My friend and I had another opportunity to go out and take photographs today.

I thought this was a cute shot.

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, we often associate it with roses and chocolate. Well, I was lucky enough to spend the morning photographing roses with my friend at Wellington Botanic Gardens….oh and we did manage to fit in a delicious hot chocolate as well
It had been raining heavily that morning and I wasn’t sure if we would have to postpone our outing again. (My oldest daughter fractured her arm last week…poor girl).

You would think that going out in overcast conditions, with a high chance of rain would be insane, but actually, it was perfect! No harsh light from the sun and rain drops on the flowers! Amazing!!
Here is my favourite shot of the day. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

You may also like the quote on Taking Risks.

Making more of an effort to get out from behind the camera has been on my mind, on and off over the last couple of years. We even bought a smaller camera with the idea that the kids could take photos of the family…and hopefully with me in it too!

Then a few days ago, I was asked to submit a photo for something. I went searching and I was shocked at how few photos I am in. Absolutely shocked.

If I wanted to change this, I needed to be a wee bit more demanding, “ok, now take a photo of me!”

I also needed to get over myself.

I remember last year, when I really grasped the fact that, how we look every day: no make up, our hair doing all sorts of funny things and daggy clothes etc, is how our kids see us every…single…day. So they are going to love that photo of us even if we are “unpolished”, because that person they are hugging in the photo is their reality.

For my children, I want them to have photos of me with them.

And for me, I want to accept and love the person in the photo….au naturel.

I have been challenging myself, by taking opportunities to snap photos of myself. I just set up the tripod and away I go.

Sometimes, instead of using the tripod I get the kids to take the photos.

I didn’t realise that this exercise would reward me with such fun (and funny) photos. None of these photos were taken by another adult.  The shots inside were on a tripod (I bought a bundle similar to this S1800 model where you will see my mini tripod). The shots outside were taken by me or the kids using our Fujifilm FinePix S1600. (I usually shoot with a Canon 10D)

This is the mantra: It isn’t about perfection, it is about the memories….now breath! And take the photo!

Then, heading over to join the big crowd outside the house in Oriental Parade, to try and make enough noise to make the sound activated Christmas lights light up.

Watching the Nativity scene in the Joy to the World DVD on Christmas morning on our bed with the kids.

The kids made Christmas presents for the family this year. I loved seeing the excitement of the giver and receiver. A lot of thought and effort was put into the making of the gifts over the past couple of months. It was really special to see the kids show genuine appreciation when they received the presents. Probably one of my favourite parts of the day.

Our special banquet breakfast (lots of favourite food and drinks – kind of like our tradition of the birthday breakfast in bed, but we get to enjoy it all together, and it is at the table…rather than the bed….hehehe.)

Visiting family and loved ones.

Looking 4 months pregnant after finishing the amazing Christmas dinner that my mother prepared!

From our family to yours…may you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It was soo much fun!

We had 5 brides who were willing to get out in the wind, get their gowns a bit roughed up, and let a bunch of photography students snap away.

I have a whole new respect for wedding photographers, and portrait photographers in general!

These photos were taken at Plimmerton, near the Fire Station.

Here is what we had to do:

This weeks challenge is “TIME” Our most precious commodity, show us your representation of time…. try to demonstrate its finite nature.

This is was my entry. I chose it because I liked how it showed the past and the present together in one shot.

Last week’s challenge was “SHADOWS”.

These were my entries:

Next week’s challenge is “MOTION”. Can’t wait!

I took my camera and headed into Wellington city.

I love how our city and the people can progress, but does not turn its back on the beauty from the past.

On your walk down Lambton Quay you are bound to pass buskers and even workers digging right in the middle of the footpath.

I ended my discovery date at Astoria in Midland Park. I grabbed myself a yummy tart and hot chocolate then found a table outside.

There were moments I actually wished I had sunglasses, and other times, a scarf! That’s Wellington for ya!

Recently, I received a surprise package in the mail. My best friend had bought me my very own copy of “A Mother’s Book of Secrets“! (She’s so good to me…totally spoilt!)

Shawni Eyre Pothier co-wrote it with her mother Linda Eyre. It is a BEAUTIFUL book, which I am sure a lot of mothers can relate to.

It is filled with real life experiences and practical tips as well.

I think what makes it special, is that it is written from Shawni’s point of view, which is from the trenches of motherhood. As well as Linda’s point of view, which is looking back on motherhood with a bit of perspective.

Some of my favourite quotes so far:

“There isn’t a more difficult yet more important and magnificent career than that of a mother”

Linda Eyre

“Sometimes success is when we don’t get through the to-do list but instead stop long enough to notice the little things. To savor moments. Not only to notice the delight in our children’s eyes, but to help create that delight.”

Shawni Eyre Pothier

(Shawni has a blog called 71 Toes. It’s a great blog, so be sure to check it out!)

Lara from The Golden Seven said in the comments yesterday, “You’ve just about convinced me to come to Wellington on the next plane and sit at your front window and stare out of it all day.”

It made me think about how I really don’t stop and sit and admire the view as often as I should. Those times I took the photographs, my children were the ones who recognised the beauty and came to get me. And where was I? I sure wasn’t looking out of the window to notice the beauty that was unfolding right outside.

So, I have been thinking a lot this morning. About how there are things to be appreciated around us, but we may not be paying attention.

Do I take my blessings for granted?

How good am I at connecting with each child on a daily basis?

How well do I notice the world I’m living in and what we can learn from it, and what it has to offer?

Am I missing the beauty that is unfolding right in front of me? 

Am I there physically, but my mind is elsewhere?

Could I be more engaged?

Can I change my actions, to make a positive impact on my life and my family?

I let these thoughts jumble around my head during my discovery date, while I did some writing, planning, shopping and photography.

After pondering all morning, I really wanted to make more meaningful choices in my life.

After picking up my 3 year old from Playcentre, I decided we were going to have a picnic by the beach. We went home, I did the laundry, and got everything ready for the picnic and off we went to Oriental Parade.

It was looooovely.

After an early dinner, we all jumped on the tramp once we finished our chores. We even did a spot of cloud watching.

One of the kids wanted to go to ride their bikes at the school (something they have asked, but it always seemed to be at the “wrong time”) and I thought “yeah, let’s do that!”.

So this is my journey this week….to make my actions more consistent with how I ultimately want to live my life.

If you have any tips on how you have kept you and your family from falling into the trap of a bad version of a grounds hog day, let me know!

The kids burst into my room this morning to tell me that they could see heaven!

I came out and looked out our living room window.

Oh wow!!

The kids were so excited, they thought angels were going to come down!

Just before bedtime, my 5 year old said,  

“I want to see heaven again.”

“I’m going to go check”

He walks off to the living room, then returns.

“Hey I got some bad news, heaven’s gone”

“I like heaven…”

“Keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life”

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Earlier this week, the girls told my hubby that there was a beautiful sunset, and that they should tell me. When I saw it, my jaw dropped. It was the most beautiful pink sky I had ever seen! I quickly grabbed my camera and started running (yes running!) down the street to the hill/reserve near our place that overlooks the Wellington harbour. By the time I got there the pink had turned into a deep orange and the edges were a mixture of blue/orange/pink. Nature always surprises me at how beautiful it can be! It takes my breath away.

“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.”

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Although, I have started to get an idea of what I like, pulling it all together is a bit daunting. Consequently, I have focused on being functional rather than fashionable (which sometimes can be a good thing with 4 kids!). Butttt..deep down I would like a home that reflects our lifestyle, interests and personality.

Recently I worked through some of my decorator’s block:

• I purchased some cushions in my favourite colour. I chose something because it was fashionable, instead of functional….let’s face it people, cushions plus children equals cushions constantly on the floor, rather than on the couch.

• My hubby and I framed more of my photos. Even thought I wanted to “stall” to think about the “right” photos, or the “right” frame or the “right” place to hang the photos, my hubby helped me push through to the end….encouraging me to just “try it!” I’m so glad we “tried it out” because it looks so much better than before…which was NOTHING!

This is part of our downstairs hallway:

These are some photographs I took at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens last October:

I was inspired by Centsational Girl transforming her photographs of white flowers into black and white prints. She gives really easy instructions, and I just love her end results!

Here are mine:

Below are some of my before and after shots (I would love to get large square frames like CG too!):

These were some wild flowers growing on the side of the road to Arthurs Pass. In Picasa I boosted the saturation, cropped it and made it black and white.

Before:

After:

I took this photo when I was walking around Christchurch last Oct 09.

Before:

After:

For the tulip photographs, I cropped two of the photos, to make them less busy. I also wanted them in portrait style, rather than landscape.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I love these photos, but I can’t take any credit for them…it just happened to be drizzling when I took the photos…and look at the colour of those tulips! They are beautiful!!

Now I get to stare at them every day! I’m glad I got past my decorator’s block!

Reality Check: Now I just need to get rid of the mess and clutter that seems to accumulate around the hallway so it doesn’t distract from the photos! hahaha

After you download the software, Picasa searches out all the photos you have on your computer. The new version has face-matching technology. Picasa scans all the photos in your collection, identifies the ones with faces, and groups photos with similar faces together. Then you get to say who is in the photo. Pretty  cool! Picasa has made folders for all the members of my family!

I haven’t really used the photo manipulation functions yet, but Centsational Girl swears by it. What I have done this week is made picture collages.

This was my first attempt at using the photo collage function in Picasa. Me likey! Beats making a photo montage by lining up photos in Publisher any day (Yes I did do that! On more than one occasion! But with Picasa you just choose the photos you want in it, and it does all the rest!)

This is one I did the other day. We had a fun day out with the cousins a few days ago, and I wanted to put a photo collage in each of my children’s journal (Reality Check: Just incase you suddenly had visions of beautiful journals filled with photos and daily journal entries…..Our children’s journals are not up to date, and they have hardly any photos in them *wink* Hopefully my addiction to making collages will help this cause!)

 This is the collage I did for my youngest.

Tonight I have followed Clover Lane’s tutorial to make a banner. After some  fiddling, I came up with the one below. Unfortunately, the blog template that I’m using, doesn’t allow me to “hide” the automatically generated title for my blog that you see at the top of the screen. So I will just have to sigh, and admire the banner in this post instead.

How do you make your headers for your blogs?

Hmmmm…what else can I make into a collage???

Once a week I have 2 1/2 hours where both my youngest children are at Playcentre. I thought this would be a perfect time to do my discovery date.

I haven’t had a chance to take photos lately, so I decided that I would go to the Botanic Gardens in Wellington to snap some shots. It was a lot of fun. I couldn’t wait to get home to see how they turned out.

Photo by Juggling Motherhood