photos from christmas

hard to believe the christmas season has already come and gone...

here are two photos from christmas eve:

playing rudolph and putting out cookies for santa.

 we had a great time on christmas morning checking out 

our stockings and opening presents.

jude got online guitar lessons and lots of sour candies.

selah got petshops and an umbrella hat.

emery got flairies and new earrings.

and this momma got some great new gadgets for her camera!

another cool gift for selah - stilts!

and my favourite moment captured...

emery loved the gift that selah got her -
playmobil princess set
(these girls are so thoughtful
when it comes to gift giving)

after having fruit loops for breakfast, 

and a few hours of play and packing we were on the road 

to new jersey to spend the week with my family.  

hoping to be back soon with photos from our time away,

and some favourites from 2011.

happy new year friends!

christmas...

hope yours is fabulous!

favourite things

back today with favourite things friday!  

good timing, as i hear that the sound of music will be on tv tomorrow night!  

hopefully i'll catch at least some of it.

here are some other favourite things to check out:

• loving creativelive today as they share clips of some of their best photography workshops throughout the day
• jude's blog has some great tips for dads (and moms) this week if you haven't checked it out already
• one of my favourite recipes for the holidays
• a fun blog that a friend sent me the link to this week
• and lastly another video to get you in the christmas spirit, if you're not already...

mini cupcakes

i made mini cupcakes for my girl's classes for christmas.

love that one cake mix makes enough for two classes - super easy.

interesting experience for me as i worked away on this special treat.

the cupcakes stuck to the non-stick pan. 

(will find liners for next time...)

they didn't want to stay together as i removed them from the pan.

i was tempted early on to give up and make something else...

they weren't looking pretty 

and i'm usually hesitant to share my work if it's not 'pretty'.

the people pleaser (and slight perfectionist) in me.

but then i thought to myself  that 4, 5 and 6 year olds 

are not going to notice that some of the edges are crumbly...

they see chocolate frosting with a tiny silver ball on top.

to them, they'll be special and delicious.

~

it's easy to share the things we're proud of:

like getting a strike on your first ball (oh yeah!)

 or pretty chocolate treats created for special teachers.

but it can be hard to share the things in our lives

that we're not so proud of.

as i think back to the moments when i have made myself vulnerable 

and shared my worries, weaknesses, or mistakes with others,

most often those things have been received with love and respect

and resulted in strengthened relationships as a result of my honesty.

so over the holidays, share your 'not so perfect cupcakes,'

it just might feel good.

and try to look at the world through a child's non-judgemental eyes, 

looking past imperfections and seeing what makes it 'special and delicious'...

merry christmas friends!  

(all photos posted today were from my iphone)

christmas memories

here are few photos that are special to me from christmas so far

because they hold memories and tell a bit of our story.

this is nana and grandad watching their 

great grandchildren opening presents.

here is selah

(still wearing her antlers, as seen in the last post)

working on her christmas cards for her classmates.

she's wearing her new dinosaur sweater that she got for christmas from nan,

and yes, that is a tower of mini wheats in the background (big sale!).

 these next two are from the girls seasonal concert at school.

their school always puts on a fun show that included everyone.

both emery and selah were beaming up on stage singing their songs.
emery sang 'up on the house top...',
and selah's class sang 'frosty the snowman'.

 this is the moment when selah saw her daddy in the audience.

 here is emmy and selah checking out their goodie bags 

from another christmas party.

every year, my aunt and uncle have a party at their country club.

it's such a fun night to dress up and 

reconnect with family.

the food is always excellent and they even bring in a magician to entertain the kids.
it's a special night for both the adults and children.

lot's of great memories so far and more to come.

i wonder which of these moments will stick with the girls as they grow...

what do you remember most about christmas as a child?

on the first day of christmas

here's a glimpse of what we did at our house 

earlier this month to get ready for christmas:

 decorated the christmas tree

 attempted a family photo

 created some christmas crafts

 (this is the craft selah and i made)

and shared icing, while putting together a gingerbread house.

such a fun family day and great way to get into the christmas spirit!

we are counting down now to christmas morning 

and our trip to NJ with my family.

what traditions do you have as you anticipate the christmas season?

dance show

emery had her dance recital last weekend.  

i love these shows.

seeing my girls dance in front of so many with confidence, 

is amazing to me!

jazz/hip hop (we'll be sure to put a clip in emery's hair next time...)

 it was pretty neat to see emery do the worm across the stage, 

but the coolest thing about this show was who came to see it...

mlle m.

emery's grade 1 teacher!

i am still blown away that her school teacher would take time out 

of her weekend to come watch two of her students dance.

olivia, mlle m, and emery

emery's recital fell on a busy day of christmas festivities 

with family and friends, 

but what she was most excited for that morning was her dance recital, 

knowing that mlle would be there.

love it.

we love the school the girls go to and their teachers so far 

have all exceeded our expectations in many ways.

(you can read about emery's kindergarten teacher here)

the video's from this recital are pretty fun, 

so next time you see me with my computer, ask to see them.

selah's recital is this coming sunday at 4:30.

we can bring a guest or two - so let me know if you'd like to come along!

through the glass

i read this book in november.

it only took me a couple days...

i couldn't put it down.

i highly recommend it.

i have met shannon moroney.
she is an incredible woman,
you will see this in her book.
her honesty, passion and integrity are inspiring.

as a victim she went to CJI (where jude used to work) for help.

she had heard about restorative justice and was seeking it out.

that is only a small part of her story...

An impassioned, harrowing and ultimately hopeful story of one woman's pursuit of justice, forgiveness and healing.

When Shannon Moroney married in October of 2005, she had no idea that her happy life as a newlywed was about to come crashing down around her. One month after her wedding, a police officer arrived at her door to tell her that her husband, Jason, had been arrested and charged in the brutal assault and kidnapping of two women. In the aftermath of these crimes, Shannon dealt with a heavy burden of grief, the stress and publicity of a major criminal investigation, and the painful stigma of guilt-by-association, all while attempting to understand what had made Jason turn to such violence.

In this intimate and gripping journey into prisons, courtrooms and the human heart, Shannon reveals the far-reaching impact of Jason’s crimes and the agonizing choices faced by the loved ones of offenders. In so doing, she addresses the implicit dangers of a correctional system and a society that prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation, and victimhood over recovery.

we have a copy of this book and would be happy to loan it to you.

if you can - read this book!

everyone needs a family photo...

i had the chance to do a quick shoot for some friends the other day.

this is the hogg-saunders family:

alex, olivia, christine, steve,

and josie (the dog).

they are fun, creative, generous and very musical.

both steve and christine are musicians 

and i have no doubt that they have passed the gift on to their little ones.

(you may have seen olivia here before)

jellybeans were key for these photos!

christine tells me they were well overdue for a family photo...

i sure hope these ones make them smile!

design process

i thought i would write a little bit about how 

the design process goes when doing custom card designs.

the first step is to find a photo or two that you love:

 i changed this photo to black and white and opened it in photoshop.

choose some colours to work with the photo
and then start playing around with shapes and fonts.

once i have a design that i like, 

i send it to the client and see what they think.

in this case, they liked the design, but wanted a different colour.

once i make their adjustments i save it as a jpeg.

as a jpeg you can send it to the photo printer of your choice 

and in no time you'll have a photo greeting card!

the holidays are getting closer...
very exciting!

i just got my cards from the printer,

now i have some writing to do.

pretty smiles

this is the horton family.

d.w. and sarah, ruby, lily and ava.

apparently the girls were practicing their pretty smiles 

in front of the mirror for our time together!

lily

ruby

 they also had some pretty great silly faces that they loved to share with me!

ava

 these photos were all taken right on their property,

and yes - they have chickens!  

i'm jealous...

loving the chicken in the family photo.

such a sweet, kind and beautiful family,

it was hard to choose which photos to share here!