cars and then head to a friend birthday party ... so to review:

                          - 40 minutes from our apt to Peter's parents

 - 1.5 hours to the tree farm 

           - 1.5 hours back to our apartment

It was at this point that we realized that our keys had been left at Peter's parents when we left our car ... 

- 40 minutes back to Peter's parents

- 40 minutes back to our apartment

                     - 40 minutes back to his parents to switch our car 

                   - 40 minutes home again at the end of the night 

Some days are just more of a struggle with us Brandts ... but hey, our tree looks great and we have a story to tell the kids one day about the day we got our first Christmas Tree ... literally the day ... a simple trip to get our tree turned into over 6 hours in the car. Tired all of us out, including the pup :) 

Life is an Adventure...

Life is an adventure ... the craziness never ends. Peter and I are slowly learning to enjoy life even when it's beating you up. After a month where Elbie was attacked leaving not only his body but also our bank account deeply scared, (by about $3,500)

Then theres me leaving my full time job to work part time and go back to school, and oh we just moved into a new (significantly more expensive) apartment... all at the same time... We have learned to count our blessings and love each other through stress... I say goodbye September not sad in the least to see you go!

Since none of the above events are things we can change or avoid we have had to step back and re - evaluate our life style. It is so easy to live comfortably and to forget about all the random things that can come along, thank you September for screaming a loud wake up call in our faces!

So here comes the hard part ... we've wanted iphones forever and can finally afford it and Peter's phone just broke oh yea and we don't get service with Sprint in our apartment ... so it's time to switch but we have lots of bills between, life, school loans ... and honestly we've been pretty inspired not to be one of the "99%" of people mad at wall for their money issues ....

So heres to: Shopping for lame cell phones that do nothing but make phone calls, BUT save us almost $100 a month. Packing our lunches every day which isn't as yummy or convenient as buying out, BUT saves us almost $400 a month. Searching and using coupons for groceries, but also movie tickets, restaurants... pretty much everything!! Kinda annoying and takes more planning BUT saves us on average $200 to $300 a month.

Recap:

- Sometimes life stinks.
- Sometimes choices and sacrifices that have to be made are not fun.
- It's not so bad having a husband who supports you, in going back to school, making less money, finding      ways to save money even if it isn't fun.  :)
- Being very intentional with how we spend and save and pay off debt is not fun but pays off, literally :)
- Lame phones, packed lunches, discounts and coupons equals about $800 a month in money otherwise
        wasted!!!

I'm not going to lie, in 2 years when our contract is up we are getting iphones! But until then we will be living as a poor, money saving young couple with me in school and the goal to be debt free .... when we make it there, we will have a party and invite you!!! ... Seriously though it will be a biiiig party :)

Back by popular demand ...

I'm back!

It's been a while and a crazy while at that! Since I've been gone:

1. I gave my 2 weeks notice at work
2. Elbie was attacked by a dog
3. I decided to go back to school and pursue my masters (with the full support of my wonderful husband)
4. Peter got a new job
5. We moved
6. We got T.V. ... sure not as big a deal as some of the other items on the list but I'm going for full disclosure here
7. Summer came ... and went

I could go on .. but I think that gives me a pretty good starting point as far as filling you in on our crazy, should write a book about, you may think I'm lying sometimes, life :)

Let me start with point 1 ... and 3 they probably should have been combined but instead I stuck a 2 in between them ... lets just say it symbolized our chaos life well right now. So yes, I am both leaving my job and going back to school. I will be taking pre- requisites for the next 2 semesters and then applying to grad school for Occupational Therapy. I am very excited and very nervous all at once. Oh and I have 2 weeks from today to find a part time job ... or we can't pay our bills. I had an interview and am waiting to hear back ... #learningtotrustGodinahugeway!  (too long for a hash tag?)

Points 2,4,5,6 and 7 will have to wait until tomorrow to be discussed due to the fact that I'm tired. Apparently my body forgot until just now that it is 25 years old and not 19 and in college ... meaning staying up past 11 equals a very tired Rachael in the morning ... seriously when did I grow up? Also Peter who is to my left is soundly sleeping ... but it would appear, with all the kicking and huffing and puffing on my right, that Elbie is not appreciating the light from my computer. We made a rule that he wasn't going to be allowed on the bed ... yet somehow his head is currently on my pillow ... huumm  #persistencepaysoffforthepooch 

Photo Shoot with the Ho Family

This past Saturday I had the privilege to meet the Ho family! I went to take photos of the newest edition to their family as well as their 1.5 year old and the family as a whole. Here is a preview, I am still waiting for my new computer and lightroom so these are pretty unedited (don't judge!).

Things I learned: It is very difficult to get good pictures of a 2 week old when they are awake. I have never done a baby photo shoot where the baby is under 6 months and so awake and alert! I learned I need to book more time for a baby shoot in case this happens. Eventually he fell asleep... after we moved on to the family photos of course :)

I also learned, although I already new this, my husband is amazing. This was the first shoot he came on with me. Peter helped lug props around, distract the kids and afterwards encourage me with: "Whoa I have a lot more respect for Photographers now!" He helped make my job so much easier! I may try to recruit him full time!! :)

 So here is the preview:

In one word I would describe this session with the word 

Joy



Joy in Discovery





Joy in Motherhood





Joy in family





Joy in Unity



 



Joy in being finished with the Photo shoot :)