Sometimes it’s not the best photo you post. It’s the one that captures a memory you don’t want to forget.

My daughter at age four. Her determined jaw and curling tendrils of hair. The fact that she’s snipping cubes of paper even though we started cutting strips for paper chains. Her still-chubby fingers learning to twist the paper just so, then wrap small pieces of sticky tape around them. Her sweetness in crafting with mom, and wanting songs for bedtime, even though it meant going to bed right away rather than staying up late for more play.

Sometimes a photo is so much more than a picture.

We got a shout out on Shutter Sisters today! How cool is that?!! Just last night I was surfing the site, clicking away on each contributor and making mental notes on the contents of their camera bags. Shutter Sisters is an inspiring site for me, so it’s exciting to get a mention from them. They’re also hosting a giveaway each day of December. So stop by, look around, and maybe win something!

I made an agreement with myself that I’d only buy regular coffee—and then spruce it up with Splenda and creamer and various flavors found in free shakers at coffee shops. I promptly forgot my agreement with myself and have enjoyed numerous lattes since.

But today’s drink, an Espresso Truffle (mmm), was completely legit and myself couldn’t get mad at me for this one. Hello, sweet gift card/birthday present. You provided guiltless caffeinated pleasure on a windy and cold December afternoon. Thank you, dear giver of aforementioned card. And thank you, Starbucks, for not carrying “rainbow” cookies, because then I didn’t have to share my present with my daughter. (Kidding, kidding. But not really.)

Speak now or forever hold your peace. Or something like that.

If you’d like to have your name added to the roster in the right sidebar, you must sign up for the December Photo Project by midnight on December 8. You can join the project and sign up for it on the blog up until the last day, December 25, if you’d like. But I won’t add anymore names to the list of participants after tomorrow. FYI!

Thirty-one years ago, and a few odd minutes, one amazing woman delivered her second child, a baby girl. She must’ve been completely exhausted as that baby weighed a whopping 8lb, 9oz. Thank you, mom, for going through all that pain and effort just to get me to this earth. Since I was your second child, I’m sure you knew that the delivery was just the beginning… You had many more years of pain and effort—and joy!—ahead of you. Now that I’m a mother, I know how much you sacrificed for me. I love you! You began a legacy, continued it in many ways, and for that I am thankful today, on my birthday.

My birthday is tomorrow, but yesterday I received a stellar present: Canon Rebel XS. It is so cool, so fabulous, a really awesome birthday gift from Jeremy. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!!) I’ll continue to use my Powershot S1 IS for brief outings with Livia and for shooting short movies. But oh my goodness, I’m already having loads of fun with the dSLR. I have a lot to learn about photography… and I’m certain the world will see it all in action here on the Prairie Box.

**About my Powershot, which didn’t really die but was only mostly dead (ah, what would we do without the Princess Bride? Anybody want a peanut?). While checking out cameras at a local shop, I was informed that Canon would repair my camera for free—no warranty needed. So I packed up my camera with a repair slip, paid a small fee for insurance coverage with USPS, and sent it off to see what happened. Within eight days, my camera was returned with a new optical something-or-other (see how much I have to learn) and a repaired lens. It also came back with a wonky zoom but at least I can use the camera again. Thank you, Canon!

Right around the time I became a mom, our church began a program for mothers. And boy, am I thankful. I love these women and I really enjoy our times together each month. It’s a joy to belong to this community of believers.