My Breathing Space

Bring on 2011

2011-01-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well here we are on January 2, 2011. The entrance of 2011 was quite non-monumental, I watched a movie with my husband, the clock struck midnight, we didn't notice. When we realized we kissed said Happy New Year then went to bed. But I was happy, and that meant more to me than going out and being crazy, maybe the red wine I had helped too but either way I was content.

I reflected on 2010 and it was a great year. My daughters grew into their personalities even more and provided me with loads of entertainment. I was able to travel, I know my plan was Greece but me and my husband decided to do DISNEYWORLD instead wow, that place is amazing, they don't lie when they describe it as the Happiest Place on Earth. Then in the summer we did a road trip down the US westcoast to California and even did a day at Disneyland and made a stop thru vegas on way back, to shop of course. Then in the fall i was able to do two trips, I went to Vancouver for Jack Johnson concert with some crazy girls, then 24hrs later flew to NEW YORK CITY, it was amazing and I plan on going back.

Work has been well, I was able to travel to Ottawa and Vancouver to reunite with old friends and learn at the same time. I went to court a lot more this year and took on many new types of files, each day is a new learning experience. I also got my dream camera the Canon 5D Mark II and was able to take part in several weddings this year to capture the moments. I think i have a million pics to post but in time I will.

This year has definitely been eventful, I am thankful for everything I got to experience and for all the memories that were created. This new year will be just as amazing I am sure, so far on my plan we have mexico in just a few days and then in December a big family/friends trip to Disneyworld. And who knows what else life can bring. I am actually quite excited for what 2011 has to offer, the possibilities are endless and I chose to make it amazing.

Last year my "word" for the year was BREATHE. One little word project. It was just to take in all the came my way and everything that life had to offer and I did. I enjoyed every moment and sometimes I didn't even take pictures lol ( i failed at my becky higgins project 365 i think i last till May). I have been thinking about my word for 2011 and I decided its going to be LOVE. Why because I need to do what I love and be passionate about it. Somedays I feel like I am in a slump and I need to get the groove back and I will do that with LOVE by doing what I LOVE. I want to show my girls to be passionate about life and to follow their hearts regardless of what others think. Everything in life could use a little bit more LOVE, don't you think.

So who knows if I will blog everyday, if I will update pictures before the snow melts or if I will get the time to make a website, all I know is whatever I do I will do it because I Love it and in time everything comes and everything comes to those who wait, and all the other metaphors that inspire us to LIVE. Happy N|EW Year.
Koren

A May winter Wedding..

2010-07-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure to photograph this lovely couple on their wedding day. They were fun and made the most of their wedding day despite the snow storm that hit on May 30, 2010. Yep snowstorm. I hope you both enjoy the rest of your lives together.

Samson Head Start Pictures

2010-07-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

So this year again I was asked to do grad pics for Samson Head Start. I love to volunteer so I gladly accepted. These pics are of my daughter Alice and my nephew Nico. Love em to pieces..

My first Boudoir Shoot

2010-07-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to try Boudoir. There is something so empowering about it. I love love doing Glam shoots and I love the boost the women get after the shoot. I do like to be challenged and lucky I have some great friends that are willing to take leaps with me like S. The album is private but if you interested in doing your own boudoir let me know and I will give you password to see the gallery. Glam and Boudoir shoots are great ways for you to empower yourself, its a great memory for you and/or your lucky significant other. Take time for yourself, treat your self to a day of pampering, everyone deserves to have a day like this and get it captured..

Lovely Ladies

2010-06-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

I had the great opportunity to do some glamour shots of 3 beautiful ladies, C, C & H. They are beautiful inside and out and all hold a special place in my heart. These are a few of my faves from the day. Enjoy and always remember to embrace your beauty.

New Blog Title

2010-06-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

So I changed by Title, the previous one just did not seem to fit. So after a lot of thinking I changed it. My word for this year was to breathe, to take in every moment, to take time, to relax. If you every checked out Ali Edwards . That's where I got the idea for my word of the year. I scrapbooked it too.

I am in the process of developing a webpage just for the photography. I created a facebook fab page HERE. I still have the group site.

I am not a big huge marketer for my photography, I like the old fashion word of mouth. Which is how I get most of my bookings. Plus I still have my day job which I love. I currently working on editing a boudoir shoot I did and a Wedding. I also have some fun stuff to blog. If only there was more time in the day. I also finished up another glamour shoot and those will be up on fb page and on here.

So stay tuned for some new things.

Embrace your beauty

2010-03-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

So Ladies its time to celebrate you, its spring time and your beautiful and deserve to embrace that beauty.

Book yourself a Glam Session

The cost is $150 and this includes makeup by professional makeup artist - Chevi Rabbit.

For an additional $25 I can include hair also. Please let me know at time of booking.

You get 15-20 high resolution images on a CD for your personal use

$50 deposit RESERVES your spot there are 6-7spots. Upon deposit you will get your time slot.

This also makes an great gift if you want to buy a slot for someone.

Here is a link to the fb group event..
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=733622526&ref=nf#!/event.php?eid=108356249190175&ref=nf

If the first day books up I may move into Sunday depending..

time for an update of our lives

2010-02-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

Life has been life lately lol.. It has its up and downs which always make each day more interesting. I have been trying new things. Like making 16 dozen perogies with my two bffs.. one featured in picture lol. I also had a card making afternoon at my house with a bunch more bffs lol. Is it still cool to say bff when your 31? Well it was fun we made birthday cards and I got to spend the day with some of the greatest women in my life. We went to banff with my lil family and my mom sisters and brothers.. it was fun. Wes and I got to go skiing and snowboarding at sunshine for one day, I forgot I had leg muscles or lack of till that day.

Alice got into preschool in Leduc.. so K4 or 4 year old preschool. Its at St. Bens eventually she will go to Leduc Estates but not till kindergarten. Or if she likes St Bens and we like it then she can stay. I would have liked for her to stay in Hobbema for K4 but due to being a contractor it means no stability. But we have stability in our home in Leduc so Leduc it is. Now to figure out childare duing the days she in school lol. oh well at least she got in the rest will hopefully fall into place later lol.. hope hope hope.

Abby has been sick.. oh the number of bloodtests and xrays and poop samples this kid has gone thru in the past month. She has brochitis now but today she ate a banana some toast and blueberry puffs so looks like she has an appetite.

The girls relationship is getting so cute. Alice is very helpful to her lil sister and abby won't take any more crap from Alice lol. So there is less fighting I guess all the time outs and putting our foot down is working. Discipline is soo hard but it pays off, must be firm and it works better as a team altough sometimes I admit I am a sucker. My Mom just laughs when girls are being um less than desirable. Karma I guess for me lol.

Well enjoy your day and your life. Spring is coming I can feel it. Why else would the spring clothes be out at the stores already.. lol.

Trying to find Happy Medium.. i am convinced it doesn't exist

2010-02-04T08:38:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been trying to find a medium as a person... between being too nice and being an assertive you know what. I am generally an assertive person and let people know my thoughts whether they really like it or not and I am not afraid to speak up. People confuse this with being a "rhymes with Rich".

I have being trying to work with Abbys daycare about her lactose issues but some days it feels like I take one step forward and two step backs. Oh well.. lol darn me for caring about my child. Yes somedays I wish I didn't know any better but I do and I am thankful for my assertiveness. I hope my daughters are never afraid to voice their opinions or concerns. I am sure Mrs Jackson was not passive when she wouldn't sit at the back of the bus. She was assertive and stood her ground. As I will. Yes I just equated dealing with daycare the same level as fighting racism lol, a battle is a battle nonetheless.

The other end of the spectrum is being too nice, helping people and clients and then finding out it was a complete waste of time or they screw me over. People are funny creatures. I remember I vowed to review my relationships and put effort where effort was deserved, but my heart is too kind and I cave sometimes. I will go the end of the world for people I love and if need be hold rally's along the way or burn some bras whatever I can do.

So I continue to try be a nice person but in a assertive way. That's who I am and thankful for those who love me just the way I am.

Cute lips makes for cute card

2010-02-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

My bff sent me a picture she took of her son's lips with her iphone. She just wanted the lips red, I did that and made him some cute valentines day cards. The designer at Willette had these freebies on the blog for photographers to use, we just had to give them credit.. They are the cutest thing and hopefully next year I can make these for clients when I have more time. Enjoy Feb..

Two posts 1 day.. must be a deal

2010-01-19T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have been blog surfing, website surfing lately. I have been reading a lot of photographer blogs etc. Wow.. There are good people in this world and bad people in this world.. and some pretty damn opinionated ones. I am definitely opinionated but I try not to be arrogant but there are someone people that put that hand in hand. I have ceased venting on fb or at least I try REALLY hard not too lol.. People can read my thoughts here if not they can press next.

So while reading all these opinions and such I started trying to justify myself. I am a lawyer by day and most nights and weekends and drives home lol, I sit on numerous boards and volunteer lots and I am a mom to two wonderful girls and a wife to a great hubby. I love to scrapbook and I like to take photos. This love of taking photos has resulted in a side venture or hobby or stress reliever. Its like painting or scrapbooking cept I click. Yes I do charge now for my services and gasp I even give CD's of High Resolution photos. I am taboo lol. I am charging $100 for family photos and 75 for glamour shots and starting at 800-1000 for weddings (depends) as I get better and more experienced things may change. I am LEARNING as we are all in life and I don't promote myself with a fancy website, I have my blog and a facebook group page and who knows what the future holds.

I decided I didn't need to justify myself to anyone, I am not a professional photographer and I would be offended to be labeled that lol. I am a Mom and Wife that is a Professional Lawyer that moonlights as a budding photographer on occasion. lol. If you like my work both legally and/or photographically the possibilities are endless. I can do a prenup and take your pictures lmao.. kidding.. we all need to lighten up and justify ourselves only to ourselves or at least the lil girls who hold my heart.

Project Life update

2010-01-19T08:14:00.000-08:00

I received my project Life kit last week.. it is great. Surprise I have been taking pictures since January 1.. I missed one day but I have an idea to make it up. Last year when I did this project I became unmotivated because I couldn't buy this kit.. now that I have the kit, it will be great. Incidentally they are offering a digital kit to Project LIfe, which is great. Hopefully after today I will have an online album .. my goal is to sort my pictures today and get them printed. Tomorrow is my monthly scrap nite with my scrappy girlfriends, so I can work on my project then.

Otherwise things are good, Alice starts swimming lessons tonight and abby is trying to say more words and loves to sing ABC's lol. We are slowly setting our plans for travel this year.. I am hoping to go to Ottawa in March for work and Wes may go to Seattle, we may have to join him lol. Also we are hoping to take a mommy and daddy trip to Greece in May and in the summer we are going to take a drive down the west coast to California, just us 10 days and a mini van should be interesting. Enjoy your week..

A sneak peak at my beautiful friends and sisters

2010-01-12T10:18:00.001-08:00

So these 5 ladies volunteered to do a glamour photoshoot with me. I am learning and in order to do so I need volunteers lol. Not everyone is comfortable with boudoir photos and I am not at that level yet it takes years of practice. I think every women should do something like this, get glamed up and treat yourself.. I have a friend Chevi Rabbit (blog on right) who is a make up artist and he came to my house and I set up and the girls did their own hair and helped each other and then the camera turned on. It was a fun day I enjoyed it and so did they. I will be doing more of these and charging a fee for my services and make up artist services. Contact me if your interested via email..korenle(at)shaw.ca or via facebook. I will post more in an album on the weekend.. but for now i hope you enjoy the sneak peak.

3 People changed their life.

2010-01-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

The first picture is of my friends son.. he wanted a photoshoot before he cut his hair.. His mother is my dear friend and I have seen this young man grow up into a great human being.. I was honoured to be asked to capture him in his last moments with his long hair.

The second picture is of a wedding I did in October. I finally am posting the pics, the bride received them along time ago and was very happy..

These people made changes in their lives and I was grateful to be a part of them.. click on the LINK to view them.. Enjoy your weekend

challenges

2010-01-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

So I ordered my Becky Higgins project Life kit I am awaiting its arrival.. its similar to what i started last year.. but this year i will have the kit which means I will do the picture a day thing.. I will start an album in my client albums to document it.. maybe or i will just remember to print pics each week.. lol. Now that I have my camera for my purse it should be easier.

I also joined a artist 365 group on fb that challenges you to be creative.. who knows if i will do every challenge but if I do one a month I will be happy. I really do love being creative.. i am just not naturally good at it.. lol i got kicked out of ART 10 lol.

hope these challenges inspire me and keep me sane lol..

my sweety will never be a milk monster

2010-01-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

I simply adore abby.. this picture was taken by my friend Jaimey at Jaimeylynn.wordpress.com shes amazing.. So this past year we learned Abby was lactose intolerant. She can't have lactose, so we switched her formula to reduced lactose and all was good in the diaper department. The hard part is this kid lovvveess dairy lol. She can have cheese usually only mozza or cheddar and she can have yogurt that is made with skim milk. We make pancakes without milk and kraft dinner with no milk or lactaid milk. Good thing she loves broccoli to get her vitamin D intake up. The challege we face is her daycare and reminding them she can't have anything containing lactose.. they gave her ice cream one day lol. Its not a serious health issue her ped thinks she will grow out of it. My sister is lactose and so is wes brother and with me being native odds were against her lol.
She can never have Mac n Cheese when we eat out because they always have milk in it. Whens shes bigger she can have lactaid pills so she can have all the fun stuff which includes icing made with whip cream.. (she missed out on same cakes this year) Good thing shes fine with straight sugar icing lol.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well the new year is upon us. time to reflect and set some new goals.. I will keep it simple.. this year was amazing.. it was full of friends, traveling and my family. My girls are growing up and turning into lil people its amazing to watch. I had a lot of opportunities this year. I look forward to the new year.. my goals are just to keep on the track I am on. Enjoy everything that comes my way, appreciate the people in my life.. Live healthy and be more organized. And try go to Greece to be specific and maybe mexico again lol.. Hope you enjoyed your year and look forward to the next one.. From my family to yours HAPPY NEW YEAR

Life don't waste it

2009-12-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

Soo good ole Facebook assisted me in creating drama lol. I posted something the other day about people selling drugs on FB or partying EVERDAY and that I was sick of it. I chose not to delete people because I don't think that will change anything, but it wasn't just 2 people it was alot more. Maybe I just have wacked out fb friends.
I am all for fun times, there was a time in my life when life was about the party. But I grew up and life changed. I realized there is more to life than partying, my kids are my life, my husband is my life.. life is life. There is so much more to live for. So many things to experience. Whatever you put into your life is what you are going to get out of it. Honouring your self and honouring your life. You only got one chance why waste it getting high or getting insanely drunk. I didn't get this far in life without honouring my own life. I don't think I am better than anyone, I have my own struggles but the difference is I kept going.. life gets hard.. but the rewards when you succeed are amazing. Yeah some people just need to grow up..

Having 2 lil girls provides a lot of entertainment

2009-12-26T21:15:00.000-08:00

Wow.. xmas was here and it took over my living room. I made a trail to the couch and I may not move for day or two. Well the holidays were and are great. I have one week left of time off but I have one less kid for a day or two. Alice decided she didn't want to come home from grammas, so she stayed lol. The girls have been doing some pretty silly things lately I thought I would entertain you with their stories.

1. I was shopping (shocking I know) and Wes was watching girls. Apparently they were playing quietly upstairs in my room. We all know quite is never really that good lol. So he went called to them "what are you doing," Alice responds "playing with stickers". Wes goes up to check these "stickers" and finds the girls sticking the stickers to the wall.. the stickers were.. feminine pads.. lmao

2. Wes was watching kids while I ran errand and he fell asleep on couch for 10 min and he heard jingling and he sat up looked in kitchen and abby was siting in the dishwasher while Alice was shouting at abby to get out lol.

3. I was doing dishes girls playing upstairs quietly again.. so i call up to them. What are you doing.. Alice responds.. trying to get these strollers and babies out. Ahhh they found their xmas presents lol.

I love my kids they show me how to laugh everyday.
Enjoy yours

December is coming eek

2009-11-30T10:33:00.001-08:00

So here we are November 30 wow.. its mindboggling really. How did we end up here already, seems like yesterday it was summer or even Christmas. I thought it was a good time to reflect on my goals for this year.. see if I can complete it in a month ha.
Goal 1 - project 365 yeah that died a horrible death in February when I didn't get the Becky Higgens kit... new goal is I already bought my kit for next year so maybe now that I have the kit "Life" I can do it. we can hope right.
Goal 2 - To take better pics, I think I have done this I am pretty happy with my work and still wanting to learn more. I am going to try some test glamour shoots in Jan if it works out then I will do a weekend marathon or something.
Goal 3 - be organized .. well yeah no.. lol
Goal 4 - be healthier .. well i feel healthy, pretty much same size but I am happy so this one is a draw.
Goal 5 - Get alice to eat fruit .... well yeah no again.. we buy her veggie juice you win some you lose some..
Goal 6 - relationships.. I am very happy with my friendships and relationships. I know who is honestly my friend and who isn't and I am happy. I am blessed with some amazing circles of friends that include friends I have had since forever and new friends. My family relationships are doing great.
Goal 7 - enjoy my 30's. this year has been great it is great just to enjoy life and everyone in it. I have made some great memories this year..
Goal 8 - career... well this year I became a lawyer I also teach at the local college so yep things are doing well.

So not too shabby with the goals.. now to contemplate what the new year will bring. enjoy your December and you got the okay to put up your tree lol.

2009-11-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

A wedding I am working on..

Its Time

2009-11-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Its time for me to start up an alternate photography blog/website.. So I can continue my personal blog without inhibitions. I've seen some Blue Domain websites that i think I could work or stay with good old blogspot. I think I have done a good job building my portfolio that maybe i should take a step. My prices will be slightly adjusting in new year. I still want to be accessible but I also want to be reasonable to myself.

On the Law side of things. I am also thinking my firm should have a website.. Makes it easier to find us. I wonder if firms have type pad blogs lol.. but I think on the firm side I need to get more tech savvy or break down and hire someone. Who knows what changes can come.. but in order to move forward in life we need to take steps.

I am working on posting some Halloween pictures and editing the last wedding I did.

L's Family

2009-11-03T19:36:00.001-08:00

Here is a wonderful family that allowed me to capture their cuteness. Thanks Leda I am glad you enjoyed your pics. This family was soo cute. Click HERE to view more of this lovely family.

My two dads

2009-10-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

So in less that an 1hr it will be two years since my dad (Walter) passed away. I know i blogged about it before but hey what are blogs for but to put your deepest thoughts on here for people to read lol. I honestly don't know how many ppl read this. But its been a wierd week. So in this life I have been blessed with 2 dads.. the dad that gave me life (Rick) and the dad that showed me life (Walter). My biological Dad Rick and I have never been close I love him but our relationship is not as it is with his other daughters my wonderful sisters. I am glad he is in my life and my girls lives. Grandparents are important and so are parents. But this week on monday my dad Rick had a heart attack.. my heart stopped and I froze.... why? one dad was already taken from me you can't have both God. I was weary of going to hospital because I was afraid. Afraid of dejavu becoming real and having to deal with losing him. Thankfully he is okay it was minor and he has to realize yep you did have a REAL heartattack and you need to take it easy (this will be difficult if you met him you would understand) Now heres the part that breaks me..... Tommorrow my dad Rick will be released from the hospital (yeah) and tommorrow is the day my other dad Walter passed away. The significance of this day overwhelms me. Even though one dad was taken from me I have a chance with my other dad. Life is tricky. I usually keep these deep thoughts to myself lol but my hubby is sleeping so world you get to me my counsellor. Well tommorrow I will celebrate Walter and be thankful for Rick. Hug your Dad.. my cousins recently buried their dad and my heart broke for them because i know how it felt.. the wound never completely heals but it gets easier..with time. Life is about the moments.... have a good night everyone

Google yourself

2009-10-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

Have you ever googled yourself.. to see what comes up.. bored waiting for pics to upload on FB I did lol. I do often just to see what comes up. I want to make sure everything is okay.. Well I came upon this LINK (click on it) and I was honoured. Wow.. I almost cried reading it.. but i was speechless.. You can make a difference in anyones life.. :)

Baby T

2009-10-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

I was so lucky to meet this beauty 3 days after she was born.. She is my friends baby.. I took a few clicks so I could make some cards for her baby shower.. soon we will be doing a full on photoshoot for this baby when shes a bit more comfortable with the world. Welcome baby T and thanks for letting me be a part of your life.

Viva Mexico

2009-09-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

So we are back.. we finally went on a family vacation... oh fun it was. We went to mexico.. playa del carmen.. Princess resorts. I was a great trip. The girls had fun alice got to spend most of her days at the beach and abby got to rule the resort. It was a relaxing vacation, filled with naps, sand, sun and of course pina coladas. I didn't take as much photos as i thought.. I mostly used my point and shoot because i would die if my big camera got sand or water on it.. but hey point and shoots still rock. I just played with the girls and enjoyed the sun with them so most of the time we were sitting on the end of the ocean in the sand or out in the ocean or in the buffet lol. So camera time was whenever sure i would have like to take more pics but i wanted to relax more so i did.. lol. It was trip for memories and alice for sure will remember mexico and the beach.. Alice got bad reaction to all the mosquito bites her face swelled a bit and abby ate all the watermelon the resort had. Me and Wes got to spend the day together at Chichen Itza and a night at Playa del carmen shopping and ppl watching. My inlaws wes dad and step mom came and made the trip that much better.. nice to have extra set of hands with two crazy monkeys running around...

Photography wise i have a few shoots coming up in the next few weeks should be great.. today i am hoping to go get some shots of a 2 days old princess. Let me know if you want to book the fall colours are going to be awesome..

T&T wedding

2009-09-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

I was done these awhile ago but wanted to give the family a chance to see before I showed the world. I have known the bride since she was 16, she is a lovely person and her husband is just as nice. They are a very sweet couple. Thanks for letting me be a part of your day. Click HERE for a link to their album or click on the left side column of my page for all the client albums.

I love this photo

2009-08-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

So I am editing the wedding pics I took of T&T wedding.. I use to coach her and I have had the great pleasure of watching her grow into a beautiful women. I wanted to share this photo. When I get back from my trip i will post the rest.

I am off to meet the Queen

2009-08-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

So I leave in 2 days to England for 9 days.. without kids or hubby.. I am soo excited but nervous. I am going with Calli to visit her family and visit the local pubs and shopping centres. We leave on friday, it should be lots of fun. I have only left abby one night before so I am worried about her but she will be fine I know.

Abby turned 1 on Aug 10.. wow shes almost walking she takes 6-8 steps then falls.. she likes to crawl up stairs and she can say Alice. Whenever I call out for alice she is right behind me yelling for her big sister.

Alice is doing great. She is quite the talker and if she had her way would always be visiting people. She likes to do fun stuff lol. Life is good.

Hope your all enjoying your summer

a tribute to my dad

2009-07-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Dont mind the shakiness my brother was holding the camera.. This tribute was done at the Maskawacis Cultural College graduation and when they announced a scholarship in my dads name. I thought i would share the video courtesy of my brothers youtube..

I did it

2009-07-18T20:14:00.001-07:00

I finally did it.. I made a 3 column blog wohoo.. i did it with THIS it was a very helpful website. I am thinking of renaming my blog... the current title is long and I hardly blog about wes life.. lol.. but something catchy but me hmmm.. so i will continue fiddling around and see what else i come up with.. hope your enjoying the heat.. i am enjoying my investment. my central air :)

I found summer in an ice cream truck

2009-07-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

So after work the other day alice and I were planting the super cheap flowers i got to fill in where the other ones i planted died. My thumb is not green, but for the .94 cents the 2 flowers costs I could care less. While were planting we heard music not just any music but dickie dee ice cream music.. then we looked down the street and there was the ice cream van, old school needed a new paint job van but an icre cream van none the less. So we got our change and alice picked out her ice cream.. she probably had 10 licks and said its very good.. now note if she has to justify something to herself it probably means she doesn't like it lol.. so the ice cream went back into the wrapping and is in the freezer.. These are some silly photos we took of her that evening and I was playing around in photoshop and i think on the first one I wouldn't have burned the edges but they will be good for a scrapbook page..

A love Story

2009-07-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

A glimpse

I finally got to do a wedding.. I was so happy to be a part of this day for J and T. I have known J probably since he was in diapers lol. His sister and me have been bffs since we met before preschool. The love these two showed throughout the day was soo sweet. I wish them all the best and so much more.. click HERE or click on my photography on the left hand column.. enjoy

Is next week July already?

2009-06-23T09:03:00.001-07:00

Heres a sneak peak at one of my lastest shoots

Wow life is moving fast.. I can't believe June is almost over. So people have been bugging me to update soo tadaa here I am lol. June has been interesting. I was fortunate to volunteer with the Women Empowering Women workshop in my community. The basis of the workshops was to have basically to empower other women to change their lives, to make an impact on them. The workshop was faciliated by the working women in the community and the target was the underemployed or non employed women. It was about learning, I taught scrapbooking and there was just so many wonderful workshops, from photography, cooking, self care to education. On the final day of the workshops 20 women were chosen for makeovers. I got to assist with chosing outfits, from head to toe and doing hair and makeup. Now the joy in these womens faces was amazing. They did a fashion show at the end and wow they looked and felt incredible, I cried. They were so appreciative and empowered. I took alot of their aftershots and they were soo happy. It really made my week and made me appreciate the women in my community.

Sunday June 20th I had the Annual Underwear Affair which is a 5km walk to raise money for all Cancers below the waist. This is the third year me and my sisters have participated in honour of my dad. Its always emotional for me because it falls on the day before fathers day. I enjoy the walk each year and this year alice walked with me or rather I carried her one my shoulders for 3km lol. It was great our team raised 1200. Next year my personal goal is 1000. I was inspired by one lady who raised 6000 on her own wow. So I guess i better get started on my goal. Thx to all my friends who donated.

My daughter Alice was suspended from daycare its been rough for me dealing with it. Not because she is bad but becuase of the pressure it puts on you as a mother and a working mom none the less. Alice during the month of may has been biting at daycare and also has been biten. She was singled out and suspended the whole situation is idiotic really but sadly she is one that is suffering because some people don't know how to run daycares. But we have been dealing with it and hopefully it will be resolved this week. The situation made me feel for alice, wonder why she bites is she frustrated, scared? I want to help her but then i have to work.. have or want or need.. I don't know. I wish wish wish I could just stay home but i really need the experience so that I can decide my own hours but for now I have been trying to take more time off and trying to spend more time with her. It has brought us closer and she is trying to communicate rather than bite but I have to keep remembering shes only 2 and 1/2. I have contemplated putting her somewhere else in another daycare or something but having her just across the street from me comforts me. Becuase then I can only be 5 min away from her and abby. I know its just a phase but its heartbreaking. Well i hope its resolved soon... sigh...

well on a happy note i did a wedding.. its taking me foooorrreeeevver to edit because i really have no time lol.. between work and alice and life I find it hard to sit and just edit.. but i like the ones i have done so far and i can't wait for the finish product. It was my cousins wedding and I did it for free as a gift so they are happy regardless lol. well I better get cracking..

thanks for being loyal lol

2009-05-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

hmmm i think alice needs some excitement in her life lol..

Well things are good in life. Alice is two and is testing my every ounce of patience and abby is 9 months and is crawling like a worm literally she just pulls herself with her arms its cute and she can sit up on her own now meaning she goes from lying on her belly to sitting in one swoop lol. Life at work is busy, I sit on the powwow committe lol I have no idea how that came about and I am doing a bunch of other things.. fun. But it got a deal that I can take the photos at the Powwow.. maybe by then I will get a fancy pants new lense but for now I am happy with what I have now.

Photography wise I contemplating starting another blog but nah I think this one is appropriate but i need to jazz it up more. I am learning more about my camera thanks to J I can use the manual settings all by myself lol. I am excited for spring which means spring pictures. On Victoria day i am taking photos of a lil girl same age as abby and she is soo cute. I need to take pics of my newphew Dom before my sisters beats me up lol and I am doing a Wedding at the end of May and today I am doing portraits for Samson Trust Fund annual report.. I bought a backdrop off a local photographer her its pink but I am contemplating dying it maybe not pink lol. I am learning more as I go along and I still charge the low price of $50 and you get a CD with high resolution photos all of them and i edit a good portion. I would charge more but not until I get a better porfolio and feel confident about charging and I need more experience rather just taking pics of my kids lol.

Well hopefully i will jazz up this site soon... thx for keeping posted..

Before I was Mom

2009-05-06T13:41:00.001-07:00

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .

new lens

2009-04-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

So I got a new to me lens and its pretty nifty.. and took these nifty pics.. i love it

a wish

2009-04-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

I would like a 3 column template but I am afraid to try it without losing all my posts.. sooo help me lol

Spring is here now

2009-04-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

My two beautiful girls are growing up soo fast..abby will be 8 months OMG in a few short days.. alice is 2 going on 12 lol.. The first pic is of Alice after she highlighted her face for me at my office, and the second is a fun pic of abby. Abby is sitting on her own and spinning. I saw spinning because she does not crawl yet.. she spins and rolls to wherever she needs to get. She has yet to figure out that once she gets her belly off the ground she can go places lol. She is happy is pie and has a smile for everyone. Alice is being two and talking so much, everyday she talks more and more. She is spirited and makes us laugh all the time, we took her to the doodlebops and to the circus and she was mesmerized by both. She liked the barbies at the circus and talked about the doodlebops for days lol.

I am back at work full time now.. oh fun fun. The challenge each day is to get up get both kids ready and out the door before 725.. most days we don't leave on time but oh well. Both are doing fine in daycare, they both got sick the first week but their immune systems are strong and they are bouncing back. Going back to work is hard, I miss my girls and its tiring.. My day starts at 6 and I force myself to go to bed by 1030 if I can.

Photography wise I need to get a jump on things, I hope to book more so I can get more experience. I have one possibly 2 weddings in the fall. I want to take a course but they are evenings and its hard to do stuff in the evenings just because of commuting and our work schedules.. but I can keep practicing. Thats all for today..

Finally.. i am really here now

2009-03-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

I did it read the entire series in one week.. I began Saturday ended Saturday.. 4 books.. no sleep or life and my house was a mess. But I gave into the fad. I try not to get hooked into reading the "in" books cause I get disappointed if they don't live up to the hype. I didn't read all the Harry Potters till 2007 and I read the entire series in a month lol.. I get a bit obsessive.. But Twilight is great, a great great love story that forced me to stay awake till 230 in the morning and read while abby slept beside me with only the closet light to read by. I am sure i damaged my eyes but small price to pay for such a great series. Now what do i do with my life it seems meaningless not reading this book lol kidding. But I enjoyed it and I preordered the DVD from chapters and can pick it up Saturday wohoo I haven't watched it yet so I am very excited. Oh the joys lol.

So I have kept up on my project 365 except for uh this past week I completely slacked but I am okay with it I will get going on it again for sure. Its hard to upload a mont of pictures on here so I will create a album in my picasa web albums, but not today cause i am lazy lol. Hey at least I am honest..

Life so far has been supa.. I was called to the bar and now I am officially a Lawyer, not legal assitant but LAWYER. i even got my stamp and seal and business cards.. I am returning to work fulltime on March 23rd.. bah humbug. But I plan to take time off to let alice see her friends and to enjoy the sunshine etc. But now I live by the billable hour or day or whatever now i have to really Work lol. scary but fun.

Alice is growing faster than i ever could have imagined and talking and talking. She went to the farm for a few days to visit the grandparents and our house was quiet she returned and lit it up again for us. Abby has 2 teeth and thinks daycare is okay they have toys and ppl to love her so she is happy. She rolls to where she needs to get and hasn't figured out the coordination to crawl but I am in no hurry otherwise that means i have to sweep the floors more often lol.

I have been scrappbooking lots and plan to upload a slide show of my creations. Life is treating me well. We are trying to sell our car.. Do you want it.. $5000 cash its yours we can even throw in an air fresher if you like. We need a bigger vehicle for the huge sit and stand lol. But we are trying to still be "cool" and get an SUV a small used one lol.

Well I will try be more better, yeah more better lol in blogging.. I am now on twitter.. i have no idea what i am doing but i am there.. apparently i can link it to my blog but thats a lot of effort.

thx for being loyal.. leave a comment
Koren

i am here

2009-03-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hey i am still here.. i just need to organize photos and thoughts.. i haven't forgot about yah.. i have started about 5 new posts but just went i get finished someone is tugging at me or hungry or showing me her new dance or i am off to a playdate lol.. I will get back to you very soon.. i just need more than 5 min at a time in front of this thing lol.

Ode to Abby

2009-02-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

My sweet Abby is 6 months old. She is probably 20lbs and full of happiness. She is soo sweet and happy. She rolls all over the living room and goes crazy in her bouncer. Her eyes light up when shes see me or her daddy and she giggles so much when alice plays with her. Abby my second lil angel. I love being a mommy to such wonderful lil girls.

2009-02-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

Wow its February already. Things are good the girls growing and becoming more amazing each day. I slacked this week and didn't take pics on Feb 2 and Feb 6 mostly because i forgot and was super busy. But i still carry on with my project.
Feb1 - abby eating rice yum yum lol
Feb 3 - Nico came to visit
Feb 4- Alices beautiful eyelashes
Feb 5 - Alice after a hard day of playing
Feb7 - mommies and babies. me alice, michelle summer, carly and dom
Feb 8- me and my girls

I started working digitally with my pictures for a scrapbook soo at some point I will print them.. well off for the day.. sorry kinda blah... I will write tommorrow

2009-02-01T21:42:00.000-08:00

Finally I can post the latest pics.. So heres a run down and also for me to remember..
Jan18 - we live vicariously thru our children.. this is alice barbie.
Jan19 - Alice is a dance fool with her dance mat.
Jan20 - The day Obama became president of USA
Jan21 - My sweet abigails photoshoot for fun
Jan22 - My attempt at Callis Chicken Enciladas.. soooo good
Jan 23 - I spent the evening scrapbooking at home
Jan24 - Daddys girl
Jan25 - Uncles girl
Jan26 - Abby now likes to only lay on her stomach in the tub
Jan27 - This morning alice was running around in halloween pjs, housecoat, winterboots and a bag of plastic veggies.
Jan28 - crazy and oveexposed lol
Jan29 - abbys chubbiness i love it
Jan30 - its late i just survived a scary ride home from calgary.
Jan31 - I was at an all day scrapfest and made a mini album for xmas\

So far i am enjoying this challenge.. I realized i need to take more of abby and some ones of alice looking groomed lol.. Its a challenge to get the camera out before midnight otherwise I get pics of me in the kitchen lol.. Its nice cause i can reflect on each day. I figured out how i am going to scrapbook it.. i gave up on the becky higgins kit.. 1 its sold out, 2 its selling on Ebay for 200 bucks soo i will work on something this week and post it later.

I do find when i am taking pictures everday I am taking lots i have so many of the girls its funny and of other various things, I chose the ones for the product based on whichever pic makes me smile. If you click on the grid i belive it will show up bigger for you. I will post more as the days go by.. and I will keep you updated on the life of us.

25 random facts

2009-01-29T23:10:00.000-08:00

I was going to post 365 today but I will wait till end of month.. but so far so good.

Heres something to entertain you.. I posted in on Facebook but i know some of you loathe it so this is for yah.

1. My middle name is Rickie.. not many people know that.
2. I had my license suspended for a month when I was 19 -- a bit to many speeding tickets
3. I have eaten raw caribou and dipped it in whale blubber -- it was wierd but when in rome.. or when in saluit...
4. I have 8 sisters and 8 brothers (that i know of) but I am a only child --- long story.......
5. I found my life twin.. you know when they say there someone out there just like you.. her name is tasha.. and she saved me from loneliness one summer.
6. I have a box of letters from friends in grade 8 in a old cooler in the basement...
7. I realllly hate doing dishes so much so that I bought my town house in Edmonton solely on the fact that it had a dishwasher..
8. I've twisted my ankle to the point where I had to go to emergency several times but have never ever broken it...
9. I've been to Amsterdamn, Germany, Berlin, France, London and Scotland, Bahamas, Mexico, MOst of West USA and Canada and lived in a town in northern Quebec where I got picked up by a skidoo to go to work and it was -30 in september.
10. I have 3 degrees Rec Admin, Sociology and Law. but nothing prepared me for motherhood lol.
11. I don't like mustard
12. I love pickles
13. I once gave someone CPR and they did not survive.
14. I love Nicholas Sparks books and cry every single time.
15. I read all the Harry Potters in a month
16. I read the entire chronicles of narnia in 3 days while my husband laid in a hospital bed
17. I miss my dad
18. I have a 10 year old placostomas fish that is probably 30 cm long and just wont die
19. I got kicked out of Art 10
20. I once cutoff a braid of a boy that had 2 braids in grade 5.
21. My first kiss was in grade 7
22. I will always help my family and friends out no matter the situation and usually give them advice whether they like it or not
23. I once lived in a 900 Square foot townhouse in Edmonton with 4 other ppl and one bathroom
24. I love to watch Little People Big World and if I was ever in Oregon again would go to their farm.
25. Someone is alive today because of me.
26. I belive in my culture, it makes sense to make and helps me through rough days and its been there with me on good days. Its the basis of who I am.

far from perfect but pretty darn fantastic anyway

2009-01-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

Hello .. sorry i have been behind. Here are some latest pics of the girlys.. We have been busy sledding, building snowmans and alice started swimming lessons, which apparently she does not like. It must be the structure lol. So my life is not perfect and I don't pretend it to be.. its good and I love every moment. Its nice just to be happy with your everyday moments. Yeah there are days where I need a glass of wine to take the edge off lol.. or i just need a drive like yesterday boy that was a doozy.
It began with alice waking up before the rest of the world at 600am awesome, so we come down stairs and she has her milk and tree house and lala.. so far so good.. then i am dealing with my career via email with a bunch of meatballs seriously its like ppl try to make my life harder .. so i got over it abby woke up so i bring her down shes happy as pie and then i lay her on rug to changer her (usually i put a blanket or something down) but today i was like whatever what could go wrong really? So she pooped and then while i was taking her pamper off she wiggled and wiggled and smooshed yep smooshed her lovely green poop onto the nice cream carpet. How do you get mad at a 5 month old? You dont', you smile while your 2 year old is looking saying gross gross. So abby goes into jumper and i think oh wait we have a carpet cleaner so I get said carpet cleaner out and go to fill the water tank, but it was full from the last clean, full with dirty moldy SMELLY water... Greattttt. so i clean it out to the best of my ability with no bleach and then proceed to clean the carpet.. Carpet came clean but then my house smelled gross because the carpet cleaner smelled like barf because it was wasn't cleaned.. so i was fed up called wes he was like whoops.. oh well lol. and i went for a drive with the kids of course. oh and while i was getting carpet cleaner ready alice was trying to clean up poop with her socks.. greatttt lol. yeah so it was a great 1hr lol.. but isn't that the life of every mom?

My 365 project is good so far, I will upload tommorrow and maybe even post twice in one week wow wouldn't that be something. lol.. Well thanks for listening to my madness... hey life ain't perfect if it was then what would we laugh at and how would we have goals and dreams. Its the imperfections that create memories....

Project 365

2009-01-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

So I have started my project 365... 365 days in our lives... I will take pictures of me, the girls, wes, stuff, and ppl in our lives. I will make a scrapbook album out of it somehow digitally once I figure out Adobe or find a easier program. But I still will do my regular scrapbooking of course. I wanted to buy a Becky Higgins project 365 kit but they are allll sold out and they haven't decided if they are making more so I will at least start the pics and the details..I figure if i post here once a week in addition to my regular posts it will make it easier.

Jan 8 - Alice's watching her favorite show and dancing "In the Night Garden"

Jan 9 -Alice finds Mr. Potatoe Head glasses and wears them alllll day long

Jan10 - Abby is 5 months old.. wow time flies

Jan11 -Kokum comes to visit..alice running crazy while abby soaks up some kokum time..

Jan12 - a relaxing day at home and alice crusing her bike in the kitchen.

Jan13-Abby lol.. just thought it was the funniest pic of the day

Jan14 - Abby sleeping with her favorite sleep toy.. musical seahorse.. i just love how peaceful she looks.

Jan 15 - Scrapbooking day wohoo

Jan 16 - We went to out and alice tried on these glasses and pretty much kept them on alll day and everyday since then lol

Jan17 - we finally built a snowmap thats what alice calls them.

I find while taking pics everyday i can't take just one, nope i probably end up taking about 20 per day lol.. so its nice cause I have some really good pics of the girls and us.

ps.. who reads my blog from leftbridge and stoney plain lol.. take care everyone and hope your enjoying the awesome weather

Goals 2009

2009-01-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

So everyone has there new years resolutions/goals etc. I made some goals for myself.. If I achieve them fantastic but if not I won't be beating myself up about it.. lol. But I think if I create goals, I have to create a way to accomplish them or else I probably won't ever get them done or started nonetheless.

1. My 365 project..there are a few of these ideas floating around.. I know a friend of mine takes pics everyday of her 2 kids.. I am going to sorta do the same thing but I will take pictures of everything in my life for 365 days.. I am sure the majority will be alice and abby but I can't forget about wes, the animals and everything else that encompasses my life. I saw a perfect scrapbook kit that would help but its sold out so i found a variety of variations.. I will make one post weekly of my weekly pics and journaling and hope hope hope I stick with it for one year. I have already started and once I find a good kit I will start my layout..maybe I will do a digital ooohhhhhh

2. Take better pictures.... so I want to be a better photographer and I got a new flash for my camera and I have lots of new ideas.. so I put the word out I want to get better and ppl can pay me 50 buckeroos and I will change their life lol... or just take their pics for 1 hr lol.

3. I want to be better organized.. i bought a shelf from ikea and watch alot of homemade simple soo thats about all i got so far for this goal lol..

4. I want to be healthier.. yeah everyone has this goal.. i know.. so I enrolled in step areobics class on weds.. should be entertaining for everyone involved lol.. Oh I also enrolled alice in swimming

5. I want alice to eat more fruit.. sooo i made banana bread today and hope she eats it.. now if I can only figure out how to make everything into cookies i would be set.. spinich chocolate chip cookies anyone lol

6. I want to enjoy the relationships I have .... friendship is a two way street and sometimes some people in our lives forget that and we get left with all the work.. so my goals is to stop trying so hard for people who won't try so hard for me.. is that mean.. not really.. just honest

7. Enjoy my 30's ... so never thought I would say this.. but I look forward to growing old watching my kids grow up.. I had my time .. oh yes I did lol.. now I can enjoy attempting to raise two responsible citizens.

8. Give my career a jump start.. soo I hopefully will become a laywer soon lol.. and after maternity leave I will go back to work.. time TBA lol. So I wrote a letter to SCN stating I would love to continue and gave them my expected rate of pay.. we will see how that goes

9. hmmm I can't think of any more goals.. right now.. the first few were my main.. the rest I accomplish is just an added bonus.

a gingerbread house died today

2009-01-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

Alice and Nico made a gingerbread house.. it was a wonderful thing, even more wonderful when they figured out you could eat the candy. But what is the purpose of a gingerbread house... we build it and let it sit and it gets hard and then we throw it away. Today i finally broke down and threw out the house. Pretty much every year we make one and put it out for display and then toss it after it gets hard lol. It if fun to make and bond while we make the house but alice doesn't really eat candy.. she did however lick a few choice pieces before she put them on the house lol. So next year i will still buy a gingerbread house make it and nibble on the candy before it gets hard and then set it out on the table and contemplate this whole thought again.

Reflection

2008-12-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Well another Christmas has come and gone.. I enjoyed it very much this year. Its fun now that alice gets the whole idea sorta, well she gets the presents part and she figured out who santa was. We had 5 christmases lol, we went to vermillion, the lightning gift exchange on xmas eve, xmas day we went to my moms and my bio dad and boxing day we went to wes's moms. Now our house basically looks like toys r us threw up in it but oh well once a year and alice is quite busy now playing with her toys and abbys lol.

So the new year is coming and i guess this is when we reflect on the past year and what we look forward to in the new.

My past top 10 memories of 2008
1. The birth of Abigail Patricia
2. Moving into our new house
3. Alice becoming a motor mouth and saying "hey baby"
4. My family trip to Victoria for a friends wedding.
5. My trip to banff with some great girls.
6. All the dinners with my super family , mom and sister and brothers
7. My great scrapbook nights with my friends
8. Taking alice to Calgary Zoo
9. Finally completing my articling
10. Taking alice to spray parks and lakes during the summer

What I look forward to in 2009
1. Watching abby and alice grow together
2. Becoming a real life lawyer
3. Finishing my yard
4 Enjoying everyday moments with all of you.

Hope you all have a great new years and had a great holiday.

alice is turning 2

2008-12-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

Alice is turning 2 on December 18, 2008. My baby yep i still call her baby. She had a birthday party today in Leduc at the Rec Center. It began with crafts (kinda lol) and pizza and mostly for her cheetos and then she went swimming. The weather today was cold to say the least. We had some cancel due to weather and roads and illness but what can you do when its -30 out lol. But some great friends braved the cold to help us celebrate. She began being a bit shy and but she warmed up near the end, especially when she found out cake was involved. She loved every present. It was fun afternoon. She loved swimming with her cousin Hailey. I can't believe i am the mother of a 2yearold and a 4 month old.. if you knew me years back you would not think this lol.. Alice has her Hobbema party on the 17th yep we have 2 parties lol i am crazy, next year it is one party one shot deal lol.. but becasue her family is soo spread out it just works out better to have 2. I believe in celebrating birthdays to their fullest and they should be big deals with lots of friends, laughter and of course birthday cake. I love birthdays. And everyone person i know that has a bday around christmas tells me how much they hate it and I don't want alice to think that so she gets a huge shabang to celebrate her life. Everyone shoud feel super special at least one day out of the year.. well here is some pics from the day and i will post again after the next partay.. thanks for those that braved the cold to be with us it meant alot and for those that couldn't be there we completely understand.

Life with Alice

2008-12-09T23:17:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when you let a 2 year old pick out her own shoes.

monkey updates

2008-12-04T21:18:00.001-08:00

So I thought I would give an update on the two lil monkeys alice and abigail.

Abigail is going to be 4 months on the 10th. Its kinda crazy because to me she was just born and tiny and now she is getting so big and chubby. She is beginning to roll over although once shes there she doesn't know what to do lol. She tries to hold her own bottle, she loves her milk. Shes sooo calm I bring her with me to teach and to most meetings and no one even realizes she is there. She only cries really hard when we are grooming her lol cleaning her cheesy neck as she is the queen of spitting up or if she is is super hungry/tired. She wakes goes to sleep around 1030 or 9 and sometiems wakes up at 1 to eat if not then she definately wakes up at 530 to eat. but it depends how comfy she is. Yep i still sleep with her. But shes a lil sweetie and shes beginning to find her sister quite funny and probably pretty crazy. It is abby first xmas and we dont' know what to buy her any suggestions she is only 4 months off to toys r us for me lol.

Alice my lil bookworm loves to read this kid gets soo excited to read or if she gets a new book. We do the book a month club thing with growler she is now getting some disney books. She loves to dance dance dance its fun to watch as she is not exactly graceful. She loves abby and is protective of her. At a dinner someone grabbed abbys bottle and alice let them have it lol. Shes not as jealous anymore shes beginning to enjoy abby and especially now that abby laughs at her she thinks she has a bigger audience now. Alice is beginning to use sentaces small ones, "where did it go" but she pretty much will copy whatever you say sooooo we have to watch our language. The whole potty training thing she is not ready for yet maybe next month but we keep the option open for her if she ever gets the courage to try sit on the potty without a diaper. Even though i am at home I still try to take her to daycare once or twice a week since i have meetings and teach a class so she get some playtime in with her friends. She will be turning 2 in 2 weeks.. wow.. so the party planning has begun I am excited because this year she will get it and she will also get the whole idea of christmas.

Well the christmas season is upon us so we have lots to do and lots to be thankful for. It has been along time since I could genuinely look forward to christmas and this year I am pretty excited, i will make sure to keep you posted. Here is some silly pics for you to see.

Buffalo Sisters and Brothers

2008-11-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

Well I here is another of my favorite families that I did a photoshoot for. I have known this family for years we road the bus together way back in the day and I played ball with some of these women. These are sisters and brothers (adults) and all of their kids from the Buffalos. There was i think 4 or 5 kids missing and 1 more brother. It was super cold this day but they were still pumped and the kids sat still for a long time, police officer had to come check up what the heck we doing lol. I am glad they like them I had a fun day that day.

Mommy Time

2008-11-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

So I have been home for 2 weeks... wow this is way harder than working lol. I love it. Its so much fun to be able to spend the days with my kids.. I went shopping with both of them by myself (technically i met friends) but i did it. I still get no sleep just like I am working.. abby goes to bed late.. although tonight she was out by 930 and alice wakes up at 6 sometimes 630 if I am lucky. Good thing for coffee.
Last weekend I had a scrapbook weekend with the girls. It was super. abby is a great scrapbooker lol. It was cold due to it being in an arena but super fun. My scrapbook group meets once a month but lately we find more reasons than once a month to meet. I love being able to just relax and have an evening away, that is pretty much my only evening activity besides the odd coffee night.
Xmas is coming up super fast, I think I will put up my tree soon. This will be the first year since me and wes met that we have a fake tree. But with 2 kids and a white rug its the best option just until alice gets past the knock everything over stage lol. Plus every single year there is always a morning where we come downstairs and our tree is on the floor.
Well hopefully my next post will be more inspiring.. i have all these great ideas but then i sit down and blank blank. oh and ps I was one of the 10% that did not see the big flash of light.. and i think everyone else is crazy hehe.

I can wear jeans

2008-11-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

So today is my last day at Sasakamoose Law office with Samson Cree Nation. My last day as an articling student. I have been here for one year. It has been a great year full of learning, laughing and growing. I work with some pretty amazing ppl that always make the day brighter. (I know they are blog stalking lol). Working in my community really makes a difference, my daughter gets to go to daycare with her cousin, I get to see my family on a regular basis. I get to help people in my community which is why I went to law school, that and to support my shopping habit. Its been quite a year. It is hard leaving behind a desk for awhile. What do i do next..
Well I get to go on mat leave, I get to relax, I get to BREATHE. I still teach classes on monday afternoon at the college until December and I still sit on 2 boards so that will keep my mind busy. And it will give Alice a chance to still go to daycare 1 or 2 times a week.
But now its time to get my mommy heart busy. Time to organize my home, do crafts with alice, watch more tree house, change more diapers, potty train, bottle wean, take mega pics of my daughters, go to playdates, go to gymboree, have coffee with great friends. Its time to slow down, my abby is already 2.5 months almost 3 and I need to be there for her and alice is going to be 2 and she needs me. The Law will always be there but this tiny age with 2 lil girls only comes around once.
In the new year will bring many changes, I will be a real live lawyer not just a 'student' anymore. My bar call ceremony will likely be in feb and then after that I will return to work either here or somewhere. The new year will bring new possibilities. But after many years of school and books I need to just take a step back and decide on where I want life to go next.

Our Halloween

2008-11-05T10:23:00.001-08:00

So for Halloween Alice dressed up as snowwhite.. This kid had 3 costumes to chose from lol. My mom bought her an elmo but she won't put it on, we think she thinks she is wearing elmo skin. lol. I bought her a unicorn costume and she wouldn't put that on either.. So finally my husband said get her something with a dress and viola she wears it. The daycare took them trick or treating around the band office so when i picked her she had a pumpkin full. After work my cousin brought her daughter mehkwan over shes 2 weeks older than alice and they went around the block hunting for candy. They had fun. Alice for some reason didn't believe chips should go in her pumpkin so when ppl would give her chips she would scream no and throw them on the ground lol, but she welcomed chocolate of course lol. That nice alice when to sleep pretty easy.
A few days before we carved a pumpkin, a classic nothing fancy. Alice watched in awe and was pretty proud of her 'punkit' and would kiss it before bed and say hello in the morning. It was to cold to take abby out but we took pics of her in catepillar costume and she did come to work with me in her costume and her halloween pjs. I think halloween is right up there with christmas for me. Now i have to decorate for xmas, the day after halloween both my neighbours put up all their xmas lights and decorations.. i better one up them lol.

Halloween Photoshoot

2008-11-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

So for Halloween I set up a backdrop in a spare office at my work and took kiddy pics. I charged 12 buckeroos and they got 1 8x10 and 2 4x6 and on online album. If they wanted a CD or more pics it was for an extra charge. So here is an snapshot of one of the cuties. Click on my photoalbum link for the rest. Only the first 10 are edited the rest are not.

plane rides

2008-10-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy,, but when has my life not been busy lol. I went to Toronto last week for an Indigenous Bar Association conference. I took abby with me and my baby sitter Kendra, my sister. The flight there was good, abby was really good on the plane and she was quite the conversation peice at the conference. Alice went to Vermillion to the farm for a few days while I was in Toronto and Wes was working. Apparenlty she only cried for abby lol. she was very happy to see her when we got home. It was sweet.

Abby is sleeping longer at nights, last night she didn't wake up till 630 this morning.. she sleeps for about 8 hrs straight now.. hmm.. shes only 2 .5 months but she eats an increadible amount during the day to store up for night i guess and she has enough chubby on her so I don't worry. Alice's talks lot now. She will tell you what an owl says and what sheep say lol. and she calls pumpkin a 'punkit' lol. She was very interested when we carved the pumpkin last night but thought the slimy stuff was i quote 'gross' .

Its been one year since my dad passed away, its very unreal to me but real at the same time. We had a tea dance and I was so amazed at how much food was made. We are lucky to have such a wonderful group of women who can make mean pots of soup and loads of bannock and 15 cakes in one day lol.

I have 3 photoshoots to post once i get more time. For the next two days i am taking halloween pictures at my office we have a lil backdrop set up for when all the kids come trick or treatin tommorrow.. alice is going to be snow white and abby is catepillar or a hotdog lol. well thats all for now.. wow november is in 2 sleeps

My sister Kelci and Nico

2008-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

I finally worked on my sisters photos.. this was the worlds shortest shoot lol.. Nico was not into having his picture that day. "no pictures auntie" soo I will have to try again.. and all his facial expressions were of pokemon lmao. Charzard lol. But click on the side bar of my blog under my photography for views of all.

Thanksgiving

2008-10-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend that went by wayyyyy to fast. Abby turned 2months old, turkey dinner, visitors, grandparents, more turkey, yard work and a wedding reception. My good friend Christine Thompson now Swift got married on Saturday and we went to her turkey day reception. alice danced the night away.. heres a story to tear at your heartstrings

Alice has always been an independant kid, there will be a whole room of kids and she is content playing in the corner with some toy. Shes happy if kids play with her but is quite happy playing alone. So we went to the wedding and she was running around dancing up a storm on the dance floor and then some other lil girls around ages 3 and 4 were dancing. Alice tried to join them but they walked away, so she continued to twirl on her own. then they 4 other girls paired off and began twirling with each other and then fall down and laughing. Alice put her hand out to one girl so she could twirl and the lil girl snubbed her and walked away and then Alice just kind of stood there like why won't you play with me look on her face. Then the four girls all held hands and danced while alice danced on her own outside of their circle. One girl tried to include her but then another girl in teh group said no. Poor lil alice just continued to twirl and dance regardless. It broke my heart to watch but made me happy that she got over it quickly and enjoyed herself regardless. If only we could protect them from all heartbreak and all the mean girls who might snub them but sadly we have to let them dance alone sometimes. Here are some pics from the wedding and the weekend.

2 months

2008-10-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Abby will be two months old on friday. Wow, I can't believe it has been two months. Feels like forever yet feels like just yesterday. She smiles, laughs and crys. She is a perfect baby that I love more and more each day. It breaks my heart that I had to go back to work so soon but in November I will be able to take 3 months off ormore until I decide what to do next with my life. In two months Abby has already travelled to BC, she has won over many hearts and has become an eating machine lol. I am a sucker and she sleeps with me but its the only time it can just be us and we enjoy it. (Wes sleeps with alice as we are complete suckers lol) But hey at least alice has a room and a bed. Baby steps baby steps they are only small once and it will be too soon when they want to shut us out of their bedrooms and be independant. wow 2 months and so many more to go life doesn't get any better than that.

Jack of all Trades

2008-10-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

Lately my friends have been calling me jack of all trades. I tend to be super busy and do a million things. Our wonderful receptionist at work was amazed at the million of things I do. So currently I am an articling student, I chair the Samson Cree Nation Safe Community Task Force, I sit on SML Board, IBA board. I teach Business law on mondays lol. and do photography on weekends. I also am addicted to scrapbooking, tv and shopping. I also make shell jewelery and i recently found the stuff i made last year. I am also a professional fundraiser. And I still am home at night to watch my shows and make supper and play with my wonderful daughters.. life is busy lol. I like to keep a full plate, there are so many things in life I want to do or see, so if i am presented with an opportunity I take, good thing i like coffee. Here are some silly pics of the girls. off to i go to edit some photos. alices new thing is saying oohh no and having super messy hair lol

Jamie & Jared Buffalo

2008-10-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

I did this familys shoot last sunday as well. This is my wonderful friend Jaime who I have know since we were punks and I have known her husband probably since I was in Kindergarten.. Their family is so beautiful and her kids were great. Thanks for letting me take wonderful pictures. Click on my webalbums for more.

Yellowbird/Palmers

2008-10-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

I finally posted in my webalbum one of my photoshoots. With my bff Carmen's family lol. I have known her for way to many years and could write a book about our experiences together. Her family is wonderful and beautiful. The boys were very entertaining. Click on the link on the side to view the album.

Sweet Dreams

2008-10-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is abby dreaming very happy.. What do babies dream about.. food, hugs and kisses lol. I just love this photo. Today we were leaving for our day and abby was lying on the couch and alice playing with toys. I went to the bathroom and heard abby cry a bit. When I came out abby was still on the couch but had a bottle in her mouth and it was propped up perfectly with a blanket. I asked Wes "did you give abby a bottle" nope he replied. So alice went into the diaper bag grabbed abbys bottle and blanket.. and got abby all set up lol.. it was the sweetest thing i saw. So i gave alice a high five and hug for being a good sister. then she said.. "abby happy". What a great way to start a morning..

finally

2008-09-30T08:55:00.001-07:00

i finally figured out how to put music on here lol.. a real variety lol.

Busy bee weekends

2008-09-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

So we had our usual busy weekend.. seems like all our weekends are busy, weekend warriors. lol. Saturday I went to a baby sale and got some good deals, i bought alice an elmo for 2$ it sings the song "Shout" over and over and over again. I now know why it was being sold lol. Then we flew to Hobbema for miss Lakinias 4th bday. She wasn't into having her picture taken a bit shy.

We had babies everywhere.. here is a pic of the new lightning babies left to right is Summer Lightning, Dominik Desjarlias, and Abby lol. the girls are only 8 days apart and Dom is about 2 months older . but much heavier lol

After the dinner we went swimming, my uncle rented out the pool for all 10 of us lol.. only about 10 went swimming and we pretty much stayed in the baby pool. alice the meatball had fun.

Then Sunday I took family photos of 3 wonderful family friends. I will post them in my picasa web albums after i work on them. I don't exactly want to be a photograher, after all i got the whole law thing going on lol. i just love taking pictures for people, i think its my hobby and a wonderful hobby it is. If i get good maybe i will actually charge money but for now i just want to get experience so i can get better and maybe some day i will be as good as some of my photography friends.. We all want to be good at something and being a good photographer is on my bucket list lol. Then after all the photoshoots I went to hobbema, to help out at the poker tournament.

Our family is having weekly poker tournments to raise money for my dads one year anniversay tea dance. We also raise money for the Walk for cancer our family particiaptes in every June and we also want to have a special in Honour of my dad at the next samson powwow. overall busy and fun weekend.. and today i get half day off from work so i can go enjoy the beautiful weather and hopefully take alice to the park...life is good.

2008-09-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

So I got a new haircut.. Its the shortest I ever had it.. now i have to style it lol. my hair was driving me crazy and i needed a change, i was wearing way to many ponytails. but i like it, its my professional cut.. maybe alice and her crazy hair need a cut lol.

life as we know it

2008-09-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

So in the past 3 days i have heard of 3 ppl being diagnosed with terminal cancer.. wow. Life is getting shorter and shorter. One of the people is my friends mother, i hit the floor when she told me because all i could think of was how hard this will be for her and how i didn't want her to go through that kind of loss. But it seems we are all getting older, with growing up comes consequences.. the realization that as we get older so do our parents and at some point we may face the day my friend faced yesterday or the day I faced a year ago.. is that morbid to think about. yes but no. Life is precious. We grow up always thinking our parents will be there for the rest of our lives and I never really thought about my parents not being there. Would I have appreciated them more when i was a teenager if i had that thought? All we can do I can do is continue to live each day with joy and passion and enjoy the people that come into my life.

family photos

2008-09-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

The wonderful photos of my family and abby were taken by my friend Jaimey.. her photoblog is on the sidebar.

So i begin..

2008-09-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Finally I have time to update this blog.. which i apparently started 8 months ago lol.. so i decided I should start blogging about our lil family. it also gives me a place to rant and rave and show you all the wonderful things we do.

Life so far, we now live in Leduc, a nice lil yellow house with a soon to be yard. Its the perfect house for us. messy but perfect. I work in Hobbema finishing my articling year under Sasakamoose Law Office, Wes works for Graham construction (currently on pat leave), alice goes to daycare and abby is beginning her life as a baby.

Abigail (Abby) was born August 10, 2008. Alice loves her and loves being a big sister. Abby loves to talk and stare deeply into your eyes and loves her swing. Alice loves to be silly, dance, jump and run. Her passions lately are reading books or rather having us read to her.

Life is good we are getting ready for October and with that comes many things. Wes going back to work, I go to toronto for a week and my late dads one year anniversary and of course Halloween.

Hopefully I can post daily or at least weekly.. enjoy reading

The Beginning

2008-01-06T21:54:00.000-08:00

Well it is 2008 and I decied to start a new blog on a new page. MSN was just not functional for me and I wanted to try something different. Welcome everyone and I promise to keep you entertained.