It's Christmas Time...Our Wish for You!

Our wish for friends, family and those we don't yet know...

PEACE

HOPE

LOVE

JOY...

And on that note, here's our card for you...

Love,

"The Sisters"



Are You Taking Time to Enjoy the Little Things?

The Christmas rush is definitely on and we're right in the middle of it with the rest of you!!!   Every year I say I'm going to take time to enjoy the season with all its meaning and in all it's glory!   I succeed in small ways but still manage to get behind on the other things I "need" to get done!

One thing we're both taking time to do this season is a little daily photo project called "Picture the Holidays".   Each day we get a prompt with a note about something we should focus on that day and try to capture with all of our creativity and imagination in a photo that is meaningful to us.   It goes until the end of the month and each day I look forward with anticipation to the day's assignment.   For the most part, I'm getting things done on time but sometimes I have to work on two or three at a time.   At the end, we'll be able to print a book and I can't wait for that! I  also can't wait to compare our photos for each theme of the day since we sometimes see things with such a different eye!

Today's theme is "Wrapped With Love" and since I haven't wrapped a single thing yet, I'm thinking I'd better get busy on that part first.   Here are some of my other favorites though, along with their theme.   I won't bore you will all 19 of them but if there's a way to do it, I'll share my book at the end!

Merry Christmas everyone!   Take a few moments to stop and breathe and look around you and take in the beauty of the season and of your surroundings.  Spend some time with people who matter.  Don't let yourself get so caught up in what you have to get done that you miss it all!

Day ONE...So thankful for yet another birthday...
and for being able to spend it with ALL my kids and grandkids!

A well-worn page and something I need to be reminded of often...

Perhaps you should start here...TODAY!

And since I can't imagine Christmas without my adorable granddaughers in it, here they are...

So what is it you need to be focused on today?  I hope you'll take a few minutes and enjoy some of the splendor and the beauty that surrounds you, whatever that may be.  For myself, I'm going to get my gifts wrapped so I can take a photo or two of them and remember how beautiful they are and how special the people are they are wrapped for!

Since our posts seem to be few and far between right now, let us take this opportunity to wish you a Christmas that is full of love, joy, peace and many blessings!

Love,

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love.
~Ada V. Hendricks



The {V}ery beautiful {V} family....

Planning ahead for family portraits when all family members will be together is a great idea.  This smart Mom and Dad knew both boys would be visiting at the same time and seized the opportunity to schedule some family photos.  The results of a lovely late October afternoon session are as beautiful as they are and should provide them with memories of their time together forever!

There's plenty more for them to choose from where these came from and there's not a bad photo in the bunch!  Have you scheduled your family session?  What are you waiting for?

"You don't choose your family: 

they are God's gift to you 

as you are to them."

                             ~Desmond Tutu

                           

                 Tina

Sister's Weekend: Part I

Dear Sisters~ I wanted to compile our photos together and do a series of blogs about our sisters weekend to Bisbee in November.  Our photography blog seemed like the perfect vehicle to share our collective photos and stories.  For our offspring, spouses and friends at home wondering or (more likely) imagining just what do we do on sister’s weekends? ...read on!

Tombstone Arizona

Getting all 5 of us headed toward the same destination is nothing short of a miracle, even at this stage of our lives.  This year, surgeries, sprained ankles, and the loss of a loved one threatened to derail our plans, but I think we all had a strong sense of the importance of spending the weekend together during the one year mark following our mom’s passing.

We piled in the car and headed toward Bisbee with a (roundabout) stop for Starbucks in Tucson and a little planned time in Tombstone, Arizona.  It amazes me that despite the fact we were all born and raised in Arizona, there are so many places we have never been.  Tombstone was one of those places, for me anyway.  If Tombstone were on my bucket list I guess I could check it off the list because once you’ve seen Tombstone….well let’s just say there’s really no need to go back unless you’re taking relatives from back East (ahem…) who want a taste of the Wild Wild West!   

And this one's for you!

Tombstone has stagecoaches, and gun fights, and turquoise stores, and yes lots and lots of tourists….we were 5 of them!



I think I heard a certain sister comment on more than one occasion that this gentleman was
"very nice looking"...



Tourists ...yes that's (3 of) us!



We decided to have lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon and when we travel by 5’s we get lots of questions.  The local cowboy was no exception and found us to be the perfect subjects to volunteer to take pictures with OUR cameras for us. 

Caution: Content not intended for young children

Before we knew it we were being herded to the poker table, dressed in Western attire and handed shotguns and moonshine bottles. 

You should have seen the "serious faced" version!

I’m not sure how or why but I was the lucky one he chose to put in the coffin, hang a noose around my neck and take my picture. I must look lile a "2 bit tramp".  We promptly paid our tab and left Big Nose Kate’s.  My reputation was tarnished.

About 20 stores later-2 times each (did I say Angie likes to shop?),  3 propositions to take a stagecoach tour, an equine chat between Kim, the stagecoach driver and 2 Clydesdales, multiple photo ops,  and 2 3 trips to the “public” bathroom, we blew that popsicle stand and headed for Bisbee!

As we decompressed from the hurried pace we keep in our every day lives we had to laugh at each other.  We took turns demonstrating how the aging process and stress have taken their toll on our brains!  First it was my turn.  As we were nearing a Picacho Peak road sign I saw a grove of trees and commented that I thought they were Pecan Trees, but the sign infiltrated my thought process and suddenly I was proclaiming that they must be Picacho trees…(thinking Pistachio but saying Picacho!)  I followed with “do Picacho’s grow on trees?”  A moment of silence followed while everyone processed what I had just said and then we busted out in laughter.

Cindy took a turn with a new twist on an old phrase about Hell but as further proof of that comment I made about aging brains…I’ve forgotten exactly what she said, but it was very funny at the time!

As we approached Bisbee, Angie saw a bowling alley in the middle of nowhere and commented “look we could stop and bowl a square, a …square?  What is it called?”  A frame Angie, we could bowl a frame. 

We knew it was only a matter of time before the others slipped up at the rate we were going. 

Unlike the days of our youth,  there were no fights about who got to sit by the window, who got to ride in front, who ate all the snacks or who got the bathtub first when we got there.  Our bickering days of childhood... a thing of the past, have been replaced with chuckles and grins!  And not unlike the times we spent in the Buick "Vista Cruiser" stationwagon, we cruised on through the Arizona desert towards the town of Bisbee, Arizona!

                                                                                                                   To be continued…

As Thanksgiving and the Holidays approach I am reminded of all that I have to be thankful for.  I count my sister's amongst my richest Blessings and I love you all!

                                                                                  Tina

 

Live from Downtown!

The downtown area seemed like the most logical place to meet one of our favorite families who live on the opposite side of the Valley. Not to mention we've been itching to do an urban session like this. We love the colors and textures of the older parts of town and couldn't wait to use it as our canvas. With baseball season over and basketball not yet started, no concerts, no trains....it was a perfect evening for our own private session with the city to ourselves. I love these images of this beautiful family in the golden light of the final daylight hours.  We’re hoping they love them as much as we do!

 

 

Oh, and that absolutely adorable blue-eyed son of theirs...I’m thinking he’s going to be a real heart-breaker someday. You be the judge but after seeing these, I’m certain you’ll agree!

Until next time... 

Tina

A Happy Time with the {H} Family

What a true blessing it was to be able to take photos of this lively and happy family. They haven’t had the best year but you would never have known it by all the fun we had with them!!! We met at a special location and we had them traveling all over the place there, without ever a complaint.

It was extra special for me because I’ve known J since my now 29-year old son was in kindergarten. She spent a lot of time babysitting him and he loved her then and still does to this day. I hadn’t met her kids and it was a complete joy to see the kind of mom she is and what special and adorable kids they are!

We did have a few laughs trying to get both kids to smile and keep their eyes open at the same time, but we pulled it off enough times to make us happy! All the while, Mom was ready and waiting and beautiful when the shutter clicked!

I truly hope we’ll be able to take photos of this family as they grow and change. Plus, I have a special wish to photograph J and her horse one of these days soon.

This might be my very favorite!

I love, love, love this one because I think it captures the kids' personalities so perfectly...at least from what I observed!
I'll let you figure out what those are...

Blessings to you and yours,
Karen

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." 

~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

Owen is One!

All we can say is…WOW!!!   Recently little Owen got to make his first trip to Arizona to meet his extended family and celebrate his first birthday all at the same time!  It was a whirlwind trip and we were blessed not only to be able to take photos of Owen and his whole family but also to be able to celebrate at his First Birthday Party and take photos of that milestone event!

We know boys are not supposed to be pretty or cute, but we think boys under a certain age are almost always cute!  But Owen…he is CUTE beyond words!!!  This is not to mention the fact that he was also jetlagged from a three-hour time difference and he was so good while we kept him out in the heat and took picture after picture, all with him in them. 

We’re so happy for all of Owen’s family that he got to make the trip west.  We think he has a pretty darned special family out here so we hope he gets to come again sometime soon and stay a little longer.  Meanwhile, take a look and enjoy every moment of his “cuteness”!

Oh…I almost forgot…

By far, our favorite shots of the whole day had to be when he was eating his cake!!  He was all boy during that smashup.  He started a bit tentatively but after that first lick of sugar, he was all in!!!!  Check it out…

 

Blessings to you and yours,

Karen

“Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.”

~Rabindranath Tagore