live and learn

happy ween!

 

this is one i did for the fiskars website-using the fun seasonal squeeze punches.

i can't even think of halloween, without thinking of the adorable ella, saying *happy ween* last year! so-happy ween e'rybody! after my sleepless night last night, i'm moving VERY slow this morning. i didn't even give a thought to the 2 huge glasses of diet dr pepper i drank last night. i normally don't drink ddp, but it sounded good and 2-liter bottles were on sale at walmart, so i picked up a couple. i tried to go to bed at midnight(which is early for me), but when i saw 1:18, and i was wide awake, i got up and worked until 4. i got a lot done in those quiet hours, but i don't really like keeping hours like that. so no more ddp, after 4.

i am so exhilarated about so many things right now! mainly the approaching holidays! i can't remember as an adult ever being this anxious, this early. i have already ordered lots of gifts online. this year, i'll be photographing a special wedding on thanksgiving weekend, so our usual after thanksgiving shopping is out this year. i have to say, it's been fun planning ahead and shopping online. i am taking a bit of a different approach this year too. i'm trying if at all possible, to make or buy handmade or at least use my photos to create gifts. so far, i'm feeling good about it. tom is the exception. if it doesn't say *dillon bros harley davidson* somewhere on the box, he is a little disinterested. he's as obsessed with his harley stuff as i am with my photography/crafty stuff. we SO get each other in that respect! 

so i decided that for my 6 blogs that inspire me, i was going to choose blogs/sites that i have or will be buying gifts from. artisians who do beautiful work, that i want to give my loved ones.

my friend denise. she is a true artist. i recently bought one of her 2009 desk calendars. and i love it! it sits right where i can see it as i work. check her stuff out. great gifts at great prices.

jewelry:

stacy. check her stuff out, she's as nice as she is talented!

jamie. i met jamie at an artistic affaire deux, and her work is beautiful!

beth. i am so drawn to her work. love it. everything she touches.

for the record etsy shop i don't know how i found this charming shop, but i love the homespun, whimsical look of her designs!

scrabble tile pendants. another etsy shop that i know a lot of you already shop at...but i thought it was worth mentioning in case anyone has missed it! i aim to enable! oh and she has free shipping today! happy ween!

peacoats and party hats my friend candice has the BEST stuff! impeccable taste! go shop!

cari. her last name is so appropriate! cari kraft! she is a krafty one. i love, love, love her stuff. always have. i'll continue to shop her etsy shop, as long as she keeps making stuff!

so there you have my gift idea shops. i know they're all a little girly. but we all have girls to buy for, right?! go to the harley/john deere/hot rod shops for gift cards and you're good to go.

here are some updates on upcoming classes that i mentioned earlier in the week:

photography class: enough interest that i've set a date. saturday november 22 from 10 am-3 pm. it's a beginning class. all you need is your camera, plenty of battery power, compact flash space and casual clothes for shooting inside and out. a hands-on class with lots of basic info (that i wish someone would have been able to concisely give to me, back when i so desparately wanted to learn) and a resource list with all of my favorite photography sources. we'll have a tasty little lunch and a lot of fun along the way! email me at bnovacek@aol.com for more info and to sign up.

advent calendar class: this one will be at my house, much like the fun canvas class this past spring. tuesday november 18, 10 am-2pm. this is a vintage-y, super fun hands-on calendar that you will be proud to have in your home! it will be featured on fiskars in november...here's a peek:

this class will be limited to 10. i may do a few extra kits if anyone who isn't local, would like one. email me :)

canvas class. this one is a repeat of last spring's class. i don't have a date set yet, but if you're interested let me know. space will be very limited, because i already have a group of ladies who have asked for this one. i'm thinking we'll do it in early december, so my house will be all decorated and hopefully festive!

i have some senior photos of a super cute, fun, free-spirited young lady that i want to share:

if the sun hadn't set, i would have just kept snapping. she has such a great look!

on a more serious note:

our daughter-in-law amber's mom, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. so i'm just asking you to please pray for lorraine, and for amber and her family. cancer is so scary. she met with her oncologist yesterday, and it sounds like they got the best news they could have gotten, given the situation. thanks for your prayers. we believe in the power of prayer.

God bless your day!

more on people pleasing...

it's my curse. i think for me, it's not so much an insecurity, needing approval thing, it's more of a  *if i can do (whatever the task is)*, and it makes that person happy....and it's not that much of a sacrifice, why not? does that make sense? i like to see people happy. i think it's sort of a motherly thing too. i just got in the habit of making things as easy as possible for everyone around me, and that sort of carried over. however, my sister sent a funny reply to an email i sent her yesterday, that hit the nail on the head! she nailed me on being a people pleaser, and was giving me a pretty hard time...and it was deserved. my people pleasing is apparently affecting her and a few other family members. oops. i guess i need to take another look at some of my choices. i've gotten so much tougher and stronger in this area, that my focus had sort of slacked on working on it. back to the drawing board :)

i have several heavy things on my mind these days. bear with me, as i journal here. ha! of course the election is on my mind. one thing that is driving me crazy... the negative tv ads. if you live near me, are you about to throw the tv out the window, when lee terry and jim esch's ads come on? it is UGLY. tom sent me a forward yesterday....and since he knows i really don't like forwards, i knew he must have thought it was pretty good to forward it to me. it was a statement written by david letterman, and he stated almost exactly what i've been thinking lately. unfortunately, i can't find the email now, but he wrote about how we (Americans) are complaining and complaining about our situation, but are we really suffering? do we really have it that bad? it ended with something to the effect, that we are spoiled rotten brats. i concur. i know that we don't live in a perfect world, BUT it sickens me when i hear celebrities and other upper/upper middle class people complaining about how awful things are. there are definitely people in the US who have reason to be upset about their situations, but to hear people complain, who aren't suffering...and yet aren't doing anything sacrificial to lessen the pain of others, is sickening. cher was on one of the morning news shows this morning and she said she had never seen America in such bad shape. what? is she suffering? has she had to give anything up? i have nothing against cher, in fact when i was a kid, i watched her and sonny faithfully. and it's not just cher, i feel like i'm hearing it over and over with the celebrites and it rubs me SO wrong! come on. of course the recent stock market fall, has effected us, and lots of others. it could make a difference in when tom is able to retire, so yes, we feel it, but in the course of history, there are always rises and falls in the economy. i love my country, and i'm unapologetic. i love what we are founded on. in God we trust. i may get discouraged about the economy, but i will be very careful about where i place blame. whew. i don't think this was the most people pleasing post : ) but i feel better.

sweet innocent little daelynn. i think his parents are among the best i've seen. they adore their baby boy. that gives me hope! when i hear so much negativity all around, i spend an afternoon with wonderful families like this one and i feel encouraged.

happy 1 year dae!

the sweet and talented kara ward sent me this:

thanks kara! every time i visit her blog, i leave it up, so i can listen to her awesome playlist! love it. her blog just makes me happy. so uplifting and postive and full of beautiful images.

6 things that make me happy:

1. working at home: i try very hard not to take this for granted....even when i'm working lots of hours!

2. time in my studio, creating.

3. time with tom, family and friends. just being together.

4. fresh fall air. the smell of fallen leaves.

5. anticipation of the holidays. decorating the house, making and gathering gifts, holiday parties, Christmas music playing, baking cookies and making fudge.

6. photography. every aspect. taking the pics, looking through them and editing, creating cards, press print books, and other custom layouts. and then hearing when it makes people happy. on a side note, one of the things i'm very aware of right now, is how much i love to find the right angle and the best look when i'm photographing people. especially women. we are so hard on ourselves. i don't think i enjoy anything more, than taking photos of women and helping them to see their own beauty. i know it's sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. one of my very favorite things about photography right now.

so, i'm supposed to choose 6 blogs that make me happy. since this post has gotten so long, i'm going toput that off until tomorrow. i have some gift giving ideas and might incorporate that.

have a great day. God bless you!

cute little people...

i meet lots of them. full of energy, outgoing, shy, smart, silly, serious, and certainly CUTE. i love that their personalities come out in photos. i'm all about that. i want emotion....i'm not interested in perfect smiles or posture...i'm interested in capturing what's real. here are some  faves from two recent shoots of little people:

such sweetness!

tom just pulled in to pick me up for lunch....quizno's caesar salad baby!!!

have a great day and God bless!

crisp, fall day...

the sun is shining... it's actually deceiving, because it looks so beautiful out, but it's literally freezing! i'm all cozy and warm, because of my smart husband. he went out and bought the edenpure infrared space heater, and for our situation, it's working wonderfully! i'm toasty in the coldest room in our house. we've tried about 4 different space heaters, and this one is definitely the best. we haven't turned on our furnace yet, and it's keeping the temp at at least 70 degrees. nice.

crazy busy birthday month! today is my cousin erika joanna's birthday. happy birthday er! i hope you have the bestest day ever....wish i was there to celebrate with you!

right now, my days are filled with shoots and editing....BUT, i'm making a conscious effort to spend quality time with family and friends. by quality time, i'm talking about not looking at my watch and arriving late and leaving early. trying to be relaxed when i'm with my peeps....like i have all the time in the world. and it's working! i'm still getting my work done and it's all good. i think the thing that's changed, is that i'm not spending my time on the computer looking around at a million sites a day. that's what had to give. i still check my friend's blogs...but rather than twice a day, i might check a handful in the morning, and some i'll just check once a week. it's really freed up time. i spend time on the computer editing, but not so much surfing. so today, i'm going to lunch with friends and i'm going to savor the time...and not feel rushed. i have 2 shoots this afternoon, so i'm going to bust it this morning to get as much work done as i can before lunch! what a deal! a day in the life of the all-American woman, right? we all juggle, that's for sure. i'm just hoping i'm juggling the right things!

tom and i met s, b, e & h last week, and not only did a fun shoot, but got to have dinner together. what a sweet, sweet family. oh and the kiddos adore my husband. i mean ADORE! and he eats it up.

because becca is my dear friend, i feel comfortable experimenting with crazy light. the sun was setting behind them, so i shot away. i love the effect!

 

i love the way that e is looking at s.

and the car is amazing. it was lovingly re-done (not sure that's the correct gearhead term) by b's brother...and family. it was her beloved deceased bro's car. he is one of the reasons b is SO driven to work for jdrf. i admire this family more than i can say.

the car was quite the showstopper. we had lots of thumbs up and people actually stopping and just standing around staring! tom included.

thanks for the comments and emails about upcoming classes. i'll keep you all posted!

have a great day and God bless!

fall decor...

i don't have all that much for fall, but i'm trying to add things that i like every new season. i think when you move into a different house, it takes a while to figure things out. i like to live in a house, and slowly build the decor. in this house, there were certain things i knew that i wanted to do....photos staggered up the stairs in bold black and white, chocolate brown walls in the family room with a more masculine feel than the living room, and creamy white paint on the built-ins. the rest, has happened slowly and thoughtfully, and there is still much to do. i'm definitely enjoying the process, and not forcing it. i'm content with living with it as is...because i have this vision and know it will happen eventually.

i love the way the living room is flooded with sunshine in the fall and winter. i had to pull the blinds down to do these photos-

i filled all the jars with fallish stuff. i like to find things that are inexpensive, but have an impact on the overall feel of the room. i used paper shreddings from my santa monica chair packing in one of the jars. i purchased the beautiful blue rosette from one of my favorite local shops (photos following)

i found the little vintage fallish corsage in a box at a local sale. it makes me so happy! little things do make me happy!

i got the sweet tulle ballerina dress at the santa monica flea. i hung it on the frame nail....and it has stayed there! i'll eventually find the right place for it, but for now, it's sorta funky and cute there. when i was at the flea, i had the pleasure of meeting mary from sweet peas and snapshots, and i was shocked (and thrilled) that she knew me and greeted me with a hug! what a doll-and so inspiring! and the one time i did not have my camera with me. her booth/vintage truck display were darling! so much eye candy, i didn't know where to look first!

i bought the fresh sunflowers last week at whole foods and they are still as pretty as the day i bought them. i have had great luck with my fresh flower purchases from whole foods.

the jack-o-lantern tins were made by griffin :)

so there are a few little fallish touches around here. not much. slowly but surely, i will continue to collect seasonal decor. if i had everything just right, it wouldn't be any fun. i like to have things i'm looking for when i go junkin'!

i haven't shared photos from the bracelet class we took in california at  french general. what an amazing night! did i happen to drop maggie wheeler's name here? she was chandler's girlfriend on friends, and she taught our class! hey, the shop is in hollywood! such a sweet shop too. nestled into a little sidestreet near the hustle bustle, this little rose-covered cottage is so charming and cozy!

that's kaari meng, the talented owner/proprieter of french general.

one of the most brilliant touches of the evening, was the patio. kaari had wine, cheese and bread set up out on the patio, and the little twinkling white lights and foliage, were just perfection. so simple, but so charming.

lovely shop. i so enjoyed taking it all in.

we have a wonderful french shop of our own in omaha. i always walk away feeling inspired. i bought my beautiful rosette here.

le marche' is so well done. melanie and pat obviously have impeccable taste...and talent for putting things together! go check them out!

i took aunt jayne to the knit shop in countryside village too.

even though i don't knit, this shop makes me want to start!

all of these shops are run by strong women. i love that. here's a quote i took from the today show last week, spoken by the woman who was the creator of burt's bees (one of my favorite companies!)

"you have to love what you do...if you do something just for the money, that may be all you get, and that's empty".

how true.

okay, plenty of photos today! i finished some projects over the past couple of weeks, and feel as if i have a little breathing room now! SO of course, right away, i'm creating more to do for myself. i'm excited about the ideas though....so i'm going to push forward.

here's what i'm working on:

a mini-album class: it's based on quotes. it's a very general album, with some of my favorite papers and accents. in my home, much like the canvas class i did in the spring....small setting, with lunch included.

an advent calendar: this one is going to be featured on fiskars, so i can't show an image until after it posts there! but it's adorable(at least i think so) fun combination of vintage-y goodness and yummy colors and details!

another canvas class: brooke and her MOPS friends are wanting this one :) so, i'm going forward with this too!

photography class: this has been a thought for a long time. i have the resource list and my plan, i just need to find a date and do it.

so, if you are interested in any of these possibilities, just email me, and i will keep you posted. i will be working on dates and specifics today, and hope to post more this week, along with some photos of the projects. the advent calendar is a definite go, and it will be done soon!

have a great day, and God bless!

better late...

i'm normally a morning blogger, but i was out the door too early this morning. mom had her gall bladder removed this morning, so i was at the hospital early and then i ran to omaha for a morning photoshoot. all went well with mom, thankfully. her pain tolerance is through the roof. she is home and doing really well so far. thanks for your prayers.

i have so much i want to say, but i'm so busy with editing, that i need to keep this short. i was super excited to get an email from cara, letting me know that our peeks were up on her blog! i am so happy to finally have photos of all of us! we planned for a long time to make it work for everyone...all of us are so busy, it took a major effort to get a date set, so that everyone could be there. and cara was sweet enough to take us all on-no small task! i am usually a very laidback, spontaneous person, so the fact that we planned way ahead, and i even planned the color scheme(which i emailed to each family!)

and we took our couch, the green chair, and even a borrowed orange vintage truck (thanks dr grassmeyer!) to the farm. tom hooked the trailer up to his pickup, then ryan drove that, tom drove the vintage truck....plus, all of us in our vehicles following-quite an entourage! it was a pretty cool scene...almost movie set-ish. i wish i had taken a photo of the overall scene. it was pretty much mass chaos, so that didn't happen. i was so pleased to just have everyone there, and cooperating! i am so, so very happy to have family photos! i think it was good for me to be in front of the camera this time too. i think it gave me a better feel for what my clients might be feeling. cara was so patient with us. i don't think there is anything as challenging as taking a large group photo. thanks cara!

in other news, i had the privilege of taking photos of a young man from the madison wisconsin area last sunday. daenon and his sweet  mama, renae, drove down to omaha on saturday, and spent the night in the old market area, and then tom and i met up with them sunday for daenon's senior photos. i was completely honored that  they drove that far, for his photos. he is such a great guy. i had the best time with both him and renae. quality people. renae, i hope that you and your family are happy with these!

oh and i forgot to mention that he is great-looking AND super sweet!

this one is my favorite....i think.

the time went much too quickly! i loved every minute with these two!

so, the day has flown by, and tom will be off work soon. we plan to have a date night tonight. it's been so busy lately, that we have just had stolen moments together, so our plan is to see a movie tonight. i'm pulling for *secret life of bees* and he's pulling for *appaloosa* ...we shall see who wins! i actually want to see both, so it's fine either way!

God bless you and yours!

sobering....

i know the war is real. but to watch video of a friend's husband exchanging gunfire and being in the middle of it, made it much more real this morning.

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i am not only proud of jimmy, but i'm also proud and humbled by the sacrifice stephanie and her sweet girls are making. such a beautiful, young family, affected in a big way. thanks jimmy, stephanie, harper and sadie. you will all be in my prayers EVERY day. and i am sorry that i haven't been more faithful in praying until now.

i think we all go along with our lives and it's easy to get caught up in the busy-ness. and then it hits me, that there are many people who are going through tough, tough times. war, cancer, sickness, job loss, loneliness, and so many other terrible things. i just have to keep believing that God is in control, and that all He wants, is for us to see Him in the midst of it and trust. to trust that He wants more for us. that He just wants us to recognize our need and turn to Him humbly.

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You! trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock." isaiah 26:3, 4

i can't make sense of anything, without including the Lord in it. knowing that He is in control, and that He is not causing all the horrible things to happen, He is only allowing them, so that we see our need for Him and turn to Him.

i just can't fathom what stephanie must be going through. i just know that without including the Lord in the situation, i would feel hopeless. thanks howell family, and all the other military families...i appreciate you.

i almost feel guilty moving on and sharing images from recent shoots. but i think that images of the faces of young people, gives hope too. these are the faces that jimmy and his company, and many others are risking their lives for.

katie and her mom lori, and i hit the road after shooting a few headshots for the yearbook, and they humored me by just driving and stopping whenever there was a spot that caught my eye. i think we found some great new spots-

isn't she pretty? plus, she was natural with the camera. makes what i do, even better.

i had lots of people asking about our Christmas cards, and where i had them printed. i used my professional lab for the printing, but i don't think that is really the question. i think what people really want to know, is where i got the templates, right? i bought them at design aglow. BUT with that being said, i think the cards are only as good as the photos. not to sound uppity, or photo-snobbish....but i think it's once again a deal where *you get what you pay for*. i think everyone, myself included, wants a quality product or look, but may want to find it at a bargain price. yesterday, i had coffee at my friend chelsea's and i took brooke's Christmas cards, to give them to her. i heard several of the girls saying that they had gone to discount photographers, and had bad experiences. i take it all in. i think when you go to a discount photographer, many times you get lesser quality product. classic, "you get what you pay for". i'm not lacking clients, so i do know that lots of people *get it*. and not that i think i'm *all that*, but i do know that i truly care about what i'm doing, and want to give people a product that is not only quality in appearance, but that also evokes real emotion. that is my mission :)

where has this week gone? we've all lived a lot of life in this week, right? God bless your day today!                                                                              

getting focused...

  on fall and even Christmas. yesterday, our Christmas cards arrived, and i think they are awesome! maybe it's because i adore my family....but i still think even if i was unbiased, they would look good!

it's so dark here today, i'm having a hard time photographing these, but you get the idea. i ordered cards for jared & beth too, but they didn't come with the rest of the order for some reason. it's getting to be the time of year, when the deliveries from the man in the brown truck are so fun! lots of surprises! it's like Christmas already.

the thing that i think is great about the cards, is that when you send them, you're sending a framable photo, that ends up being a gift in itself. and when you think of what a regular 5x7 or 4x5.5 photo costs, it really is a bargain! like my commercial?! i just love them, and want to share.

i did lots of shoots over the weekend, and i'm anxious to share peeks....and i know that the people i photographed are probably anxious to see!

the wachter's. one of my favorite spots to photograph my clients, is the wachter's farm. it is a little piece of heaven on earth. i have never been there and not seen deer, and other wildlife forms. this location is so beautiful, it's brought many *city folk* to tears. untouched nebraska prairie. and the fact that the wachter's own this little piece of heaven and SO willingly share it, is amazing to me. they are good peeps :) i am so fortunate to have connected with them through my cleaning business and now continue to be connected through photography. i went to the farm saturday and did a family shoot. so much fun! i can't say i had ever photographed a group from the scoop of a front end loader before! this shot was taken from the seat of the tractor pulling the hayrack, that transported everyone to the location back in the woods.

more puppies!

khaki is one of my all time favorite dogs. she's a classic. such a sweet personality. i think she is part human.

one is his sister, the second is his girlfriend....just thought i better clarify!

and this is the wachter family. i think they're pretty awesome!

i owe them a BIG thanks!

i hope you have a great day and God bless!!!

filling the well...

anyone who is in a creative field of work or even as a hobby, knows that it is essential to fill the well. for me, it's typically just a matter of new visual stimulation. window shopping works. a pretty little cafe or walk among the trees changing. it really is so simple...but as a person gets more busy pursuing creative endeavors, it's easy to forget how important this is. i can work and work at a project, and struggle to get it to come together....and then i'll realize that if i take a little field trip downtown or take a walk, my project will usually come together effortlessly. i am always amazed at how that works. it feels counterproductive, when there is so much to accomplish and deadlines to meet...to stop and take a break. but it almost always works for me. yesterday was that kind of day for me. i took a break and went for a fun day with my auntie jaynee and mom. we went to a sweet knit shop, one of my favorite inspiration shops, lunch at a lovely locally owned cafe and then a stop at pottery barn. i even took my camera and asked the shop owners if i could take pics. i really bristle at doing this. i love taking the photos, but i usually prefer to be sort of invisible as i shop. pulling out my big ol' camera and asking if i can take photos, takes me out of my comfort zone. but i do actually enjoy it, once i get going. i plan to share the photos i took later this week. i still haven't shared my photos from french general. i'll share those later this week too.

we so enjoyed having dave and jaynee here. it's so quiet here this morning....i'm feeling sad that they're gone. it's hard having loved ones who mean so much, so far away. i am thankful whenever we can spend time together...and thank God for the internet. (did i really just type that?!) but seriously, it's so much easier to stay in touch via our puters. this morning it hit me that i took almost no pics of our time with them. i was so busy with shoots, that when we were hanging out, i just wanted to hang out. now i'm sad that i missed the opportunity. one of my favorite memories of their stay was sunday night. i had to work on a couple of projects in my studio, so jaynee sat on the floor(i offered her a chair) and worked on her knitting project. it was so relaxing and comfortable. i just enjoyed every moment we had together. now, it's back to reality. it's a good thing that i like my reality...or i would be really letdown right now.

friday night, i did a shoot with an awesome couple and their adorable dogs. i had a great time! the dogs were so fun and energetic. i loved that we didn't do standard portrait-ish shots. we just let the dogs explore and we tried to capture them as they really are. sort of like my approach to photographing children and their families. i love to capture *real* life. not so much the posed stuff.  so i have to say, these are some of favorite photos with people and dogs.

 

i adore animals....and especially dogs.  i get that they are like family. i loved photographing jacob and jana with their *girls*.

today, i am determined to get some balance back with my eating and exercise. i've gotten really out of balance in that area. isn't it crazy, when you are in a good place with almost every area of life, except one, and it tilts everything else? i'm not out for perfection. i just want to find balance. that's my word lately. i want to be well-rounded. passionate, sure. but not at the cost of health or relationships or whatever is out of balance. right now, for me, it's my eating habits and lack of exercise. but, my mindset is right, so i'll get on top of it. oh and i weighed myself for the first time is months this weekend....and it wasn't all that bad. so i know i can get where i need to be with just a bit of effort and awareness. i ate my yogurt and flaxseed for breakfast. now to stay on track. and hopefully get a workout in. no excuses. after all, i'm a firm believer in making time for what's important. so if you tell me you don't have time to scrapbook or read...i'm going to interpet it as, "that's not what's important to me". harsh? not really. it's okay. because typically someone who tells me that they don't have time to do those things, will, in the next breath, tell me about a tv program they've watched. humorous, but i know i do it too. i'll say i have no time to do *yada*(like working out!), but i make time to do other stuff. whatever. i think we are conditioned to think we need to make excuses. wow. this got off track. letting my mind wander as i type. not too smart. btw, this is NOT directed at anyone in particular. just an observation. i'm totally looking at myself as i write. i am just as guilty as anyone.

so, with that being said, have a great day! make time for what's really important...to YOU. and God bless you!

my heart...

as i sort through and look at all the photos from our family photo shoot, i find myself feeling all sorts of emotions. photos do that to me. photos of people i don't know very well, do that to me, so imagine how much more so with my own family. seeing the connections, love, and sweetness between our blended family makes me feel all kinds of sappy! this shoot may be the most looked at, and printed and displayed shoot yet! i shared the enlargements that i already have on the mantel, and it's only begun. our Christmas cards should be arriving this week. can't wait to see them! and apparently, there are a few family members who aren't very happy with me for not sharing some peeks from our shoot! so here are some faves so far:

classic harper.

and the photo-taking continued after lunch at home-

addison was exactly 18 months old on the day of the shoot, so we did a few extras of her. and there are many more shots that i adore and that i'm sure i'll share as time goes by. i am super grateful for that day and for everyone's cooperation to make it happen....it was quite a production!

our weekend was packed full of time with family, including our delightful houseguests, uncle dave and auntie jayne, and photoshoots, and a bit of junkin' and lots of paper crafting projects. today, we're having a girl's day out. mom, auntie jayne, my sister and i are going to a sweet little knit shop, some scrapbooking stores and to lunch. i plan to take my camera, because i haven't gotten any shots of our family time.

have a great monday and God bless!