window

creating art for all to see...

twins

have you met micah and caleb?

i did a shoot with their mommy and her bump just over a year ago.

oh yeah, and i did their birth announcement...

so yes, yes you have!

well - here are the twins one year later!

 and this is what happens when mommy and daddy try to get in the picture...=)

 this is micah and his dad joel.

like me, joel is often the one taking the photos...

he is a great photographer and has some amazing images of his boys during their first year.

so thankful that he was willing to do a photoshoot for me and my fam for our tenth anniversary.

so excited to see the results...thanks joel.

first birthday

a pretty little one year old,

a few fun decorations,

some gifts and beautiful backyard to explore,

and one special cupcake...

put them all together and you have one amazing party.

happy birthday aubree!

katie

this is emery's best friend ~ katie.

she's such a great girl.

katie is ainsley's sister.

we met katie and ainsley at the library 4 years ago.

since then the girls have done dance, gymnastics, soccer, and now t-ball together,

they have also had many days exploring, playing, performing and creating together.  

these 4 girls are tight...i love it!

meeting their best friends at age 2 (emery) and 6 months (selah),

what an amazing thing.

who was your first best friend?  are you still friends today?

ten years

today - my parents celebrate 38 years of marriage! 

amazing!  congratulations mom and dad!

today - jude and i celebrate 10 years of marriage!

hoorah!

photo of a photo - hard to believe 10 years was pre-digital for many

here's a bit of our story:

judah and i met at myw when i was 18 and he was 20.

we were on staff there together.  

it was my 4th summer volunteering at camp, his first.

a friend of his talked jude into coming to work at camp...

but then he got a 'real' job and couldn't come anymore.  

jude still came.  i'm so glad he did!

i had an immediate crush on the new cute guy.  

actually, i think the crush started when i heard there was a guy 

named judah coming to work at camp (love the name!).

we became great friends that summer, spending most of our time together.

he was the first guy i could sit and chat with for hours.

come september i was moving to bc for my first year of university 

and he was heading back to windsor for his third.  

the week before i left, he took the bus twice to mississauga to visit me...

 i was hoping that was a good sign - maybe he liked me?!  

it wasn't until october that i got a letter from him telling me how he felt.  

best. day. ever.

by christmas (when i was home from bc) it was official.

we dated for a year and a half and got engaged, 

a year and a half later (too long) we were married!  

10 years now...still going strong!

kinda fun to think back to how it all started...

judah - being with you is a dream come true!

love you forever.

the boys

"let's hear it for the boys"

is the challenge on i heart faces this week.

when i saw the challenge, i immediately thought of my two nephews:

christopher & benjamin.

these boys are so fun and full of life,

and like any other kids, they get into trouble once in a while:

timeout

 i don't know if they learned a lesson from their time on the step,

but i learned that sometimes timeouts make great photo ops!

click here

simple things

i like love the idea of reflecting each week and 

remembering the simple things that made me smile.

looking through photos from the week is a great way 

for me to relive some of those moments,

and smile once more!

this past week was warm and sunny.  

we had a picnic with friends earlier this week at waterloo park.

such a lovely place!

after seeing all of the other animals 

(the turkeys and sheep were quite chatty that day),

we decided to stop and visit the swans and ducks.

it was right around lunch time and 

they were quite happy to see us!

very friendly indeed... 

the photo of the peacock above was also taken that day...

what a stunning bird!

for more favourite moments/shots from the week - check out favourite shot friday.

what made you smile this week?

at the beach

there once was a dad who loved his girls very much.

one day he took them to the beach.

he let them run & play.

he let them live & laugh.

he let them get wet & dirty.

they had so much fun.

they always do with their dad!

he's a great dad,

who takes beautiful pictures!

happy father's day jude.

love you...

a cake to remember

we were at a party on the weekend for selah's best friend - ainsley.

she had a cake that i'm sure she will remember for a very long time.

ali (ainsley's mom) puts her heart and creative energy

into making gorgeous cakes for her girls' birthdays.

this year ainsley asked for a tinkerbell cake:

 amazing, eh?

 it was hard for ali to cut into this masterpiece...

 but ainsley was ready and willing to enjoy!

here is the beautiful birthday girl

happy 4th birthday ainsley!

simple things

i found a new blog that i really like called simple as that.

there is a challenge there for sharing something simple that made you smile.

this is one thing that really made me smile yesterday:

here's the story behind it:

there was a plant in our garden that did not want to grow anymore (no smile).

i was starting to think about what i would replace it with:

perhaps a magnolia tree?

while i was running errands i came across a sign that made me happy

"japanese maples - $25"

(you know i love a deal)

brilliant, now i knew what to put in the garden!

i chose the tree i wanted and went to pay for it - came up as $18!

don't you just love when that happens?

i brought the tree home, 

got some dirt under my fingernails and voila!

a new tree in the garden.

a simple thing that makes me smile!

did i mention that i love japanese maples?

lofty

i thought lofty meant grand or great or something like that...

i was way off...

oops.

i kept the title anyway - i like it 

and i know you wouldn't judge me.

i had this great ('lofty') idea a while back of a way to open up the girls play space 

and give selah the bunk bed she's been hoping for.

well, almost a bunk bed...

a loft bed that would actually fit in their room.

presenting the ever so functional 'lofty' loft bed:

i came up with the design.

jude created it.

i captured it.

tag team c&c - right?

booyah!

~

emery & selah love it!

and with 4 pieces of furniture (2 beds, dresser and bookshelf) 

grouped together now, they have even more room to play!

this one of a kind 'lofty' bed will be 

on the market in about 5 years.

bidding starts now!

next step

just signed up for an online photography course in the fall!!

it's offered by karen russell, who is based in oregon.

registration was at 6pm pacific time - 9pm here.  

had to leave a meeting a tad early to get home to register 

because i had heard it fills up fast...really fast.

there are two options: full student or audit

i went with audit, 

but the competitive side of me wanted to click full student 

just to see if i was quick enough to get in to one of 40 spots.

i guess i'll never know.

i am quite excited about this.  

i've been thinking about next steps with my photography

and i imagine this will be a great stepping stone!

apparently these are the gargrave stepping stones?!
borrowed the image from wikipedia

and a side note:

as i blog i've been watching a spider crawl all over the wall (and art) by my desk.

jeepers!  it's a quick one.  

where'd it go?

and another note:

so encouraged by your comments on my last blog - thanks =)

little man

so fun to see evan today.

'little man' is growing up!

 such a calm and content boy.

his mommy and daddy are doing so well.

 soon he'll have to share that ball...

because this little man will be a big brother come september!

 he'll be a good big brother - i know it.

...love auntie

bloom

this is selah's favourite flower - she's been watching and waiting for them!

a beautiful iris stands alone in full bloom.

bloom: "the state or period of greatest beauty, freshness or vigor"

~

i have been blogless for a little bit.  

kind of bogged down.

not in full bloom.

feeling busy and tired these days.

after not having uploaded my photos for a week, 

it was nice to come across the pretty photo above

(taken in my parent's garden last week).

even when i feel like i'm busy and/or moving slow, 

life goes on around me...

beautiful & new.

thankful for that.

i would like to join the iris in full bloom,

but not sure how to get there these days.

i would love to hear what helps you 

feel like you're at your best, 

like you're in full bloom.

~

after a busy day indoors 

(a fun new project - photos to come), 

it was so lovely to look out the window this evening and see 

that our irises have started to bloom as well.  

made me smile.

selah will be so happy!