Month: February 2011

  • A Dirty Bed Does It.

    It’s really early. So early that my kids are still asleep and the sun is barely in the sky. As a general rule I make it my prerogative not to get out of bed before my kids do. They are such early risers that I can’t bear the thought! But on this beautiful Saturday morning in South Africa, with the early rays of light finding there way onto my walls, I can’t help but be awake. We are supposed to Burundi in just three months. The end of February signals the beginning of “crunch time” in my head. Time to plan, pack, decide what the leave and what to take, get the house SOLD, say goodbye to a decade of life in Durban… but instead I am struggling to wrap my head around any of it. I want to go outside and stare at the sunrise forever, and forget about all the goodbyes, the new beginnings, and the FRENCH that is in my future.

     

    Someone told me at a party last night that my life sounds “so exciting.” I thought… “Does it?” Right now, to me, it sounds like a logistical nightmare that I can’t put off. We have to be there in June. There is no postponing it while I get all my ducks in a row. June is coming, whether I like it or not. It’s time to really own this future of ours. It’s time to believe in the impossible. It’s time to trust myself, my husband and my God that I can do this. I can live there. I can be a successful woman, wife, mom and photographer there. We can change the lives of people if we go, but the likelihood is that we will be the most changed of anyone.

    Risk has a way of breathing life into everything. When I woke up in the hills of Burundi, on a bed that was so dirty I could only manage to sleep on top of it, and pillow-less to boot, I knew my future was there. That was the moment, my moment, and it snuck up on me like the gentle shift of a wind on our beach at home. As Neo played under the mosquito nets in the early morning light on that dirty bed; I knew that we would be sacrificing the house, the relationships, the place that has made me into who I am. I don’t know who I would be if we had never moved to South Africa, but I don’t really want to meet her. South Africa is our home. My kids were born here. I grew up here, from newly married girl on an adventure to the woman I am now. I am so grateful for what we have met here… the people who are just like family, the constant sunshine, the beauty, the crime, the disappointments, the failures. It has all shaped me.

    I know I need to give it all up, risk it and re-create my definition of home. Home is wherever the three bodies that mean everything to me are. They are home, and this home is on the move.

    Happy Saturday,

    Kristy

  • Party’s over.

    The kids are asleep (finally) and the house looks like it was hit by a tornado. Literally. Not a thing is in its place. This has me asking… why the heck can’t I do it all? Why can’t I have everything spic and span when Ben’s out of town? I want to be that woman who carries on as though nothing had changed, but I’m not. I get sad and cranky and lonely and overwhelmed by the smallest things. I don’t sleep well because I have dreams that all sorts of silly things are marching to get me. I need him. There, I said it… but I do. He’s our glue. He makes everything work just by being around. He calms me down and makes me happy. He’s loud and crazy, and I often think COULD THESE BOYS JUST STOP, but I already miss the noise.

    Today I’m thankin’ the good Lord above for people like my friend Joanne, who saved the day today just by being herself. We’ve got a long haul ahead of us before he gets home, but I’m determined to pick up the house tonight so I can start afresh tomorrow morning.

    I better hop to it!

    Kristy

  • Tomorrow…

    Tomorrow Coffee Guy, my hubby, takes off for nearly two weeks. He will be attending EAFCA in Tanzania, meeting with key players who will help shape the future of coffee in Burundi. From there he will be off to Kenya, where he will meet with some of the leadership of The Navigators in Africa about our move to Burundi. I love our little family and it is a real bummer when we don’t get to spend every minute together, well ALMOST every minute… by 7:30pm I am usually ready for a loooong break from the tiny humans. It is hard when one of us is away, but the boys and I are planning to sleep in a tent in the living room, stay home from school, swim in the pool and generally have one big party!

    Once the party is over (around day 2, I’m guessin’), I plan on doing my darnest to look at the world like my rope swing loving son does. Up. Up towards God. Up for a new perspective. Up for a breather. Up to appreciate the light. Up just for fun!

    Luv,

    Kristy

  • A Vintage Style Shoot: The Thrift Collection

    A Vintage Style Shoot: The Thrift Collection

    I don’t see myself as a “heat of the battle” or “caught in a protest rally” type of photographer. I love pretty things and real moments with people. Photographing anything pretty and interesting and beautifully styled is right up my alley. Combine that with real emotion and you have my idea of a great shoot. These are the things that make me come alive, actually. I have been wondering what opportunities await me and my camera in Burundi. These opportunities probably won’t have polka dots or candy stripes, but I think the beauty will be there if I am open to SEEING it.

    Plus, if I get tired of snapping away at the coffee hills, there’s one comforting fact… my boys will be there and I think they are two of the most gorgeous creatures I have ever laid eyes on. The challenge for me here is not to see Burundi as the end of my pretty-picture-making career, but rather to see it as an opportunity to grow and to do something greater than I could have ever imagined. This is the road I am choosing to take. It’s not easy. The pictures you see below are the type of work I love to do, long to do and want to do. BUT I really do believe that we will never know how much we are capable of until we take a deep breath and… put one foot in front of the other. Until we feel the fear and do it anyway. Until we move because we feel in our soul it needs to happen, even though we have no idea “what’s in it for us.”

    These pretty photos are from a shoot I did for The Thrift Collection a few weeks ago. Pippa, Bevan, Christy and I trounced and trooped all over the Point area in Durban to get the perfect shots during the all elusive “magic hour”. I had so much fun getting to know The Thrift Collection crew and spending time with Christy Shange, who assisted me, is always a real bonus. Thanks guys!

    Let me know what you think!

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    Luv,

    Kristy

  • The Odds

    Sometimes, right in the middle of the battle, we forget what we are fighting for and the odds look really bleak. Today I forgot why we are moving to middle-of-nowhere Africa where the roads are dirt and there is no cocoa powder. Staying home in warm sunny comfortable South Africa felt much safer… until I remembered what I want out of life. I remembered who I would do anything for. I remembered the person I want to be and the men I want them to become. I remembered that they will never know how to face obstacles unless they see mommy do it first.

    I remembered that I was given love and that “sharing is caring.” I remembered that who I am has the potential to change the world, if I can conquer the fear that holds me back. I remembered that I am committed to sharing this adventure with an amazing man. I remembered that often the ideas people think are crazy are the ones that change people’s lives. I remembered that I love Africa and the people in it. I remembered how far He has brought us already. I remembered that having faith is having a real life. Without faith, there really is no adventure at all. No journey. No opportunities. No risks. No failures. Nothing to celebrate.

    Let’s have a little faith, people. Today I’m going to put one foot in front of the other. You?

    Luv,
    Kristy

    top image via etsy

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