Our Family Photos

Psssst.... My birthday is on Saturday!
I'll be announcing something new that day, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here's a picture of what I've been dreaming of doing in my living room since before we had a family of 4!!! I've had it up for a while now, and have been meaning to post a photo:



Isn't it wonderful? :) Well, I think it is! Thanks to Amanda Stratton, I now have some fabulous photographs of my family that I will treasure for the rest of my life!

When I entered her Mother's Day contest last year, I sent her this photo of our living room wall:

Isn't the "after" so much better than the "before"?

Oh how I love this type of photography and how I love the opportunity to preserve and cherish fleeting moments!

My family is the most important thing in the world to me! (that's sort of a clue as to what's coming on Saturday ;)

Personal Reasons

If you've contacted me in the last few months about booking a session or a wedding, you've probably received the response that I am not booking any new sessions right now, for personal reasons. Now that I've got some of those things figured out, I thought I'd explain a little.

Personal Reason #1: Sometime in July of 2009, I started waking up with sore fingers and wrists. I had had some joint issues in the past, so I was just concerned about them getting worse. Then one day I woke up with my hands very stiff, and was unable to do simple everyday things. That's when I started turning weddings down. I didn't know what was wrong with me and I didn't know if this would happen on the morning of someone's wedding.

Personal Reason #2: I had a baby at the end of 2008, so 2009 was our first year as a family of 4. I wanted to pull back a little from photography and do a bit less so that I could free up the time that I spent processing images, and use it for playing with my girls. The issue with my hands sort of forced me to stick with this.

Since the summer, I have seen several doctors including a Chiropractor and a Rheumatologist. I have had more tests done than I can count, and spent months believing that I was an appointment away from being diagnosed with Lupus. It's been a challenging time!

I am happy to report that I do not have Lupus, I do not have Arthritis, nor anything else with a name that we know of, thus far. It's a relief, but it's frustrating because I don't know what's going on with my joints.

The other good news is that I have found ways to relieve a lot of the pain and stiffness that I had been experiencing and while I am not back to normal or perfect health, I am doing way better.

So, while Personal Reason #1 is fading, Personal Reason #2 remains. So, I've been thinking about 2010, and for now, I'm thinking that a good plan is to do roughly one session per month. I may squeeze an extra in during nicer weather- we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that's what's been going on with me, and that's why you haven't seen too many posts in the last few months!

Stay tuned though, because my first session of 2010 took place this morning, and I'll have images of someone cute and little to share with you soon!

Ava's Tea Party

For a while now, I've been following Sheye Rosemeyer's Blog . I am drawn to not only her fabulous photography, but her truthful and wonderfully written posts about her family, her friends, and her experiences.

If you have never heard of Sheye or visited her blog, you should check it out! When I first visited her blog, I clicked on a link called Ava and read about Sheye's Super Princess. I was touched and deeply affected by her story and many entries that I read in the archives of Sheye's blog.

That day I did a lot of thinking, some praying, and some reevaluating of my life. That day I changed my desktop photo to one of pink balloons, to remind me of the priority in my days- my own little princesses.

Today Sheye's blog is about celebrating Ava's birthday, and everyone is invited:

I intend to take time on Saturday to have a pink milk tea party with my girls. For Ava, for my girls, and for the reminder that I continually need, to treasure each moment, to live in the moment, and to make the moments beautiful.

Because I don't have photos to share from Ava's day, here's one from another tea party on Talia's birthday:

Talia's 3rd Birthday Party

I'm finding lately that I really enjoy running around at events, capturing the meaningful moments and the special details.

Back in January, my daughter Talia turned 3. I planned a "Fairy Princess Tea Party" for her and a couple of her little friends, and took pictures of it all.

If you're on my personal facebook, then you may have seen these back then, but I thought they might be worth sharing on here as well. They're another example of a type of event that could be covered with photography.

Talia's Fairy Princess Tea Party
January, 2009

Talia and a doll, before the 'real' guests arrived.


At the end of a treasure hunt around the house, they found their treasure (chocolate coins, bracelets, and crowns) in the chest, along with their own tutus.


I made the tutus & bracelets! I felt so "Martha"! ;)


Each guest had a little bag of "pixie dust" to sprinkle on her cupcake


This one was taken by my husband- one of the rare pictures featuring me :)


Frosting was by far the most popular part of the cupcakes ;)

I have to give credit to No Fuss Fabulous for some of these party ideas- check out their website for more fun ideas! :)

Flowers

Every once in a while I like to get out and try my hand at nature photography.

My favourite will probably always be photographing people, but I do love nature, and I've found that it's relaxing to me to get out and photograph it.

Here are a couple of shots from our place recently.

This one is from our backyard after we got back from vacation (it's really just a weed that grew with our grass after a couple of weeks without being cut, but I think it's pretty :)



And this is a flower from our front garden. It's a nice shot because you can't see all of the weeds around the flower ;) haha

Butterfly Conservatory

Amanda posted an entry not too long ago about her daughter's trip to Wings of Paradise. This reminded me that I have a bunch of photos from our own trip there this past winter, with a bunch of cousins, aunts, & uncles, in celebration of Ken's Grandma's birthday.

I thought they might be fun to share here. They were some of the first photos I took with my new Canon EOS 5D camera! :)

Butterflies coming out of cuccoons!

A man passing a butterfly to Talia:

The next two are from the Bug Exhibit:

You'll notice I stayed right behind the camera, where I belong!

Relay For Life 2009

In January of 2005, my little sister Amber (then 18 years old) was diagnosed with Cancer. 6 months later, she completed Chemotherapy. A few months after that it was confirmed that she wasn't going to have further treatment. It was quite a ride for her, and for those closest to her. I'm so grateful that she was able to get through this experience and come out on top!



Last night, I was able to attend the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life in Brant that took place at the track at the Burford Fairgrounds.

It was pretty cool to find out when we got there that Amber had been asked to carry the flag for the Survivor's Victory Lap!



There were teams that ran or walked the relay overnight together (the relay is 12 hours long- from 7pm, to 7am).

This is Amber with her team, "A Step In the Right Direction":



I didn't catch all of the team's names, but there were certain teams you couldn't miss- like "Alice's Aliens" and "Candace's Angels" :)
(I have to add that I just found an article about Alice Wood who, at 96 years old, is the disease's oldest survivor!)



Here are just a few of the teams:



It was touching to see the different groups and to know that so many of them (and so many of the people there to support them in the relay) had personal reasons for being there, and were there to support a special person in their life who is facing or has faced a battle with Cancer.



The place was packed with "survivors" in yellow tshirts with blue ribbons that showed how long they'd been surviving and the track was lined with luminaries representing those who had fought the fight against cancer.

Here we are: (My mom, niece, sister & I, with Amber)



My heart goes out to those who have faced or are facing the fight against Cancer and I am so appreciative of those who supported the Relay for Life this year!

Happy Mother's Day!

Before I share my exciting news, let me share a photo of my two favourite girls & the reasons why I love being a mother:



I am really really excited today because today I found out that I won a Mother's Day Contest!

Amanda of Living Proof Photography hosted the contest, and when I read about it, my heart was thumping at the thought of winning a photo session.

I have this problem I've decided to call WSOC... Wrong Side of the Camera. It is that even though I can take photos of my family, I will always be on the wrong side of the camera, so I can never take photos of our whole family, together... SAD!

So, today when I found out that I won Amanda's contest, I had to do a little happy dance with my daughter- hurray! I get family photos with me in them!! What a wonderful surprise for Mother's Day!

Since I'm on the topic of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share a little part of my entry with you:

I started to think about motherhood and how it often seems like a job without recognition. I sometimes miss the report cards of school and the recognition that came with a job. I’m a stay-at-home-mom, doing everything I can to stay home and be with my children as long as I can afford to. I don’t receive much recognition from those in the world around me, but I choose to be with my daughters if at all possible because I feel I should (and of course because I love them like crazy!!)
So as I was pondering this lack of recognition, I wrote a little poem and I realized that I have been getting recognition, just not from where it used to come:

In the time I’ve been a mother…

I’ve never made the news
Unless you count the reports my daughter gives my husband of the fun things she did with Mommy while he was at school

I’ve never received an award for my efforts
Unless you count the smile on the lit-up faces of my daughters when I show them how much I love them

I don’t get to go out to eat just for fun very often anymore
Unless you count the “pink milk” & cookies tea parties with my three year old

I don’t get to sing in groups for fun very often anymore
Unless you count the songs sung before naptime, bedtime, and just for fun

I have noticed a decline in my vocabulary
Unless you count “babytalk” (in which I am now fluent!)

I don’t have to write exams or pop quizzes anymore
Unless you count the many spontaneous questions of an inquisitive 3-year-old

I can’t perform a beautiful dance with applause from a crowd
Unless you count the undivided attention and smiles of my 5-month-old when I bust a move for her while pulling faces and making weird noises

I don’t get to the gym to lift weights and I don’t get workout time
Unless you count carrying around a very scrumptious, 17 lb 5-month-old

I don’t get to attend special performances
Unless you count my little girl in her tutu or fairy costume with ballet shoes, prancing around the living room to a CD of nutcracker music

My girls are too young to explain why I’m a good Mommy
Unless you count the little hints of explanation in the everyday moments

And those are the things that count the most

------------------------------------

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there, may you have a wonderful day tomorrow!

De Jong's Furniture Retirement Sale

My dad and his brothers are retiring. My grandfather started the business when they came to Canada from Holland when my dad & his twin brother were 3 years old. The store has been a big part of my life and the lives of all of my family members, so it's a pretty huge event for us all.

I was in town for the start of an early opening to their retirement sale where I got a chance to take a few photos. Here are just a few of them:



This was taken the day before the sale:


People waiting in line for the doors to open:


There's still equipment in the back room from when they used to build their own furniture:


A shot of my uncle in the office, as I'll remember him there. (I worked at the store when I was younger- so many memories in this photo!)

First People!

The first time I felt inclined to snap a picture of my daughter's artwork on her 'magna doodle' was two weeks ago when she drew a pretty good "happy" face. She's been drawing happy faces for a long time, but this one struck me as an especially well constructed one ;)



Then a few days ago, she presented me with a drawing that floored me. I was convinced that Ken must have taught her to draw people sometime when I wasn't around. He later confirmed that he had not.

So, I'm pretty proud of my little 3-year-old for figuring out how to draw people without help! They even have hair & "shoes"!

Girly Shoes

Yesterday I dressed Katrina in a little outfit (this usually only happens when I put her in a little dress for church on Sundays- I prefer to dress her in a snuggly sleeper most of the time). I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to squeeze her little baby feet into some little baby sneakers.

The shoes lasted long enough for some pictures & then she kicked them off & I put them on the stairs to be taken up to her room later. A little later I noticed Talia's shoes nearby & thought, huh, how cute, all three of us have pink & white shoes... photo op!



Apparently I'm on a pink kick (oh, that's punny) lately- with the shoes & the laundry, but that's the reality of the life of a mom of girls.

...who am I kidding? I'm wearing bright pink pajama bottoms right now and that has nothing to do with being a mom ;)

Here's one of the photos from her cute little outfit (I know a certain aunt who wouldn't let me get away with just posting the photo of the shoes ;)

The Pink Load

In my home there are white loads, there are dark loads, and there are pink loads.
Are there others out there like me?



I have two daughters and while I have nothing against dressing a little girl in anything other than pink, my babies' closets have been graced with an overwhelming majority of pink clothes and blankets from showers and baby gifts.

...and let's face it, a baby girl in pink is helpful when it comes to meeting people who don't know you have a girl- sometimes people can use all the help they can get in determining whether to refer to your child as 'he' or 'she'.

Now that I've got a new (female) baby in the house again, the pink load has made its comeback. I decided to document it since there will come a day that I will miss it.

These are the days to treasure- I sure love my sweet, pink, little girls :)