[redhandedphotography: J&C Engagement Shoot]

To say that yesterday was busy, is an understatement.

I had the privilege of being apart of the worship service at our church ... and with the clocks going forward, it was a bit of a gong show with Katia (not being on the new time change) and me having to be bathed, presentable and at the church by 8am.  But I was only two minutes late.  Well.  Maybe three ... and the guys in the band thought I had forgotten *grin* ... what was shocking is that THEY were all there on time.  Ha!!

Then, after the second service, I ripped it home and got changed.  I had to be downtown by 1pm for an engagement photoshoot.  And THAT was a lot of fun, a lot of moving around, and a lot of praying that the rain would hold off!  And it did ...

The shoot was done by 2:30pm ... just in time for me to pack up and head to my parent's place for a baby welcome/niece's 16th birthday celebration.  We had a lovely dinner, lovely conversation ... and got the kiddies home to bed by 8:30pm. 

Then I started editing photos ... and, um, instead of being sane and going to bed at a normal time - I wandered into our room just after 1am.  But hey - the pics are done and sent off.  And I am pleeeeeeased with them ...

It was a full, fantastic day ... oh!  And to check out the images of my latest shoot - please click here.  Or you can click the "redhanded photography blog" link on the sidebar of this blog page ...

Have a great one!

[talk: Age Appropriate]

I think the yuckiest thing about getting older, is trying to re-define yourself.  I mean, going from single, to dating, to engaged, to married, to being a mother ... each time I panic and wonder what that new title means to me just being - well - me.

There is something very cool about getting older, though.  You tend to know what you like, what you don't.  You tolerate things you never would have before, and say "enough is enough" when necessary.  For me, I've learned about the whole "grey" area, that I think God lives in a little more than the black and white.  I've learned about compassion - about seeing how we're all just one choice away from getting off track, so maybe a kind word might be better than a judgemental glance.  I've learned to listen to those who matter, and respectively decline the opinions of those who do not.  That I cannot please everybody, and that's ok.  But here's where I go a little insane - and not in a good way (you're going to laugh, especially with the way I set this up to be some profound, deep post ...).  Here's the thing.  I'm not terribly sure of what to wear *blush*. 

I'm afraid of looking like a mid-life crisis (oh, Lord help us all ...).  I mean - how does one balance looking current, yet not succumbing to the trends of the teens??  Like - skinny jeans.  Is there an age limit on that??  I hope not ... I just bought a pair *wink*.

Trying to represent myself as a mom, who cares about looking presentable, current and appropriate - proves to be a bit tough.

Anyone else out there know what I'm talking about?

[digiscrap: More pages]

Busy, busy, busy.  But I'm thankful for quiet nights when I can catch up on my scrapbooking.  You'd think that with 30 pages or so done in the last couple of weeks, that I would be well on my way.  Not likely *grin*!!  I take too many photos, documenting what seems to be the daily activities of our little family!

Here are some more layouts. Click to enlarge ...

Have a good one!

[redhandedphotography: Baby Liam]

Another wee one to welcome - and I had the privilege of taking the photographs that will hopefully be treasured for years to come ...

Little Liam was just over a week old - wide awake - and not a sound.  Sounds like a perfect little model to me!!

For more photos, please click here or visit my redhanded photography blog by clicking the link in the sidebar.

Have a great one!

[katia: New Nursery]

I've been so excited to post these pics!!!

Having two little guys has meant a lot of fun when it comes to decorating.  And because we didn't know we were having a girl, we opted to just hang tight and leave the nursery as it was for Josiah.  Here's what it looked like:

Neutral.  Calm.  I liked it.   But now we had a girl and it just didn't fit right anymore, so I comtemplated redoing it.  A girl's room was totally out of my comfort zone ... I was so lost.  But then for Christmas, my folks got Taya new bedding and that became my starting point ...  Brighty, cheery ... pink, red, green, black ... super cute.  I loved it!!

So - are you ready to see what I did with it?  ... Well.  I opted for pale pink walls.  I could've gone with green, but Siahs' room was green (click here to see his Cars Theme bedroom).  So pink it was, with red ladybugs ... and the big reveal *drumroll please* .... . (dadadadadadadadadadada)

and from the other angle ...

And the details?  Ok ... here's what we did.  First - my bro-in-law built the "feature wall" with a shelf to hold all sorts of special things as Katia gets older.  He notched it out by the closet, so the door could safely open.  Didn't he do a GREAT job??  Thanks PD!

The small wall in front of the closet, I painted with black chalkboard paint, which matches the bedding that has black gingham piping.

The ladybug wall decals I got from etsy.  And they walk around the room in a really whimsical way.

See the little guy on top of Katia' photos?  I got those frames at Costco and used Katia's "holiday hat" photos for them ... perfect with the red, black and white ...

And the stencil of her name?  Also an Etsy purchase ... it was two wall stickers.  The bottom was the large red "K", and the "Katia Rose" was another sticker.

And some of the details on the shelf and around her room are her first pair of black Christmas shoes, a few books that were given as gifts, a black pair of Converse sneakers, various plush toys that were gifts, a ladybug lamp, a ladybug nightlight, a black iron storage stand on her dresser that holds medicine/diapers/facecloths (from Costco) and in her square shelves, cast molds that I made of her hand and foot.

So - that's it.  It only took 6 weeks to complete *ugh* ... mainly because of Taya's napping schedule.  But I got a good arm workout, doing all of that sanding, priming and painting.  I'm so happy it's done ... what do you think?

Have a great one!