live and learn

remember deep thoughts...

with jack handey? sometimes when i'm sharing something that's near and dear to my heart, i think, "i hope i don't sound ridiculous, like jack handey". ha! there is actually an official jack handey website. today's thought is this: "if you wear a toupee, why not let a friend try it out? we won't hurt it." cracks me up. hope i don't sound like that when i'm sharing my *deep thoughts*!

my sweet friend gigi gave me a beautiful book full of quotes of one of my favorite heroines, mother teresa. she got it. she lived it. SHE is inspiring. love her whole philosophy. here are a few of my favorites-

"love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put into what we do."

"joy is love - a joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love, for she gives most who gives with joy."

"do not allow yourself to be disheartened by any failure as long as you have done your best."

and when i read this next one, i started to weep, because it is SO true-

"in these times of development, everybody is in a hurry and everybody's in a rush, and on the way there are people falling down, who are not able to compete. these are the ones we want to love and serve and take care of".

isn't that profound? tom and i are both pretty sensitive to "the underdog"...but maybe not sensitive enough.

and this:

"we cannot condemn, judge or speak words that might hurt...by what right, then, can we condemn anyone?"

i want these words to be words i live by.

"let us be very sincere in our dealings with each other and have the courage to accept each other as we are".

i always try to make resolutions that involve every area of my life...not just the typical *i want to lose 10 pounds*. i'm sharing them here, partly to keep myself accountable and also to hopefully encourage-

1. to keep things in perspective. God first, then family and friends and then me.

2. to continue to start my day with prayer and Bible reading. (i use the one year Bible for my daily readings and am able to read through the entire Bible every year.) starting my day this way, really makes a difference in how i live.

3. to eat more raw, unrefined foods and get healthy.

4. to be consistent in my workouts.

5. to write down all the books i read, as i read them. (i used to do this and it was sort of rewarding to look at the list, plus it kept me from starting to reread books i'd already read)

6. do a gratitude journal. i did this years ago and it really made a difference in my ability to appreciate EVERYTHING.

7. do something creative every day. (otherwise i get crabby :)

8. to work on the presentation of my work. (i just need to know what this means)

9. to strive to keep my environment full of the things i love. to get rid of anything else. (i know this sounds a little extreme, but i know it works for me)

10. to be aware of the importance of relationships/people over the *to do list*. (my constant struggle)

okay, that's mine...i'd love to hear yours if you want to take the time to leave a comment.

i had the opportunity to photograph a very cool family on saturday. photographing large groups is always a challenge for me. it's not my strength...but i appreciate the chance to try and improve at it. it's easier for me to connect with individuals and smaller groups. that being said, this group was extraordinary. i immediately sensed their closeness, and hopefully captured their connection with each other...which was a beautiful thing.

it's all because of these two...who are both awesome people! so i guess it would make sense that they would have awesome kids and grandkids!

i adore how he has his thumb inside mom's shirt and how he's hanging on. (sometimes it's the smallest details)

i have never taken this many shots of any other family. after we finished doing the large group and the twin sisters and their families and mom and dad, their son and his wife and new babe stayed for baby girl's first real photoshoot. i loved their attitude and could feel how right they are together. grandma stayed and that was cool too...she totally got what i was seeing. oh and if you're sensitive about seeing skin....don't look :)

oh and i will never forget little miss lily's birthday because she was born on my bday! as we were doing the shoot, we realized that we had mutual friends in george and tammy (george is one of tom's sturgis' buddies), so i KNEW i was shooting good people. love when this happens. i hope our family has what their family has...i think maybe we do :)

so as i post this last blog post of the year, i want to say thanks to each of you. thanks for giving me encouragement and inspiration. your comments here have been some of the bright spots in my day, and i appreciate the time you took to read and comment. i hope that you have a safe and happy new year and that 2008 is a GREAT year for you! God bless!

this little man...

made my day yesterday! he is so much fun to photograph. so happy and easy going.

i just wanted to pick him up and squeeze him!

whenever i think of cooper, i think of this image, from his very first shoot. i think he was 7 days old-

those dimples! now, he is 8 months old and just as charming as he was at 7 days old!

 

cooper's grandma is here for a visit, and i so understand the way she interacts with him.

oh how i love my job!

i spent 2 hours online with dell support last night, installing updates and fine-tuning  things. i  got things transferred from my old to new computer, but the images on my new monitor were totally distorted....and i was literally sick to my stomach. the tech did a fabulous job of getting things straightened out and i think the images are looking crisp and sharp now. i think overall the transition has gone fairly well and i think i am going to be very happy with my new setup.

i'm hoping to have time in the next few days to get up to my studio and do some creating. i miss it. so hopefully i'll have some creative projects that i can actually share soon.

i am ready to take Christmas down now too. i love the holidays and i'm always anxious to decorate, but once we've celebrated, i'm ready for it to come down. the trees are already down, but there is so much more to do. january is my month to organize, rearrange furniture, and just spruce things around the house up.

i hope your weekend is going well-God bless!

wow.

the last thing i want to do is complain about getting a new computer. that being said, transferring all the data i've compiled in the past 4 years is a daunting task. plus i am such a creature of habit, that all of the new information in my normally familiar cyber world is making me a little crazy! i know that once i get the majority of *my stuff* transferred, i'll feel more secure and things will get back to normal. right now my computer area is a complete disaster, i have to step over cords and towers to even get to my chair.

it's probably a good thing that tom and i took a calming nature drive before i started in on hooking up the new puter. we both really love nature and wildlife. when we lived at the lake, tom would come home from work, walk in the house and say, "do you have a minute?" and we would hop back in his truck and he would take me and show me something that he noticed on the way home...a flock of pelicans, a den of baby foxes, a beautiful sunset, wild turkeys feeding on the island...or whatever other awesome thing he may have noticed on the way home. now, we have to make a point to leave our house and take a drive. i like to take my camera. it's relaxing to me-and tom is patient and will stop anytime, so i can shoot whatever we see. last night we commented again, for about the millionth time, how glad we are, that we live minutes from the country. here's what we saw last night. it was absolutely breathtaking!

i didn't use a huge zoom for this shot either. we were so close to this gorgeous doe and her spring fawn. amazing! the frost covered branches and untouched snow are so pretty.

i like to practice on inanimate objects and animals when i'm trying to improve on, or try something new with photography too, because there are no expectations, as there are with human subjects :) try it, you'll be amazed at how much you can learn.

even though my life feels as if it's dependent on this crazy little puter, i know i need to accomplish other things today too, so thanks for bearing with me as i make this transition...my email responses may be a little slower than normal, and my blog posts a little shorter, until i figure this out. it's sure to be a huge time-eater. have a great day and God bless!

back to normal...

well, sort of. tom is back at work and i have a shoot this afternoon. i was sort of concerned that after the holiday rush, the photography business would slow down too much...and i'm happy to say that it doesn't seem to be. i have 3 shoots this week and a few shoots scheduled for january. i guess people are still having babies, having milestone birthdays and just deciding they need photos.

yesterday, tom and i went out and hit a few of the after Christmas sales. we did something we said we would never do. we bought an artificial tree. i think we'll probably always get a real tree for our family room, just because they smell SO good! i actually got a lot of great stuff for next year, all at 40-50% off. i got a few wendy addison treasures and lots of glittery goodness! so fun to get things you love at bargain prices! brooke has been wanting a pink tinsel tree, so i picked up the last one at target, i also picked up a silver one for us : )

there are so many things i've been wanting to share, and i sit down to blog, and forget. one thing is the new creativity/autumn leaves website. here's a direct link to my stuff. i love seeing *my people* on my page. i have to say, that i am honored and humbled to be a part of such a talented group of designers...and they're not only talented, they are good people.

another thing that i've been meaning to share is my talented young cousin, emma and her new business. i bought up a bunch of her gorgeous photo notecards and can't wait to use them! if you are interested in getting some for yourself, and in encouraging and supporting a young entrepreneur email her at ellabeads@yahoo.com . you will make her day!

so cute, aren't they?

i finished editing the few Christmas photos i took. here are a few favorites-

this was the one moment she sat still. she is a busy girl!

last saturday, glue/lisa came over and i snapped a few photos of sam. i enjoyed sitting and chatting everything from family to scrapbooking with her. it's good to talk *shop* with someone who is as into it as i am. sam was a perfect angel the entire time we chatted!

what a sweet little face!

i'm updating all of the galleries today with recent shoots, so feel free to check them out.

today is ryan and jennifer's 10th anniversary-happy anniversary! i am NOT good about remembering anniversaries. last year, i completely forgot all 3 of our married kids anniversaries on the day. we remembered way after the fact. i do fairly well on remembering birthdays...if that helps !

can you believe there are only 3 days left in 2007? crazy how fast time goes!

have a great day! God bless!

sometimes...

Christmas doesn't turn out the way you anticipated. some things are just out of anyone's control...and that is how our holiday turned out. Christmas eve was nice and we did most of our traditions the way we normally do, but at 2 AM on Christmas morning, tom woke up with a terrible case of the flu. at first he thought he just ate too much the night before, but as the morning went on, it became apparent that it wasn't going away any time soon. i felt SO bad for him. we both enjoy Christmas so much and to wake up sick on that one day, is just so disappointing. he ended up staying in bed all day. i took gifts over to brooke and josh's, and jared was there too. it was fun to see the kids so excited, but it just wasn't the same without my tommy by my side. i didn't stay long, because i felt bad for him being home alone on Christmas day. we missed celebrating with ryan, jennifer and the kids, and kirby, amber and addison. we are still sad about that. i did get to talk to ryan, alexis and jake. they were all so sweet and feeling bad for poppy tom. i just talked to kirby and he was feeling bad too. sorry that my post today is so blah and wah, wah. i was hoping to share all the magic of our holiday and instead it's gloom and doom. thankfully, tom woke up today feeling much better, just sore and weak. we're going to do our little Christmas exchange with each other and then maybe head in to drop gifts off. of course, one of the things that i love is taking photos of our family opening gifts and sharing the day and that just didn't really happen this year. oh well, next year, we will really appreciate the day more than ever. i became super philosophical yesterday, spending the day pretty much alone. i was thinking about how much tom means to me, and regardless of how independent i am(and i really am pretty independent!), my life is pretty empty without tom. he is such a bright spot in my daily life-always talkative and funny. i guess that is one good thing about yesterday. it made me really appreciate tom. i talked to brooke last night and she agreed that it just felt empty without tom.

one bright spot was seeing the excitement and appreciation of the little ones. although i didn't get to see alexis, jake, molly and addison, when i talked to jake and alexis, they were sweet and appreciative and concerned about poppy tom. it was a star wars Christmas for payton and grif. they had SO much fun! and it was a baby Christmas for harper. she got so many babies!

last night, i went to my parents and we ate the leftovers from Christmas eve. tom and i had given them their first digital camera, so i installed the software on their computer and we played around with it for a while. it was good to spend time with them. i think i needed it.

thanks for all the Christmas wishes you left in the past few days. it really cheered me up : ) i guess a person never knows how much power our words will have. the power to cheer and uplift another person's spirits. that is what i long to do. so i hope my honesty today hasn't been depressing. i know that even though it was a disappointing holiday for us, it made me think and appreciate how good i have it. God bless your day!

merry, merry Christmas to you!!!

sincerely! i hope it's your best Christmas ever! we're just getting ready to head out and run a few last minute errands. the Jesus birthday cakes are frosted and ready to go, the presents(for the most part) are wrapped and we're just anticipating time with loved ones. last night, payton and leah had their church/school Christmas program. we were so proud of how well they knew their parts and the songs. very tough to get good photos.

this is what griffin did during the service.

and this is what harper did :)

i really don't like to take photos without natural light, but obviously there are times when you just have to!

after the service we had dinner at brooke and josh's and harper only wanted uncle jared-

so sweet! after dinner, i got harper ready for bed(have i mentioned i love giving baths and/or getting all of our grandkids ready for bed? at the lake, i always gave baths before they left to go home...now i don't do that as often) and then we watched Christmas vacation. LOVE that show! brooke, josh and jared can quote almost every line!

i truly do want to wish each of you a VERY merry Christmas! God bless you and your family!

a little sneaky peek...

for the sheridans. the weather was actually decent enough to do some outside shots yesterday, which always makes me happy during nebraska winters! today is a different story...one of my shoots for today has been postponed due to snow that is heading this way.

i say it all the time and i mean it-i get to work with the BEST people with this job! this whole family, baby included, were so natural with the camera. and THAT makes it fun for me. i love animated, expressive subjects, and all 6 of them were that. lately i have seriously become addicted to storyboards and although normally i wouldn't include such similiar shots on a board, i thought this sequence worked well. there were birds flying overhead and the baby was so intrigued by them...i love the shot of dad making the same face that baby is making. adorable family right?

and this is one of my favorite group shots ever-

i'll be paying closer attention to commercials from now on too...now that i *know* someone who is in them. he made my day yesterday too, when we finished the shoot, he told me that my style would fit right in, in LA. thanks sheridans!

yesterday, i knew my computer was going to be delivered, so i made arrangements to be home most of the day. i even had my sweet mama come over and sit here while i went to lunch with miley and kelly. (kelly gave me the coolest Christmas gift, which i'll photograph later!) by 3 o clock, it still hadn't been delivered and so i sort of forgot about it and left to go downtown for photos. i was gone less than an hour and sure enough, that was when the computer was delivered. fortunately he had my nice neighbor sign for it. so i have it! i will probably wait until after Christmas to get it set up. but it's so hard to wait!

enjoy this pre-Christmas weekend! be safe!

it won't be long...

and we'll all be watching our loved ones rip into our carefully wrapped packages and hopefully seeing looks of delight! can you believe it's only a few days away?! i'm excited. i have a few more packages to wrap and the last minute food to make, but generally i'm feeling pretty good about things. yesterday, after i spent the morning posting the photo tips(thanks for all the nice comments about the tips), i spent the next 12 hours making canvases! i made a total of 8. i'll photograph them and show you next week, after they've been given away. two of them are huge! so fun! i was covered with paint at the end of the day. i've been getting my workouts in too, so i was looking pretty hot last night, when i made a late night run to walgreens. i was thinking i wouldn't see anyone and i saw EVERYONE! i even saw a high school teacher i hadn't seen in years! she probably felt sorry for me and thought i was homeless! oh well, i'm glad i can laugh at myself!

this week i've tried to celebrate the season. pam and i went the Christmas concert, i went to griff's program and tonight, tom and i are planning to do the Christmas drive tour of lights. sunday night we have payton and leah's Christmas church program. it's seems funny to me, that payton and leah attend the same school; and that it's the same school brooke, jared and trev attended. i have a feeling i'm going to be a little teary-eyed that night. i took a few photos at g's program wednesday. looking at them, you can tell that he wasn't feeling well. he's doing better now, thankfully.

i may have mentioned before, that he has my heart :)

today, my new computer is scheduled to be delivered! i have to sign for it and i'm so afraid i'm going to be in the shower! but i NEED to get in the shower! it will have to be a quick one. i am so jazzed to get it, but dreading the days i will be without a puter, while all of my stuff is transferred from this one to the new one. yikes. i'll probably be amazed at what i can get done. i may actually get organized!

i have a serious vintage ornament addiction. i've collected them for many years...so i have tons!

i updated the Christmas album gallery to the left, if you want to check it out.

i have a question, that i'm hoping someone has an answer for. i want to give my delivery guys(ups and fed ex) a Christmas gift/money. how do i gracefully do that? most of the time, they just ring the bell and leave, so i don't even see them? do i leave an envelope that says ups or fed ex on it? they have made so many deliveries here this year, i can't ignore them! help me out friends!

i know many of you are leaving today or this weekend for your Christmas destinations, so safe travels to you, and for those staying home and for those traveling, i pray that God blesses your holiday celebrations!

a little later than usual...

but with a good excuse! i spent my morning getting my photography tutorial at scrapinstyletv posted. it took all morning! it's something i've wanted to do for a while. i get lots of emails asking for photo help, so it will be nice to have information compiled, that i can share now. i'm really hoping it's helpful...in a simple sort of way. i feel as if i've shared something so near and dear to me, it's almost like i've shared a part of my soul! i know that sounds a little dramatic, but it's true! it's been such a passion and has consumed me for the last two years. i don't think i will ever feel as if i've made it, or know enough, but at least i can see growth and improvement. so please feel free to check it out! EDITED: you need to check this out while you're at scrapinstyle-the boutique - everything is 50% off!!! until Christmas Eve! you'll just need to use this coupon code - crazyjj . have fun! if you choose fedex express shipping you can get it for Christmas! go shopping!

today, i'm home all day. i have several people coming by to pick up prints and canvases, but other than that, i will be working on Christmas projects, laundry and tidying up around here.

i've shared before how much i adore receiving Christmas cards...particularly photo cards : ) and i don't think anything could make me smile more than receiving cards with photos i've taken! i love that our box of cards is overflowing!

and since all of our cards have been sent (except a few that need addresses), here are our two versions from this year-

i'm looking forward to a couple of shoots this weekend...one with a large family, which includes an actor from CA and one with a scrapbooking superstar and her sweetie! can't wait!

have a good one and God bless!

i need more of these...

days like yesterday. pam and i went to joslyn, then second chance and then had coffee and a muffin and sat and talked as if we didn't have a million other things to do. and it was lovely. we sat and watched the choir perform and then we just went through the special exhibits. robert bateman, a children's illustrator's dog illustrations exhibit and a ranch photography exhibit. i am now a robert bateman fan. wow. the dude knows how to paint and uses light and shadow so well. very inspiring. i had never seen the chihuly blown glass piece at the museum either. i call it a piece, but it's HUGE!

the choir performed right below this shot...i think you can see the tops of a few heads.

right outside the museum gift shop.

i had the tripod set up and ready to go when pam got here. i can't wait to go back!

i finally got a shot of our family room tree. i see it has a large bare spot. but overall, i like the homespun feel.

i've just gotten home from griffin's little Christmas program and now i'm off to the post office(with the last of our Christmas cards to send out...as well as a stack of other stuff), then to omaha to pick up a few last minute gifts. have a great day and God bless!