An elf came over and wrapped presents with me today. It was a beautiful elf with a beautiful name. Thanks a million, Rebecca! My elbows and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
(Yes, that is a pig in a teacup for Livia. No, you may not show her this pic before Christmas.)
At the end of a long day, one where going out to eat seemed the only option, I wasn’t sure what I was going to capture for my DPP shot. Lo and behold, we saw two families we knew at HF Crave tonight. I recalled needing a portrait and they were cool enough to sit still for a moment. Thanks, friends! I hope a good burger and fries cheered up your little one. (I know that Black and Bleu burger made my tummy happy.)
My church is full of quite possibly the cutest children on the planet. Tonight many of them sang in a Christmas choir and they did a wonderful job due to the efforts of their fearless leader Vikki Power (thank you, Vikki!). Here is a shot of my buddy Josh who recited a giant portion of Luke 2. If you are like the rest of us lazy hacks and haven’t actually memorized the passage, here it is:
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
The Redeemer Christmas Party was tonight. Such a great time of hanging out with fun folks. The top shot is my friend Tara, who is also a DPP participant. The bottom shot is the lovely Ashley modeling her white elephant gift.
The first rule of the DPP is don’t talk about the DPP.
Wait, scratch that.
The first rule of the DPP is… don’t leave your camera at home.
Seriously.
DON’T LEAVE YOUR CAMERA AT HOME. It is no good to you there.
Until it really kinda is.
Today I left my camera at home. I was all prepared to photograph my dentist, but somehow the notion of camera got shoved back behind 1) the desire to actually shower before going out in public and 2) my typical dentist office anxiety. However, I’d say things worked out well because, in the end, I snapped this image which I really love. On my way back into the house I saw the Morehead family coming home from lunch. After running in to grab my camera, I quickly snapped a few shots in the snow. Whew, I got my portrait for the day.
The gorgeous and talented Christine Weeks! My guess is that this woman can do anything. And if she can’t, please don’t tell me; I’m enjoying living in this fantasy world. ;)
My little friends Grace and Micah were baptized tonight at church. I was going to link back to the photo shoot we did a few weeks ago, but oh yeah, I haven’t posted those images yet. This is an excellent reminder to do so! So anyhow, tonight these sweet kids were baptized at Redeemer—and it got me a bit choked up. Baptism itself doesn’t save; Jesus is the Savior of mankind. But we baptize our babies, our toddlers, our teens, our adults because it’s a sign that we belong to God. What a beautiful expression of faith tonight, to see Grace publicly proclaim her faith and to see Micah receive this sacrament. Afterwards I told Grace how neat it was to see her baptized, and she informed me with great excitement that she got to take communion. Yep, communion is pretty darn exciting, too.
Gorgeous, sleepy, snowy Saturday.
A rescheduled dinner.
Cancelled Christmas party makes room for long conversation and dessert.
Hilarious laughter.
Grateful for family and friends.
**I did indeed pick a theme for this year’s DPP. It’s portrait time for me—all people, all 25 days. My husband says I’m only allowed to use him once. After December 1 I told him, “Well, it’ll be another 23 days of Livia then.” ;)
