The week as seen by Gus.

 happy monday.

 

 most people put so much effort into a dandilion free yard. but personally, i enjoy a yard full of free wishes.

my dog is cuter then your dog.

 

 coffee date and new shoes. yay!

it was a wool socks, moccasins, and rain kind of day.

 

 on my way north.

 just hanging out :)

i finally got new glasses! the last time i got new specs i was a sophmore in highscool. 

 

 

 

Woops, sorry guys! I was planning on blogging this week so you dont keep getting my weekly instragram posts back to back, but life just got in the way. I promise I'll get better. I actually have ideas up here just waiting to come spilling out. It will happen. 

 

Thats the plan at least. 

 

This weekend I saw Cory, so that means it was a good weekend. I went up to Northland (his school) to hang out with everybody before everyone parts ways, and to take family pictures for some dear friends of ours. Then yesterday we drove back down. We're trying to get a bunch of wedding stuff done before he leaves for the summer (tear. sniffle) I am not handling that well. 

 

Tomorrow is the last day of april! In my mind, the month of may means it should be getting warm. Come on summer...I really want to wear shorts, dresses, and tank tops again. I'm considering wearing shorts to work tomorrow, maybe if summer sees that it will realize that it is time to make a appearance. Would it be acceptable to wear shorts in 60 degrees if I wear long sleeves..? 

 

This week has just been nuts. All our plans...aren't plans anymore. The only thing I know is that we're getting  married in August. So if any of you guys think of us, send a prayer up. We're trying to figure out what direction is the direction God wants us to go in. But this is a whole post unto itself. So more on this later. 

 

Gah! What a week. 

 

Ok new week. Bring it.

 

 

instagram: shaynanicsj

The week as seen by Gus.

 Its nice to be leaving for work as the sun is rising instead of when its still dark out.

 Quick cup a' coffee before dragging the kids to the bus.

 Tulips are here! Wish it would get warm again though.

 Cold, rainy, windy day. The library is the place to be!

 It was definitely a flannel and boots day.

 Scoring at the thrift shop! Vintage levis to be cut down into shorts. Legit moccs. And a vintage leather bag weekend bag. Can't wait for my next flight so I can carry my classy bag :)

Sitting in church with my bff. Happy sunday! :)

Well another week come and gone. I can't believe its almost May!!!!!!!!!!! Suddenly I've woken up...realized its the end of April...and it became painfully apparent I am behind schedule in this wedding planning thing. (and a lot of other things) *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

There's so much to do and not enough time to do it!  I never feel like I got enough done when I get into bed for the night. 

This week was long...but short at the same time. Kinda stressful too. Lots of things to think about, figure out, and do. A little bit of heart ache too. And thats all I really have to say about this past week. 

Ready for a new one. 

I hope everyone's up coming week is a good one!

Instagram: shaynanicsj (if you want to follow along!) 

When things feel really big...and you feel really small.

Lately, a lot of things seem really big. Too big for me to see around to know what will happen. Too big for me to feel like I can do it all. And too big for me to handle by myself. 

Do you know how big the biggest known star is? Its big. Its HUGE. ITS MIND BLOWINGLY LARGE. Its name is Canis Majoris. In a scale picture, Majoris is so much bigger then our Sun that the Sun is too small to be even seen in the picture. If the Earth was a ping pong ball...Canis Majoris would be the Empire State Building..plus 5 more stacked on top of each other. 

.................wow.

Like I said. Its really big. And that's just the biggest one that has been discovered so far. Lets not even get started on how big space is. 

God created that. Think about how BIG that single star is, and then think about how HUGE and POWERFUL God is to have made that. 

"By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

the starry host by the breathe of His mouth."

- Psalm 33:6

He created it all by His words. He breathed the stars. My Father breathes stars!!!!! 

So...here's some perspective. God did all that. But I think MY problems are too big? I think that I know best? And I'm upset when things don't go MY way? So I think that my way is better then God's way? Out of the vastness of the universe, and the billions of people in the word, God loves me, cares about me, and listens to me. He answers my little prayers to my big prayers. From a "please help me find my keys" short frustrated prayer, to a "please let my loved one live" desperately whispered prayer. In the midst of gigantic stars, quadrillions and quadrillions of miles of space, and billions of people with all their thousands of little and big problems; He hears me. I might not always like his answers, but who am I to question the God who is so powerful and all knowing? 

Who am I to question the God who breathes stars? 

What business do I have to be so selfish and self centered that I get so upset when little things don't go my way? And who am I to live life my way instead of His way?

So when things feel really big, I'm going to try to remember how much bigger God is. When I can't see where God is leading me, I'm going to try to step out in faith because I know that God sees the big picture. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I'm going to try to relax and remember that God is so much bigger then any of my problems. And when I'm feeling alone and I just can't do it anymore, I'm going to try to remember that my God can carry me through it all. Because compared to Canis Majoris I'm probably smaller then a microscopic molecule, so I'm pretty dang sure God can handle my teeny tiny self.

The week as seen by Gus.

 Learning to brush our teeth. 

 Nutella and marshmellow fluff on wheat toast. OH.MY.WORD. 

 Summer and winter in one week. (Wisconsin)

 The little fluff monster.

 Clean sheets are the best. Especially when they're vintage and really soft.

 Setting sun in my face. And me trying to be fierce. 

Lunch outside :)

 

He's hoping my food will fall into his mouth. Its pretty hard to say no to that face. 

 

 

Handsome guy on the way home from church :)

Another crazy week past. It was full of work. And.... thats pretty much it. The kiddos were on spring break so it was chaos. Then the fiance was able to come last minute and the weather got warm! Thank the Lord for little blessings, he knew what I needed. 

One of the best things ever is to watch a thunderstorm come in. Last night Cory and I went outside with a blanket, sat on the covered swing in my big backyard, listened to thunder and the rain falling lightly on the canvas, and watched the lightening.

Trees slightly veiled by darkness.

Silence interrupted only by our voices and thunder.

Darkness violently broken by lightening.

Contrasting cold of the raindrops and warmth of the blanket. 

Holding Cory's hand.

Moments like those I'm totally content. 

Hope everyone had a good week! 

instagram: shaynanicsj

B's Senior Session.

This is what I've been working on for a couple weeks. Wooo! Done. I'm always so hesitant to let go of photos, I feel like I'm turning in a paper that I've slaved over for a month. I go over them again and again and over analyze everything, so in the end I'm usually not satisfied. But...as long as my clients are happy, then I guess I'm not awful.

Happy Friday everyone! xo

Instagram.

 "C" stands for... :)

 Quiet time before a nap.

He bought me flowers :)

 

Instragram has officially carried over to android! I was excited. Though I'm I think I'm switching over to an iphone soon anyway, I've had a blackberry, and androids, and wasn't totally pleased with either. They had good things and bad things, but very glitchy and didn't last too long till I needed a replacement. So I figured I'll try the last option to me. And I want to be like those all those cool kids who carry around all the products apple ever made. You know the ones. 

So I'm trying to start a new series! The week brought to you by Gus. (Instagrams from my week. From Gus, my phone.) Though I only have 3 today becaaauuuseee when I tried to upload the rest to my computer it wouldn't work because my phone is dumb. We'll see if I can resolve this. These photos are just the ones that I had posted on facebook. The rest are on my instagram. Follow me at "shaynanicsj" :). "nic" because my middle name is Nicole, "S" and "J" because of my current last name and my soon to be last name. And because thats the only name I tried that they said wasn't taken. Theres another Shayna Nicole S. Out there??! I find that hard to believe instagram. Jumpin the gun on the "J" part, but hey, that way I dont have to change my username :P. 

Spring Break.

 

Cory and I went and walked around this cool historic spot. Some guy (I should remember his name, but I dont.) moved to America and built his own Tile Factory (is that what its called?) The architecture is awesome. And the home that he built for himself was even more awesome. We peeked through the windows, and it was equally amazing inside too. This guy really likes incredibly intricate tile, because it was everywhere.

 

 I look like I belong right?? Yeah. I thought so too. 

He gives the best cheek smooches.

 The beginning of our long way home! It was very. long. We were both so tired. But we kept each other company and still had fun. Besides a few frustrations here and there. I think at one point Cory wanted to throw the GPS out the window.

 It was a very grey and rainy day.

I'm gonna try to get better at the "outfit" stuff. Promise guys.

Sweater; Cory's, from H&M. Shirt; F21. Jeans;Wetseal. Sandals; F21

Having a whole week with Cory was awesome :). And spending time with the fam is always a blast. We did a lot of relaxing and just hanging out.

The flight was great. Probably the best ever because I was with him so there was zero stress. I love to fly, but at the same time I don't like it. I love the feeling of packing up my suitcase to zoom off somewhere, people watching in the airport, and all the time to read. But I hate those early flights, the fear that they'll mess something up, which brings along the fear of my plans getting messed up, and going through security. But with Cory..none of that bothers me! If it turns out I have to stay in a random city that night, or sit in the airport for a extra 4 hours.Then oh well. Cory is with me and misery loves company ;).

 High lights of the trip was; 

#1. Seeing Clinton Kelly from "What Not To Wear" in the security line!!!! YES. I was trying to as quietly as possible, through hand motions, express my excitement to Cory who was separated from me in line. The man in between us looked a bit frightened by my facial expressions and exuberant hand motions. Cory had no idea who Clinton was. Stacy wasn't with him :(. #2. Watching college basket ball in between flights. #3. Sitting next to someone I know instead of sitting next to the strangest person on the plan and feeling horribly awkward. #4. Arriving at our destination, being greeted by mom and dad Jones, (mom Jones had food readily available, of course) and then being able to go to sleep. 

Highlights from the Jones';

#1. Hanging out with Cory and family. #2. Going thrifting with mom Jones and dragging Cory with us. #3. Movie nights on the couch. #4. All the food. I always feel like I've gained 10 pounds when I come back from PA. #5. Dinner with Mommom and Poppop (Cory's grandparents). #6. Seeing some of Cory's old haunts from his childhood days. #7. Going to see The Hunger Games! I really liked it. Although I wish I had waited to read the books after the movie..I kept waiting for key parts in the book to be shown, either they wouldn't show it, or the way they portrayed it wasn't the way I saw it in my head. (To all those people who think its another dumb "teenager movie" its really not. Read the books. Don't bash it without knowing anything about it)

It was a fun week. The night before we drove back we stayed up way too late though. Cory's big bro, Mike came home for the weekend, so a bunch of friends came over. I knew the plan to go to bed at 10:00 would never work. "Psh. Yeah right." were my exact thoughts. But it was still good to see everybody and play some games. So when we set out at 7:30 the next morning we were very tired. But armed with Coca-Cola, sour worms, and bit-o-honeys we made it through. Because I'm kind of nerdy, I had emailed myself a list of questions I found on pinterest entitled "30 questions to ask your date". But hey! It killed 2 whole hours and it inspired a lot of old funny stories from before we met each other. I'm totally gonna be that mom that brings a humongous bag of "activities" on the family trips. Pennsylvania was beautiful to drive through, Ohio and Indiana horribly boring, and Chicago is always a mass of cars. We stopped in a dinky town in Ohio for lunch, and observed the behavior of a small town pack of teenagers. We also discovered that pretty much every radio station in Indiana strictly plays country music. By the end of the 13 hours my butt was permanently stuck in the shape of my seat, and Cory said all he could see when he closed his eyes was the black road and those yellow dashes. We were very happy to go to bed that night and sleep horizontally, not slightly elevated on a car seat. 

1st experience traveling together. Done. = Success.