Archive for March, 2014
I got something in the mail yesterday. It was the culmination of 365 days (+ a few more this year) of documentation, sweat, and tears. Literally. I was shaking a little bit as I opened it and flipped through all 242 pages of it. When I finished, I will admit to being a little tired. It was difficult to relive last year through these pictures, but at the same time, it was necessary and I was surprised to find that I was smiling more than I was teary. I will be ordering three more copies…one more for each of my children to keep forever as well. I am glad it’s over. But I am proud:
For the next 48 hrs, the THIS link will allow you the chance to flip through the entire album via iBooks on an iPad (for those that were asking to see the inside). Note that April 27th and May 2nd are not misprints. Those are very intentional and were the most appropriate ways I could think of to attempt to convey our feelings at that time. Once that link expires, you can always see all of the images in the collection via this Facebook album.
The book is 11×13 from Blurb designed using InDesign (which I learned via these album design tutorials). My husband hung up the shelves for me last night (I love him) so that our albums could be displayed and more readily accessible to everyone to flip through whenever we want. Though I would have preferred the shelves to be white and probably could have made them myself MUCH cheaper, I was in a hurry to take advantage of my husband’s willing spirit, so we snagged these from Target. The lip on the end is *very* important as they hold the books on the shelf and keep them from sliding off. They could also be a little bit deeper to hold more, but in this particular space, they work well and don’t get in the way of the walkway, so I guess that’s good.
Thank you to everyone that followed along with this project last year and I would LOVE to see anyone else’s 365’s if they are willing to share. Post in the comments below! And if you started one this year…GOOD LUCK!
P.S. My husband asked me two questions after looking through this book:
Him – “Are you glad you did it?”
Me – “Heck YES!”
Him – “Do you want to do it again?”
Me – “Heck NO!”
Those are the words that come to mind when I recall the afternoon I spent with this family not too long ago. I loved everything about this session. I loved the carefree nature of it all. I loved the wind-swept hair and beautiful freckles and gorgeous giggles and the love…the love of ranch life…the love of family. The sun betrayed us because we could have played all night.
My favorite mom + daughter pic is HERE.
A funny one that shows baby girl’s reaction to a fizzy drink HERE.
Another fav larger HERE.
She is the daughter of my husband’s cousin. When she was little, she had these long, beautiful, caramel and chocolate ringlets of hair and I’d watch as my husband’s father helped her feed the fish in the pond in his backyard. I must have been newly married back then and I remember hoping that I would someday have a daughter with long hair and my husband’s father could help her feed the fish in the pond in his backyard.
Some wishes do come true, and sometimes, they don’t always play out like you imagined them. My husband’s dad did get to spend a few years with his grandchildren, but not quite as many as I had hoped for.
It was my honor to see this little lady again to take her senior portraits. We are all very proud of the beautiful, confident young lady she has become (Pop/Uncle Virgil, included).
XOXO, my dear! {Another image can be found HERE and check out the Waterlogue app version of one of these images HERE}.
I feel like I’ve been with this family forever. We have certainly shared a lot of memories together over the past several years and it was an honor to help celebrate the 1 year birthday of their baby girl. For tradition’s sake, we revisited the same place we did big brother’s one year session, and even did a little bit of photo re-creation. Funny enough, I think it was just as cold as it was last time we were there, lol. And don’t miss this shot of speedy as she crawled up the stairs and out of sight, over and over and over again ;-). Oh, I do adore her!
Based on the totals of all of the popular votes (outlined here), one winner chosen by yours truly, and one winner drawn at random, I give you to the 2013 Pinkle’s Pics of the Year (in no particular order):
I am thrilled for each of their families and very much look forward to creating their family videos this summer. I will be contacting you all soon to make arrangements. A HUGE congratulations and I’m just over the moon to get to add these to the line up of winners.