Photo a Day August 2012

Here are my photos a day for August 2012. Some days were a little difficult and then others came very easily. 

Now lets just hope that I can keep this up! (I think I'm already missing my picture for yesterday :) I took a picture, it just wasn't the theme that it was supposed to be. But since it wasn't Father's Day here in the U.S. like it was in Australia then I don't mind it not matching. So never mind, I'm all set! Happy Labor Day!

Girls First Day of School

Last Monday was the first day of school for the girls. Kaley is in the 3rd Grade, and Madison is in 4th. They are both so excited to start the year and of course to see all of their friends. Our mornings are so hectic that even on the first day of school I don't get to do a well thought out photo shoot unfortunately, but here are just a couple of the pictures that I took that morning before we all loaded up in the car and took the girls to school.

 Madison was very excited about the purple panda shirt that we found her at Target to go with the extra special panda necklace that Nanny bought her. It's nice to see her in a pair of jeans that are long enough... give a couple of weeks and they will be high waters! I put their hair in what we call twists or knots and then they slept on them to get that pretty wave that is oh so girly!

Kaley found this super cute Minnie and Mickey shirt and paired it with these plaid shorts that she already had, this child has a style all her own. And of course, the purple tennis shoes. Both of girls love wearing sunglasses right now pretty much any time that they go outside.

Overall, it should be a good year for both of them. We have already had Back to School night for both girls and we already knew that Kaley's teacher would be amazing! :)

Photo a Day July 2012

I have seen so many people doing the photo a day challenges every month and I decided to jump in and give it a try in July. I have been curious to see if I could keep up with taking a photo every day using my iPhone and then maybe it would be worth it to do Project life next year. Although if I had decided to do this is in January of this year then I could have created a whole years worth of pictures in only 12 layouts. Here is the photo a day challenge that I did:

Each day I looked at my subject and it really helped me to see my daily life in a different way. Of course there were times that I got behind a day or so. But then I just went around my house and looked for ways to complete my task. Here is my collage that I created by uploading to my Flickr account and then using a website called Big Huge Labs and their collage maker. It was so much easier than the war that I was having with Photoshop (still haven't figured out CS6... like at all!) 

I am doing pretty well with my August pictures although I do have one or two days to make up. I took the picture on the girls' first day of school but haven't uploaded them from my canon onto my iMac to then create the instagram off of my photo stream. I know, sounds crazy huh?

Good news is that my photography business seems to slowly be taking off and I think I'm going to be pretty busy this fall! Now I need to talk my husband into letting me get the Martha Stewart day planner at Staples so that I can keep track of all our schedules (school, church, girl scouts, photography, family, etc.) Because I don't know that I can spend much more time everyday in front of my computer inputting all of that info into iCal. And to do it all on my phone is ridiculous, can you say microscopic?!

Class Pictures

 I was blessed with the opportunity to come in to the boys' preschool class and take school pictures. We turned it into a fundraiser for the class and overall it went very well considering I had 23 kids to shoot!

 Of course, the two kids that gave me problems were my own, but I think that is because they are so tired of me taking their picture all the time! Zachary was pretty good although that face in the picture above is pretty funny!

 These are the kinds of pictures that Gabriel was giving me...

 A face only a mother could love, right?

 Zachary was pretty cute although then he started laughing and I got...

 this one and...

 this one, the little funny boy!

 I do love this face though, classic Zach complete with sweater that he continually tells me has a rumbus on it, they are learning a lot in preschool!

I had each kid start off with a picture of them holding this chalkboard sign that we wrote their name on with the year. It is not only great for the parents to have the child's name and the year on it but then it also helped me when editing and copying the pictures to know who was who! I just got to do the other preschool class' pictures so maybe my friend will let me share a few of her son when I get them edited!

I'm BACK!!!

Okay, so I know that I have been MIA for a long time now. I have had several really tough months and the thought of opening up my heart on here has been too much to handle. But I am ready to celebrate the holidays and then start the new year fresh, but more on that another day! For now, let's just pretend like I was never gone... ok? 

Ever since I took that online Photography Class by Maggie Holmes my photography skills have improved so much and I have now officially gone professional! It's a scary thought for me but when I am behind a camera I feel at home and there is something about watching people through a lens that makes my heart sing. So let me share with you some of the photos that I have taken over the last six months and kind of fill you in on what has been happening in our lives...

 This is once again that gorgeous couple that I have had the opportunity to shoot several times. We have this plan to take photos every 3 months for their first year but November got too crazy for everyone... boo! I still want to take some and just pretend that it is November.

 We shot these out in Barstow at the Harvey House. This building has beautiful architecture and was a lot of fun to wander around and find new places to shoot.

 Sometimes you don't even need to see faces to feel the emotion, and that is something that I love to capture!

 As we walked down this little walkway I saw this arrow painted on the pillar and instantly had the idea for this picture, it is so perfect!
Next we jump to Halloween and my adorable children, I know I'm biased, but they are pretty cute!

 Zachary was Bumblebee from Transformers and they were obsessed with their costumes for weeks wanting to wear them, I have learned my lesson, next year I will not buy them so early because they don't understand.

 I love this one of them walking away holding hands. It is not very often that I get to capture the connection between these two. Usually the only connection that I see is one on top of the other while they wrestle.

 And here is my Optimus Prime. Every year I find it funny that Gabriel picks the lead character and Zachary always picks the sidekick or secondary character, when in real life normally Zachary is the dominant one.

 Kaley was Hermione and she loved having the robe and tie which came in handy when the final movie came out on Blu ray and we were able to dress up to watch it.

 Madison was my beautiful Cleopatra and I had so much fun doing her hair and makeup for this.

We went to the pumpkin patch with the playgroup that I have been taking the boys to  and we had a great time.  I took each of the kids over to the pumpkin field and shot some pictures of them. They were surprisingly very cooperative.

Kaley was pretty cute as usual.

Madison picked out the perfect shirt since it matched the tree almost exactly!

And my Gabriel always has so much personality!

Madison turned 9 in October and Kaley turned 7 in November. I have never really done a big birthday party for them and their friends so this year we decided to do one big party for both of them since they share quite a few friends. I will share more on the party another day, but I these are the photos that I took and printed to sit on the mantle above where they sat to open presents.
Well, I guess for now that is it although I have so much more to share, I promise that I won't be gone for long!

Keep Moving Forward

Let me first start off this post by saying that I'm not sure that I can make it through creating this post, the tears might just make it near impossible to type, next let me explain that my husband is a Youth Pastor. He has been for over 10 years now and he knows that there is nothing else that he could be doing with his life that could make him happier. I have always helped him when I can and my level of involvement has gone up and down with the craziness of our life. We have gotten to know students really well over the years and have had the opportunity to watch them grow from awkward, immature junior highers to adults graduating from college and starting families. We feel blessed to have had even a small part in their lives.

With that said let me tell you the part that sucks about youth ministry. It is an ever changing life and this is the time of year that things really start to change. We have a new group of seventh graders coming in and it is always funny to watch them squirm the first time that they are expected to sit for a Sunday morning youth service. There is a new group of High School freshman coming in which means a few new students in small groups and their first time at our summer conference (it's always fun to see their reaction to the summer conference that we go to because they never expect the magnitude of impact that it can have, this also creates a different group dynamic every year), and there are High School seniors that we get to celebrate all that they have accomplished and help prepare them for what is to come. And every few years I find a couple of students that I really spend time with and become close to and this is when it gets difficult for us.

This may be the hardest year yet... you may have seen me post pictures of these two before but here is a recap of the last year. I was blessed to be asked by Gabrielle Palayes to shoot her senior pictures, here is one of my favorites...
She is an absolute sweetheart and one of those girls that you can't help but want to hang out with. We had a blast the day that we went out and shot these pictures and I only wish that I knew all of the photography skills that I know now back then!

And then a couple of months ago they asked me to do a best friend's graduating shoot which just happened to coincide with my photography class so they got to be my guinea pigs for an afternoon.
This turned out to be one of our favorites and what you can't tell is that one is wearing an Edward shirt and the other is wearing a Jacob shirt!

Clarissa also asked me to take pictures of her and her boyfriend for their Senior Prom. We went into her beautiful backyard and took some sweet pictures of them.
These two are so adorable together that it makes you sick! lol Clarissa is so gorgeous inside and out it's no wonder she was a princess.

And now these two, that have been best friends since they were kids, have both graduated from High School in the past week. Here is one of my favorite photos that we got...
This picture just says so much about how far they have come together and I know that they will go so far in life and always have each other to lean on. They also know that they will always have me! They have also declared that I am their lifetime photographer (name the time and place and I will be there!).

This is where my heart is torn: one half is so proud of them for all that they have done, who they have become, and excited to see what more they can do in life; and the other half is sad that they will no longer be here on Thursday nights for small group, CIY just won't be the same without them, and the youth room will seem a little less bright without their smiling faces there. Just keep typing, just keep typing... This is our job in ministry, to help these kids navigate jr. high and high school while building a relationship with Jesus and each other so that they can go into the world and make a difference. And I have been so blessed to have been a part of these two girls' lives for the last couple of years, and I know that they are not going far, but now the relationship shifts. No longer are they students and I am one of their youth leaders, now they will be members of the church and I am a friend that is here whenever they need me (thank you Lord for facebook and texting!), and hopefully I will get to still sing on the praise band with them once in a while! This is when we have to keep moving forward, appreciating the past and the moments that we have shared, relying on the grace of God in the present, and trusting in Him for all that the future will hold and the new relationships that will occur.
I love you girls so much! Congratulations on graduating and surviving High School, may God Bless you in all that you do and thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me be a part of your life. He could not have given me two more incredible people to help heal me and give me the confidence to once again do what God intended us for.

The Blue Chair

My 6 week photography class is now over and although I am sad that I will no longer get assignments and be able to share my pictures with my classmates, I am excited about everything that I have learned. I have gone from taking mediocre pictures on semi-auto modes of my camera, to shooting fully in manual and knowing how and why I choose the settings that I do. One of the things that we learned towards the end of the class was about visually interesting photos and using props, namely chairs. I was so excited to go to the Salvation Army to look for a cheap wooden chair that I could paint a bright color and use in some fun shots. Here is what I found for only $7.00!
It was boring white and wood and was crying out for a really fun color. So I went to Lowe's and bought some Valspar spray paint in Mediterranean Blue. I am so in love with this chair! That night I went out with my girls and my friend Kristina and her daughter Kaydence. We went out into what looked like the middle of the desert and found this great bush with bright yellow flowers. This was the perfect spot and we chose to go out about an hour before sunset to get a nice warm glow. Here is my favorite shot of my friends' daughter...
Isn't she adorable?! She loved this hat that I brought and was being such an adorable little ham! I also got a few minutes to shoot pictures of my girls although it was cold and windy. Here is my little Kaley Bailey...
She couldn't even take her jacket off because it was too cold. And my beautiful way-too-grown-up Madison...
I was so pleased with how these pictures came out that I decided to take it out into our side yard and place against our wood fence in the shade. Then I convinced the boys that they wanted their picture taken and they went with it. First up is Zachary...
I love these striped shirts against the blue chair and wood fence! And then maybe the most priceless face that I have ever seen... my sweet Gabriel...
How can that not just melt your heart?! Well, needless to say I am now excited about finding more cool chairs to paint bright colors and use in new ways! So always be on the lookout for a good deal and a new way to use something old!

Disneyland

We spent Friday and Saturday at the "Happiest Place on Earth" although we didn't quite leave so happy!... but that's a long story! We got to see the World of Color show for the first time and we absolutely loved it.
I had grand plans of taking the girls around a few parts of Disneyland and finding some great places to take pictures for my photography class assignment. There are lots of little spots in the park that you wouldn't even know were in Disneyland if you just saw the picture but they have lots of great texture and color. But the weekend did not go according to plan (does it ever?!) and I got only a few shots here and there and never even got over to Critter Country like I wanted. But here are the few shots that I got.
There was a 45 minute wait for Toy Story Mania and every time that we go it is well worth the wait. This has to be my favorite ride in all of Disneyland and California Adventure. This was also the first time that we have been to Disneyland with the boys and not taken the stroller. Now I made sure that we had it in the back of the car just in case but the boys did really well after all. While we were in line the boys sat on this little curb and so I decided to start shooting thinking maybe I would get a cute photo. I was quite surprised at just how photogenic Gabriel decided to be!
Zachary is never quite as cooperative as Gabriel but every once in a while I can get a cute one of him if I have a fast enough shutter speed!
I love how Gabriel was standing against this wall while Daddy was getting fast passes for Soarin' over California (which the boys got to go on for the first time and they loved it!). Can I just ask... when did he grow up?!
I had only a minute while the boys got their picture taken for their passes to take a quick photo of Kaley. I wanted to take the opportunity because these chairs were so cute and the seat was yellow. But then it turned out that you could barely see the yellow and the back of the chair blended in with the wall! Oh well, you can't win them all!
This is the kind of thing that I was looking for, you would never guess that this is even in Disneyland let alone right across from the Jungle Cruise in one of the busiest spots in the whole park! I was kind of mad because when we were about to get in line for the Jungle Cruise I looked over and saw this spot and loved that it was in the shade and was the perfect set up. By the time that we got off the ride, the sun was hitting it and was casting a big shadow right across where I wanted Madison to stand! So I had to adjust what I wanted and I still ended up with a cute picture. It just goes to show, take the picture when you see the opportunity and don't wait!
This is my favorite photo from the day! See how adorable Gabriel was being... I love that kid! And I love this blue shirt on him!

Lately...

I know that I have been very MIA lately and there is no excuse for that but it truly has been a crazy few weeks and I haven't had much to post about! My photography class has kept me quite busy and I love how much better my photos are getting. So let me fill you in on what has been going on lately...
My kids patiently waited for Daddy and Pop Pop to build their new swing set that they got as an Easter present. I just love how they turned the chairs around to sit and watch, and of course they kept asking, "Are they done yet?!"
And finally they were done and it was time to play! And they have played out there almost every day ever since!

My photography class gave me an excuse to spend an afternoon with these two awesome girls and do a best friend/ graduation photo shoot. We had so much fun and drove all over Victorville and Apple Valley but we got some great shots!
I am also learning to take better pictures of my kids inside my house. Every week I learn more and am able to put another piece of the puzzle together. I have big plans for this weekend's assignments! This is my Gabriel and I just took this picture this morning while in the girls' room taking pictures of Madison's American Girl doll as an example of front lighting. Oh yeah, we are also re doing the girls' room but I'm not done yet so I have nothing to show you yet! :(

We also celebrated my husband's birthday by having some friends over for burgers and I got a custom frozen custard cake from Freddy's. Boy, was it yummy too! Lesson learned while trying to take photos of my husband and his cake at 8:30 at night inside... use the external flash that I have! Duh!
My amazing husband bought me one of these for Mother's Day! He is so amazing and I love it so much that I almost don't mind talking on the phone! He did this only hours after I got into an accident with our van. It truly has been a roller coaster of a couple of weeks!

I have a post planned where I show you one scrapbook sketch and 4 different ways that I use it. But I am only halfway done with the layouts so I need to get busy!