andy+katina | engagement shoot

a couple friends visited us from Shanghai last weekend, and one of the items on our agenda was to take their engagement photos. when i first met andy and katina, i thought they made such a handsome couple. so i was definitely excited to get to do this session. the session was a lot of fun - along with a bit of a workout as i made them hike up and down a mountain. =) but they were open to try anything and had lots of their own ideas too. i'm still wading through the *tons* of photos we took, but i know they're eager to see some, so here is a small sneak peek.
it's also a breath of fresh air for me to finally be posting some people pictures on this blog, rather than inanimate objects. =) because photographing people is what i really love in the first place.







some landscape you can't find in the States - a bamboo forest.


and finally they were determined to get a jumping shot - it made for a lot of laughs.


congratulations andy and katina. we're very excited for you guys.

carols, cookies, care packages, and the christmas story

Merry Christmas everyone!!

With Christmas not as widely celebrated around here, we've had to largely depend on our own means and creativity to remember the Christmas season. In some ways, it's not such a bad thing. So our Christmas this year has consisted of...

Carols
lots and lots of singing these past few weeks. there's nothing like christmas carols to warm the heart. hannah's favorite is "gloooooooooooria in excelsis deo"


Cookies
lots and lots of baking going on... literally made hundreds of cookies. homemade cookies are a rare commodity around here, and people were impressed and happy to receive them.


Care Packages
lots of packages have come in, to our pleasant surprise. and thanks to some loving friends, we even got to make our own paper ornaments and hang lights for decoration.


Christmas Story
finally, it's been good reading the Christmas story a lot of times, and being in wonder of the greatest Gift of all.


May your Christmas be filled with joy and wonder, as well.

thanksgiving, part 2

another big thing i was thankful for this Thanksgiving was that our shipment of belongings finally arrived right on Thanksgiving Day!





The move-in process was fast and impressive. Who knew one person could haul so much on their back.



So we've been busy unpacking the past couple weeks (i.e. my excuse for not blogging lately) and making home more "home". It's nice.