'Twas the Night

The family's all here

The tree is sparkling white

Sweets galore

And Santa's on his way

Let the wrapping madness begin!!

First Time on the Ice

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and took Lucy ice skating for her first time! Alex and my sister, Christina, skated along side of her. Todd even took a little ride on the Kool-Aid seal! Lucy was a little apprehensive at first, but soon got the hang of it... She'll be talking about it for the next few days!

I'm pretty sure I'll be pushing to make this a tradition. 

No pregnant belly next year which means I'll be tearing up the ice. Watch out! :)

A Couple of Family Pics

Considering the fact that we had little light, it was freezing, and we only spent about 10 minutes taking pictures, I'm pleased with how well my kids did and that we got a couple of usable pictures. 

Now I can finally send off some Christmas cards!!

Classic Artist's Exercise

 If you've ever been in an art class, you've probably done the egg drawing exercise. Drawing an egg is a fine art exercise used for those drawing in charcoal, pencil, or chalk. It's a fantastic way to study form, light and shadow and the way those values blend so flawlessly together.
So why not try to photograph an egg, or two, or three? All I keep hearing is that if I want to become a better photographer, I need to PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.
So here I am...practicing.
I took my 50mm lens (that I rarely use...it kind of intimidates me) and went out into the freezing cold. I really wanted to get some of that sparkling morning dew as the sun started to rise.
After some numb fingers and damp pants, I'm happy with how they turned out.

While Sugar Plum Fairies Danced in Their Heads

Why is This So Hard?!?

 HELP! I'm at a loss of what to name this little girl! I mean, we're naming a human being! It's kind of a big deal... a really big deal for me!
I think about it ALL day! I'm on nameberry.com all the time looking at all sorts of names! We've thrown around so many, but nothing is sounding quite right to me. With both my other kids, I just knew it when I heard it that that was their name. I think my problem with this baby is that I'm waiting for that same gut feeling when I hear a name. But it hasn't come yet. Thank goodness that we have four more months to figure this out.
I know that we'll eventually need to at least have a few names when we go to the hospital and decide there.

Some of the names we've been throwing around (in no particular order):
Mary
Winnie
Penny
June
Rebecca

We tend to like more throwback, cutesy names. But all of the above names have been either completely or almost completely tossed out.

I need some help! Any suggestions?!

The Magic of Black and White

I just love black and white photographs. I know color makes things, well, colorful. But when an image has a wide range of black and white values, it just speaks to me so much! Once you strip away the color, all you're left with is the emotion of what you are seeing.
It's as if time really does stand still and you are now putting yourself if the subject's shoes.
Can you hear the creek passing you by?
What about the giggles?
Can you feel the cool, crisp water rushing through the creases of your toes?
What interesting rocks, leaves, or sticks were found?

A photograph can be moving just like any song or piece of fine art, if you only take the time to look.

Now these photographs may not mean anything to anyone else but me.
But to me, these are special. For me, I got to capture this one little moment of childhood innocence and now I get to bottle it up and keep it forever.