happy birthday son

today we celebrate....ethan...you are a son full of love, life, and anything but dull persona. our love for you is boundless. we love that you are in our lives and that we were chosen to be your parents. so much of what life is about is still ahead of you to be pondered, explored, investigated...so go out there and enjoy it to the fullest. love, mom and daddio

playing with light & bits of fun

my two beautifully ripened meyer lemons have caused

me to be inspired and play with my new camera.

a canon T3i

these two are perfect specimens of yellowy goodness.

i must say i am quite proud of these beauts.

i bought the meyer lemon tree in the summer knowing full

well i would have to bring it in the house to overwinter...if

i wanted it to survive.

i am not so good at the house plant watering thing.

but to my surprise and delight i have nurtured these beauties

and three more lemons i haven't pulled off the tree quite yet.

since you need a bowl full of lemons to make lemonaid or

most any recipe...i am now in conflict as to what exactly,

i should use these most precious of meyer lemons for.

i just have the five of them.

any suggestions?

so for now i am content just to let them awaken me to

the possibilities of my new canon.

it has been fun today to just change the settings and see what

comes from the same shot from the same angle.

backgrounds can be dark and set off the brightness of the

rose petals or you can encompass the whole picture and give

the viewer an idea of the way the flowers are an integral part

of the overall view.

i love contrast.

i am into contrast.

i used black and white film for years.

so in my decorating, gardening, even in my choice of puppies i love differences.

opposite as it were.

unfortunately for vivian...i can never quite capture her cuteness & expressions

the way i really want to....especially when it comes to inside photographs.

she is so cooperative and the cuteness factor is just there.

my preference is to be outdoors and take lots of photos

in the twilight hours of the early evening.

but what photographer or girl gets what she wants all the time?

for one thing i am still sick but feeling somewhat better.

for another it is a blustery very cold day, not so good either.

also i need to just plan play with this camera until i feel comfortable

in most situations. inside i never really feel comfortable taking photos.

but you have to for so many occasions...therefore i am forcing myself to

try it all.

as you can see outside the window, the first shot is in the day

and the next one is at night with the candles actually lit.

i like the clearness of the first one with shadow from the outside light

but i also like the bit of amber on the nighttime photo...it make the colours

blend together nicely.

i am also working slowing(being ill since christmas) to take down

all the seasonal decorations. why is it the moment christmas is

over it all seems so crowded and overdone?

i want to just enjoy it but the greenery plus the tree is usually shedding,

somehow i feel a bit claustrophobic with all the extra stuff i just had to put up.

i tend to go clean and minimal once the holidays are over.

these white sprays were in the tree but i love the wintery

vibe they give off by their-selves with the idea of the owl

perched on some snow laden branches overlooking the gathering room.

i found these wire baskets at an annual christmas pre~view

party i go to at my local gardening center every year the

first week in december.

when i saw them i knew instantly they would make the cutest

nest for eggs and birdies.

i was fortunate enough to find metallic eggs in these soft hues i love, crinkly brown

paper for the nesting material and these sparkling golden birds added the final touch.

i loved them in my christmas tree but i don't want to tuck them away just yet.

what gardener doesn't love to bring the things she loves indoors for winter?

again the lighting has everything to do with the ambience of the photo.

i am not sure which one of these i like more. but that is the fun of

it...being personal about what you share, what you love, what shows off

what you are feeling at that moment right then.

i am looking forward to this new year we are in "2012".

also to see what life's adventure holds for my family and i.

here's to taking lots of photographs, doing lots of gardening,

enjoying a life well lived with tons of family gatherings.

i hope that you have the happiest of years this year...for you and your families.

ringing

in the new year.

this year will be different for sure...i am sick and have been since two days after christmas.

it's been a bummer to not feel like doing anything while abbey, jesse, and david are out of school.

so tonight it's just us. me, dh, abbey, jesse, ethan, and david.

it will be a quiet celebration of ringing in the new and letting go of the old.

so i sent dh to the store for food and abbey cleaned up for me and i lit some candles.

we will bring in the new year by candle~light.

here's hoping you have a happy new year's eve.

and that the coming year will find you in good health

and full all things family.

and...

early gifting

as we all know family photos are a challenge.

(fyi...this was on purpose...just trying something new.)

what to wear, where to gather, getting everyone

on the same page...just to name a few.

scheduling it is a major undertaking with busy lives and not all living in the same state.

when are we all together in the same place at the same time?

for our family it was the thanksgiving holiday.

then you have the weather to contend with...will it be freezing, rainy, muddy,

too hot(that i can deal with).

so between the baking, cooking, cleaning, fixing, doing, exams, traveling,

we made a date to all be there with bells on( aka good attitudes).

this year we had r & e photography.

that would be my oldest daughter, rachel and then the next oldest, esther.

# 1...we did all show up...whew!

#2...the weather was gorgeous...thank you Lord!

#3...did everyone have bells on....absolutely not!

oh well, don't they say two out of three ain't bad.

we like very candid shots but when working with

children and lots of people's personalities you get a lot of

photos where some of the subjects aren't even in the picture.

or someone is blinking, pouting, staring off in space(you know who you are all three of you) or we could say looking a bit strange.

hence we have tons of photos but what is really suitable for

a real family christmas photo?

any one of them that you like.

for me this year i printed my own photos and gave

different people different ones.

i know i love my own family but they are some beautiful subjects to capture.

my girls r & e did a great job.

the little girls cooperated (most of them anyway... one needed a bit of

a bribe)...and i am not mentioning names. mine.

my boys, david, ethan, and jesse...actually were having fun with this

of course i never lost my temper at their tom~foolery. never not once.

so if you can't beat them...join them...it goes a lot

smoother...you just might not have any photos you can send to many people.

one thing i like to do is have props out ie furniture, dogs, tree limbs, candles, tables, blocks...it seems to loosen everyone up and give them something to do with their hands.

we also moved to another location which was a big hit with

everyone...(almost lost a few to...really mom!)

it was a gift to me to have everyone here...to have everyone

participate and to have everyone behave... well sorta behave.

thank you esther & brad... for having your beautiful family spend

such a chunk of wonderful time with us...10 days.

i loved spending time with grace and garnet.

they are growing into such fine young girls.

i love seeing everyone together and that the young girls

have each other in their lives.

thank you, rachel & eric...it is wonderful that your beautiful family lives

close by and doesn't mind being on hand for the madness.

your girls, gwyne and ellery are not only beautiful

but i love having them in my life so often since we live close.

i love that truly.

we did have fun in-between some of the drama that family

picture times are made of.

whew...another year down...so many more to look forward to!

though i am not holding my breath till the next one.

merry christmas to all.

parting is such sweet sorrow

...tonight my daughter, esther and her family left after ten glorious days visiting with us in tennessee.

don't get me wrong everything is not always wonderful and everyone has their moments but all in all we had an amazing time of thanksgiving, hanging out, making pizza,

dressed up on many occasions,

played inside...played outside, picked out a tree, shared starbucks with girls, painted christmas paper,

we made cards for soldiers, started a sharing quilt, we cooked cookies, dinners, breakfasts,

took family pictures,

had fireside talks, roasted marshmallows, helped a friend move, decorated a tree, made dinner for a family in need, had a gift exchange, got awesome curtains for rachel, tried in vain to find boots for esther, celebrated birthdays for rachel and jess, piled on G~pa, had lunch out....etc.

it was an amazing time to be spend time together and make new memories.