Wordless Wednesday

Okay... I can't go totally wordless! We've had some beautiful wintery days here the last week, hoarfrost, fog, beautiful! I'm going to try and head out and get some shots while it's still around! Here's just a shot of what I'm finding beautiful around PeeG lately.

I had to explain

So I realize that I've been away from you blog world.... I'm sorry, but I've had good reasons! I'm sure that you are all aware that it IS the Olympics and I'm in the process of teaching my boys that more sports exist other than hockey, baseball, BMX biking, soccer and football. We've really enjoyed watching the snowboarding and moguls amongst other things. They've already made plans for the weekend and what we'll be watching, so my schedule is full! And don't tell Garth but they actually were interested in the pairs figure skating... they were full of questions on how they could throw a girl in the air and make it look so good!

The other reason I've been away is that I'm trying my hardest to finish the edits on my last wedding. I took a little break from edits to get my house ready to sell and spend some quality time with my guy before he moved ahead of us. So now I'm scrambling to finish for this weekend, and on that note I just needed to show you what I've got on my edit plate. My second shooter LaDonna captured this photo and I think it is BEEEYOUTIFULL!!!! I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

GO CANADA!!!!!

Isn't she beautiful?

Do you believe?

Garth was asked the other day while attending some luncheon in Calgary whether he believes in Valentine's Day. So we discussed it on the phone and I agreed and affirmed the answer he had given to the couple that asked. He said, "Do I believe in it? Is it something to believe in?".
"Carly and I agreed a long time ago to forego any fuss on Valentine's Day."

You see we like to believe that showing and showering your love on one specific day a year isn't enough. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those Hallmark haters, I just don't go overboard on such days. I'm wearing blue today not red or pink or white... just blue and black. I will still celebrate the day just not in any over the top way. I may make Garth's favorite meal and dessert for dinner and that be it. No gifts are exchanged and no cards are purchased (sorry Hallmark- I make up for it other times!). Garth knows how much I love and adore him already so I don't go out of my way on the 14th. And I know how much I am loved and cherished by my guy. We make the effort to try and express that consistently and frequently without the prompting of anyone else.

BUT.... this year is totally different. You see Garth moved to Calgary last Saturday to start his new ministry position at Bethany Chapel and the boys and I are staying here until our house sells. As soon as I realized that we'd be apart for Valentine's Day and would be somewhat miserable because of the separation I decided to drop the whole "let's not do much on Valentine's Day". I hadn't mentioned anything to Garth about it so imagine my surprise yesterday to come home to a beautiful bouquet of red roses waiting for me at our front door. Through my tears I read the note and found a place to display them. They have a very prominent place in our living room and maybe just maybe that will be the piece de resistance to sell the house!

And even though I know how much Garth loves me already it was a great and very very timely reminder for me. It is true that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but please please don't tell me that. I already know!!! I have been very blessed to have a man in my life that I love, admire and respect. And not a day goes by that I am not reminded why I love him. And even though we're far apart I'm making sure to let him know that every day.

So I pray that you enjoy Valentine's Day in your own way. Even though I'm celebrating this one apart from Garth,I will still crack open a bottle of cranberry juice, eat some lindor chocolates and watch a movie with my boys.

Isn't the arrangement gorgeous?

Kevin and Kayce - Engagement

Kevin and Kayce are a great couple...... lots of laughter, the ability to poke fun, not afraid to touch eachother and are full of love for eachother. Now I know... they are engaged and what engaged couple isn't like that? True, lots of engaged couples are like that, but I got a sense from them that those things won't change after 40 years of marriage. And given the homes they came from they've got good models in longevity in marriage.

I met Kevin and Kayce 2 days before their wedding to touch base on things and go over some wedding day details. I laughed a lot during our coffee and learned alot about who they are and they are fun! We ran downtown for about 20 minutes and grabbed a few photos. I like meeting with my couples for an engagement shoot so they learn to relax infront of the camera and relax with me. They also get a sense of who I am and what I will be doing the day of the wedding. Kayce also wanted some photos of Kevin before his hair trim (just a trim!) and shave. They were relaxed from the get go and learned quickly what I needed them to do which was relax, have fun and touch eachother!

Their wedding was blogged in early January and I had totally forgotten about these photos and figured it would be a good post for today.

Celebrating ? the Second Anniversary

So.... it was two years ago that I awoke to a strange rash on my body which I believe came on as a result of cleansing my body from the bad tasty food that I enjoyed eating and replacing it with shakes and other good for you food (some of which was NOT tasty!) and then failing by eating some more of that tasty food. (But that is a whole different story for another day.)

Anyways after about a month of bouncing between my doctor and a naturopath I finally got in to see a dermatologist to confirm what I already suspected - psoriasis and not a mild case of it. For those of you unfamiliar with psoriasis - it is a non-contagious chronic auto-immune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out a faulty signal that speeds up the growth cycle of skin cells. Translated - red, itchy, scaly, flaky skin that no normal lotion will clear up.

I had been experiencing increasing discomfort and unbelievable itchiness as the disease progressed. The only solace I could find was sitting in my cold basement in a t shirt and shorts covered in goosebumps as that seemed to affect the intensity of the itchiness - Garth came home many evenings to me sitting in the basement barely clothed and just crying from frustration. And it always seemed to hit the worst as I was preparing dinner which made meal times interesting!

So instead of following my dermatologist's advice I sought the advice from someone whose been dealing with the disease for over 20 years, my little sister Nikki. She had found a doctor that seemed to be making headway for her so I chose to follow his guidelines. I got the medicine and experienced about 6 weeks of complete discomfort, pain, lack of sleep as the medicine basically flushed my system of the disease. I was a full body psoriasis lesion - red, scaly and warm. I even had them behind my knees which affected my ability to walk for any distance which totally sucked because I love walking the paths behind my house. Those 6 weeks had to be some of the worst of my life, it was a dark time for me and for my family. I was on the phone with Nikki every day asking her when this would pass and I am certain that it was a God-thing when my other little sister Jen ended up at my house during that time. But even in those dark dark times I did have a light in my tunnel in the form of my family and my time in the WORD. The Lord really showed me a few things about myself. The time I spent in study really opened my eyes and drew me to a much closer place in my relationship with Him. The Lord laid out a lot of scripture for me in those times and those words have become a very special part of who I am now.

So why celebrate something that brought pain and discomfort? Okay so I might not really be celebrating it, but I am remembering it. I'm remembering what I went through and how I relied soley on the Lord and His promises to me. I will leave one promise that carried me through that time and continues to do so even today. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And even though I still have very visible signs of the disease, I have definitely turned a corner in how I approach every day - with thankfulness for the opportunity to learn more about my Lord and myself.

Have a great evening, I know I will reflecting on what God has done in my life in the last few years and what is yet to come. I've posted a photo below of those biggest supporters of all in my life. All three of them took care of me when I was really battling. I got lots of colored pictures, hand squeezes, hugs and back rubs from all three of them!

Thank you Garth, Tysen and Rylen! I love you all sooooo much and am so thankful that God blessed me with you.

Time for some color!!

So I've grown tired of the blah that is Prince George right now. Sure it's warmer (ish) outside and we can enjoy being outside, but right now being outside looks rather blah, dull, yucky, GIVE ME SOME COLOR or if not color at least some more white snow!

Well.... I have absolutely NO control over either of those things so I came up with a better option for myself. I found myself at my computer the other day (ha! what's new right?) and I started to go through edits from earlier last year. I kept stopping at the bouquet shots from the weddings and the nice blue sky and mountain scenes from my travels this summer. And I decided that others may need a boost of color too.

My brides are so awesome for many reasons, but for yet another reason - they have great bouquets! I had some yellow roses tied together with ribbon, long stems and all. Sure it was pretty, but my brides (note that they are MINE!) have some great taste! Nevermind great choice in florists and photographers! :-)

Anyways, sit back enjoy and remember what summer looked like!! Which one is your favorite?

PS - Men, take an idea or two from these and get yourselves prepped for Valentines Day which incidentally isn't too far off!