Album of Awesome

I am taking an online Album of Awesome class that teaches us how to look for the awesome things in our life. It is based on Neil Pasricha's Book of Awesome.  I have really been enjoying listening to Steph on her podcasts for The Digi Show so I am excited to take this class! I'm not always good at finishing albums so we'll see how this turns out, but it's always good to be working on something digital! My first entry:


#1 I received A MISSIONARY MOM LETTER today from a friend who knew I was missing hearing from my Mel, and she generously shared her missionary son's experiences with me. It was the first letter I opened up this morning and it touched my heart and made my day AWESOME! 

ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS...KICIA/PIERSON

BRYCE AND JAYMIE KICIA

Thought I would put up a few engagement pictures that I took last Saturday on my blog because it's a little more private than facebook. Jaymie, my daughter's sister-in-law asked me to take their wedding pictures for this October! My first response was are you kidding....not me, I like being the second camera, I do not like being the head honcho in anything frankly! I'm pretty much good at being a counselor (in my church work) but not being the last one responsible. It really worried me all night, I don't like saying NO but I did not feel confident and for a wedding, one of the most important days of a girls life!! I asked her if I could think about it for a few days. Luckily, my Vanessa phoned me the next morning and talked me into it...she told me I take wonderful pictures and that she would totally help me, would be my photo assistant! That helped me feel better, so I reluctantly agreed. I'm still super nervous about it but I did tell them they are not getting a professional photographer. I also talked to Deanne (Jaymie's mother) and we decided that I would do an engagement shoot to at least get a feel for it.

So I started thrift store hunting, found a cute chair that I painted pink and a huge picture frame (had Don take all the hardware and the picture and glass out) for props. I also had Jaymie bring a huge lollipop since she has a pink/ candy sort of theme. I was worried about the light that morning but we found a bridge and we took lots of pictures under it. Couldn't believe when I got home that in about an hour and a half we had almost 300 pictures so lots to choose from.

So here are some of the pictures that I took:

I was happy with how quickly my Mac made it possible to tag them and sort through them. I also happily added some filters to them.
Bryce and Jaymie were sure fun to work with and didn't once complain about about all the kissing I asked them to do!!

Wedding through the Viewfinder

I love this look that I get from Instagram on my IPhone and haven't been able to find it online. Did find some actions that instagram-actions-by-dbox.atn has put together. In the meantime I am learning how to do some of it with this Jessica Sprague class that I'm taking,  Photo Editing: Frames and Special Effects.

This is one of my favourite pictures from Vanessa's wedding so decided to tweak it! I gave it a vintage look  , then added a "through the viewfinder" texture that I found on Flicker and then added the blending mode multiply. The word art is from Weeds and Wildflowers Everyday Life Kit.  Love how it turned out and I think Vanessa does as well...

Vintage Everett

Glad to be taking another scrapbooking class! This is Jessica Sprague's Photo Editing: Frame-ups and Special Effects. This is what I learned in the first few classes, finding it pretty basic but it's always good to go over the basics because there always seems to be something new to be learned. I usually use actions to create my vintage looks but it's good to know how they create them.

This is a picture I took of Everett in his backyard in Calgary having fun in the swimming pool. I just love the curls...which I think he gets from our Granger side.

26 Years of Wedded Happiness

Wanted to write a post today because I've been married to my sweet Don for 26 years today! Every year that goes by, just seems to keep getting faster....

I meant to go for a long walk this morning (it turned into a shorter one) but sat down at the computer and looked for an early picture of us, which was a little difficult because the pictures we had taken at our wedding were awful! I think it's one of the reasons why I am so crazy about picture taking now and why I insist on good pictures for my daughter's weddings! I have so few nice ones of my own wedding.

Here is one that I tweaked today that was at our wedding reception. I used Photoshop CS3 and put a "Soft and Faded" action on it from Pioneer Woman which helped to give it that vintage look. Just wish I would have had time to clone out the person behind but will work on that!

Had a few comments that my daughter Melodie looks like me, but I think it's always hard to see when you are the mother. So fun to look back on pictures when Don and I were first married, before kids, before careers, before moving when we were just two young, happy kids trying to make our marriage work. So grateful that Don has been with me through the years, for his patience, faithfullness and willingness to work hard for his family. We love to laugh and read together; I think those are two things that make our marriage strong. I am a blessed woman!

Happy 26th Anniversary Don!

Vanessa and Scott Pierson

 It has been over 2 months now and it's still hard to believe that our little Vanessa is married to Scott Pierson from next door! I love this picture from their wedding because Vanessa looks so happy! Two months later and she is still happy whenever I talk to her on the phone, other than missing home. They are living and working in Edmonton for the summer.

 So glad that Kevin brought our Mel's picture that he had made. Everybody laughed when we included this but it made it just a tiny bit better because we all missed her so much!

 This happened to be one of my most favourite pictures that Russ and Jenn McCue took of the wedding. I think it's because it reminds me that weddings are a community effort! My kids have been influenced, loved and raised by not just their parents but by friends, teachers, neighbours and the community around them. This is the end result of a lot of love and effort! Not only that, but as a couple Scott and Vanessa will now have the opportunity to be an influence and an example to those around them, to take part in the community that raised them...

 Another one of my favourite pictures! What a beautiful daughter I have inside and out!

 Bless Ryan for reading a poem that Melodie wrote for the wedding. I know he had a tough time getting through it but he did a great job! It was pure MEL...a Dr. Seuss poem written to Vanessa and Scott in rhyme, it was funny, touching and full of love!

The end of the night....another daughter happily married but gone forever from our house! We miss our girls but feel so blessed to be their parents!