stampley family mission statement

we will love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. we will serve our marriage by loving each other as Christ loved the church, by uplifting each other in prayer, and by creating an environment of peace, love, forgiveness, respect and laughter. we will strive to model Christ in our relationships with others and will be humble stewards of His blessings.

12.11.2010

happy birthday, momma!!!

today, is my momma's birthday!!!!

i'm a bit bummed because she was actually planning to be in town visiting, but a few things have come up so, she has instead decided to come for Christmas. i was really looking forward to see her + celebrating her special day! no worries, though...she'll get the special birthday treatment later this month ;)

here's my FAVORITE pic of her + i....i've posted it on the blog before, but i just can't get enough of it...i just makes my heart smile!!!

12.08.2010

it's christmas card time!!!! shutterfly to the rescue!!!

so, those close to me know that i dabble a bit in photography...yes, dabble.

a few years ago, my then fiance' {now, hubby - just to be clear} blessed me with an awesome camera for Christmas because i had been mentioning how much i wanted to start tapping into my "gift". well, two years later, i hadn't really made moves forward in terms of getting better with my camera...much to the chagrin of the gifter.

well, things are starting to change *insert applause here*

i begged offered my photography services to my brother + father for their Christmas cards. it started out as a joke, but, in the end, i'm really excited that they took me up on my offer...also, i think it's pretty cool that they'll have father/son cards :) gotta love family!

so, last weekend, while the hubby + i were in my hometown visiting, we held my first "real" photo shoot. my hubby served as my "assistant" helping me to scout out locations {daddy's backyard} + offering encouraging words {gooooo crys!}...it was REAAAAALLY cold outside, so we weren't outside that long, but we managed to get a lot of really great shots.

after taking the pics, i had to decide whether i was going to design them myself or use some other method. the answer was EASY...very easy - SHUTTERFLY! for the past several years, i have been using shutterfly {www.shutterfly.com} for allll of my photo printing needs + in checking out their Christmas card selection earlier this month, i was, again, blown away by all of their choices - {http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards}. today, i spent the day selecting a few options for my daddy + bro...it was a hard decision because there are so many awesome choices, but we finally selected a design! {i'll show them to you AFTER Christmas...of course, we don't want to spoil the surprise for those that will be receiving cards}.

seriously. i love shutterly. seriously. each year, i design "photo books" {http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books} with pictures of the hubby + i over the past year. they have proved to be wonderful keepsakes that we cannot wait to show our future children later in life. here's the cover of the one i made of our china trip back in 2007...it has a home in our living room :) it's always fun to take a look back at the book + reminisce!

we also used shutterfly photo cards - {http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery} to create invitations for an informal "day after the wedding" event for our family + friends.

 {btw, i "blacked out" some of the details for privacy purposes...shutterfly didn't do it - PROMISE!}


if you haven't checked out shutterly, you really, really should!!! you can thank me later!!!

ciao!!!

12.02.2010

happy birthday, daddy!!!

today, december 2, is my daddy's 30th birthday!!! in celebration of the birthday boy, here are a few pics!



we wish you many more years of good health, love, and God's grace!!! enjoy your day! we love you!!!


12.01.2010

kkkkk {5k}

this past saturday, i ran in my first 5k (3.1 miles). the race was a part of my "training" regimen for an upcoming half-marathon. in an earlier post, i spoke about what's behind all this running...

i must say after the race, i was a little disappointed. yes, i did finish, but it was much more challenging than i had expected. the course had hills GALORE. although the course that i typically run with my hubby has hills...they don't compare at all to the ones from saturday. okay, so that's my excuse disclaimer - ha.

my goal, well, hubby's goal for me was to finish the race in under thirty minutes...which would be about 10 minutes per mile. my unofficial finishing time was 30:25. i'm not really disappointed in my time as i'm not a fast runner by nature. what i was a little perturbed about was the fact that at one point during the race, i had to walk. i probably took about ten strides total, but i haven't had to do that in any of my training runs prior + i'm up to over 4 miles now....womph. womph. also, had i not walked, i definitely would have come in under the goal. anyhooo....

here's a brief recap of the day:
  • about the event itself: the event was very well put together + serves a great cause. it is a memorial race for a teenage girl, aubrae gunderson, that was killed while practicing with her high school cross country team six years ago. the proceeds for the event go towards college scholarships. to show our support, hubby + i plan to run this race on a yearly basis. it's neat because her parents have organized the event in a way that really speaks to aubrae as a person. feel free to check out their website.
  • it was a coooold morning - cold, i say
  • again, loved running in my vibrams...even in the cold with no socks...loved it!
  • i felt AWESOME the first mile of the race, i ran it in about 8 minutes
  • the second mile was KILLER - i think that's where the majority of the hills were. when i finally got to the two mile marker, i was devastated surprised that it wasn't the finish line
  • it was great having a personal cheerleader running the course with me {my hubby, of course} who left my side only to run ahead to take pics of me during the race + at the finish line

i periodically try to make myself feel better by reiterating that it was a really hilly course {see above}, lol, but i just need to stop making excuses + up my training a bit. i must say that i am pleased that i finished...i've never run more than two miles in my life prior to a month ago, so, for that, i'm proud.

we're planning on running a 10k (~6 miles) new years day...so that's my next goal....wish me luck!

here are a few pics...

me + my piece of heaven here on earth {my hubby}

run, crys, run!!!
 
us after the race

the prize for the "high heel hustle"...cute idea :)