Unexpected moments.

Being a photographer (or the spouse of one), your eyes gravitate towards irony or the juxtaposition of two objects… and when you are not carrying a camera, you wonder why you even leave home without it! This past weekend, Tony and I had to pick up a couple items from Target and when we were leaving, Tony said: “Now there’s a picture!” I turned to look over my shoulder and outside of Target was this older woman (in her 70’s?) who was sitting against the wall, leaning over her walker, quite frail, smoking a cigarette, and drinking a frappucino. Part of me wanted to cry for this woman and the pain she must have been in… the other part of me wanted to laugh because here is this women really ‘living up’ her last few years on earth. It kind of spoke to me “Forget what the Dr. says, I am going to enjoy my cigs and frappucinos!”

Another moment like this occured when driving back from the Huntington Gardens with Amy and Luke. We were stopped at a stoplight, and I glance to my left and see this beautiful woman waiting for the bus. I debated for 20 seconds whether or not to take a picture because I want to always take portraits of strangers with the goal of dignity in mind. I am so thankful I took a ‘risk’ because I love how it turned out.

 

You know you live on a highway when….

1. You can’t leave your bedroom windows open due to the black dust from car exhaust that gathers on your furniture.

2. You can check traffic before even getting ready for the day.

3. Technically, you could be employed by the police department and ‘clock’ people’s speed as they drive by.

4. You know when two drivers are upset with each other due to their yelling at the window.

5. You know what the fire department is up to at all times of day or night.

6. Your alarm clock is 7am rush hour.

7. It sounds like there is always a fan on in your bedroom/bathroom due to the constant hum of the highway.

8. You know that the only time a 14 lane highway slows down is between 3 and 4am, when you have ocassionally awoken from sleep to use the restroom.

9. You are reminded daily to pray for the safety of your spouse, friends, loved ones, and strangers as they travel to and from work, school, daily commitments.

10. You are one of the first photo-journalists on the scene when you wake up to a crash @ 5:45am to see out your bedroom window 8 police cars, 3 fire trucks, and 3 ambulances responding to a 3 car crash. You also are frustrated by the lack of follow-up by local news sources in letting you know if the people you saw rescued from an overturned car and moved onto an ambulance are okay.

(Sorry, about the picture quality – it was early and I was half asleep!)

 

The Unnecessary Hike

In the last few years, my passion for photography has increased quite a bit… And it has been out of this passion that ChristenBphotography was born!! Whether its doing family and children portraits or capturing a wedding and telling the story through my lens, I love love love it. Because it is SO difficult to keep up our two blogs… Tony and I will be merging our So-Called SoCal Adventures into my photography blogsite so you can stay updated on both our personal lives AND my adventures into photography. This will make my life easier and probably result in MORE updates for you all… Thanks to my friends Jared and Rachel Henderson with prophoto blogs, this new blogsite has the ability to really showcase BIG, BEAUTIFUL IMAGES. I think you will enjoy following Tony and I’s life on the other site… =) We will continue updating this for a few more posts… but then you will have to find us over at www.christenBphotography.com.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do a photo-shoot in Yorba Linda, California. It got off to a little of a ROCKY start when my walk to the shoot location turned into a 5 mile HIKE with gear on my back!! I was told to be at a specific intersection so I parked at the Honda dealership and began walking down the bike path… The first biker told me it was just another mile… One mile later, I asked another biker how far it was and he told me it was just another mile and a half…. After an additional 20 minutes of walking, I saw a runner come from that direction… She told me it was just another 1/2 mile from where I was…. and after another mile or two of walking, I was picked up by a kind woman who was helping to organize this photo-shoot! Needless to say, I got LOTS of exercise on Saturday between my YOGA class, 5 mile hike, and 4-5 hours of shooting! Here is my favorite shot from my day…. and honestly, when I was taking the picture, I had tears in my eyes because this couple who has been married for 3 years was just SO in love and SO full of joy.

I came home to my amazing husband and we actually watched TWO movies and played a game. We watched “The Soloist” which I definitely recommend… I was a bit skeptical at how well Hollywood would do in portraying a schizophrenic homeless man, who was a Juliard drop-out!! I was pleasantly surprised by the tasteful way this man was portrayed and the light it shed on mental illnesses and homelessness. I hope that when people watch this movie, they will see that being homeless isn’t just the result of ‘mistakes’ you’ve made. For example, I met this woman a few months ago when Tony and I were walking home from a pizza place. She was pushing two carts and was struggling to cross the walkway in time for the light, so we offered to help and then we just kept walking with her… Well… it turns out that this woman had a career for many years and actually put her husband through school so that he could get his Ph.D. Now her ex-husband doesn’t allow their children to have any contact with their mother, he is living it up in a very nice house and she is pushing two grocery carts that hold all her belongings to her sleeping spot for the night. She was well-educated and a beautiful woman, inside and out. As we left her sleeping with her dog that night in a safe spot with plenty of light, we were reminded that Christ sleeps on the streets waiting to meet with us… if we are willing to stop long enough to get to know Him.

 

Can you look her in the eyes and tell her she’s not worth it?

Because I can’t….

Meet Baby “H” who is the 6 month old daughter of a 17-year old LivingWell patient that I have gotten to know over the past year and a half. Her mom “Autumn” came in as a scared 16 year old girl who’s boyfriend was telling her to get an abortion… and her boyfriend’s mom was willing to front the $400-$500 needed to make it happen. “Autumn” chose life for her baby and now is the proud mother of this beautiful chunky-leg baby girl. I have learned a lot about courage and responsibility from my relationship with “Autumn” and the joy that I see in her as she is holding Baby “H” is the reason I do what I do…. This little one had a lot going against her…. a single, unsupported 16 year old high school student who didn’t have a lot of support at home… She chose LOVE. plain and simple.

This is why I do what I do… for “Autumn” and her daughter…

This is why there are a few committed individuals who are so passionate about the Sanctity of Human Life that they will walk and advocate for these young women and young men and their unborn babies.

For me, it’s not about politics. its about love.

 

Football feels like FALL.

Out here in the LA area, we have experienced 105 degree through the end of September. This past week has been a little cooler, but there was just one day that felt like a Michigan fall to me. It was a gray, cloudy day with 70 degree weather… I enjoyed using my sweatshirt blanket, drinking coffee, reading a book, and holding on to the season of fall. The one thing that has reminded us that it is ‘fall’ back home in Michigan and Indiana is Saturday afternoon football. The last few weekends, we have been able to turn on the tv to Notre Dame football and see the changing leaves on the television set.

I have to say though…. October may be one of my favorite months out here in Southern California. I found myself remembering that on this weekend 3 years ago (My dad’s birthday weekend), Tony was driving me to my parent’s lake cottage in Indiana to PROPOSE right at sunrise on the morning of October 7.

In other news, Tony has begun another quarter this fall in his Marriage and Family Therapy program. He is loving his classes, especially his family therapy class and systematic theology. He continues to improve in his Spanish-speaking abilities as he is counseling more than 8 hours a week in Spanish. Tony has been coming home quite excited about all that he is learning in his classes and in his counseling experiences.

I, Christen, have had the last 4-5 years since I was done at Hope in 2004 to think about future schooling. Although I don’t have it all figured out, I am starting to put more of the pieces of the puzzle together. I have always had a heart for helping people and I also love working in a community setting. Also, I know that God has called us to either work overseas or work here in the U.S. in a cross-cultural setting. Now… there is no International Social Work program, and Marriage and Family therapy doesn’t really fit my passions for community development… But, one program that really resonates with my passions, gifting, and experiences is in the area of “international development.” Although there are some people in this field who do this with a very western approach, there are other individuals who approach international development with a background in cultural anthropology and a deep sensitivity to empowering local communities to work towards change that they choose and they see as healthy.

There is a professor here at Fuller, Bryant Meyers, who has worked in the field of International Development for 20-30 years with World Vision and other NGO’s. He was willing to meet with me and process some of my thoughts about the intersection of development, psychology, and faith. He was very encouraging about some of the ways Tony and I would like to approach cross-cultural work. His most well-known book “Walking with the Poor”  really connects with me and excites me to think about doing this kind of work that he calls ‘transformational development.’ Since we are here in Pasadena for another year, I have decided to begin taking International Development classes with Meyers in hopes that it will provide me with a sound theological approach to development work.

I am not sure if I will be able to finish a degree here at Fuller or if I will end up transferring these credits to another degree program, but I feel confident that I am taking steps in the direction God is calling both us, as a couple and me, as a professional. In addition to Meyers’ Poverty and Development class that will start in a few weeks, I am taking a class called “Marriage and Interpersonal Relationships” with Terry Hargrave who is another PHENOMENAL teacher, professor, psychologist here at Fuller. Tony and I have learned so much already from Terry and his wife Sharon who have been in the field of Marriage and Family therapy for 15-20 years, but I look forward to learning even more from him in this class.
It is fun being a part-time student while I continue to work 20-30 hours at the pregnancy clinic to ‘pay SOME of the bills’ out here. Tony has been super-supportive of me taking these steps and beginning classes again. I feel very energized by my marriage class and I am confident my development class will do the same when it starts.

Last, we continue to pray towards our nephew Baby J being brought home from Ethiopia by my brother Nate and sister-in-law Shanna. We all are anticipating a phone call with the actual referral any day/week now as we are told that Nate and Shanna’s child is now in the care of the adoption agency they are working with. We are SO excited to meet their little one and be Aunt Christen and Uncle Tony. =)

Fall is definitely a season of change for Tony and I and we are so thankful for the opportunity to learn here at Fuller, live in community, be surrounded by a diverse population of people, and grow in our marriage. God has been incredibly faithful to us…