Strength of 3 Men

I’m not sure what to post right now, other than I’m sad. Two awful diseases reared their ugly heads and staked a claim in the strong and determined bodies of three Uncles. 2 of mine, one of my husbands.

Scleroderma, more appropriately, Diffuse Scleroderma was the first. It’s a hardening or thickening of the skin and other organs caused by an over production of collagen. Normally something that the rest of society craves more of, this increase in collagen affects the amount of blood and oxygen that gets carried to the rest of the body. My Uncle S. was diagnosed years ago and has had a huge battle against this persistent stalker. In and out of the hospital with his wife, kids, and grandkids by his side encouraging him and giving him the determination to fight for the right to live.

His lungs got it. His oxygen tank became his new best friend and took claim by his side even when he continued on with his joys of life; strapping the tank next to him on the quad and heading out into the backcountry, a smile plastered on his face.

We recently received the news that he was finally going to get his lung transplant. The biggest obstacle was transferring him from the small hospital where he was residing for a short time, to a much larger, more equipped facility. Up in the air he went, only to come back a short 40 mins later, landing in ICU. He’s been there ever since while family members from one end of Canada to the other all wondered, questioned, hoped and prayed that someway, somehow, it would all pan out. A Facebook group was started where 366 members posted their anticipations and desires.

I received a call today from one of my Aunts where the news wasn’t what we; I had hoped. The most difficult decision was made that one of the strongest people I know, wasn’t strong enough to make the trip. Not strong enough to have surgery. Not strong enough to stay in ICU. And barely strong enough to make the trip down the hall to a private room.

It’s strange not being there and only hearing snippets from family members passing around the snippets of information they hear. Trying to weed out the what’s, the when’s and why’s. The last I heard, he’s holding on for his sons. The one by his side, the other on his way. The last I heard, he said he’s “okay”; “not afraid”; “ready”.

The Uncle that I have always loved and looked up to, the man that was so broad and rugged, the one that can hardly speak without losing breath, is much stronger than his physical body is letting us believe. A man that is “okay” has incredible courage and power, faith and vigor. He has come to peace.

Even though I am saddened by the news I received today, I know that if he says he’s “okay” then I believe him. I, however, am not.

~~~
It is not only Uncle S. that is engaged in a war against his own body, but another strong man, another man that I love and have always admired, Uncle E. His battle? Cancer.

His cancer is determined to get the best of him. It was diagnosed only a short while ago with aggressive treatments of chemo, radiation and surgery following. New stem cells were added and the outlook was good but his comfort level wasn’t. Pain and discomfort emerged amongst the day to day living with this toxin plaguing his system. A birthday gift in the form of a CT scan showed two more masses. Two masses that toy with the surgeons; RISK is their game and the doctors are losing.

A timeline was given with options of pain relief. They can reduce the speed of the cancer but not it’s monstrous effects. More radiation and more frustration. Family that is torn between provinces, between battles, between the need for comfort, empathy, love, and prayers. Two sisters both dealing with devastating news about the men in their lives, their husbands. Children, nieces, nephews, cousins, siblings, parents all trying to come together and reach out to one another.

~~~
It wasn’t but two weeks ago when we received yet another call. This time is was Glen’s Uncle. Cancer struck again. It put its filthy claws into another good man. At the end of this week, he will have surgery with aggressive chemo and radiation treatments to follow. A hard working farmer than never let a day go by without being in the field, or a fellow go by without a need being met, now stuck in the city’s cancer unit imagining the smell of the golden harvest and the big blue skies.

~~~
It’s my Parents’ anniversary today. A day that is filled with memories of a commitment to love clouded over with sour news. In a bittersweet way, an oxymoron at best, a day that reminds me of marriages has me thinking of funerals where it is these two gatherings that demonstrate the importance of love and family.

Even though I am saddened by the news of today and the past few weeks, it is encouraging to see the outpouring of so much support towards these 3 men and their wives that stand beside them, holding them up and gently guiding their fall from what they lived to what they live now.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi

I still hope for a miracle of sorts, an end to suffering, a chance at life, a cure. I hope like millions of others that have had bad news today. Just know that I’m there with you. I’m here doing what I can, telling my story and encouraging those that can, to do what you can. Pray. Hope. Educate. Donate.

Take care of yourselves,

Goodnight.

Scleroderma Society of Canada

Canadian Cancer Society

Trains, Games and Spider-Man???

Trains, trains, and more trains. What would make a 3 year old boy any happier? Well, how about a midway with games and a Ferris Wheel, pony rides, presents, cake, and of course, spiderman.

With a birthday held at Fort Edmonton Park, this little 3 year old had all his spidey senses tingling with so many exciting things to see and do. Kids spread from one end of the park to the other coming together to share the fantastic, made-by-mom, cake and the delicious Hobo's Lunch aboard the Railway Dining Car. A trip (okay, maybe 2) around the park on the train with a stop by for a gallop with the ponies made the day complete.

I had a really tough time narrowing down this batch as I loved so many shots. There were so many amazing things to capture. We all had a blast and Ethan is STILL reminding me of the need to have another train ride.

Please check out the whole slideshow as I really LOVE this session. I couldn't possibly choose just a few to blog!

Breaking a Sweat

I don’t know if it’s because I’m new at photography, or if it’s because this particular family are friends of mine, but the nerves struck again as I attempted my first family session. I’m really glad that they were okay with a newbie like me taking their pics to help commemorate the 70th birthday and the 1st birthday of two of its members.

I tried having the shoot in the early evening in hopes that the high sun would start to dip, giving relief of the 30+ degree weather smoldering the earth that day. With the absence of clouds, and bedtime beckoning the little gaphers, I worked up a sweat trying to avoid squinting eyes and harsh contrast.

My two kiddo’s tagged along and I think my lil’ guy was too distracted by a certain someone’s beauty and cuteness that he wound up in some of the pics but hey, I’m a little biased with my viewfinder.

Pre Wedding Jitters

Well I finally got the chance to do what most photographers aim to do at some point. I got to photograph a wedding. I got to tag team alongside a very talented photographer, Amber Lee of Amber Lee Photography, and the whole time I was gearing up for it, I was shakin’ in my knickers.


I mean, this is a wedding. Someone’s magical moments. I better not flub this up. What if my camera craps out on me? What if I forget to put in my memory card? Or worse yet, leave the lens cap on?? Is Hope nuts? I’m not ready for this. She’s crazy. Yep, spaghetti squash kinda’ crazy. I think I must have had a million trips to the bathroom trying to get the butterflies under control before I left. I can’t go. I’m sick. I have to go. Um, no. I mean to the wedding. OMG, what am I going to do? What if I get lost and can’t find my way to the ceremony? Oh yeesh.

I think I thought every horrible thought a photographer can muster up before knocking on that door. What if this is the wrong door? What if I’m in the wrong part of the city? I’m such an idiot. Ohhhhhh…..


Within 15 minutes of being invited in by Sally and Yvonne, I found friends for the day. Or maybe longer. These people were NICE! And friendly, and relaxed, and just well, so darn happy. That made me happy and oh how the day followed suit.


What a perfect wedding Yvonne and Dan had. Her daughter by her side, a belly full of babies, a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony, lots of laughs, and just a wee smidge of rain.


Thank you for letting me help you keep some of those memories with you. It was a real joy to follow you around, playing paparazzo for the day. The hardest part now, is narrowing down the gazillion and one photos I have of your wedding. Oh my! Stay tuned though, an album full of photos are just around the corner....

A Precious Bunch.

Another little baby welcomed the world with her birth back in July and soon after, I was setting up shop in their living room, camera in hand to take some pics of her being so darn cute and tiny. Tiny little hands, tiny little fingers, toes, and a tiny little nose. She was loving the camera and gave me a million cute poses! Watch out for this lil one Mom! She’s gorgeous. Thank you for letting me capture those precious little baby photos for you. It was a real pleasure.







and of course her brother wanted to pose for a few shots too! What precious kids.

Mr. C.

So as I’ve been attempting to switch over computers, it has put me behind blogging schedule and time has flown by quicker than I wish. Babies are growing up faster than I can say “click”. I was able to do my first in-home photo session with a little baby that I got to hold on his first day in the big, wide, world. Not only did I get to see him get his head measured for the first time, and being held by his big brother for the first time, I got to take some uber cute pics for his ma and pa to enjoy while he was still a little wiggler. In the mix, I attempted to get some of his brother, but alas, he was to quick for my shutter! Lol. He did manage to stop for a quick hug from his brother and off he went again.

Never More Perfect

Well, I have never been more honored. I was asked to photograph the recent (as in a month and a half ago) birth of one of my mommy friends. Wow. How cool is that? And unbelievably special. I don’t know who was more nervous the day she phoned to say labor had started. Her hubby who was radiating beams of excitement, her or me. Okay, probably her but I digress.

My gear was already, my heart was pumping, and my brain was praying for the easiest delivery ever for such a wonderful mom. Well, I think there was an error in my prayer. I thought I said easiest but I think the big “G” heard, quickest. The next thing I knew, the call was, “She’s being transferred to another hospital and we’re hoping she doesn’t have the baby before I get there!!!” That was from Daddy. He got there in time. I didn’t.




So sadly I didn’t get to photograph his actual delivery into the world but I was there soon after to get some shots of his welcoming by his grandparents and best of all his big, little brother. He was a bit sleepy but I think he was pretty happy to see the new baby bundle. They were little buddies in an instant.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me be a part of such an amazing day. It was an incredible honor to be there for you, getting some photos of little “C” opening his eyes and looking at his two parents with awe. Thank you for a never more perfect session.

I've Converted.

I am forsaking my ways as a PC owner and user and converted to the ways of a MAC.  I bought my first ever Apple computer, the iMac, after being swayed by their clever marketing schemes, eventually, abrading my freewill and convincing me there are no other alternatives unless of course I actually like hitting ctrl-alt-delete every 20 mins and rebooting my computer while losing every ounce of work I just did just so I could spend another 20 mins redoing it.  PC must think I need the practice.

So here I am, exploring Safari and the wonders of iLife.  I took my first One-on-One class today and felt like a complete idiot.  I kept expecting to hear at least 4 to 5 steps I would need to complete a task but kept getting told... "just drag and drop".  Seriously?  That's it? Well then, how do I delete this then?  "Just hit delete Ma'am" (okay, so I threw the Ma'am in, but just for effect).  So simple that I couldn't get it.

I mean, we're talking YEARS on a PC (coz I'm so old...); everything's complicated.  I can take one of those babies apart, and put it all back together, run it smoothly for ohhh, maybe a day or two before I was searching for the Task Manager.

Well, the commercials got me.  I caved.  And boy, am I ever kicking myself for not doing this a heck of a lot sooner.  But before I get too giddy, I DID just get this thing so right now it's purring like a kitten.  Well, a kitten that's getting scratched by a monkey maybe.  (Read: I'm the monkey).  There's definitely a learning curve.  Apple may be simple but I'm old and stuck in my ways.  Looking for this here and that there only to find out now I don't need it.  What's a PC girl to do?

So now I sit trying to reorganize about 8-10 thousand photos and reorganize every document and zip file, convert what converts and cry as I toss those that don't after searching aimlessly on Safari and Google for apps and downloads that can make this ride a little smoother.  Setting up Wi-fi, Time Capsules, my printer, external drives, and letting Ethan play his first real computer game...Sesame Street First Steps.  He loves it.  But as my husband said... "Now look what you did.  He'll always want to be on the computer."  ~sigh~ He takes after his mama.

I'm still trying to figure this gadget out and pics are sitting in limbo.  That's frustrating me more than anything right now but if this thing lives up to the hype, it shouldn't be long before I'm up and running a mile.

So long PC. 

Spider Babies

Warning, if you have arachnophobia, scroll away. These little guys spotted my eye as I was walking in the door. They were dangling nicely from a plant stand (with no plant, go figure) in their egg sack. I grabbed my camera and as I was snapping their photo, they began to uncurl and make their move into the big, wide world. They were spreading fast, and they were a little too close to my front door for my comfort. So my manly, man moved them to the nearest tree and we watched them quickly explore their new treehouse. Amazing little guys.

Sunny Days of Summer

Okay, you can call me a liar. I said I would blog and I’ve been negligent. But in my defense, I think I have had one of THEE best summers with my family. Camping trips, farm trips, carnivals, parades, baking, gardening (okay, I’ve neglected that too recently ~sigh~), and of course photography.

My photography has taken off. Although I still consider myself a total newbie at this, I have really enjoyed every single opportunity I have had to get creative and try to master my skills. And then I call Hope and dolefully complain that I think I buggered something up. Somehow my confidence always gets restored and then I go off to snap better pics. So a shout out to my pedagogue but more to my friends and customers of PixelPie for giving me a phenomenal start and handing out the encouragement. Oh, yes and the gorgeous flowers I received put me over the edge of “Wow, thanks.”

Just to prove that I haven’t been slacking, here are some pics of celebrating Canada Day, A trip to the farm, and some of Edmonton’s festivities, Capital Ex. Yeah, I know. 3 slideshows in a row. But I'm trying to play catch-up.

OH CANADA!




FUN FARM DAYS




A FUNNY FARM

A Whirlwind of Activity

Wow, things have been literally crazy around here. A total whirlwind. I haven't forgotten about this blog, lol, actually quite the opposite. I have so much to write and so many stories but it all has to wait! We're off camping again!

I'm really enjoying this summer. We've spent a lot of time together doing family things everything from camping trips to playing at the park and enjoying the events of Edmonton, which has been fantastic and in between times, my photography has taken the leap forward; portrait sessions, and my first wedding that I just completed last night! I am dying to process pics but apparently I'm only allowed 10 before I leave on vacation. Thbbbbbbbt!


My computer's still giving me grief so I'm waiting on my new iMac! Yippe! Hopefully I can learn it fairly fast so I'm not put behind any further.

My kids are growing like weeds too. I've been dealing with a temper tantrum/no nap phase from Ethan lately and would love, LOVE, any tips to speed this phase up. It's exhausting. It amazes me how long they can last, even when Glen and I try to be very consistent with him and not give any extra attention. While Ethan is all out wailing, and Glen and I are curling are toes, the clock is ticking down the hour, two hours, two and a half.... yeesh. Toddlers are so intense.

Daysha has started food and she is lovin' it! Give her the spoon and she has a blast! lol, what a mess but so much fun! So far, she has loved every fruit and veggie that we've tried her with. I thought Ethan was a good eater but I think Daysha wins. She is all smiles now that she's a big girl!

Anyway, I'm off to pack! Hope you're enjoying your summer too!

Here are a few pics from some backyard summer fun when my niece came over to play.

Giants are Standing on my Shoulders

I burned my arm on my oven the other day while trying to bake a pizza that couldn’t be baked. It was friggen painful. And now it’s itching beyond belief. But it’s minor. And part of me appreciates the annoying stinging sensation. It reminds me that I’m human and for many reasons, this small burn on my arm has humbled me.

Somehow my personality screams, “I can do it! I’ll help you! Let me find out for you! I’ll be there! Depend on me!” I widen my shoulders, sit straight as a die, hold the pose and start problem solving. I’m tough. I’m strong. I’m stubborn. I can handle it. Throw it my way and I’ll forsake my own needs and step in your Crocs; walk your path for a while. Perhaps my needs are to take it all on. Maybe extreme but somehow, no matter the history lessons I have learned, I still get that Feeling that I should help because it’s what I do.

“Whoever loves becomes humble. Those who love have, so to speak, pawned a part of their narcissism.” – Sigmund Freud

So as it is, I give myself away. I’m smarter about it now and I no longer feel the responsibility that I use to attach to it. I give myself the option of choosing what I do and how much of “me” I can give. Whether you consider that “smart” or not is irrelevant because for me, it’s how I manage. I say “I can’t” when I cannot. I say “I can” when I cannot and when I can. Make sense? It’s the Feeling that I always should that’s hard to shake as well as everyone that knocks on my door or calls my phone.

I do a lot for my friends because I love my friends. They give me energy. I enjoy doing what I can for them and to let them know that I really do care. I do the same for my family. But family always brings a different level of energy. It’s the trust, I think, that is unconsciously there, that permits repercussions to surface. "If I don’t do it, then ____”, “I really should because they are family and they did ____ for me” etc.

There have been so many things brought to my doorstep as of late and I am feeling the need to help in as many areas as I can. But there is so much out of my control and my reach. There are too many mountains to move and seas to part. My love is there but all I am capable of right now is to sit back and watch things unfold no matter how much I don’t want the outcome to be what it will be. I’m reminded over and over by my husband and my past, that you cannot help those who are inept of change. It just doesn’t help shake the Feeling.

As I sit with the Feeling on my heart, I sit knowing that I am tired of being asked on my gut. I can count up to 50 phone calls within the last few weeks of a very dynamic Soap Opera playing out around me. I prefer a good sitcom but I don’t have a say. It’s not in their personalities. To dramatize everything and then when the drama is serious, the excitement is at its peak. My nature is for the calm and peaceful so I want to infuse the situation with composure and serenity. I have an idea. Let me help. Why don’t you try this instead?

~~~

My mother is sick. I have seen it coming. She’s had a disease for years that has sometimes been managed but for the most part it hasn’t. I get frustrated with her continual procrastination of something that can be slowed if not stopped. She’s walking in the Crocs of her mother. Why, if she’s seen the results, won’t she do what it takes to prevent this if not, at least do what she can? Our personalities are so different that I have always butted heads with her ways, taking every single ounce of my energy to understand her thinking. I can write a 10 page essay on my theory but it does no good if the results remain the same. I am so unlike her that I don’t understand her but I Feel her pain in the same way.

I am so frustrated, angry and saddened by so many areas that are affecting this situation. The years of denial and neglect, the continual mismanagement of a healthy lifestyle, the absence of support for her, the genuine, innocent, ignorance she brings to it all is beyond my power.

And now the results are in and it’s not good.

~~~

My SIL is dealing with a bedridden, high-risk pregnancy. Her husband is doing what he can to help her and their 11 month old daughter. He’s doing what he knows how and she is doing the only thing she can. Waiting for the twins to arrive safely. I want to help. My husband wants to help. My mom wants to help. But each of us have so many reasons why it is difficult. My beyond beautiful niece needs more than I or Glen can give her. She needs reassurance and consistency. With two other small children, my time gets very divided and my stress level tips the scale. Is that helpful or harmful and for who?

There's no one to blame. Babies go through stages. Pregnancies go through risks. Marriages go through trials. Husbands learn. Such is the way of life.

~~~

Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives: Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment.

~~~

I burned my arm. It hurts. I am still here baking a pizza that won’t bake.

~sigh~ Where did my sparkly, magic wand go??

Absent Without Official Leave

Have you ever had a day/days where absolutely nothing is going in the right direction?

~BIG SIGH~

My computer has been giving me grief; one error after another. I pay a Tech guy $170 to look at it, run the same bloody scans that I already did, to tell me “it’s fine.” Get it home and three more errors pop up. It’s fine for a PC, maybe. Apple. Here. I. Come.

I paid 60$ for a website template that I can’t get to work unless I first edit it with a program that’ll cost me $399. Holy H*ll. So I’ve browsed every other template site out there and find that if I want any quality I have to pay so I’m out that original 60$ plus the dollars to either have a monthly subscription or an annual fee. I’ve tried downloading a few freebies for practice and my web host is causing me grief which leads me to think another would probably be better; then I’m out even more money. If only someone had taught me code in school. And frankly, I don’t have the patience to learn it now.

Glen and I were also headed out for a date tonight. And Holy H*ll what drama. Trying to arrange for a sitter when ((surprise!)) unexpected family come trudging along, wanting a visit with “the kids”. Well now. It’s supper time and the kids need to eat, family needs to eat, and my husband just cleaned my house while I, amongst interruptions, attempted to process pics. Geeze. Won’t anything just flow smoothly today??

Seems these days, my so called “work” day doesn’t begin till 10 o’clock at night and there’s good reason for it. Steady concentration. Well, I dunno how much concentration one can have between the hours of 10-3 a.m. but it doesn’t appear that I can get any other schedule to work. Ugh. This is going to have to change because I cannot survive on coffee alone. I don’t think I drank this much since college and only then it was to cure an active hangover. Kidding. (Believe it or not, I actually studied my buns off. Well, the second time around anyway).

My brain is powering down because I am tired of dealing with all the little things today. Seriously, 8 phone calls between family members, PC errors and a date night that’s gone AWOL. It was a perfect day outside my windows but inside, Glen and I weren’t acting much like partners and the kids were feeling the tension. Hopefully this day will get better soon.

And I’m hoping to post some pictures soon for you as well.

Cheers.

Oh Where, Oh Where Did My Luggage Go??

I had fun with this DLS exercise. Our mission was to take two vintage suitcases and use them as props in a photo shoot. I wanted to challenge myself so I chose to do still life. I find I have to use a lot of creative energy trying to evoke an emotion out of something that doesn’t normally show “emotions” (including my husband, lol).


For this shoot, I used the city as much as I could for the time I had to try to create a unique backdrop for each shot. My steadfast assistant traveled with me, braving crying babies, flash floods and tornadoes to help me get this completed. Okay, the tornado may be a slight exaggeration but the flash flood was definitely a possibility. I don’t think I’ve seen a thunderstorm like it in ages! All for the love of luggage.


At the end of it all, when the sun was well past the horizon, we took to the streets to muster up some people just for the fun of it. Brave soles.

Apologies for Errors

If you notice any errors on my blog, either when looking at pics or slideshows, can you please drop me a comment? I am in the process of switching things over from "Mamabear" to PixelPie" but I have been having some issues. Hopefully I can resolve them soon but in the meantime, if you can help me out by letting me know if somethings not working on your end, I can do my best to help solve it. Thanks so much!

Exhausting Work

Kudos to every Mom and Dad out there. This isn’t the first time I’ve said it, nor will it be the last but parenting is ridiculously hard work with a ridiculously small salary. I’m tired. All the time. Not just when I don’t get any sleep or spend too much time processing pics when everyone else is gone to bed. It’s because I am a parent who has two kids that wear me out. The sad part is that I have excellent kids. So what’s my excuse, really?

Well for one thing, this potty training stage has every one of my creative juices maxed out. How many times can you make it fun for a toddler to pee in a toilet without him looking at you and saying “no mommy. all done. play"? Games, stories, songs, reward charts. It’s all been done. And I’m still doing it. Even when I’m sure he’s given it an earnest try and put his “bo-bo-boys” back on (that’s lingo for “big-boy-pants”) and then says “mommy. pee.” referring to what he just accomplished in his underwear, I calmly tell him we need to clean up, remind him what we’re suppose to do and try to thing of another way to give him the almighty “Aha!” moment.

Accidents. Pee puddles. Am I suppose to ignore them? Just clean it up? Sit him back on the potty? Put him back in a diaper? That book said this, this book said that, a website is spouting off “train ‘em in a week! 3 days! 1 day!” Do I buy more potties and spread them from one end of the house to the other? What about grocery shopping? Seriously. Where’s the toilet in IGA? Do I run from one end of the Superstore to the other? Crap. I have an infant in a snuggly/carseat. Where does she go? Now there’s a puddle on the floor. Breathe. Again. BREATHE!

Monitor his fluid intake. Time his poops. Regular schedules. Schedule schmedule. I don’t do everything the same everyday. We’re busy people. We’re normal. There are Dr. appts, hair cuts, shopping, mail pick up, house chores. I don’t doubt that if I sat around all day long staring at my clock, I would have a really kick-ass schedule. But there is always something that interrupts me (a whole other blog, trust me!). For starters, I have a teething infant that doesn’t always eat or sleep when it would be most convient for me. She does it when she feels darn ready. If she’s eating, then I’m sitting and my toddler is peeing on the floor. Breathe.

On top of that, I am trying to convince my very curious, playful and loving toddler that stopping in the middle of the day, putting down the toys, coming in from the gorgeous sunshine to have a nap is a good thing. Staying in your bed is even better. And because I’m either stupid or a sucker for punishment, I am trying to do this while maintaining his level of independence and respect suitable for his age without losing my patience. Gritting my teeth and trying to say in a calm matter, “GET in YOUR bed.” Ahhh, contemporary, modern discipline. It’s the way of the future. Back and forth between toddler and infant all day long.

It’s a wonder sometimes how I can actually do anything else at all.

And now I have to go again, as my baby’s awake. The third time in under an hour. Poor lil’ girl and her brand new tooth.

Cheers!

Belated Birthday

Well it's been a long time comin'. A month and 3 days in fact. But my little dude turned the big number 2 in May and I'm finally posting the pics. Enjoy! He sure did.

Back to Bloggin'

Well, I honestly didn’t think that it would take me this long to get back to my blog. The withdrawal was horrible. Hopefully I can catch up from where I left off and start posting more of the pics that have found a permanent home buried in my hard drive. Not to mention the oodles that are sitting on my memory cards. Ohhhh, the life of an aspiring photographer.

While I was away I learned the fine balancing act it takes to juggle 3 young children making the daily task of juggling two seem as easy as pie. Well, almost. But it certaintly has given me a new appreciation for all the Mama’s and the Papa’s that do it on a 24 hour basis.

We also held our garage sale and it did amazingly well. I now have clearance under my stairs and my husband has room in the garage to finally set up his tools. Not bad. It’s only taken 2 years. The $500 we made for that helped pay for some landscaping that we also accomplished. I managed to plant some fleurs and we’ll be planting some trees in the next week.

A camping trip, my son’s first black eye, my daughter’s first tooth. It all happened. So I have lots of stories to tell you.

But my most important news is that I have now set up an official photography business. I am working on a website, but don’t expect that for quite some time yet. I have some learnin’ to do first. :0)


I will be building up my portfolio for the next while and will be announcing sessions in the coming months. Stay tuned for that!

In the meantime here are some pics I snapped at the Calgary’s Farmers Market just for the fun of it and had a little fun processing them.

MIA

Just to let everyone know that I will be MIA for the next little while. I need to help a family memeber right now so my attention will be focused on that. I will post any updates as I can but they will be slow coming. Thanks and see you soon!

Walkin' with Nan

I took these a while ago when we had our first bout of spring so I thought it was about time I shared 'em.

Confessions of an Un-confessed Shopaholic

Come to my house and you’ll see that I have a lot of stuff. Come to my basement and you’ll see even more. And I dare you to look under my stairwell.

It’s a collection of items all in storage. Household things, clothes, toys, holiday decorations, camping, etc. etc. Probably nothing out of the ordinary for a family of four, and you may even have similar artifacts. But what makes me write about my assortment of “stuff” is that a large percentage of it didn’t come out of my wallet. It was donated to say the least. Donated to the poor.

There was a time when I emerged from college, loaded with debt, newly out of a long and dragging relationship that had its fair share of emotional grief, a small town hick in a big, big city, suffering from a bout of depression, that I had no money. Not a lick. I was working 40+ hours a week on the worst shift rotation known to man and getting a regular paycheck that served me no good. I was on the lowest rung of the pay ladder that a nurse could possibly make, working just as hard, and every dime trickling towards a bill. I had hardly a morsel of food in my fridge but I could easily whip up a delicious lettuce and carrot salad. Just ask my husband. Maybe that’s why I fell in love with him. He bought me groceries and I held his hand.

Now the family that I had once cut out of my teenage life seen a need. And I wasn’t without pride but handouts seemed to be as much of a necessity as my old clunker strung together with cardboard and duct tape. So I started a collection of this goody here, that gadget there, a bit of furniture, a bit of clothing, and the occasional mouth of food.

Fast-forward the clock a few plus years and the goodies continue. Although I now no longer see them as necessity and have in turn concluded that this goodwill is now indeed excessive. And it is not directed at me nearly as much as it is my son.

Enter a scene from Everybody Loves Ethan. Marie is played as herself with the addition of a spending problem. Marie sees the extension of her huge heart best displayed in my house as a huge collection of toys and clothes. Not only is the affection directed towards my son but I get the occasional benefit as well. In fact every time the Barones come by it is with something in hand. A bag of this. A bag of that. A trinket here. A trinket there.

Perhaps I am just too highly maintained and if I were to have more of an opened mind I can see that this collection of mismatched items would create a warm, cozy environment albeit cluttered and dust filled. The fact is that I am darn sick of receiving things. It doesn’t make it pleasant to then receive other gifts for birthday’s, Christmas, or any other gift-giving day. Nor does it make it pleasant to even shop for myself or my own family members. What’s the point? They have so much as it is. There is no need. Thus it has robbed me of the little joy of buying that precious toy, or super-delicious outfit because it loses the value of one when they have ten.

I am at the point of trying to discreetly rid myself and the house of the numerous amounts of treasures that have flourished beneath my stairs. (Perhaps Blogging isn’t discreet but I plead the fifth). It has come to this because for many years of gently refusing, bluntly rejecting, getting down-right mad, and striking an air of sarcasm, I get guilt trips. One after another in as many forms as you can imagine.

The stem of all of this have deep roots. From Marie growing up within a large household, siblings sharing and handing-down everything, she now has access to a lot more financial freedom. It is evident when you see her stash of possessions; mostly the wardrobe that Oprah would compete with. One shirt, 5 different shades. Etc, etc, etc. Even though I understand the root system, it will continue to be a problem until the denial of it is lifted.

I am not hard done-by, but if I had the luxury of spending that kind of money, that frequently it wouldn’t be to fulfill a need of ownership. I would rather see it towards a charitable organization, a child sponsorship or three, feeding and clothing the poverty regions of the world. It is this kind of value I want to instill in my children. To know that another toy car or doll will only make them happy until they see the next one but to help someone in dire need will make them happy always.

I have tried helplessly and tirelessly to show the effects of overspending and have suggested many alternatives. Donate towards an RRESP, donate to a woman’s shelter, the Salvation Army, anywhere. I’ve pushed the idea of putting limits on the dollar amount for Christmas items but it has never been adhered to other than by every one else.

It’s a frustrating struggle. And I know it may be minor in lieu of the many other things affecting our planet and our people but my complaint here isn’t on the overall scale of global issues and Shopaholics but on one that loves the idea of “new” and loves to share her finds by crowding my children’s toy shelves, our closets, and underneath my stairs.

My solution? Another garage sale that’s even bigger than the one I had just two summers ago. Please stop by.

A Disease with more Hope

I can’t believe how fast this month flew past me. A little bit of spring cleaning turned into a pile for a garage sale next month, a little landscaping turned into a whopper of a playset, a birthday party turned into donating older toys to a sparse church nursery, a little bit vacation time turned into two trips to two zoos and a lot of catching up with family members (the ones that lived in the zoo’s). It was a really busy month but there was one day that amazingly, should have been the busiest of them all but it turned out to be much different than I thought.


Last Saturday, I, along with other members of ticdesign, took our photographic skills to the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. We were the official shutterbugs for the event and we were all very excited, nervous, and anticipated everything. For many of us, it was our first time ever attending the Relay, including myself.


I don’t know what I expected really. I had a good idea of the logistics of the event thanks to Hope, who has been an active team participant for a few years now. She even warned us that we would be swept up in all the activity and the emotions and told us to just go with it. Ride that rollercoaster.


When I first arrived in the field, I was so excited and honored to be there (and I’ll add extremely grateful that my oh-so-brave-pregnant-with-twins-and-has-an-infant-already-SIL agreed to babysit my two rugrats so I could attend) but I was really trying hard to concentrate on the photography aspect. I was trying to focus on the technical details of my camera and the lighting because to be perfectly blunt, I didn’t want to screw up. I don’t know if I even really believed I was ready to photograph a >gasp< an “event”. I knew even if I did flub every one of my shots that there were plenty of other talented viewfinders behind me to get the important moments but I really wanted to believe that I could manage this.


I was prepared to be running around like a crazed lunatic, talking to complete strangers. I would hide behind my lens and buck up. “Get them to smile”, “Get ‘em to laugh”, “Get ‘em in groups”, “Get every moment I can”, “If you see it, shoot it” (that one was Hope).


So I did. If it moved, >SNAP! <. If it stayed still, >SNAP!<. If it looked at me, >SNAP!<. If it ran away, >SNAP!<. If it was near, >SNAP!<. If it was far, >SNAP!<. You get the idea.


The event unfolded and I watched every little detail of it in my viewfinder. What happened amazed me. I started to forget about lighting, shadows, angles and perspectives. I forgot about my fellow photographers (sorry girls). I started seeing instead, what an incredible event the Relay actually is. Those luminaries. Hundreds. Everyone holding a tiny tealight candle surrounding every square inch of that track. Some in double rows. Evey single one of those represents love, respect, sadness, anguish. Every person that I was looking at, knew someone. Been by their side. Seen the awful consequences of a Cancer diagnosis. The poison of chemo and radiation. Every single person. Every tealight. And every one of them holds on to the same rope of optimism for a cure.


Not only did this Relay remind me and bring me face to face with the realities of Cancer, but it reminded me of every person I worked with back when I was nursing. Every child that had some sort of diagnosis, whether be it Cancer, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Autism, CF, CP, MS, Asthma, Anaphylaxis, and everything else in between and subcategorized. It’s depressing. But what is remarkable is that for every one of the implacable diseases listed in the Merck Manual, there is someone standing behind it holding up a sign of HOPE.


With continuing fundraisers like the Relay for Life, and other walks, runs, and Lotteries, there are masses of people with a common thread. Faith and expectations that there is a means to an end. These fundraisers will not only help lead to a cure, but will eventually become a place where we can all get together to celebrate in victory, the discovery of the cure and better treatments worldwide.



Am I an optimist? After seeing those Survivors rounding the track, you bet I am.

Please help donate whatever way you can to whatever centre for disease you can. Here are a few to get you started:

www.cancer.ca
www.diabetes.ca
www.alzheimer.ca
www.autismsocietycanada.ca
www.cysticfibrosis.ca
www.cpsc.ca
www.mssociety.ca
www.lung.ca
www.asthma.ca
www.anaphylaxis.org

For a full view of what I captured that day, please check here and please be aware that all the images I photographed during the Relay are copyrighted to the Canadian Cancer Society. Please respect this. Use of the images without permission are STRCITLY forbidden.

http://picasaweb.google.com/PixelPiePhotos/CCSEdmRelay?authkey=7MOOKDGGcvU

Where'd I go?

Let me apologize for being a blog slacker. The beginning of summer happens and BAM! I’m super-crazy busy. Plus I’ve been trying to give a little added time to my family and hubby because they really deserve it. This has kind of been the last two weeks in a nutshell:

- Calgary: Went to the zoo, farmers market, did some drive-by goose shooting, visited my SIL on the set of “Confessions of a Go-Go Girl” airing on the Life Network and actually went on a date with my hubby for Mama’s Day.

- At Home: Destroyed the backyard to put in a monstrosity of a play set, stripped our deck to be repainted, did some spring cleaning and tossed a bunch of stuff in a “garage sale” pile, cleaned and packaged 9 items (mostly small appliances) that I’m selling on ebay, organized and put off a whirlwind of a birthday party for my son’s 2nd, cleaned up from the crazy 2 yr old birthday tornado in our backyard, had Daysha’s baby dedication at the church the next day and went for lunch afterwards with all the family that was up visiting us, went to the Edmonton zoo with my other SIL, my brother and the kids for Ethan’s actual birthday and my SIL’s, and I’m busy trying to adjust a bunch of prefold, cloth diapers that I purchased that don’t fit my baby. Plus I joined the gym to lose this baby weight once and for all. And the rest of this week has been taken up with Kindermusik, Gymnastics, and the Relay for Life which I am so excited for.

Sooooooo, needless to say, I have pretty much been off of Facebook, my blog, and anything really to do with photography other than snapping away loading up my memory cards. I have a tonne of things to blog about and I’ll slowly work on it but for now please have some patience with me. Thanks!!

A Disease with Hope

Bladder Cancer
Breast Cancer
Colon Cancer
Endometrial Cancer
Kidney Cancer
Leukemia
Lung Cancer
Melanoma
Non_Hodgkin Lymphoma
Pancreatic Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Skin Cancer
Thyroid Cancer
Children’s Cancers
Women’s Cancers
Men’s Cancers

Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. And it can affect any part of the human body; internal organs, bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, bone marrow, immune system, the brain, the spinal cord. Not only does it affect the body, it affects people.

There are very few of us who can say, I have never seen the effects of cancer. Whether it has been as a bystander to someone else’s life or it has had a direct impact on you or your family.

The devastation and destruction that these rapidly growing cells create are astonishing. No one should have to deal with this. Ever. Regrettably, with so much sadness, it burns a dark path into people’s journey of life. Dreams, hopes, and wishes can come crashing down quickly.

But there is a light shining brightly. A light shining on a cure. There are people that believe, that care, that are bringing back these dreams.

A new report from the nation’s leading cancer organizations shows cancer death rates decreased on average 2.1 percent per year from 2002 through 2004, nearly twice the annual decrease of 1.1 percent per year from 1993 through 2002.

And we can help further increase that percentage by increasing awareness, donating our time, and our hard earnings to help fund the research that is paving the way to a cure.

I am, along with 8 very dedicated members of ticdesign, have joined Clickin’ Cancer’s Butt. A team that has been asked to be the Official Team Photographers with the Edmonton CCS Relay for Life. This is a tremendous honor and I hope that after the Relay is complete that I can share with you, pictures of strong people that have survived cancer, are fighting cancer and are supporting one another and the research. People that have the same hope and optimism that I do; there will come a day when we can all say with confidence, that cancer will NEVER affect another man, another woman, another child, another baby. We will be free.

Please pledge your support and help fight this together.

Snapshots

I have a terrible memory. I can’t remember names, birthdays, dates of anything important, or numbers of any kind really. There is also a history of Alzheimers in my family. Perhaps I am showing genetic traits of it already or perhaps I just have a visual learning style. My brain takes pictures of everything and that’s how I remember things.

My brain takes a snapshot of words, and then I read them. I read full sentences by looking at only a few words. I don’t read letter by letter, therefore I can be a terrible speller, unless I write the word with a pen and paper and sometimes I miss the details.

My brain takes a snapshot of people when I meet them. I recall where I met them, the background, people around us, their posture, their clothes, their hair. Once that changes, I have no clue I might have met them and their name. Their face will be familiar but unless I can recall that initial picture, I have a very difficult time remembering them.

My brain takes a snapshot of events in my life. I can recall in great detail different situations such as my heart surgery I had when I was only two because I see it all in pictures. But I have to think for a second to tell you how old I am.

My brain takes a snapshot of where I last put my keys but if I move them in haste before my brain snaps the shutter, they’re lost for days.

Perhaps it is for all these reasons that I want to physically take pictures of things in my life with a camera. Perhaps I want to preserve all that I see and feel in print before Alzhimers really sets in and I can’t remember my own name or before I lose touch with things that mean my Life. But it wouldn’t be the only reasons.

There is a passion underlying my need for pictures, my need to capture every moment, every rush of energy. I knew it existed even long before I ever entered these DLS workshops. I remember seeing my Uncle take pictures; my father and his camera equipment. I remember getting my own camera and getting my first roll of film developed. I remember being told to stop taking so many pictures because people would get tired of looking at them. Who cares? I thought. I liked them. It’s the same reason I have thousands of digital images stored and I can’t hit the delete button. I like them.

Taking these workshops at a time when I am fully supported by my best friend, has made my passion spark after being hidden deep down in my toes. Not only do I now want to take pictures more than ever, I want to take good ones. So that perhaps my albums won’t be so boring to other people and they’ll see what I feel in each image.

What do I want to take pictures of?

Anything. Everything. Of you. Of my children. Your children. Of people. Places. Fascinating things. Boring things. Moments. I want to take pictures when my brain takes a snapshot and says, I want to remember that.

On the practical end of things, sure, it would be great if I could turn this into a business venture or an extra income to help out with providing things for my children and helping ease the burden of one income off of my husband’s shoulders. Photography would have a lot more drive behind it than being a nurse has ever had for me. But I’m only new at learning the techniques for a good photograph and wish to build up to that. But I know I have it in me. I know I can take a picture that someone will want to frame, and even if they don’t, I’ll frame it.

Awards and recognition don’t mean much to me at this point and I don’t know if it ever will. Perhaps one day, I might want to enter a contest just to see what becomes of it. I do get a little giddy thinking that I could set up a studio and have people want me to take their pictures. Or better yet, being able to go somewhere, anywhere, and know that I can capture someone’s memories for them and leave them with a beautiful image they’ll always have. How cool is that?

I have dreams as to where I want this photography to take me and it isn’t a New York fashion shoot. My dreams? I’m with people that really care that there is more substance behind an image than if there are shadows under someone’s eyes when there “shouldn’t” be any. To me, photography is about people, whether there are any in the image or not. It is the feeling you get when you see a photograph, good quality or not, and you get a little goosebump or two because something deep down in your toes says you like it. And I like it too. That’s enough for me. ~click, click~

O sleep, O gentle sleep

Another day, another battle with “The Nap”. My very-near-to-be-two-year-old has decided that when it is Mommy’s time to put him to bed for his nap, he is going to refuse. Refuse by yelling “All done!”, “noooooo”, get a fit of the giggles, ask for the potty, ask for water, milk, juice, a cookie, a book. No, not that book. Another book. The one with Pooh on it.

When he’s finally falling asleep, my other munchkin wakes leaving the toddler thinking that as soon as mommy walks out that door, it’s time to sneak out and pull all the toys off the shelves. (*Note, I did NOT take a picture).

So, after two hours of “Go to sleep” and trying hard not to give into demands for attention, sending him straight back to his bed, I gave up. Seriously, two hours is enough of a waste of my time, Daysha’s and his.

The result was a temper tantrum after a walk and play at the park, and an earlier bedtime than he usually goes. 8:30. Now there are a lot of tots that always go to bed at that time. Mine? It has usually been 10 o’clock. He sleeps in that way, and so does Mommy. I never really cared because I’m a night hawk anyway so a late bedtime for him was fine with me. As long as he got his sleep. But this is now the third time I have had a battle with the naptime. He has always been really good but I am starting to think that A) he’s testing all the skills I have with patience and anger management and B) he might be growing out of his nap.

I have always been in tune with Ethan and have carefully watched when something wasn’t working and we’d change it up so that life would become easier. I’m not all about ridged schedules and routines. I think kids are flexible as they grow so I’m all about making things as easy as I can for everyone involved.

But in all honesty, I don’t know if I should turf this naptime thing just yet. Perhaps I can for a while and see if the earlier bedtime will work for him but in the past when he’s missed his nap and crashed before the usual time, he wakes up more during the night and the next day is an overtired kid. I don’t know if it is best for him to get all his sleep requirements in one stint or keep it broken up over the day with a nap. If that’s the case, I need to find something else to keep him from popping his head in and out of the door.

My options are:
A) Bed time at 9-10, wake at 8-9, nap at 1-2 (what we do now)
B) Bed time at 9-10, wake at 8-9, nap at lunchtime. (would an earlier nap work?)
C) Bed time at 8-9, wake at 7-8, nap at lunchtime. (when’s lunch? Before/after nap?)
D) Bed time at 8-9, wake at (?), no nap. Recipe for crankiness?

And I am sure there are more options I could try too. I realize that pre-preschoolers are programmed to challenge everything an adult lays before them but I’d ideally like to be, at least, a half a step ahead of him. What’s happening now is nothing but a combat and I’m losing. So before I throw in the towel and raise the white flag, what do you think? What age is it reasonable for a toddler to grow out of the need for a nap?

Some technical garb: According to the National Sleep Foundation, babies need 14 to 15 hours of sleep, toddlers need 12 to 14 hours and preschoolers need 11 to 13 hours in each 24-hour period to function at their best. And the more sleep-deprived a child is, the more likely he is to be sleepy and overtired during the day, to change sleeping locations at night, and to have more sleep problems overall. Sleep begets sleep -- it can't be said often enough. --- Ann Douglas, Canadian Living.com

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. ~Charles Caleb Colton

*image is not mine. Stolen from a google search.

Perfection I am not.

I am not a perfect mom. No kidding. Not as I sit here at 4:00 in the afternoon, blogging away, sipping on a glass on red-relaxin’. I should be scrubbin’ my floors, makin’ supper, picking up toys, pay the bills…..no thanks. Not now. As much as I love my almost 2 year old, he’s stressing me out. And I’m human so I won’t deny that his stage of “ignore-mom-until-I-want-to-listen” isn’t ticking me off.

Gymnastics was fine if it doesn’t bother me that my toddler decides to let mom do all the hand-over-hand and snubs the idea of walking on his own two feet. It’s waaaaay more fun to lay down, roll around on the floor, and watch mom break a sweat.

BP’s was fine for lunch. Really it was. Me and two small tots. Seriously, what could you possibly think could go haywire?

Nap time. Was a battle. First we made a potty trip and that was successful. Yay! Then I asked him to pull up his pants and it was time for a nap. Glove slap. There were three back-to-back time outs with a little naked bum on the step until it was agreed that mommy was right and he did need a nap. Then there was a disagreement about which bed to sleep in. Mommy’s held a sleeping baby and having a soon-to-be-overtired child yelling wasn’t going to restful for anyone so it was back down to his own room. Glove slap. Then the sleeping baby woke up to nurse. The toddler was on his own to close his peepers; not to come out of his bed and play with his books. Back to bed. A third glove slap. Mommy’s losing patience, but I think we have success. Two sleeping childre…no wait. One baby asleep, one toddler walking out the door with poop on his hand. Ooooohhh! Okay, so quick cleanup...I said quick….quickly….quicker….then back to bed. A couple of cuddles, another kiss, and………the baby’s awake.

Breathe.

10…9…8…7….okay, really, that works as good as a hole in the head.

Another nursing, another poopy bum and back to sleep. So you see, I’m taking my own time out, not doing my “mommy chores” and trying to get a little sanity back. It may not be motherhood perfection but I love my little snubber and I am really trying to ride the crest of the wave of these phases with a little optimism that every mother is doing the same thing with their soon-to-be-preschoolers….wondering if it really is all worth it in the end? (That's rhetorical).

Fire and Rescue. Another Thank You.

Last Saturday, Glen went into work late. He has his day shift crew stay a little longer so that Glen and I could to the Spruce Grove Fire Services. It was difficult to arrange a meeting as Glen and the Paramedics that were on-call when Daysha was born, work the exact shift as Glen but we finally got the opportunity to say our thanks.

Our thanks go to Rob, Gary and Captain Mclain. They were a part of Daysha’s birth story as they stood by with their support and guidance as my midwife, Cathy and friend, Jen, worked diligently to ensure Daysha’s health after she was born refusing to breathe on her own.

In my eyes, as I lay on the floor, I could see the intensity in the room. I could see Rob standing near me watching over my daughter who was lying on the bed. I could hear Gary say she was coming around, I could hear the Captain running to bring warm towels to wrap her in. I heard them ask how I was doing and I told them to just look after my girl. I had yet to see her so before they left with her, I grabbed Rob’s leg and asked him “please, let me see her”. As soon as I saw her eyes, I teared up as I am doing now. They took her and my husband safely in the ambulance to the University where they would wait for me. I was exhausted.

Thank you for your quick response, your safe transportation of our daughter, your comforting words and your belief in the strength of my baby. Thank you for giving space for my midwife to work and holding off on intubating her, having faith that she would come around. It means more than words can say, that you took the time to bring me my baby girl so that I could see her as I would have if the circumstances were right. Thank you Captain for giving my mom a hug and telling her it was alright. Thank you all, for comforting my husband and letting him be with his daughter the entire time. And thank you for letting us come back with our family to visit you once again, letting Ethan play on the trucks, and giving them both a bear to keep. It means a lot.



You can check out the Web Album here.

Oh! For the love of...

Reading. I've always wanted to encourage a love of reading in my kids. I think they got the message....

Trashing Fun

We totally trashed the dress. And it was soooooo fun. Now my expectations are up for each subsequent shoot I do, great. lol. I literally took hundreds of photos. I widdled 632 pics down to a mere 88 with a hundred more or so that I still really like. The race was on to post our images to the DLS Facebook group so I uploaded these to my web album. Perhaps as I gain more time in my life, or at least, when I’m up in the middle of the night not sleeping, I’ll post some more. They have too many fun memories to stay stashed on my hard drive.

As far as my camera education goes, I was pretty impressed with myself. Not just for some of the images I managed to capture, which got better as the shoot went on, but for the simple fact that I can now look at a picture I took and see what I like about it and what I don’t, and what needs improvement. I am getting a lot better at getting it right “in camera” although there things that still throw me. One issue I have is that I forget to reset ALL my functions suitable for the next shoot. I’ll forget that my ISO is set too high, my WB is off, I have it set for an overexposure of +1.7 etc. It’s not till I take a dozen or so pics that I’ll look at ‘em and say “WTH?” and realize what happened. Oh well, at least I know what went wrong. There was a time, waaaaaay long ago, before the DLS, that I didn’t have a clue how I got that shot. Now I do. Well, okay, it wasn’t that long ago and sometimes I still don’t know what I did, lol but there’s been a massive improvement.

And I am still trying to cool my excitement and try to remember to frame my pic right and get the composure I’m looking for. It doesn’t help when you are on a really fun shoot and you want to capture every interesting thing you see, all the time trying to remember to actually “look” through your viewfinder and get that emotion/ excitement bouncing off your sensor. It’ll come. For now, enjoy these from the TTD session and hopefully I can keep posting more.

Btw, thanks J-L for trashing your dress and letting us all capture it on camera. Fabulous.

Brand New Bike....

We had some spring fun trying out Ethan's new tricycle a week ago, before we had a blizzard. It began to rain and we thought April was bringing showers but instead it brought snow. Anyway, here are some pics, just for some fun spring memories.