merry christmas to all!

merry christmas!  

thanks to each of you who take the time to check out my blog.  

i appreciate your support and comments over the past two months as i've gotten this started.  

it has been fun and energizing for me.  i'm excited to see what the new year will bring.  

i hope your christmas is merry and bright!

love cheryl

a gift

yesterday i was able to spend time with my great (photographer) friend, catherine.

i was watching her son while she had a quick shoot, and then we hung out while selah and jesse played.

catherine is an excellent photographer and she is so kind about sharing her knowledge.  

she is also someone that i truly respect for the way she lives her life.

it's always a pleasure to spend time with her...

   her friendship is a gift.  

she also gave me another gift yesterday, a beautiful necklace.  

this gift was unexpected and so thoughtful.  very much appreciated - thank you.

i wanted to share the necklace with all of you, 

which required me to play with my new camera and learn a few things.  

wow, two cameras for christmas!  

i'm such a lucky girl.

thank you

today was a day to remember.  

first of all i got to spend it with judah.  we had a night and day away in TO.  

so nice to have some time, just the two of us.  

second, it was my last day shooting with this camera:

let me tell you about this camera.

judah's grandad is a photographer.  we love to talk cameras when we're together!

one day we were doing just that when i mentioned i was hoping to get a dslr one day.

i was so surprised when he responded:  

"oh, i have one of those sitting in a drawer, i never use it - do you want to borrow it?"

and my response was:  

"yes please!"

i've had so much fun with this camera and am so thankful for grandad's generosity with it.

these are some photos i took today with it while in TO.

the reason it was my last day using this camera is because once again, 

christmas has come early at our house!

i wasn't expecting this, but on the way home from TO jude suggested we stop in at henry's.

in my mind it was just to get an idea of what to consider in the future.  

in jude's mind, we were buying me a camera for christmas!

thank you grandad for giving me the inspiration to start doing something with my love of photography.

thank you jude for encouraging me in this passion and enjoying the journey with me.

for emmy's teacher

 emery really wanted her teacher to see this...

mrs. l - thank you for the impact you're having on emery.  she loves you very much.

first good snow

i had the great pleasure of going on a road trip this past weekend with my mom, 

to visit my sister and her family in NJ.  

you know i love jude and my girls, but if you're a mom, 

you also know how amazing it was to have a few days to getaway!  

during our drive there we went through a bit of snow on a stretch of i-90.  

this is what i would like to call the first good snow of the season:

on our way home, we drove through a lot more snow...

i did take a few other pics on our trip.  to see my sister and her beautiful family click here.

it was haley's birthday while we were visiting.  

this is haley on her day after enjoying a large lollipop:

...hard to believe she's 10 already.  

love you girl!

jude was superdad (as usual) while i was away - thank you hon.

he is so good at creating memories when he spends time with the girls.  

they painted, did crafts, made ornaments and decorated gingerbread houses.

they had playdates, went to christmas parties and selah even got to help him teach at the university.

thank you for judah staying home.  

thank you mom for coming with.  

thank you christine (and fam) for welcoming us.

love you all!  shall we make it a tradition?!

refresh

do you ever have a day when you just feel kind of "blah" by then end of it...

today was one of those.  

so i thought i'd read some blogs hoping to find something refreshing.  

well, i found it.  

my friend catherine posted this reflection on her blog about a year ago 

(i love the 'you may also like this' feature on blogs now!) 

and i thought i would take some time to reflect as well.

Outside my window... it’s dark, cold with snow on the ground - but there are christmas lights out there - bright and colourful.

I am thinking... that i had a tough day, but i need to stop being so hard on myself.

I am thankful for... my family - judah and the girls - they really are amazing...i have much to be thankful for...

I am wearing... jeans and a top, but added jude’s hoodie for warmth.

I am remembering... the fun i had this weekend with my mom, my sister and her fam.  i am thankful for my whole family.

I am going... to mail some christmas cards in the morning.  

I am reading... photography books and blogs these days, oh and just bought a book by brene brown, 

i like her stuff.

I am hoping... for a good sleep tonight and a great day tomorrow - whatever it may bring.

I am hearing... the furnace and house creaks, and a lovely bird calling in the distance.

I am creating... christmas card designs lately (love), and cutting snowflakes with emery.

From the kitchen... today: a green smoothie!  selah and i were trying for purple, but the spinach 

(yes, spinach!) won the colour battle with the blueberries!  still tasted good!

Around the house... christmas decorations amongst the piles of things that need putting away.

One of my favorite things... today: seeing the joy on emery’s face when she gets to “perform” on stage!

A picture to share... taken just before singing her song in the concert at school 

amazingly, i do feel better after taking the time for this.  

refreshing... i hope you find some time for refreshing things over the holidays.

the birches

oh the birches...i love this family.  they will always have a special place in my heart.  

so wonderful to be visiting them in NJ.  

they are also probably the best hosts and hostesses ever!

meet christine, haley, rich and hunter:

haley will be 10 tomorrow...such a gorgeous girl.

hunter - 8

stehlik's christmas

just did the finishing touches on the card chosen by the stehlik's for christmas.  

should be ready for pick up in an hour!