What's next?

Well, as you can see I haven't blogged in a while. But now that the holidays are over and I have more spare time I plan on blogging quite often.

So first things first. I am unemployed. My agency finally closed the office Christmas week. It is nice to have closure from that and move onwards and upwards! But where that will be, I have no idea. It is great to see God's timing in all of this, because when I lost my job Trevor started getting a lot more work. I interviewed at one place, but did not get it. It is incredible how calm I have been in all of this. Normally I would be VERY worried that we don't have my steady paycheck. However, I am completely trusting God on this one.

The exciting part about being unemployed is that I have had a lot more time to focus on being a wife. I have been doing "wifey" things that I never thought I would have time for, or get to do. The house is clean, I am cooking, I'm getting organized, etc. It has been so fun to serve Trevor in that way. However, the most fun we have been having together is working on our business. T-Ro Films is starting to get up and running. We have had a lot of photography business and Trevor was able to do his first film job on his own, without contracting. It is so exciting to see him live out his dreams and be there beside him as it happens. I am officialy his assistant and am having fun working on building the business with him.

We are also moving next month. We are moving into a one bedroom as we decided we do not want to be spending so much money on rent. Since we are down-sizing in space, I have also been down-sizing in things. The funny thing is it has been pretty easy to get rid of stuff. Because after all, it is just stuff.

So as we move apartments and as I move careers (whatever that will be) I am feeling optimistic. I am not worrying and I am learning to fully trust God on things. I think he has brought me to this point of unemployment to teach me to really lean on him, and I am finding it is a beautiful thing. I am taking the time to really pray through decisions with Trevor and I do not want to just rush into another job, just because it's something that pays. I want to be at a place that utilizes my gifts and skills and where I can be a light. I am looking forward to what lies ahead for Trevor and I and am glad to be on this journey with him.

It's crafty time!

I'm super excited for Christmas this year. Trevor and I are going to make all of our gifts. Yes, this is partially because we are super poor, but mostly it is because it will be really fun! I have several ideas for things to make for the women, but the men are another story. Does anyone have any ideas for homemade gifts for men? My sewing skills are minimal, and I can somewhat crochet. However, I am finally going to get to do all the crafts that I have put on the back burner. We are also going to largely use photography somehow. I am just bursting with excitement right now, so I wanted to share.

On another craft note, Trevor and I are also making some supplies for T-Ro Films. We got fabric today for backdrops! It very fun/scary to have a business. We are going to be running a special for Christmas portraits. We will be taking them at our church building the 14th and the 21st. We will have 5 backdrops to choose from and a Christmas scene. We are hoping that this will really jump start the business! So if you are wanting family pictures (or knows someone who does) in time for Christmas here is a great oppoturnity! Contact me or Trevor for details.

The Adventures of Trevor and Cassie

So, I have been lucky to get to travel a lot with Trevor in the 4 months we have been married. It has been so fun and each trip feels like an adventure. Our latest trip was to visit Trevor's parents. They had a lot of stuff planned for us to do during our time there.



The first day we got to tour a gold mine! This is something I wanted to do for a while. We rode down the shaft 1000 feet below the ground. We were shoved into the shaft (7 of us total) with no extra space and I had to be crammed against strangers. Accomplishing this alone was a success for the day. ;) Anyway once underground we got to learn what it is like to be a gold miner and got to go home with our very own piece of oar!



The next day we got to hike on the Navigators property and then tour the castle they own in Colorado Springs. It was a very cool and historical place. I would highly recommend it!




The last day we went to a lake and went fishing in kayaks! I didn't catch a thing but had fun paddling around.



This was all great fun and we hard an awesome time with his family, but one of my favorite memories was the drive home with Trevor. We like to go on what I call photography adventures. So, we would randomly pull over to get stock footage and take pictures while we were driving. We have so much fun together and I am so lucky to be married to my best friend. May there be many more adventures to come!

It's time to be a big girl...

So far in the span of my adulthood I am not a big fan. Being an adult is not all it's cracked up to be. However, I have learned something very important this past week. I have always made decisions on pleasing people. I am very much a people pleaser. I rarely can be "selfish." I am so concerned about hurting others feelings or stepping on some one's toes that I forget to think about what I might want or even what God wants for me. So, through some recent events I have been learning that I need to start considering myself sometimes. I spend too much time and energy worrying about what others might think of me and seeking their approval. Let me define others; co-workers, supervisors, random people on the street, acquaintances, etc. However, these people may be people that I may never seen again. So, why should I spend so much time wanting their approval? The answer is I should not.

There are 4 categories of people that I already have approval from and will never have to worry about their opinion of me. God, my husband, my family, and friends. These are people I will actually have in my life the rest of my life and they are already big fans of Cassie. :) I am not saying this to sound conceded. What I am saying is that we spend so much time worrying about the approval of people. I have found out the hard way that this is something that only causes me time and grief. I have so many good people in my life that already approve of me, no questions asked.

So I title this blog "it's time to be a big girl" because I am going to start standing up for my needs more when it comes to decisions. I think this is what God has taught me through all the drama I have experienced lately. When I learn something big like this I like to share. I hope it helps someone else. So please know that you are great and God already approves of you just the way you are. My pastor (uncle) talked about this at church today. He brought up the story in the bible that talks about the woman who touched Jesus in the crowd. He reminded us that in that culture women did not have the equal rights and respect we do today. Basically it was better to be a dog than a woman. So if Jesus took the time to stop his journey to see a very important man to help this woman who had faith, I think he has the time for the rest of us. And we definitely have his approval. We just need to be reminded of this sometimes.

So what does this mean for me? I think it means that my worry gets in the way of God's plans for me. I spend too much time worrying that someone will not approve of me that I do not look at the future and see the big plans God has for me. So I am moving out of the way and am ready for God to show His plans full force. I am excited to the plans He has for me, for I know they are for hope and a future.

Our Wedding Day

June 12, 2010 marked the happiest day of my life. I got to marry my best friend. Our wedding was everything I hoped it could be. It reflected who we were and it was fun! There are so many people that played a part in making it a special day for us. Our parents and families were extremely helpful. The whole day would not have come together if it were not for them. My bridesmaids were also amazing. I think we had the coolest wedding shower in the history of mankind. Seriously, the girls went above and beyond. I have wanted one thing my entire life and that came true at our shower. Three words, Dr. Pepper Fountain. Yes it was awesome. Then on our wedding day I had my fairytale wedding. I had my grandpa marry me, the most beautiful flowers, my best friend since I was 11 as my maid of honor, a very close friend taking pictures, and the man of my dreams waiting for me at the alter. Then at the reception we had a live band, something I've dreamed about for years. Here are a few pictures to mark the event.

My Best Friend

So I'm thinking it would be good to document something like getting engaged. February 20, 2010 will go down in history as the best proposal ever. As we had cheese and chocolate at The Melting Pot our friends Cody and Caryn arrived (surprise 1). Trevor said Caryn was going to draw a characature of us (surprise 2). Trevor asked me to marry him (long awaited surprise 3). Many hugs and smiles were to follow.


To give some history Trevor and I have been dating for 6 years. Ever since senior prom we have been together. While Trevor has many perks (good looks, great sense of humor, awesome hair), what I really want to write about is how he is my best friend.

Trevor and I have known each other since I was 12, but we didn't really start talking until 12th grade. AIM was quite the popular thing to do back then and Trevor and I started chatting. Through all those chats we became great friends and even band mates. Trevor would mention how he thinks you should really get to know a girl before you date them (I never thought he might be referring to me). Needless to say the rest is history.

The greatest thing about marrying Trevor is that he is my best friend. Our friendship was the start of our relationship and it will remain as we become husband and wife. He makes me laugh, makes me feel beautiful every day, and I know that he loves me. I think it is so important to be friends with your spouse. In Genesis 2:18 it says, The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Well, God sure knows what he is doing. Ezer is the Hebrew word which means assistance, support, or help. I am so honored to be Trevor's ezer and companion in life and that I am going to marry my best friend.

Joy vs. Happiness

I realize that I am not very good at this blogging thing. I guess you are supposed to write in it more than every 4 months. My bad. Anyway as I was sitting at home under a blanket I felt inspired to write.

I was thinking about a conversation that I had with Trevor a few weeks ago. It was about being happy. I had been dealing with some hard stuff and I made a comment about wanting to be happy. Trevor pointed out that we can't always be happy but we should strive to be joyful. I never really thought about the difference between the two, but as I let this process I realized how different the two are. Happiness comes and goes. It is not something we can control. It is a state of being and changes with circumstances. However joyfulness is a choice. We can choose to be joyful even in the worst of times. Trevor asked me if I could try to be joyful. I thought it was worth a shot.

So I began to look for joy in each and every circumstance. The one that really sticks out in my mind happened at work. I had been frustrated with my job and was feeling somewhat hopeless about it. As I was leaving the office I saw two kids that were in treatment foster care when I was doing my practicum in college. I knew they were looking for a forever family back then. However, they were at our office because they had been adopted and were having therapy with their new family. You should have seen the joy in their little faces. They jumping up and down and saying Dad a million times. They now had a dad, a real forever dad. They had a forever family and they were overjoyed. As I drove home tears filled my eyes. I remembered why I wanted to become a social worker and in that moment I was truly joyful.

So I would challenge you to look at the differences between happiness and joy. When you really think about it joy is a good way to go.