Post Thanksgiving reflection and explanation

Last Wednesday, we spent the afternoon & evening packing and getting food ready to take up north for our family Thanksgiving gathering.  I can't remember the last time I had Thanksgiving dinner with my side of the family.  Typically we have saved this particular holiday as my "take-a-deep-breath-photography-season-is-over" break and we have stayed home to cook our own turkey and stay in our pjs all day.

This year however, we changed it up a bit...

and although it was wonderful, I'm wondering if perhaps we jinxed ourselves...

Let me explain my theory...

As we were attempting to pack, I needed to do laundry to get enough clothes ready for everyone...that's when I noticed that the laundry machine would not turn on, unless I unplugged it first, caused a shock, and then it would automatically turn on again...

this is not a good sign, considering we JUST had an issue with it a few months back...more with the spin thingy, but a problem nevertheless...

We just kept doing loads and did the unplug thing each time...because CLEARLY that is the 'wise' thing to do when an electric shock is the only means to get your appliance to run...

It's in the back of my mind that we've been in our home now well over 10 years, and things are going to start falling apart sooner rather than later...

for example, we gorilla glued the handle to our microwave just last week...Wala, fixed it! but, you get what I'm saying when I refer to things "breaking"...

This was just the tip of the iceberg...

We left for Michigan and spent a glorious few days with my brother & his family...ate turkey, deep fried LOTS of things to the point that this over-40 body could NOT handle all that fried stuff and revolted against me by evening time...but those stuffing balls were soooo worth it!

On our way back home on Saturday, we stopped in Ann Arbor (yes, gasp...I know) but our besties live there and we wanted to watch the OSU/Michigan game with true Wolverine/Buckeye rivalry...

it was a sight to see, to say the least...

We finally arrived home knowing that we still needed to chop down our Christmas tree before the weekend was over...

I might have forgotten to mention that along with that washing machine issue, we started noticing the floor warping in the kitchen....just minor details...

Once we chose our tree and each girl took a turn moping because they wanted to be the one to find the "perfect" tree and then gloated  when we finally agree on one had a great time, filled with wonderful tree chopping memories, we got home to begin the process of bringing the Xmas decor upstairs.

This is where we noticed that the ceiling (of the basement) was leaking all over our boxes...

hmmm...

Low and behold, our dishwasher is broken and apparently has been leaking for some time, thus creating much damage to our floor and now our basement joists.

So, for the month of December, I'm supposing that I'll be investing in some good old rubber gloves in order to handwash our dinnerware...I'm thankful that it's after photography season though, because I'll have a bit more time in order to do so...

We did invest our time wisely though, as we spent the better part of the afternoon cleaning out the "packrat" part of my basement...or more accurately I should say that my husband & daughters spent their time down there whilst I decorated for Christmas upstairs ...they all know that "momma doesn't like to part with things so keep her out of the basement while we throw it all away"

I'm happy to say that we can now walk into the unfinished part of the basement without stubbing a toe or knocking into things...

I have no idea what this means for our kitchen, or said dishwasher either, or the washing machine for that matter...I just know that Christmas is less than a month away now and it's appearing that whatever happens with the "appliances" in our home, they are going to count towards my Christmas, birthday and anniversary gifts for 2016-2017 :)

yay me :) no really...YAY!  I just don't like the money part of all that...but, it's not like we have 2 getting braces next month...

oh wait...

I may need to rethink my letter to Santa this year :)






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FAMILY SESSION: preparing for goodbye

She's their firstborn...and she's graduating soon...

They wanted to squeeze in that last "we're all together under the same room" family session before the changes start happening...because, we know as soon as she heads off to college, it's not too long before it's the next one's turn...

Here we're already only a month away from Christmas 2016...it sneaks up on you...this time passing thing...

I enjoyed Zoe's senior pictures and it was incredibly fun to see her entire family and how she works into the family dynamics...

They were my last "official" fall family session of 2016!  

I appreciated their candor and their "happy"...

I can imagine that this year's holiday season is going to be cherished for a long while...













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FAMILY SESSION: Sister Stole the Show

Her momma said, "I just don't understand, she's never like this!"
And little sis continued to smile and giggle and put her little hand on her hip to give me her "stance"...she crossed her ankles to sit like a princess...she had all her "poses" set in her mind and she was ON FIRE!  
We just let her "do her thing" and watched the magic happen!
I'm getting this session in just under the deadline...and I'm so thankful that I get to share pictures with them for the Thanksgiving holiday! 












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FAMILY SESSION: personality & friends

Has any one ever taken the Myers-Briggs Personality tests?

I have taken this test (and many others like it) MULTIPLE times...

I.LOVE.THEM.

The first time I took one was my senior year in high school...then again a couple times in college and again during pre-marital counseling...

I've always been an ENFP

If you are curious about what that means, you can check it out HERE

I love these types of personality tests because it's not only fascinating, but it help me understand why I sometimes think and do the things that I do...

It also helps me understand people who are different than me...

for example, my husband...

He's nearly all my letter opposites... 

and I find it quite curious that most of my friends also happen to fall into that category...

Kathy is one of those as well :) 

Where I'm the Extrovert, she's the introvert...

Where I'm "fly by the seat of my pants", she's got a plan...

Where I can't find the socks I wore yesterday, she has a special closet in her house specifically for categorized wrapping paper...

She is amazing...she can do all the things that I can't do and that I don't even know how to begin...
And what is so genuinely wonderful is that with those systematic tools, she brings security and comfort to everyone with whom she comes in contact...

she's dependable and loyal and kind and generous...
people are drawn to her by her kindness and then get doubly blessed by her incredible talents! 

I was thrilled last year when they moved in right behind my house...and I'm looking forward to more time with her as this busy season winds down with photography as well...

I'm sure I'll be hyped up with all my "talky" enthusiasm and she'll graciously listen and laugh at my antics and then she'll be the one to make sure we make it to the school on time to volunteer! 














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FAMILY SESSION: "insert little giggle"

Session galleries can be rather large...
In my attempt to under promise & over deliver, I really try not to leave anything out from our session time if I can help it...that sometimes mean extra editing and a bit more in wait time...but, hopefully it makes up for it when that gallery is delivered...

the problem then becomes twofold...because how do I share all the LOVE without bombarding every social media platform with pictures of beautiful, touching moments???

therein lies my dilemma...

because I'm rarely without an overwhelming amount of options of images to share...

this session was no exception...

My goal when doing family sessions is to make it an experience...because let's face it, no dad or kiddos truly want to spend extended periods of time being photographed...feeling like they have to be "ON" the whole time...

Often, I end up ignoring mom & dad when I first meet everyone because the kiddos are the true "stars" of the show...If we can have fun and laugh and get them having a good time, then we are set!

these sweet baby girls are dreams to engage with...and they had ME laughing with their silly expressions and excitement...

We were jumping up and down keeping warm in the chilly air and little sis was all about cold nosed kisses!  

Jen & her husband have enveloped their daughters in such love & acceptance that C & E are so pleasant to be around...touching to watch...and are little friends you want your own kids to have...

I think many of their images will make you spontaneously smile :) 













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FULL FAMILY SESSION: So that's where she gets it

The first things that come to mind when I think of her are big smiles & lots of laughing!

It's how I always have found her in any interactions I've had...
Her kids have constant smiles and can be just plain goofy which sets everyone else off in fits of laughter...

She's a "photog" herself and that always brings with it a level of trepidation when photographing families...but, she & her gang were easy....they even brought Grandpa & Grandma along for the ride.

What really had me laughing though, as I was culling through their gallery was seeing her daughter with this giant grin and wide "O" mouth (see pic below) and not more than 5 images later, I see MOM doing the same thing...and then they hug and it makes me smile to remember how much our kids play off of us...how they take their cues from our perspective on life...

Sure, they have a combination of their mom & dad's makeup so they are bound to have similar mannerisms and even look alike...but, how they carry themselves, how they interact with others...it's a reflection of what they've seen modeled...

and in this case, it's a wonderful thing to behold! 
















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The best way to contact me is either through Facebook Messaging or emailing me at ctphotomemories@gmail.com

I can't wait to hear from you!
"Teach us to number our days, (savor the moments) so that we may gain a heart of wisdom" ~Psalm 90:12

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