merry christmas!

merry christmas from my little sweet-toothed elf!

Tommy

The other day I asked Tommy why he didn't ever post on our blog.

He said,

"I write in my personal journal.

I don't like to cast my pearls before swine."

I've been laughing ever since.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

We've been carrying on the Dec. 6th tradition in our family. But this year I didn't know what to do, since "Mrs. Clause" didn't get a chance to run out to the store last night. But this morning as we all went downstairs, sleepy and groggy, there on the steps were our shoes filled with goodies! St. Nicholas came through for us after all!

I must have been a good girl this year, because he filled my boot up to the brim!

Sydney can now open up doors by herself. This was helpful for her this morning, since I was taking too long with my camera, and she was eager to get her goodies.

she caught on very fast

Unfortunately, Sydney's not as fast as her big sister, Haley, who decided Sydney's toys looked more fun than her own. She snatched up her little doll and ran off at full speed.

A sneaky elf left some cinnamon rolls and a crown on our doorstep late last night. (I would've taken a picture of the delicious treat, but we were too excited to dig in this morning). This is another St. Nicholas tradition. The person who finds the little king (in this case, the penny) in their roll gets to be king for the day and wears the crown all day long.

I was the lucky king this year! But too bad I woke up sick this morning, so the only people that will see me in my crown are Sydney, Tommy, and the dog. It's a shame Tommy didn't get it since he's ushering for Stake Conference this morning. :)

Tessa's Tree

Tonight we got to see the Festival of Trees. It was very special this year because our sweet little niece had a tree dedicated to her. The kind and thoughtful people at Matt's work put it together, and it received a very generous donation, and all of the proceeds of the whole show went to Primary Children's Hospital. Tessa's tree was by far the most impressive! The theme was "Candy Land." As we searched down every aisle looking for Tessa's tree, I saw it from far away and thought, "Wow, I hope it's that one!" I think it's the child in me...all those toys and goodies. :) They did such a great job, and I know Tessa would love it, too.

more photos for my brother

So the family can see, here are more photos from the shoot I did of Tony's family.

Nibbles and Red Dots

Our little nieces, Olivia & Izzy, say the silliest things. This post will brighten your day.

lucky me

I got a few more lovely photos from the talented Heidi, from Heidi J Photography, who shot alongside Scott Jarvie. I love seeing everyone's different styles. Look at these awesome sun bursts! Thanks so much, Heidi!

now it's OUR turn!

We were so lucky to get some photos done by the wonderful Scott Jarvie a few weeks ago! It was our first family professional photo shoot, and it was a lot better than me trying to do it all with a tripod!

a birthday shout-out

to my sweet niece, Leah. one year old today!

my little pumpkin

Sydney enjoyed her first trick-or-treating experience tonight. I decided to skip on the Ragedy Ann idea since I couldn't figure out the red yarn hair, and decided to borrow Malinda's adorable homemade pumpkin costume that she made for Mason last year. Sydney loved it, and kept it on all night. It made her really wobbly, but that didn't stop her from running from house to house for at least a mile, filling her bucket with treats.

Malinda and her two little boys, both in her darling homemade costumes

Charlie fit the candy corn just like she had hoped

heading off to collect their spoils

After only 2 houses, they both plopped down on the ground to dig into their loot

Sydney wouldn't let go of this little bucket of candy all night

let the festivities begin

We got our first pumpkin tonight. The experience lasted a whole 3 minutes once we realized we were a bit underdressed for the weather. Families were buzzing around us in excitement, all dressed in snow suits. I quickly plopped Sydney next to the pumpkins for a photo, and my poor little daughter stared at me with chattering teeth, as if thinking, "Mom, what are you doing to me?!"

I don't know what was more cruel, taking her out without proper winter clothes, or putting red boots on her with this pink outfit. :)

we've kind of waited till the last minute, so all the pumpkins left were the reject, warped, and discolored ones. We still love our pumpkin.

We then headed over to D.I. to see if we could find something to throw together for Sydney's costume. I had big plans for a beautiful homemade clown costume, but that will just have to wait until next year. We took one look at the costume section, and knew we had to use some creativity. We searched the entire store, and found the perfect combination......

Here's a little clue at the finished result:

A Call For Help

My photography friend, Heidi, from Heidi J Photography just had a tragic day yesterday when all of her photography equipment (cameras, lenses, laptop, etc.) was stolen from her car. $20,000 worth, and years of building her dreams and career has been stolen in one day. And the equipment was unfortunately not insured. This was her means of supporting her family, and she is crushed. You can read more about it on her blog. A wonderful fellow photographer, Dustin Izatt, has so kindly set up a link on his blog to a paypal account so you can make a donation towards Heidi's situation. Hopefully we can help her slowly build back her equipment, and help her know how much people care. And please have this be a lesson learned to us all to insure our equipment and be careful when leaving it in our cars.

The next portrait session that is booked with me will have all of the proceeds go towards Heidi's fund.

orchards and wisdom teeth

Last night I did a little shoot for my brother Tony and his family in a mini orchard next to their house. I've been kind of obsessed with orchards as of late, especially with the colors changing. I just wanted to post a photo really quick before I'm out of commission for a couple days....I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this afternoon! I know I'm a little late in getting this done, but I'm a master at procrastinating scary things. The thing I'm terrified the most about it is the IV at the beginning. *shudder* Wish me luck, and don't laugh if you see me with huge chipmunk cheeks this weekend.

Hanging Out with Charlie

Today I got to play with my two adorable nephews. Little Charlie is over three weeks old already and merging from the "premie" to "newborn" stage. These photos were of him @ 1 week, and we'll do some more shots soon. He's still so tiny and sleepy, and so patient with his doting big brother and loving cousin, Sydney. I think Sydney was trying to give me the hint that she wants a baby brother or sister soon. :)

Tessa's Journey

"Life is eternal;

and love is immortal;

and death is only a horizon;

and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight."

Our little niece, Tessa, passed last wednesday. She was just a week old, but her journey seemed much longer and touched more hearts than you'd think a short week on earth would do. I was blessed to be able to be in the hospital right after she was born, and in the room when she left back home to her Heavenly Father. And I got to visit her in between during that week, each time quietly hiding behind my camera, wiping away tears of joy and tears of sadness. I feel so much love for this precious little one, and my heart aches in missing her. But my heart is also filled with joy in knowing that we now have a new little member of our eternal family waiting for all of us to join her in heaven.

I have just been in awe at the amazing attitude and outlook of Tessa's parents, my brother and sister-in-law, Matt & Joy. They have a light in their eyes that tells of peace and understanding of the eternal plan and our Savior's love. Their attitude has been one of thankfulness for every moment they've been given with Tessa. I am so blessed to be in such a wonderful, strong, and loving family. I have learned so much from them this year.

This experience has reminded me (and all of us) of our dear little niece, Avery, that joined us here on earth for just a short time this past spring. I have loved hearing our nieces and nephews this week talk about Tessa and Avery playing together in heaven now. Their sweet testimonies are examples to us all.