Christmas is on sunday this year.

Yes. Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. I have such a hard time with all the Christians I know that are complaining about how aweful this is. They will either have to get up super early to open presents before the Christmas day service or they will have to wait until after which is even worse!!! Oh NO!!!Having Christmas fall on a sunday is such a nuisance!!!

ARE WE THAT SELFISH???

I have to admit, when I first found out, I was selfish myself. I thought about how hard it is to get the girls ready for church on any given sunday, now Christmas day!?!?! But then I thought about it a little more and realized that I was totally just thinking about myself. Christmas is not about us. Christmas is to celebrate the day Jesus was born!!! Why is it so hard for us to go to church on Christmas day? We should be EXCITED to be able to celebrate with our church family in God's house Christmas morning! It shouldn't have to be an obligation, it should be something that we are excited to do. I hate what we have done to Christmas. All the presents, the greediness, the selfish attitudes. I would love North America to get back to the simplicity of what Christmas is all about. It's not about the new game for your x-box or the new boots that just came out in Aldo. It's about Jesus and family and friends. It's about spending time with the ones you love and celebrating. I don't need presents. If you look around my house, I have everything I need. I have a beautiful, healthy family, a roof over my head and heat to keep me warm. I am challenging you, break the mold.

Jesus IS the reason for the season!!! Let's keep it that way!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Is This The End For Big Bellies?

So lately I have really been struggling. Struggling to figure out what God wants for us as a family. I always planned to have a family of six. I grew up in a family of six and I really like the whole "Big Family" get togethers with tons of cousins for our kids to play with. Lately though, I have been having second thoughts. It is not fear. I would be ECSTATIC if I got pregnant tomorrow! I have been having these second thoughts though, about whether we should add to our family or if 2 kids is all we are supposed to have because there is a bigger picture that I cannot see right now. It is wild for me to think that I would never have a fat belly again or that I would never go through the agonizing pain of child birth or have that first moment with your child you have been carrying around in your belly for 9 months. I just can't imagine it, but then again, I can. Such mixed feelings! We are praying about it. Asking God what his plan for our family is. Luke always thought he would have a son and I always thought I would have 4 kids. Now we are both thinking otherwise. Is this coincidence? I don't think so. I guess we will just wait and see. Either way i will be happy with my family no matter what!!! I LOVE THEM MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS EARTH!

Testing Thanksgiving

I would love to say that Thanksgiving was wonderful and a lovely time with family, but I would have to say, I would be lying. This Thanksgiving I was tested. Tested by my little 1.5 year old. She is the cutest little darling ever but boy did she test me this weekend. She is going through a stage. Something I am going to have to find plenty of patience for. She has been refusing food. Anything and everything I have given her, she has refused unless it is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese or french fries. I tried to give her ham, ham is something she usually LOVES and she would not even try it. She refused it just by looking at it. It is so frustrating! Has any of you moms gone through this??? I am at my wits end. I don't want to always bring around a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because my child refuses to eat anything else, but how do I get past it? I offer her EVERYTHING and she won't even put it in her mouth to try any of it. I know it's a stage, and everyone tells me not to get all bent out of shape but I can't help it. Not only does she refuse to try anything, but she will put up a fight if you try and feed her it. She has also been taking tantrums which hasn't helped the situation at all and when she gets in any type of crowd, she is ABSOLUTELY WILD! She will not listen, and if I try and make her do anything she doesn't want to do, she throws a tantrum and kicks and screams. I know it's a stage and we will get through it, but right now, being in the middle of it, I am tired. I am running low on patience and I ask God hourly sometimes for more to get me through the day. That being said, I spent most of my Thanksgiving dinners either crying, frustrated, angry, being stern and bold, or all of the above. It left very little room to sit and enjoy the festivities. I know this is just the time, and it will pass, it is just hard to see past it and know that it will not last forever. Right now it feels as though it will never end.

I absolutely LOVE her to death though! Even through this crazy stage!

Luke & I were able to sneak away for a little bit and take a trip back in the woods behind my grandma's on the 4-wheeler to check out the stoney steps and the beautiful colors!

We got a chance to take some family photos for the fam!

John, Patti, Hannah, Autumn & Alex

 

Jamie, Shannon, Gabie, Dyllon, Tiana & Oliver

 Andy & Phallon

 All the grandbabies minus Oliver and plus Phallon's little guy Austin

LOL it is RIDICULOUS trying to get a GOOD pic of all the grandbabies when they are all different ages! That was a funny pic we captured and we actually got a couple good ones surprisingly!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone....let's hope Christmas is a little less stressful!

Tim & Nicole get HITCHED!

Yesterday we had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful couple, Tim & Nicole! It was a GORGEOUS fall day, more like summer actually! They couldn't have hoped for better weather. We went to Kilmarnock Apple Orchard for the family, bridal party & couple pics. There was tons of variety and we captured some great shots! Here is a sneek peek:

Tim was little shy, ok, maybe a LOT shy! Nicole was a natural beauty though so she made up for Tim's lack! They are an adorable couple and we had such a great time capturing their day! 

CONGRATULATIONS TIM & NICOLE!!!!

All Things Girly!

I am a girly girl. From head to toe! I love fashion so it was meant to be that I had 2 girls first! They are my little fashion princess's. I am starting to sell a line of girl's clothing that I absolutely fell in love with! Of course, it is ALL THINGS GIRLY! I did a little photoshoot with the girls to show off some of the products I am going to be selling and of course they were more than willing to model for me! This is it:

Zebra Pettiskirt with matching Tank Top. White Hair Band with Black Flower.

 

 Zebra Shoes.

 

Minnie Mouse Pettieskirt 

 

Lace Romper

 

Royal Blue Pettiskirt with matching Ruffle Tank Top. Royal Blue Rosette Hair Clip.

 

Black and Hot Pink Pettiskirt with matching Hot Pink Lace Tank Top. Black and Hot Pink Rosette Hair Clip.

 

Light Pink Lace Romper.

 

Birthday Cupcake Bloomers.

 

Birthday Cupcake Tank Top.

 

Christmas Pettiskirt.

 

Hot Pink and White Polka Dot Pettiskirt with matching Hot Pink Lace Tank Top. Hot Pink Hair Band with White Flower.

 

Leopard Pettiskirt.

 

Light Blue Lace Romper.

 

Black and White Polka Dot Bloomers.

If you want more information on these products, message me and I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have!

Youth Retreat Weekend!

This past weekend, we took the youth to a cottage we stayed at this summer, the Healey's cottage. We left friday night and came back late last night. It was a lot of fun and I think everyone who came had a really great time! Friday we all got there around 7pm. We played games, some went in the hot tub, sang some songs. The guys were sleeping at the other cottage just next to us, about a 5min walk so they all left around midnight to head back there and the girls got to sleep in the nice heated cottage! Lindsay and TK came as extra help so Lindsay stayed with me in the girls place and TK went with Luke. Friday night was special. Yes, "SPECIAL!!" Me and Lindsay went upstairs to go brush our teeth and get ready for bed and the first thing we both did when we got upstairs was let out some bodily functions. It didn't help that we had toothbrushes with toothpaste in our mouths when it happened! So the laughter came, uncontrollable laughter. Then the tears. Then the drooling of toothpaste all over the floor. It was "special" all right. The teen girls that were staying with us had all been downstairs, right under the loft where we were and they had no idea what the heck was going on. It was quite ridiculous and hilarious! We ended up not going to bed till after 3am and up at 9am to eggs and bacon! After breakfast we had a good devotion and worship time. After lunch we had a ridiculous game of Capture The Flag. If you have ever been out to the Healey's cottage, you will know what the grounds are like! It is all rocky and uneven and a great spot to play games! I ended up flying head over heels over a dead tree and then rolling between 2 trees breaking branches on the way down. Then Emma was chasing me and I tried to go over a huge dead tree and I ended up on top of Emma! I am so sore today from that game! It was a rough game with MANY scrapes and bruises! We chilled in the hot tub after that, and played a RIDICULOUS game called "pterodactyl" where you have to say "pterodactyl" while not showing your teeth. It is MUCH HARDER than you think! We also played "Darling, if you love me will you please, please smile". I am AWFUL at that game and Amanda would target me every single time. The good thing was I could get people to laugh pretty easily so I never stayed in the middle for very long! After dinner we played Man Hunt which Lindsay totally killed at. Nobody had any idea where she was it ended up she was under the deck tucked in a dark corner! lol We had a bonfire to end the night off with Smores! All in all it was a great weekend with lots of laughs and fun!

It's funny being on the other side of youth now. Once, I was that boy crazy teenager that went to the youth weekend's flirting with the boys and so giddy. Now I am a leader and I see it so differently. I want to go back to my youth leaders and ask them, were we really like this? Did you know more than you led us to believe? How much did you really see and not say anything? It's funny how as you grow up, you see so much more than when you were younger. You aren't so naive. This weekend really made me think back to my highschool days and laugh.

Photoshoot Monday

Yesterday was a jam packed day full of taking pictures! The girls woke up and Nana came over to take care of them as we left for the day with a camera in our hands. We started out going to the Haggett farm. Rebecca had purchased a gift certificate for her friend Stephanie almost a year ago to get maternity photos done. As all you mothers know, pregnancy isn't the easiest of times and you get pretty wrapped up in just trying to get through it near the end, so she decided she would keep it and use it towards a baby photoshoot for her little guy, Tristan! He is almost 1 now and that is a great age to take photos of a child! We walked into the farm house not knowing who Stephanie or Tristan were and we were greeted with huge smiles! Stephanie is a lovely woman and Tristan did not have a lack of smiles at all. We took them around the farm taking various shots and Tristan was so co-operative. At least for the first 45mins. The last few minutes he started to break down but it was so adorable. Here is a shot from the shoot:

After the photoshoot, we left the farm and headed home for a little bit to put the pictures on the computer and take a quick look at them, then we were headed off to Kilmarnock Apple Orchard for a family photoshoot of the McDonald's. I met Andrea through a play group that I go to on Wednesdays. They have a little guy named Vaughn who is absolutely adorable. He would NOT crack a smile the entire photoshoot no matter how retarded we were! Near the end of the photoshoot I got him to stick out his tongue and there was a tiny smirk behind it! That was the closest we got to a smile. We still captured some adorable pics of Dave, Andrea and little Vaughn! They were a great family to work with and we had a lot of fun! Here is a photo of little Vaughn:

If you want to see more of what luke and I do, go HERE.

A Lesson From A Child

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" Mathew 7:1&2

I have really been stretched in this area lately. God has been teaching me so much in the last 6 months. I am human. I am not perfect. I judge people on their outward appearance more than I would like to admit. This is a little glimpse of how God has been using my 1.5 year old daughter to teach me!

The other day, Pea and I were walking down the main street past the old Lee Tavern. Pea decided she would climb the front steps and go down the other side. There were a few people sitting on the other side of the steps, people I see around town all the time. One of the girls actually lives behind me and yet I have never talked to her in my life. She is in her mid 30's, heavily tattooed and always wears ratty clothing that is either too big or too small for her. I always just thought of her as a "true Smithsfallian". The people she was with were no different. Grungy and unkept. As Pea went up the stairs on the one side, she decided she would go to the other side where the people were sitting, walk right in between them, sit down and hold their hands. At this moment, my heart just broke. This little girl, no fear, no second thoughts. She didn't see the tattoos or the grungy clothes. She saw a child of God. A person. She didn't look at the yellow rotten teeth. Pea saw a human being, no different than her, no different than me and instead of walking past ignoring them, she decided she would go sit down right in the middle of them all and hold their hands. Is that not what we are all called to do? I was hit hard the other day, right in the face by my own daughter. It's amazing what you can learn from a 1.5 year old.