And Then We Snapped - Week #21

This week was all about Christmas and spending time with family. I can't believe I'm finishing up another 365 project! Yes I will be starting another one in 2015. 

“The next time you face something that is unexpected, unwanted and uncertain....consider that it just might be a gift.” 

― Stacey Kramer

Tonight we had dinner at my aunt’s house and a small gift exchange. My kids were so excited because these were the first gifts they got to open this year. My son opened his present and it was two toy John Deer tractors so he was super excited. My daughter opened hers next and I could tell right away she was a bit freaked out. My aunt had given her the game operation. Between the tweezers, the buzzer and the funny looking guy on the box she was pretty much speechless.  We opened it up and my son, and my aunt’s granddaughter started to play and they were having the best time. My little girl watched on for a long time. Also my aunt and my daughter went over each thing wrong with Sam and talked about how silly it all was. The whole time my daughter kept saying, “I sure feel bad for Sam”. By the end of the evening she made a deal with us that she would play it as long as we took out the batteries and as soon as we got home she begged to play it some more. I think her reaction to the game shocked us all a bit but I knew she would end up liking it in the end. 

"In the garage

I feel safe

No one cares about my ways

In the garage

Where I belong

No one hears me sing this song"

-Weezer

“The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.” 

― Coco Chanel

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

-Clement Clarke Moore

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

― Mother Teresa

“Because the greatest part of a road trip isn’t arriving at your destination. It’s all the wild stuff that happens along the way.” 

― Emma Chase

“But how could anyone who's ever seen a summer - big explosion of green and skies lit up electric with splashy sunsets, a riot of flowers and wind that smells like honey - pick the snow?” 

― Lauren Oliver

Now follow the blog circle! Next up is Lori Dozier from Lori Dozier Photography!! 

Recent Reads

And Then We Snapped - Week #20

The weather this month has been too strange, it feels like we moved back to Portland. It's been real rainy.  It hasn't gotten real cold and when ever we get snow it melts.  We were finally able to make a trip to falls park this week too. Otherwise this was overall a very random week.

“December's wintery breath is already clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer's memory...” 

― John Geddes

“I feel free and strong. If I were not a reader of books I could not feel this way.” 

― Walter Tevis

"she is made up of depths even the ocean couldn't fathom." jessica katoff 

Falls Park Freelensed

"Those Christmas lights light up the street

Down where the sea and city meet

May all your troubles soon be gone

Oh Christmas lights, keep shining on"

-Coldplay

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” 

― Denis Waitley

Today she helped me decorate wrapping paper and she also helped me wrapped a gift.

“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, you don’t ask what seat. You just get on.” 

― Sheryl Sandberg

“Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.” 

― Nicole Krauss

My last session of 2014! It rocked!

Now take a trip to the other side of the globe to see what Sharyn Thompson photography has been up to. I have fallen in love with her photography over the past couple of months and I know you will too!

And Then We Snapped - Week #19

It has been dark here. We seriously have not seen the sun for days. We're making the most of it and it has been a really good challenge for my daily photos to take photos in low light. I wouldn’t mind a few days of sunshine this week though. 

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.” 

― J.M. Barrie

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” 

― Mark Twain

“When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.” 

― Jess C. Scott

“Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts” 

― Jim Morrison

You know Dasher, and Dancer, and

Prancer, and Vixen,

Comet, and Cupid, and

Donder and Blitzen

But do you recall

The most famous reindeer of all

“Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.” 

― Elizabeth Gilbert

“It's true, Christmas can feel like a lot of work, particularly for mothers. But when you look back on all the Christmases in your life, you'll find you've created family traditions and lasting memories. Those memories, good and bad, are really what help to keep a family together over the long haul.” 

―Caroline Kennedy

Now head on over to Mel Karlberg Photography's blog and see her week!

And Then We Snapped - Week #18

Happy first week of December everyone! There was a whole lot of Christmas going on in our house this week. The tree went up, Santa’s beard was colored, tears were shed, and on Saturday we even went to go visit the big guy.

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” 

― Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Because I am still a little girl who believes in Santa and the tooth fairy and you.” 

― Laurie Halse Anderson

“Think it over, think it under.” 

― A.A. Milne

“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” 

― Oscar Wilde

“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.” 

― Markus Zusak

You better watch out

You better not cry

Better not pout

I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is coming to town

“Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies!” 

― Francis Pharcellus Church

Let me take a moment to talk to you about the Santa photo. This is by far the most challenging photo I take every year. We visit Santa every year at our Zoo. He sits and meets with the children in a giant event room with every high ceilings that is very dimly lit. To top that off the ceiling is painted black so even if I could bounce my flash off of it the black would just suck it in. Also I only get one chance to take this photo. The last few years have all been major failures. Though this year’s photo isn’t perfect I am still so proud of it. Yes the white balance is off, the exposure isn’t perfect and yes there is some grain, but I love it. I feel I captured that moment, and I captured my children’s emotions and to me that’s the most important thing. I took one shot…and this is what I got and I am so happy with it. 

Now take a moment and head over to Mary Slone Photography’s page to see her week! 

And Then We Snapped - Week #17

"When you're a princess you make up your own rules" - Olivia 

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”

― C.G. Jung

“I love you because no two snowflakes are alike, and it is possible, if you stand tippy-toe, to walk between the raindrops. ” 

― Nikki Giovanni

“We can't choose where we come from,but we can choose where we go from there.”

― Stephen Chbosky

Big decisions…trying to pick out which sticker he gets for pooping on the potty. He went with the green slime. 

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” 

― Meister Eckhart

Happy Thanksgiving! 

“Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.

Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.

Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.

Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.” 

― Yoko Ono

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” 

― George Carlin

Now make sure you follow the blog circle around to Jenny from Through My Lens. 

And Then We Snapped - Week #16

This was a really regular week. It started with Piper spending 24 hours on the couch due to the flu and ended with a really fun engagement session about 30 miles out of town.

"Embrace Messy Hair" - Unknown

"Well we all shine on

Like the moon and the stars and the sun

Well we all shine on"

-John Lennon

“A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it.”

― Jerry Seinfeld

"Brothers and sisters unite

It's the time of your lives, it's the time of your lives" -Coldplay

“Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Life is like a snowball. The important thing is finding wet snow and a really long hill. ” 

― Warren Buffett

“Love is the bridge between you and everything.”

― Rumi

Now follow the circle around to Jana O'Flaherty's from Photography 2204's page to see her amazing photos! 

And Then We Snapped - week #15

This week started with 2 very tired children traveling back from their Gammy's house and ended with our first snow. We also took a trip to the science center mid-week. 

“Be a child again. Flirt. Giggle. Dip your cookies in your milk. Take a nap. Say you're sorry if you hurt someone. Chase a butterfly. Be a child again.” 

― Max Lucado

“When I was a child my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk, you'll be the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” 

― Pablo Picasso

“Families are designed to nurture the minds, wills, and emotions of its members so that the barriers created by fear of the unknown can be replaced by the confidence that comes from knowing you are loved whether you succeed or fail.” 

― Leigh A. Bortins

“The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It's our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.” 

― Brené Brown

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” 

― Khalil Gibran

I have taken this same shot so many times, and for some reason for me it just never gets old. 

“The truth is that when one is still a child-or even if one is grown up- and has been well fed, and has slept long and softly and warm; when one has gone to sleep in the midst of a fairy story, and has wakened to find it real, one cannot be unhappy or even look as if one were; and one could not, if one tried, keep a glow of joy out of one's eyes.” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett

“Wow, really snowed last night! Isn't it wonderful? Everything familiar has disappeared! The world looks brand new!

A new year ... a fresh, clean start! It's like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on! A day full of possibilities! It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy ... let's go exploring!” 

― Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes: It's a Magical World it 

No head on over to see what Allyson Wasmund Photography's page to see what she has been up to this past week. 

And Then We Snapped week - #14

Oh daylight savings you are not my friend! If you have been following my daily photos you will know I love those evening golden light hours. Well It get's a little bit harder to find that type of light this time of year so daily photos are always a bit more of a challenge. We started this week with a trip to Falls Park and wrapped it up with a trip to Gammy's house. It was a fun week even if there is less daylight. 

“How much does one imagine, how much observe? One can no more separate those functions than divide light from air, or wetness from water.” 

― Elspeth Huxley

“a sociable smile is nothing but a mouth full of teeth” 

― Jack Kerouac

"I wouldn’t mind being grownup, she told me, if I didn’t have to get up & be grumpy right away every morning...."

-Story People

“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.”

― حافظ

“I wished she’d never stop squeezing me. I wished I could spend the rest of my life as a child, being slightly crushed by someone who loved me.” 

― Gail Carson Levine

“Nothing in this world happens without a reason. That we are all exactly where we are supposed to be, and that the pieces of the puzzle have a tendency to come together when you least expect it.” 

― Jane Green

"We didn't realize we were making memories we just knew we were having fun." - unknown

Make sure to follow the circle to see what Kim De Araujo's past week was like! 

My Kids Were Here | November 2014

Make sure to check out the group post here!

And Then We Snapped - Week #13

This was one of those weeks where I was really test of whether I could complete this project 365. I was so ill  the second half of this week. I love Halloween so it was a huge bummer but I still managed to snap some of those special Halloween moments. 

"..photographs open doors into the past but they also allow a look into the future." - Sally Mann

“Without this playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable.” 

― C.G. Jung

“The day is cold, and dark, and dreary; 

It rains, and the wind is never weary; 

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, 

But at every gust the dead leaves fall, 

And the day is dark and dreary."

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"And she loved a little boy very much, even more than she loved herself" -Shel Silverstein

“Dear Great Pumpkin, Halloween is now only a few days away. Children all over the world await you coming. When you rise out of the pumpkin patch that night, please remember I am your most loyal follower. Have a nice trip. Don't forget to take out flight insurance.”

― Charles M. Schulz

“Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,

Voices whisper in the trees, Tonight is Halloween!” 

― Dexter Kozen

“All good things are wild and free.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

Now make sure to follow on to Mel Karlberg Photography to see her photos from this past week.  

And Then We Snapped - Week #12

Another great week! I started the week by meeting up with a couple of past brides and grooms to take photos of their growing families. Mid week we had some illness in our house but fortunately girly had a fast recovery, I wrapped up the week with a Friday family session and a trip to Zoo Boo on Saturday.

Check out the photos then make sure to follow the blog circle to see some amazing talent. Next up is Kim, click here to see here fun week of photos.

Life goes by fast. Enjoy it. Calm down. It's all funny. 

Joan Rivers

“The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.” 

― Henry Beston

“I embrace the messiness of life, I find it so beautiful actually.” 

― Brad Pitt

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” 

― Dorothea Lange

“Don't be afraid of silly ideas.”

― Paul Arden

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.” 

― Anthony Brandt

They did the mash, they did the monster mash

The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash

They did the mash, it caught on in a flash

They did the mash, they did the monster mash
-Bobby Pickett

Stitch Fix #4

Stitch Fix time!

For those of you not familiar with Stitch Fix it is an online personal styling website. You go online fill out a style profile and then schedule a Fix. You receive a box with 5 items personally picked out for you along with a style card for each item. You pay for what you keep and if you keep everything you get 25% off. If you decide to send everything back you pay a $20.00 styling fee. You can read more about it and sign you for your own fix here. 

This month I asked for a mixture of work and casual pieces. I also told my stylist that I love to dress in layers and to check out my Pinterest Board.  

I have to say she listened... now lets see what I got and what I kept. 

Item #1 Cordelia Striped Boat Neck Sweater by Market and Spruce
I wasn't real wild about this one. I prefer my sweaters a little longer. I did end up keeping it and this is a bit of a spoiler but it was the same price as the discount I would have received if I kept it, I ended up wearing it to work today and I it has grown on me a bit. It looks really cute with jeans too so I'm happy I kept it.

Item #2 Porter Leggings by Rune
I love leggings but I am a bit picky when it comes to finding the perfect pair and these fit all my criteria. One, I want them made out of good fabric so they don't stretch out or pill up. My other big one is that the waist band is sewn into the waist. These met my criteria so I kept them.

Item #3 Meredith Faux Leather Elbow Patch Cardigan by RD Style
This is the exact type of item I was hoping to get in this fix. I love big drapey sweaters! I really love the color of this one and the elbow detail.

Item #4 Hendrix Smocked Shoulder Blouse by 41Hawtorn.
One thing I'm really bad at is incorporating color into my wardrobe and my stylist is always so good at making sure to send me at least one bright piece. I loved the color right away and I know I can wear it with my brown dress pants or a pair of dark denim jeans. Also the fabric looks thin and silky it actually doesn't seem to wrinkle much, and that is always a good thing.

Item #5 Dustin Window Pane Print Infinity Scarf
I am such a sucker for infinity scarves so keeping this one was a bit of a no brainier.

So yes once again I had another successful Stitch Fix.

Feel free to follow the links to my previous fixes.
Stitch Fix #1
Stitch Fix #2 and #3

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And Then We Snapped - Week #11

This week started with an engagement session and ended with a day of mini sessions In between we went to the apple orchard, took naps, went on combine rides and lived life. 

"Wherever you are

Well, know that I adore you

No matter how far

Well, I can go before you

And if ever you need someone

Well, not that you need helping

But if ever you want someone

I know that I am willing"

-Damien Rice

"a screaming song is good to know in case you need to scream"
-Ruth Krauss

“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."

― William Cullen Bryant

"Golden slumbers, 

Fill your eyes 

Smiles await you when you rise 

Sleep pretty darling 

Do not cry 

And I will sing a lullaby. "

-The Beatles

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” 

― Agatha Christie

“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” 

― Og Mandino

“When you read to a child, when you put a book in a child's hands, you are bringing that child news of the infinitely varied nature of life. You are an awakener.” 

― Paula Fox

Now head on over to Lynzi Berg's blog and see what she has been up to. 

And Then We Snapped - Week #10

Well this last week was full of all sorts of autumn fun! I was also to do the five day black and white challenge this past week so I thought I'd share those here too.

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”

― Emily Brontë

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!” 

― Rainbow Rowell

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” 

― Albert Einstein

“At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint, or even remember it. It is enough.” 

― Toni Morrison

“If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.” 

― Émile Zola

But these are days we dream about when the sunlight paints us pure - Bright Eyes

“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ”

― Elizabeth Stone

Now fallow the circle to see what Erica was up to last week. 

And Then We Snapped - Week #9

Fall is in the air and we are spending less and less time outside which makes me sad. This week started with spending time with my girl and ended with Halloween prep. 

"Last night I dreamt the whole night long

I woke with a head full of songs"

-The Avett Brothers

"She always had that about her, that look of otherness, of eyes that see things much too far, and of thoughts that wander off the edge of the world." - Joanne Harris

"Chase the light, whatever and wherever it may be for you. Chase it."

-Tyler Knott

“My earliest memories of my father are of seeing him work at his desk and realizing that he was happy. I did not know it then, but that was one of the most precious gifts a father can give his child.” 

― Malcolm Gladwell

“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” 

― G.K. Chesterton

My little guy stopped for a couple moments tonight to say cheese. 

“Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: We must fight in order to conquer it.” 

― Alexandre Dumas

“Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived...Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation... Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend. What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here.” 

― Anne Lamott

Now head on over to see what the amazing Melissa Pizzalato's week looked like!

My Kids Were Here in September

Make sure to check out the group post here!