Curly Girl Designs

So I was sitting in the Minneapolis airport after Elijah & Jackie's wedding, and if you have ever been to this airport you will know that, like all great airports, it has some GREAT little shops in it. I had my eye on one particularly cute looking shop, and sat on a bench outside of it enjoying my Caribou Chai & bagel while contemplating whether I should go inside or not (knowing of course that I was bound to find some cute gift that would be perfect for someone I knew and that I would just have to buy for them! Yep, it was one of those looking shops!)

Well I had some time to kill, and found the greatest line of cards! In fact there was another lady there buying a stack of them too, because they are just that cute!!!

REVEALED : Curly Girl Designs ( I have to say I love the name). Check them out, they are irresistable.

So I bought a few. Hence the post.

Elijah & Jackie : Part 2

I feel like I am a bit behind on sharing some great images, so this evening I took advantage of some quiet time I had and decided to work on a couple more .... my goal for this weekend is to have a few more of this incredible couple up here (they are probably still enjoying their Caribbean honeymoon!) as well as some from the Cumberland County Fair SHiNE fashion shoot that I did before I left for the wedding (sorry those are taking awhile SHiNE).

Enjoy these colourful wedding photos!

Pee Ess - I'm sending a word out to Ms Chantel : are you out there? Did you get the 8x10 i made for you? Never mind, I'll post it!

Elijah & Jackie

Last weekend I had the honor of photographing a beautiful wedding in Rochester, Minnesota. Not only was it a beautiful wedding, but the couple is just radiant. Elijah is a very talented photographer and person that I admire and respect. He has unlimited patience in helping others - including me when I am having technical difficulties with my computer, software, and camera....he is the first person I call! I was so thrilled to meet his beautiful bride, Jackie, as well as both of their families.

Elijah and Jackie you both radiate grace, love, talent, & mercy. God is going to use you two together in mighty ways to touch so many lives with His love! Thank you so much for trusting me with the photography of your big day. It was breathtaking.

The cherry-on-top was working with one of my close friends - Chantel - in capturing this special wedding! We had a great time didn't we?!

There are many more great shots to come...this is just the beginning!

A Nightmare. 4 Chapters In.

Well I got "The Shack" in the mail yesterday, and although I thought maybe I was "read out" from studying all day (yep, I am a college girl again), I could not put it down once I opened it. I think this is partly because I was so upset by what was going on, I never ever want to imagine going through what this family had to go through. Finally I had to turn off the lamp and go to sleep, but the first thing I did when I woke up this morning was reach over to my night table and pick it up again. There had to be a redeeming aspect, and I needed to reach it so that I felt some peace. I was not expecting what came! But at least I am at a point where I can put it down for a little while....but I can't wait for this evening to pick it up again and keep reading! I still haven't figured out if this book is really based on a true story - he makes it sound like it is in his Forward - but then again I am not sure since it is classified as a Fiction. Anybody know? Anybody reading it or have read it?

The Shack

Last night I finally did it. I ordered William P. Young's book "The Shack" from Amazon since I was already in book-ordering mode for my husband (he had me order him "Wisdom of Crowds" for work). I actually feel deep down inside that I am supposed to read this book. Do you ever get that about a book and then as you read that certain book it deposits something into your soul that in some way changes you for the ordinary? Well, I don't want to ignore the feeling because I don't want to miss out on something that God wants to teach me, or reveal to me about Himself and His love! To be honest, I ordered "The Shack" without even knowing what it was about! (That is rare for me). But it has come up subtly about 3 times. Just the mention of it in passing. The confirmation came today when my cousin - Ashlee - and I were about to get off the phone with eachother when she said "oh, I can't forget, I have a book I need to mail to you".... before she told me I knew which book it would be. I've already ordered it for myself so she can pass it on to some one else!

I am passing it on that I would like to have a little "book club" meeting sometime at the end of October for whoever is in this area and is interested in reading it too! I'll post more about it :) And hey, maybe once it actually arrives and I start reading it I will post a little here or there about it :)

Take care!

Your Baby Announcement

Hey Stefen and Chelsea,

Here is your first sample Announcement for Gavin. What do you think?

Chelsa

Sugar Shacks & 16

My Sister took this cool photo as we were flying from Alberta to BC. The yellow canola fields that line the prairies is one of my favourite things about summer in Alberta!




This is my brother, Carson, & me on his 16th birthday! (and he's a great driver!) The following photos are snapshots of his birthday party with lake friends...







My cousin's daughter - Stephanie - came out to the lake all by herself this year! She taught me something very important with these balloons... how to suck out the helium & then talk like a chipmunk. Her mother would be very proud :) These last shots of the day are some of my favourites - everything is just bathed in sunset :)

Camping, Hotsprings, Rodeos & Rides

These are totally out of order! But sometime in the middle of my trip - after my sister, Lindsay, & I took our little road trip out west, we hooked up with all my sweet relatives at the infamous Calgary Stampede.

Becca & I rode that crazy ride together...you'll see a snapshot of it if you scroll down!

Oh yes, the Calgary Tower! All during the Stampede weeks, you will see pretty much 4 out of 5 Albertans wearing some kind of cowboy getup. Apparently soon after Red Deer has its Westerner Days, and Edmonton has Klondike Days...I think we all have a little cowboy in us...


This cowgirl is my cousin Jenna! She rode the crazy ride with her friend, as did both my aunts!



This is my incredibly fabulous cousin Nicole. When I first arrived in Canada, she came out to the lake with my family to hang out with me & keep my mind off of missing Ben!

Lindsay & I decided to take a spur-of-the-moment road trip out to the Rocky Mountains - past Radium Hot Springs - & "camp" for a night in the back of our dad's Denali. hmmm. Not such a great sleep...
But we ate good thanks to Lindsay, and man, those natural hot springs were something else....I kept thinking "if only i could transport ben here somehow so he could soak his sore muscles.."

Yours Truly :) Stay tuned, there are so many more Summer 08 photos!

My Friend Amanda

Wow, I sure have a lot of catching up to do here! Blogging as well as just going through the photos that I have taken in the past 2 months while I was up in Canada. I really have no excuse for my neglect of the blog other than the weather was just too nice, the friends & family too fun, and the Okanagan Lake calling my name. As I work through some of the photos, I will post some up of a few of my beautiful friends and family.

I was blessed to be able to spend the last 6 weeks of my husband's Ranger School up in Canada. And I am grateful to have the friends and family that I do, they definitely kept my spirits up and kept me busy during that time apart from my man!

I will start with my friend Amanda. Amanda and I went to high school together back in the day! She's one of those friends I know I can always count on - even if we are half a world apart. In the past 2 years, she has spent a number of months in Ghana, working alongside her University doing projects in community development. She is planning on going back to Ghana for another 2 years any time now!

Now let me tell you about this little Portrait Session. We did this as kind of her "grad photos", but it's a good thing we had our friend Nate along to stand guard. Early on in the session we heard this big growl, and me, not knowing a whole lot about "growls", didn't think anything of it. Apparently it was a bear. Yep. Bear Country. So Nate stood guard, and would give us updates every so often on the bear's movements (it was in the bush so we didn't have a visual). Anyway, you know how hard it is to pull yourself away from a photo session when you are in "the zone" - bear or no bear - but there finally came a point where Nate highly recommended that maybe we move our session elsewhere.

The moral of the story? It is good to have guys around that know a thing or two about bears :)

Check out the rest of her photos

Erica & Rick - Sneak Peek #2

Aren't they the most stunning couple?! More than once I have found myself smiling as I process their images - they are SO beautifully in love and they compliment one another so well!

Erica and  Rick, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to capture the love you two share for eachother - as well as your family and friends - on your wedding day. It was an honor to be there, and to witness the way that you honor one another, serve one another, and lift each other up. It was wonderful to see how much the people in your life respect, admire, and care for you - and you for them!

All the best! We'll keep in touch as your photos and designer album come together :)

Erica & Rick | 06.07.2008

Your favourite spot :)


A mom & daughter moment ...

And your stunning wedding rings !

Despite the slight "blip" that today was supposed to hit record highs (100+!) Erica and Rick were still the most lovely bride and groom to be around! There is so much to say, but already it's after midnight and today has been a long (and wonderful) day... yet I couldn't possibly sleep without playing with a few photos and getting them up for a quick peek before I can get to the rest of them:) Enjoy!

Chelsa