Favorite of the month: December

I'm back! Well, for one post anyway. I can't promise anything past today... I've got stuff goin' on.

But here's December's favorite of the month! I kind of cheated a little and put two together. (I can do that, though. It's in the rules, trust me.)

Anyway, this was taken Christmas morning after all the hooplah of opening gifts had subsided and I remembered a gift (or 4) that I'd forgotten about! I'd hidden them under the couch the night before and then it totally slipped my mind. A phone call with my mom triggered the memory (I'm not sure why) and I had the boys pull them out and a fun marshmallow war ensued. My two year old was far more interested in eating all the ammo he could find, so I got to use his shooter. Lots of fun. And look at their faces! I did good, eh?

Just Because: Kevin and Jocelyn + kids

I'm sitting here trying desperately to remember when these photos were taken. It's just not coming to me. I don't know why it matters anyway. Sometime in October? Early November? No clue. They were taken. That's what matters. And here they are for you to see!

Once we arrived at our location, someone noticed that someone else was wearing the "wrong" jacket. Said "someone else" had to then return home and find the proper one - which took longer than anticipated because it had been put away for the season. Once "someone else" returned with the correct jacket, the baby decided he'd had enough and that was the end of that. But we managed to get some good ones! (Of course!) Easy enough to do with this group. (I think the last one is my most favorite!)

breathing it in

I'm always excited when December rolls around. It means Christmas is almost here and I LOVE Christmas! I love Christmas baking (the actual baking, but mostly the eating), Christmas family gatherings, Christmas music (hooray for Roger Whitakker's Christmas album!), Christmas decorations, Christmas parties, Christmas stories... I could go on. My favorite though, is the Christmas feeling. I know you know what I'm talking about. The happy-smiley feeling that seems to permeate everything this time of year. There's excitement in the air. There's giving and sharing. There's love in the air. I want to breathe it in and let it fill me up. I love it.

Favorite of the month: November

My last post this month...It was a good month. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but I'm okay with that. Who really gets everything done anyway?!

I thought the light was really pretty this month. (You think it's funny of me to notice? That's okay.) I don't know why I never noticed it before. It just struck me as particularly pretty most days. Even though everything has been bare and brown, the light has brought it all to life, glowing or sparkling or shining prettily. I noticed that this month.

I came across this picture just today as I was searching for the picture I thought I would be using. I saw this one and just fell in love. I couldn't help myself! Look at the expression on his face! He looks so happy, so carefree. It makes me want to jump in there with him. (Plus, it shows off that beautiful light I was talking about.)

Just Because: Jason and Debra + girls

These pictures were taken on Thanksgiving (just to clarify for my American readers - Canadian Thanksgiving). It was a little chilly, but the lighting was great! We used their backyard which was perfect - wouldn't you like a forest in your backyard? I would!

In addition to family pictures, they wanted some pictures that would be suitable as replacements for the girls' school pictures. So one at a time, each of the girls ran out into the yard with me - no jacket - and I quickly snapped a few pictures before their smiles froze. Then they had to do it all over again for the family pictures. They were troopers. All of them:) Fun and easy to work with... what more can I ask for? Thanks, guys!

Here's a few of my favorites.

This one was taken especially for the one making the rabbit ears - love it:

Aren't they sweet?

smiling in the dark

I like to be on time and I like things to be "just right". I'm not crazy about it or anything, but it bugs me when these things don't work out.

The other night I was bugged.

Long story short - I was missing a vital piece for a project I'd wanted to finish. I had picked up a substitute that I thought I could live with, but as it turned out I couldn't. It wasn't "right". I was stressing over how I could now fit this setback into my schedule when I looked over at Jonny and an idea formed.

"Will you be downtown tomorrow?" I asked.

Without turning his gaze from the television he said, "I wasn't planning on it."

I kind of tested the waters with him a little more, but he wasn't biting. So I told myself I would just have to finish this later than I'd planned and deal with it.

Later, as we were lying in bed, he said "I can get those for you tomorrow." I turned and looked at him in the dark and smiled.

He knows I like to be on time. He knows I like things to be "just right". I felt so loved by that offer. I laid in the dark, thinking about how good I've got it while he rolled over and went to sleep.

Tim & Nicole: part 2

I had hoped to post this last week, but the cold/flu season is here and making its rounds throughout my house. Last week was my turn and while I am still dragging myself around, I am feeling a whole lot better than I did.

Anyway, here's some more on Tim and Nicole's wedding. (If you missed part 1, just scroll down a little.)

We started the day at Nicole's sister's house while the girls got ready. From there, we went to Whiskey Dix to meet the guys and wandered the Exchange District a little (you can find a small sampling of these in part 1). On our way out of the city, we stopped by some railroad tracks, paid a visit to A Maze in Corn and then family pictures and a few minutes of down time at Tim's parents' place before heading out to Niverville for the ceremony. Busy, yes. But oh so much fun!

I couldn't resist this: