Relay For Life 2009

In January of 2005, my little sister Amber (then 18 years old) was diagnosed with Cancer. 6 months later, she completed Chemotherapy. A few months after that it was confirmed that she wasn't going to have further treatment. It was quite a ride for her, and for those closest to her. I'm so grateful that she was able to get through this experience and come out on top!

Last night, I was able to attend the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life in Brant that took place at the track at the Burford Fairgrounds.

It was pretty cool to find out when we got there that Amber had been asked to carry the flag for the Survivor's Victory Lap!

There were teams that ran or walked the relay overnight together (the relay is 12 hours long- from 7pm, to 7am).

This is Amber with her team, "A Step In the Right Direction":

I didn't catch all of the team's names, but there were certain teams you couldn't miss- like "Alice's Aliens" and "Candace's Angels" :)
(I have to add that I just found an article about Alice Wood who, at 96 years old, is the disease's oldest survivor!)

Here are just a few of the teams:

It was touching to see the different groups and to know that so many of them (and so many of the people there to support them in the relay) had personal reasons for being there, and were there to support a special person in their life who is facing or has faced a battle with Cancer.

The place was packed with "survivors" in yellow tshirts with blue ribbons that showed how long they'd been surviving and the track was lined with luminaries representing those who had fought the fight against cancer.

Here we are: (My mom, niece, sister & I, with Amber)

My heart goes out to those who have faced or are facing the fight against Cancer and I am so appreciative of those who supported the Relay for Life this year!

Emily ~ Headshots

I snapped a few headshots for Emily last week, for her University student card. This was my favourite of the bunch.



I haven't had many photos to post lately, so I thought I'd share it, even though it wasn't a full session or anything.

I'm in the middle of a computer switch, & the computer that I have my photo software running on is extremely slow right now, so processing photos takes way longer than it should. This is why I haven't even uploaded our trip photos yet!

Photoshop Fun

First order of business: If you've left me a message in the last 2 weeks, or are waiting to schedule a session, I will be in touch with you this week.

I've been away on vacation for 2 weeks and I know it's been pretty dead around this blog, so I thought it was about time I posted!

And no, I don't have any photos to share from our trip- they haven't even been loaded onto the computer yet!

But I do have something photo-related to share. This evening after I got the girls to bed, I decided to get on the computer and play around with some things in Photoshop, for fun (it's been a while!).

I pulled up a photo that I took in January of 2008 and re-did the processing.
Here's how I processed it then:



Tonight I did some sharpening, burning, cloning, channel mixing, and added a border. When I was finished, it looked like this:



It's always interesting to me, to pull out an old picture that I took, and then re-process it the way I would do it now. It's encouraging to see that I'm learning more about Photoshop over time!

I love computers, art, and photography, so processing images on the computer after shooting is one of my favourite parts of photography. I've shared a few before & afters on my facebook page and have received interested comments about them, so I thought I'd make this the first of more posts on the blog about Photoshop and sharing some before & afters.

Now, I'm just curious... to me, the above photo is about the two birds sitting together... did your eye go to them? Or was it just a picture of part of a tree, to you?

Happy Mother's Day!

Before I share my exciting news, let me share a photo of my two favourite girls & the reasons why I love being a mother:



I am really really excited today because today I found out that I won a Mother's Day Contest!

Amanda of Living Proof Photography hosted the contest, and when I read about it, my heart was thumping at the thought of winning a photo session.

I have this problem I've decided to call WSOC... Wrong Side of the Camera. It is that even though I can take photos of my family, I will always be on the wrong side of the camera, so I can never take photos of our whole family, together... SAD!

So, today when I found out that I won Amanda's contest, I had to do a little happy dance with my daughter- hurray! I get family photos with me in them!! What a wonderful surprise for Mother's Day!

Since I'm on the topic of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share a little part of my entry with you:

I started to think about motherhood and how it often seems like a job without recognition. I sometimes miss the report cards of school and the recognition that came with a job. I’m a stay-at-home-mom, doing everything I can to stay home and be with my children as long as I can afford to. I don’t receive much recognition from those in the world around me, but I choose to be with my daughters if at all possible because I feel I should (and of course because I love them like crazy!!)
So as I was pondering this lack of recognition, I wrote a little poem and I realized that I have been getting recognition, just not from where it used to come:

In the time I’ve been a mother…

I’ve never made the news
Unless you count the reports my daughter gives my husband of the fun things she did with Mommy while he was at school

I’ve never received an award for my efforts
Unless you count the smile on the lit-up faces of my daughters when I show them how much I love them

I don’t get to go out to eat just for fun very often anymore
Unless you count the “pink milk” & cookies tea parties with my three year old

I don’t get to sing in groups for fun very often anymore
Unless you count the songs sung before naptime, bedtime, and just for fun

I have noticed a decline in my vocabulary
Unless you count “babytalk” (in which I am now fluent!)

I don’t have to write exams or pop quizzes anymore
Unless you count the many spontaneous questions of an inquisitive 3-year-old

I can’t perform a beautiful dance with applause from a crowd
Unless you count the undivided attention and smiles of my 5-month-old when I bust a move for her while pulling faces and making weird noises

I don’t get to the gym to lift weights and I don’t get workout time
Unless you count carrying around a very scrumptious, 17 lb 5-month-old

I don’t get to attend special performances
Unless you count my little girl in her tutu or fairy costume with ballet shoes, prancing around the living room to a CD of nutcracker music

My girls are too young to explain why I’m a good Mommy
Unless you count the little hints of explanation in the everyday moments

And those are the things that count the most

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Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there, may you have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Baby Evelyn

As soon as I started talking to her on the phone, I could tell that I liked Evelyn's mom and I wasn't disappointed when I showed up at her house a couple of weeks ago, for her session. Maureen & Sean, it was fun to get to know you a bit during the session, & I hope you love the photos of your precious baby girl! It was a privilege to meet Miss Evelyn. She is such a sweetie! (Even though she was sooo not interested in sleeping for us ;)

Here's a little preview for you- your proofs will be ready soon!

Evelyn Maeve
April 7th, 2009
7 Weeks Old

Brittany's Bridal Shower

Just over a week ago, I attended a bridal shower that my aunt threw for my cousin's fiance. She's a super-cute girl who's always smiling and totally nice. At the shower I learned (and I'm not surprised) that she's also a great sport. Here are a few pictures from the shower. We're glad to have you joining the family, Brittany!


Brittany's Bridal Shower
March 30, 2009

What bridal shower could be complete without a good game of Toilet Paper Bride?






Apparently Brittany insisted against the traditional bow-hat for her shower. So at the end of the night, she was greeted with a lovely wrapping paper bow bra :)