7 days until a fresh Pain au Chocolate

Welcome to this new chapter in my life. I've never done a "blog" before nor have I just leaped as freely (minus some struggle of not wanting to let go fully and giving it to God, but we are working on that) as I am now.

For those who don't know, about 6 weeks ago, I quit my job as a nanny so I can spend the summer in Paris, France where my boyfriend, Brandon, lives and works. It's a big leap of faith for me to do this, and I'm already feeling the blessings of leaping. He and I met on a Christian online dating agency and have been doing this "long distance relationship thing" since last summer. It's been tough and challenging but wonderful and entertaining, to say the least. But, it's now time to take things to a next level, weird though it may be, and completely unconventional. We are dealing with 21st century dating issues and so, we're just relying on God to see us through and to give us creative ways to be a couple. Our "next level" is spending some quality time in the same city instead of via webcam at weekends when we can time it right or on an occasional late weeknight when he wakes up at 3am or so. Odd, I know. I can hardly believe it myself.

I remember 16 years ago, when I first went to live abroad in Germany and Dad gave me my first SLR camera. I cherished that camera because it captured memories for me. Eventually, it went further than that. I began seeing the world differently. Not only was it a foreign country that looked and sounded differently, the people were the same as you or me yet dressed differently and the buildings housed the same sort of businesses as home but looked entirely different and were hundreds of years old instead of maybe 60 or 80. I saw God's world differently that year. I then started thinking about photography and how much I loved it...it was as though I found my call in life. To capture God's world and show it.

So, all that said, I leave in 6 days and in 7 days, I'll be back in Paris, France (Brandon flew me over for Valentines Day...gosh, he sure knows how to make a girl smile!) and I'm very excited! This blog is mainly for family, but also friends who want to know of the quirks that happen when I wander the streets of a foreign city daily with my camera; exploring and experiencing the real city, not the tourist city. I believe God has some amazing plans for me and they're starting to unfold in my life...and I am thrilled with the concept of it all! I hope you all enjoy these snippets of thoughts and photos as I step into the next chapter of my wonderful life!