Gratitude Sunday - Garden Fresh

One of my most favourite things to do is to drive down to the Valley in NS when the leaves are changing all sorts of reds, yellows and orange and go apple picking.    We are blessed here to have this beautiful valley with all sorts of locally grown produce. 

We have a favourite orchard that we go and do our picking at each year.  It's become a family tradition and the kids really love going.  This year it had been raining that morning so when the kids picked the apples off the tree they would get a little rain water shake off the tree on them.  They loved it.

I love this tree it's got to be over a hundred years old.  Coconuts looks so little under it.

I sure wish we had some smell-o-blogging button that you could push here while I transferred the smell of this bakery onto you.  We purchased some fresh rolls and a to die for pumpkin pie.  This is the real reason I love it all.  We travel over one and a half hours just for this little gem of a bakery.

Of course they have a little farmers market as well where you can take home all the perfect ingredients for a good old Turkey Dinner.  We took this trip on Canadian Thanksgiving Day and it was perfect.  So today I am grateful that I have the capacity to drive and get my family fresh, wholesome food to eat, and for this glorious place that I live. 

Your turn, leave me a comment and tell me what your grateful for.

Gratitude Sunday - Cousins

When I was a little girl, I grew up in Montreal.  My mother came from a family of six children.  So one would naturally assume that I grew up with a ton of cousins around.  The reality is other than my mother having three children.  One of her brothers had one.  As a child I always wondered what it would be like to grow up with all kinds of cousins around.  Heck more than one anyway.

I love that I know get to live it through the eyes of my children and their cousins.  It really  is a beautiful thing to watch.  Our family is really close and I love this sweet boy as much as I love my own children.  As you can see Coconuts feels the same about him as I do. 

So today I an grateful for these two.  They are cousins but they love and look out for each other like siblings.  They want to spend time together and look forward to the times they get to hang out again next.  I love you both very much. 

Alright, your turn, now you leave me a note and tell me what your thankful for today!

Ruffle Layered Skirt

I had eyeballed these ruffled skirts a while ago.  Then a good friend of mine Jackie O had made them for her grand children.  They were so adorable.  Since I don't have a surger I asked if we could have a play date when her life slowed down a but.  Of course she obliged!  Thanks Jackie I had a great time and these skirts are adorable.

Here is Coconuts and her sweet friend Charlie, she lives next door and they play all the time.  They have the sweetest friendship, when we moved into the neighbourhood three years ago Charlie and her sister came over to say hello.  They might have known a hand full of English at the time, and Coconuts new not a lick of french.  But these girls have grown a little friendship that they had to really work hard at in the beginning to understand each other (I played translator for a while).  Charlie now speaks wonderful english.

Anyhow Jackie and I made the blue one together but didn't have time to get the yellow one started that night.  It was late and I went home.  Sweet, sweet Jackie did up the yellow one for me that night and brought it to church to me the very next morning.  I left her house around 9:30 pm.  She must have stayed up late to get it done for me.  Thanks Jackie for being so sweet to me.

The best part of having a little girl is that they love to play dress up and take photo's.  Here are my sweet models who loved having a back to school photo shoot and model the ruffle skirts.

If you are wondering where I got the tutorial from it's a Dana made it tutorial.  Thanks for reading my blog.

Wedding Grub

The heart of any good party is the food. 



 If you have great food, and it's set out in such a way that it's really appealing to the eye than you will have a fantastic event.  This wedding was no exception.

At any function you will usually find me in the kitchen helping out in some way or another.  It's really problematic at times, I'm like a moth to the flame.  

Some of my friends like to think I'm a control freak, I like to think I have an eye for the details

However being the wedding photographer this put me in a pickle, I knew I needed to call in the troops on this one.

The party was going to need to go on without my controlling ways attention to detail.

I've learned early on who my peeps in the kitchen are so I new I had to call in the big guns, and as you can see above they delivered.

Thanks Monica and Jeana for all your hard work in the kitchen.  Really I couldn't have done it without you.

These girls are the best and they always come through for me  in so many ways!  Well folks that's it for the wedding posts.  Thanks for stopping in and reading my blog.

Wedding Photograpy

OK so I love photography but really I'm about as amature as they come, however the heaviest task that was mine at this wedding was just that.  I really loved this responsibility the most.  Here are my faves.

Any wonder why this one is one of my favourites?  You got it, it's my handsome little monkey.

I really love the candid shots the most that tell the story of their special day.  I love them way better than the posed shots.  I love that I caught this picture of her father and mother.

Seriously this may be my absolute favourite of them all.

See this little boy, he really had a great time at the wedding.  Notice he started the afternoon off at the cupcake table, he was eyeing those things from the start.

He and I had some really funny conversations over the weekend. 

Auntie Nana: "I love you little buddy"

Tato:  in the sweetest voice ever "I love you too"

Auntie Nana:  seconds later "Your such a handsome boy"

Tato: "Thanks Nana"

Auntie Nana: seconds later again, I know I should leave the poor boy alone "Your so handsome I love you little buddy"

Tato:  "Please stop"

Auntie Nana:  got it

See I told you he was a sweet boy, man I love that kid.

Please note Tato's sporting a cupcake, yup you got it this boy was on a mission to take those out one frosted cupcake at a time.  (Oh and he may have won too!)

As we were leaving the lake and it was just me and the bride and groom taking pictures, the kids are up ahead.  Buddy boys starts freaking out.  He took one to the forehead from his cousin.  Need I explain he clearly didn't like it.

Oh I really loved this camera and the fun things it could do.

I loved how they just had fun on their wedding day!

The kids loved this part of it!  All dressed up yet having a blast.

My brother and I, seriously my hair is not red what's up with this.

I love this one!

Tato hanging out on the front step with papa's phone.

Papa's Shoes and Tato's "Papa Shoes"

Sue and her brothers just having fun, oh and John creeping in the back!

Really fun, and maybe sometime soon I'll get me a fancy camera too!  I really liked playing with this one way too much.

Sign's and the Cake

I knew signs were being made for the wedding but when these showed up I was really impressed.  These are really adorable and added a sweet touch to the outdoor wedding.  

Sue's brother Chris and his girlfriend Nicole made these signs.  I really loved they they did a great job on them.

Her family also took care of making the wedding cake and cupcakes, her mother, her aunt Susan and Nicole.  If you have ever pipped  flowers you know what a cramp you can get.  I loved that there was a legend on the table to let you know what kind of cupcake you were getting based on the floral pattern on the top of each cupcake.  Really sweet touch.

Oh and doesn't that really look like John on the top of the cake?  I thought so too.  Actually I loved that they didn't take themselves too seriously it really was a super fun wedding.

A Tribute to my Father

So I've written, and re-written this post several times.  I really wanted to capture this special moment for me, and perhaps for you if you find your self in this same life circumstance. 

When we were young children our father committed suicide.  I was in grade one and about six years of age and John was about eight at the time that my Dad took his own life, which means that we spent our lives missing out on what having a father would have been, the father daughter dates, him teaching John to play catch, hanging onto our seat bikes as we try to peddle all on our own.  Most importantly not being there for the big mile stones in our lives like marriage and children.

I have spent a lot of time emotionally trying to process what this means in my own life, trying to figure out my own emotions.  Trying to heal from the anger and loss and yet trying not to pass the hurt on to my own children.  I have tried to forgive, but mostly I have spent hours longing to know what it may have been like had he still been here.

Just after the marriage license had been signed it was time for family pictures, John had created a play list so music was playing in the background.  Just as it was my turn to have my picture taken with the bride and groom a song that I am unaware of comes on.  My brother leans over and tells me "This one's for Dad, he was an A@# and I love him" it's Danny Boy by the Pogues.  You see my Fathers name was Daniel. 

Here are the lyrics:

Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen, and down the mountain side

The summer's gone, and all the roses falling

'Tis you must go, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow

Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow

'Tis I'll be there in sunshine or in shadow

Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

But if you come, and all the flowers are dying

And I am dead, as dead I might well be

You'll come and find the place where I am lying

And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.

And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And all my grave shall warmer sweeter be

If you will bend and tell me that you love me
Then I will sleep in peace until you come to me.

Tears filled my eyes and for a moment I felt him there with us, I felt him smiling down on this gorgeous day.  I felt him sending his love and approval, there have not been very many moments in my life that I have felt his presence so near, it was beautiful. 

Later on I was inside speaking to the guests, and one of them let me know that during the wedding there were two eagles circling overhead.  Coincidence, maybe, but I like to think that my father sent one for me and one for John.

Thanks John for allowing that special moment to be just between the two of us, no one else got it but you and I.  This moment on this so very special day, I had so many emotions floating through me.  I felt gratitude for love, for peace and for happiness.  I was grateful to have been part of this special day to see you and Sue be so happy together. 

Mostly at this particular moment I felt so proud to see you be such a loving Father to your children.  It's not until I became a parent and learned the love for a child that I realized that Dad's loss was not in us not getting to have him in our lives but that he missed out on the joy of raising his own children. 

If any of you are out there and have suffered the loss of someone dear to you in your life in such a tragic way as we, know that peace and healing do come and life can still be beautiful and joyous.  This day was a testament to that.

The Wedding

I really hope I can capture the essence of this beautiful wedding day.  More so for me than any of you, but I hope in doing so I can share with you what a spectacular day this wedding was. 

The wedding was held in our home.  It was a small wedding with family and close friends.  What a perfect size wedding, and the fact that it was in our home allowed the guests and the couple to mingle and chat with everyone.  The sun was shinning, the weather was astounding, and those pesky black flies stayed away. (I live in the woods people they never stay away).  This gorgeous day was sandwiched between two weeks of rain, the Heavens were smiling upon us this day.

Waiting for his bride!

We really didn't rehearse the children walking down the isle.  Just minutes before we gave them some pointers and hoped for the best.

They did fantastic!  I loved that the children stood in for them.  They looked so sweet and they did so great!

Here is my brood coming down the isle.  I love that Buddy Boys has his hands in his pockets.  What a stud!

The Bride and her sweet father.

What made this day even more special is that my Hubby is the Bishop of our ward so he was able to marry them.  Really this was such a wonderful bonus.

Great job Buddy Auntie Nana is so proud of you, you did such a great job being the best man and taking care of those rings.  You are such a sweet boy!

As expected the sweet girls are all lined up in a row, smiling pretty and holding their poses!

And well the younger two.......they did really great as well.  I wish I new what they were plotting here cause it looks mischievous.

The signing of the marriage license.

And voila the wedding was superb!