the feeling.

the feeling of missing someone is awful. The only thing that remedies it for me is to SEE them in person, TALK to them in person and spend quality time with them in person. My heart misses good friends of mine in Jamaica, particularly my friend Edna & her kids. I miss her (only) daughter, britney marti.  I wish I could walk down to her house today and put her little hand in mine and get a bag juice with her and hear her sing & talk. I wish I could tickle her little red clay covered toes.
Why must miles separate me from so many people that I love…?

…miss you.

time with Santa.

Happy Holidays…

McKee & Memorial Staff

…hope everyone has a restful and fulfilling Christmas, remembering why we truly celebrate.

Love,
Marti

too fast.

time is moving a lot faster than it used to. What’s up with that?

i just need it to slow down a little.

today is the last day of classes before finals week starts next week. I see countdowns on white boards everywhere…funny how I hate countdowns now. I just want the days to SLOW down.

this past weekend i had the exciting privilege of flying to Colorado with Jiggs to visit one of my bestest friends from college, Emily…and her husband Mark & their beautiful 7 month old, Zoe! Meeting Zoe for the first time was amazing.
Time was slow when there, which was so refreshing. I wasn’t on a schedule, didn’t pay too much attention to my cell phone.
While there, we took a beautiful mini hike around Bear Lake within the Rocky Mountain National Park, played several round of Nertz, had early morning coffee together around the wood fire burning stove, enjoyed their lovely log cabin home, stared at the beautiful mountains & simply enjoyed one another’s company.

meeting Zoe and seeing Emily again was refreshing for my soul! Jiggs, Em & I have so much fun together!

mark, em & zoe.

took a walk around Bear Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park.
we laughed a lot.
elk.
emily & her girl.
going for a walk.
emily & mark’s neighborhood
emily & mark’s house.
another adventure completed. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends & people in my life.

…be back soon.

Steve & Jaimie say ‘i Do’

On October 10, 2009, I had the privilege of witnessing two people taking vows to love one another & take care of each other forever…through the good & hard times.
Steve and Jaimie’s love story began at Geneva College…& from what I’ve witnessed, are two very joy-filled people. Together, they are quite the combo.
Judging from the amount of friends and family in their wedding party (10 & 11 on each side!!!) they are well loved and cared for. One of my favorite parts about this wedding was interacting with them and their wedding party…they were so sweet & so much fun to be around.
The tears never cease to fall from my eyes, even when photographing a wedding. I can’t help it.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day…
To view their full album, go to http://www.martiaikenphotography.com
Click on Clients and enter password GRANT

Jaimie & her beautiful team of 11!

Steve & his handsome team of 10!
One of my favorites from the day. So sweet. This is Jaimie and her sister-in-law.
Count them…23. Yep, 23!!
Jaimie asked me to take a shot of them amidst the trees–i think it worked nicely!

The next 4 shots were taken by Beth Riley, my 2nd camera. She has worked with me for several weddings now & is also my RA at Geneva. For these shots I gave her a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens to play with on my little Nikon D40X…lucky girl! I think these shots prove that with a sharp lens & a good eye behind the camera, you can sometimes get away with using a smaller cam body. I am proud of Beth for the work ethic and passion she displays.
She does a great job at capturing moments & definitely has an eye for photography. Good job, Beth!

Ok, a few more from me and then you’ll have to check out my website for their full album!

Thank you Jaimie & Steve for allowing me the opportunity to photograph such a beautiful event!

Laura & Adam

Laura & Adam both went to Geneva College (graduated 2009) and I had the opportunity to get to know Laura really well while she was a student.  We share a love for the Hot Dog Shop, have kayaked a lot together, & have traveled to Harmons, Jamaica together for several Geneva trips…we have also laughed a ton & learned a lot about life together. I was very blessed to have been an RD while she was a student for 3 years and have really enjoyed watching her & Adam’s relationship grow into something so special. On a Geneva trip to Jamaica last year with Adam & Laura, I was fairly certain that they would eventually date…and now they are planning an April 10th of 2010 wedding! Let me tell you, folks…these two are amazing and perfect for each other.
I was able to take their engagement pictures on a beautiful Fall morning…and I look forward to capturing their wedding in April!

Here are a few of my favorites…
To view their full album go to http://martiaikenphotography.com
Click on Clients and enter password FOSS

adam took this one for us!

Skittles.

for your amusement…

today, most of my family went to church together…dressed like a bag of skittles. Yes, someone pointed out on the way home that we were each wearing a color of a Skittle…aka a rainbow. It sounds cooler to say Skittles.

So. Naturally, we photographed ourselves in our skittle attire after church. Disclaimer: We got a little out of hand…and my self-timer skills were a little off & blurry. Oooooh well.

introducing: grape, orange, Sour blue raspberry, cherry & lemon…the lime joins us in the last pic.

taste the rainbow?

Awakening.

i’m addicted to music. I love this song by Sara Groves…’Awakening.”

I love how raw she tends to be in her lyrics.

Dress down your pretty faith. Give me something real.
Leave out the thee and thou and speak to me now.
Speak to my pain and confusion.
Speak through my fears and my pride.
Speak to the part of me that knows I’m something deep down inside.

I know that I am not perfect, but compare me to most,
In a world of hurt and a world of anger I think I’m holding my own.
And I know that you said there is more to life.
And I know I am not satisfied.
But there are mornings I wake up and I’m just thankful to be alive.

I’ve known now, for quite a while, that I am not whole.
I’ve remembered the body and the mind,
But dissected my soul.
Now something inside is awakening,
Like a dream I once had and forgot.
And it’s something I’m scared of
And something I don’t want to stop.

And I woke up this morning and realized that Jesus is not a portrait.
Where stained glass windows or hymns or the tradition that surrounds us.
And I thought it would be hard to believe in
But it’s not hard at all.
To believe I’ve sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

And He’s not asking me to change in my joy for martyrdom
He’s asking to take my place.
To stand in the gap that I have formed
With His real, and His sweet, and His real amazing grace.
And it’s not just a sign or a sacrament.
It’s not just a metaphor for love.
The blood is real and it’s not just a symbol of your faith.

So leave out the thee and thou and speak now.

next stop: Estes Park, CO

December travel goal: Fly to Estes Park, CO to visit my dear, dear friend Emily (middle) with my other near & dear pal, Jiggs (far right).

I haven’t met Emily & Mark’s little girl, Zoe, and I hope to make it there soon!!

…before Zoe came into the world.

Most of you who know me well, know that Emily and I were attached at the hip throughout college, spent 2 summers in jamaica & led several geneva short trips together. Jiggs was on summer staff with us in Jamaica & we have all remained close friends.

Too much time has passed since we have seen each other. Crossing my fingers that I can spend a few days with these friends soon…a few days won’t be enough, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.

i love my job.

This weekend was my all “building team” staff retreat…translation for non-geneva people: 5 RAs and my Discipleship Coordinator, Health Coordinator & Resident Council memba. Shoutout goes to Ashley, our multi-cultural eductor who couldn’t come. We missed you a lot.

here’s what we did…a brief photo journal.

Stayed at a Log Cabin Suite (#162) in the heart of the Laurel Mountains complete with a hot tub in our living room, red comfy leather couches, fireplace, big screen TV, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a HUGE kitchen…we were one happy team.

We multi-tasked…watched a movie while IN the hot tub.

We cooked a meal together. This past week I got a great grilled cheese recipe from Better Homes & Gardens. Our sandwiches consisted of Pepperjack, monterey & cheddar cheese, avacado, bacon, mayo & tomato on Brownberry’s Multi-Grain bread…complete with a hot bowl of tomato soup. We sat around the bar style island and enjoyed dinner together.

We did Elmers Glue facials. Yep, glue. Try it.

We LAUGHED so hard together. I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. It felt GOOD. While playing a game of never have i ever…well. Ok. What happens in Ligonier stays in Ligonier (according to our waiter today).

We shared a time of worship, prayer & i read a short story from Beth Moore’s Voices  of the Faithful this morning.

We told our stories. The hard parts & the happy parts.

we sat in the kitchen some more & talked about wood paneling. Lots of wood up in hurrr.

we started practicing poses for our Christmas card.

Stayed up late. Olivia, Beth & I reached the 3am mark in our master suite. HA.

sidenote: Olivia & I discovered that we both sleep in the same position. I never knew that anyone could sleep as awkwardly as i do. (this is us re-enacting it in a restaurant…yep, on the floor).

Woke up. Free breakfast. Sunshine. 70 degrees and a hike at Linn Run State Park

from L to R (jess, nancy, jill, megan, hailey, ashley, olivia, beth, me)

laughed some more…

We ate a late lunch at the Ligonier Tavern, recommended by Scott Hwang & Paul Perrine. Thank you!

Wrapped up our time with my camera & this lovely brick wall.

i love my job.

the end.

run.

lately i’ve been listening to cheesy Christian music.

sometimes when i’m overwhelmed or frustrated i want to run…hop on a plane and just peace out for a few days. My mom reminded me 2 weeks ago that this solution isn’t always a good one. Yes, i know, mom.

phillips, craig & dean sing a song about God running to us, even when we’ve broken His heart and have run from Home…and right now with a variety of circumstances in my life, the lyrics to ‘When God Ran’ give me hope & peace.

i want God to take me in His arms and hold me to His chest. i want Him to lift me to His face and wipe the tears from my eyes and tell me He loves me.

my road seems a little dusty and unclear right now. I’m just needing to run into God’s arms and ask for help.

i want to run to God. i need Him to meet me half way and run to me.

i’m thankful for this hope and comfort.

the picture below was taken last week of me and my RAs. it reminded me of this song.