Farewell for now

Yesterday Othman had to leave. We had such a wonderful time during his visit and it was hard to see him off, but I'm so thankful he was able to come!

Whenever someone who is visiting leaves, my family always takes farewell group pictures in the yard. Of course we couldn't break with tradition and took some cute ones before Maria and I took Othman to the airport.

I love these ones in particular!

During his visit Othman and I spent a lot of quality time together, bought a car, he met some of my colleagues and saw my workplace... all in all it was lovely, and a nice preview of what it'll be like when he comes for real! Fingers crossed that his green card processing goes quickly and well!

New car!

It's so wonderful having my husband visit! Othman and I are having a really great time with my family, being silly and just hanging out.

Part of why I was so happy we was coming was because he wanted to help me buy a car! I've needed one since I arrived in July, but I haven't found one in Brookings and haven't had time to go to Sioux Falls to look for one. So it ended up that the day after he got here, this happened!

At the end of the day the car we bought is one that he has dreamed about since he was a kid, so it's really a car for him, not me. But it's a Subaru which means it's reliable and has 4WD, so I'm happy to drive it around until he arrives this winter! At that point we'll see if we need to buy a little commuter car as well, but this baby will be our main transport. It's such a cute car and we love it!

For the long Labor Day weekend we wanted to get away from SD and get to know our new car, so we took a trip to the Cities! More on that in the next post.

In which hubby comes to visit!

As we wait for Othman's green card, he has stayed in Morocco working while I'm living and working here. Being apart has been anything but fun, but luckily he was able to come to visit! The last leg of his flight was the same as Patrick's flight home for Labor Day, and they even got seats next to each other. 

Flying into Sioux Falls they spotted our old acreage, where the family lived for 8 years.

I picked them up at the airport and we had a fun drive home!

Mom made us a lovely family dinner to celebrate togetherness.

Happy.

New lens!

I am very, very excited about my new Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens that arrived a couple days ago! I got it with a package that included a new camera bag, a lens hood, 3 filters in a storage case, a cleaning kit and more, so now I'm feeling pretty equipped for my next photoshoot!

I've been reading up on how to shoot in AV (aperture priority) mode since I don't usually, and have been just doing lots of tests to figure out how the lens works. No matter how much you read or know in theory, the best way to learn about a new tool is to practice! What is special about this lens is that it's perfect for portraits because it gives you that smooth, blurry background with the foreground in sharp detail. For example:

Here's an illustration of all the F-stops. That's what the photography world calls each widening or narrowing of the aperture, which is the hole through which the camera captures the image. When the aperture opens wider the background becomes blurrier, and the amount of the frame that is in focus gets smaller. So the first picture in this series at F/1.4 has the blurriest background, and the smallest area that's in sharp relief. The last is F/22 which has the sharpest background with the majority of the shot in focus. The difference is enormous! 

I've been practicing with my family members too, not just flowers! This lens is great for capturing pictures in low-light settings, like this one of my dad working late the other night:

But it can handle bright conditions too!

This is a fixed lens which means it doesn't zoom at all. Because of that it takes a lot of moving around to get the shot right, which is fun!

My sister's cats are honorary family members, but mostly they were being cooperative, so they got some photos too. This is our mama cat who is tiny and still looks like a kitten despite having had a couple litters herself already.

Kitten #1 looks just like mama.

But #2 takes after dad.

They were so cute playing together.

I'm loving this purchase and can't wait to use it during photoshoots! I have a few that are coming up, so stay tuned for more pics soon!

Happy 24th Gus!

Happy birthday little brother!! 

Even though you're probably desperately missing your family (right??), I hope the road trip you're on has all sorts of fun in store for you! I always say 24 is the best year, it's a really good age to be. Enjoy it! Have a happy day and happy year!

Engaged!

This little sister of mine...

feels like this about a certain guy...

so not long ago this happened!

Which, of course, meant that when they came for a 24-hour visit this weekend I took them to the park down the street for a quick engagement photoshoot! 

We even took some photos on our road,

and in our yard.

When they come back for more extended visits we'll take a few more, because Matt is a good sport. And what girl wouldn't want a million engagement pictures??

Plus these two are so cute it just melts my heart.

Congrats again you two!

Home again

Finally I made it home after the smoothest flight sequence ever!

The past few days have been filled with relaxing, shopping, getting errands done, and just enjoying time with family. It's been lovely!

Smiles all around!

Tomorrow I begin my new job and a new chapter in my career! 

Bassidi

Othman's grandpa died this morning.

"Bassidi", as Othman and his siblings call him, was one of the first people I felt comfortable around here in Morocco. He was a kind and supremely gentle man, whose eyes and whole being emanated wisdom and love. As the oldest of 14, he was in large part the glue that held the numerous and sprawling Berrada clan together. He is already greatly missed and will be for a long time to come.

As I looked through the pictures on my computer to illustrate this post I felt a deep sense of sadness as I realized I don't have any pictures of he, Othman, and I. I know some have been taken over the years but don't know where to find any. However, I do love these sweet moments that I captured last fall of him with his granddaughter (Othman's cousin) and great-grandson.

And this one, by Alli, of father and son at our wedding, which he hosted at his home. It makes me smile—Bassidi was always after something sweet to eat.

Today I feel torn; heartbroken for Othman and his family who are grieving deeply today at the loss of the family's beloved patriarch, grateful that Bassidi passed in his sleep and is free from the pain he had been in for the past few days, and thankful that I was given the chance to know and love such a beautiful soul.

The latest greatest news!

Lil sis Isa and her bf Matt are pretty cute.

The whole fam is a fan of Matt. He's all sorts of good (plus he's tall enough for the leggy sister). So when THIS HAPPENED yesterday,

our smiles were almost as big as these two!

Congrats both of you! Super excited and happy for you!

HBD Patrick!

Happy happy day to you! Here's hoping this next year brings lots of lovely things into your life!!

Tall big bro and I in front of his tall, tall workplace a few years ago.

Remember when I said he's generous? Well,for various reasons my salary is stuck here for the moment, so he's spending his bday buying me a plane ticket! Thanks big brother!!

In which my dad turns a year older

Happy birthday daddy! Here's hoping this Friday the 13th is enjoyable, celebratory and full of good things for you.

I found this very natural, lovely series of you and mom on my computer today and had to post it! I barely remember taking these photos last summer but I definitely love them.

I'm so grateful to have you as a role model; thanks for all that you do! Wishing that this next year brings you plenty of good and as little bad as possible. Sending lots and lots of love from across an ocean!!

Happy 21st Isabel!

To a sister who's classy, 

talented,

and loving,

happy happy birthday! Hoping 21 brings you plenty of new adventures, happy changes, and lots of love!

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day today, and my mom must be rejoicing: she has the majority of her kids at home, her #4 just graduated college yesterday, and my grandma is visiting as well!

Grandma is my mom's mother-in-law, and they have such a beautiful, loving and respectful relationship that I've admired so much throughout the years. This picture of them from my wedding almost three years ago gives a sense of their bond and love.

Thank you both for being wonderful inspirations, and teaching me so much about life and love and happiness!  I love you both; Happy Mother's Day!!

Little brother graduates!

All the Braga-Henebry boys now have college diplomas!

Note the double tassels: Thomas impressively graduated with a double major in Geography and GIS—Geographic Information Systems, aka a large part of what my dad does. He also got a music minor! I think he has his three older siblings beat!

O and I couldn't quite get there (neither could Isabel who's in the midst of junior-year finals), but I'm happy our cousin John-Michael and Grandma made it out to help him celebrate! I stole all these pictures from JM's and my mom's Facebook pages.

I love this picture of the boys—when it's just them you can't tell how TALL they all are! Plus it's funny seeing my dad in academic robes.

Huge congrats to you Thomas!