Watch my “Cherry Picking 2010” in HD from Shay on Vimeo.

Titus - Vol. 1 from Shay on Vimeo.

Since we moved in to our condo in September we have kept a list of things we wanted to fix in our condo, and the list has gotten pretty extensive. But thanks to our families, the list is much, much smaller. Lord willing these things will make our little home a great place for our baby and for us, and we hope this house will be a place that honors the Savior.

Here’s some pics from the past 2 weeks (with captions below each):

Our condo is the bottom left one with the door open, but our neighbors put out streamers and sidewalk chalk that said “Welcome Home Baby Titus”. Super fun.

This was Titus’ first Skype with his uncle Andy and aunt Bonnie. They live in the Seattle area and are planning to come down and visit some time in the summer…can’t wait.

Our old fan and our new one.

The old light in our kitchen and our new one. And not to mention the fact that my dad moved the light switch to a way more convenient place….so helpful.

This was what our patio looked like when we first bought our condo. There were four different types of brick in there, weeds, dirt, etc. It looked terrible. Some friends of ours actually wanted that brick and took it out a few weeks ago for us. I guess one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.

My bro-in-law Adam bringing in the new brick we bought. Man up.

Adam and my father-in-law Daryl in the “planning stages” as the brick piles up.

More bricks are piling up. Oh, and yes ladies…Adam is single.

A few “test” bricks start going down so the guys can achieve the perfect “herringbone” pattern.

This is the final shot of the finished brick before we painted. Soooooo nice.

This is the new patio! I don’t have pictures of us filling the wood with putty, sanding, and repainting, but that was another couple days of work that went in to the final product. The tree in the corner was from my mom — it’s an orange tree.

This is just for good measure so you can get the full effect. Many thanks to my family for making this happen for us.

This is us on Sunday morning dedicating Titus at church. Pretty cool that the same pastor who officiated our wedding was able to dedicate our first child. Thanks to Adam for taking a few pics for us.

The new mommy on Mother’s Day. Fun.

Adam’s Life | Part 1 [HD] from Shay on Vimeo.

Part 2

Adam’s Life - Part 2 [HD] from Shay on Vimeo.

Adam’s Life - Teaser from Shay on Vimeo.

A documentary by Shay Thomason.

Speaking of being pregnant — here’s a shot that Bethany’s brother Adam got. She doesn’t really let me get candids of her, but apparently brothers are OK? She’s holding Titus’ new “crib ruffle” — that’s only in quotes because I’m not convinced that’s a real thing…maybe I’m in denial.

This is my bride. Though I was shooting a wedding, we were also celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary this weekend. If you’re wondering, she’s about 22 weeks pregnant with our first born.

Ahhh… Christmas in California. Side note: it was seriously 75 degrees when I took this photo. 75. In the middle of December.

It’s always hard to for me to take pictures of guys surfing because I prefer shots of them when the photographer is in the water with them. Shooting from the shore just doesn’t do that sport justice.

There were about 9 surfers out while we were there and they were catching some great waves. I caught this guy as he was heading out of the water. I felt like the rocks framed him from where I was standing.

There was a great spot where the waves would flow right up in a huge break in the rocks. I just love the power and beauty of the ocean.

Bethany had her camera out too — she’s cute.

This is one that Bethany took of me while I was shooting the waves crashing up against the rocks. Initially I was shooting with tight, telephoto lens, but I realized quickly I got much better results from a super wide lens.

Here’s the angle that I was shooting from in the photo above. I don’t believe it’s the same wave that Bethany shot, but I just loved how this one turned out. I shot it with my super wide lens.

Though I love this shot, it doesn’t do justice to what was actually going on when I took it. Bethany and I, and another couple that were walking on the boardwalk were basically running and covering our heads because a TON of seagulls were flocking around this lady that was feeding them. We thought for sure we were moving targets.

The old saying is, “there are no atheists in foxholes,” but I’d like to modernize it a bit and say “there are no atheists during an ultrasound.” This is not to say that I’m an atheist — cause I’m not, but even as a believer in the God of the Bible and His creation of man, I was seriously overwhelmed yesterday as I got to see pictures of my future son (pictured above).

Though he was a bit camera shy, my wife and I got to watch video of our son in real time as the doctor walked us through the incredible miracle that is human life. We were able to zoom in on the chambers of the heart and see the blood flow, then view the little black dots that were his kidneys, and even see his mouth, ears, and nose (to which my wife said in her sweetest voice, “I think he has your nose!”). At one point our little growing boy even shook his head as if to say, “hey, quit bothering me!” It’s an experience that many other families have probably had, but for us it was the first time witnessing this. It’s not like the movies, or even reality TV. Even then you’re disconnected from what’s going on in the room, and more importantly the new feelings that first-time parents are experiencing. As I held my wife’s hand and watched the black and white monitor I realized that it must be pretty hard for people to attribute the miracle of life to nothing.

It’s simply God at work, and I struggle with how people could stand in that room and literally see a miracle happening before them and attribute it to some “accident” or think “well, it’s just how it works.” It’s no accident, and it’s not just a bunch of atoms that happened to get together — it’s God’s hand and we get the privilege of being a part of it and to watch it happen before our very eyes. David wrote in Psalm 139:13-14:

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

I saw some weaving going on yesterday and my soul definitely knew it well.

That day I made my her laugh

That one really late night

That place we used to live

That day we moved

That day I finally fit

That time we were small

That other time we were small

The day we played with friends

That day we got away

That night we just relaxed

That day at the beach

That day we picked a winner (or two)