gigiblog

Season of giving.

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.  ~George MacDonald

I'm not shooting as many sessions in my studio right now, as I'm concentrating on getting all my orders processed and delivered to my fantastic clients for the holidays. Thus, I am having shooting-withdrawal, so you might just have to bear with me as I post random photos that I take during the day! ;)

These are gifts I'm giving this year ... mmmm, these candles smell sooo yummy ...

Even Daisy (who is getting really big all of a sudden!) thought the candles were lovely!

And this is a different kind of candle - I'm not sure if I like this photo or not. It's not really saying what I want it to say ... I want it to say "comfort", "warmth", "safety" and "home" but I'm not sure if I succeeded. We have one of these candles in each of our windows here at home. When my hubby drives up at night, through a snowy blizzard after a long day of work, I want these candles to be the first thing he sees - almost like a beacon in the night from a lighthouse - to welcome him home. They do look lovely in real life...

I just got a HUUUUGE shipment of photos tonight so if you're waiting an order that you placed in the first week of November, yours might be in there! I am going to package all the orders up tomorrow - which include some GORGEOUS canvas prints for a few of my clients! Wowweee! Let me tell you - I can't wait to have this third baby so I can take THE PHOTO (all three kids snuggled together=love for me!) and print it up nice and big on canvas to go over my fireplace. Ahhhhh.

Enjoy the snow, everyone. It's gorgeous.

Christmas cheer.

                 "I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars

and open a jar of it every month." 

                                                       ~Harlan Miller

What is it about Christmas that makes one's heart joyful, footsteps lighter, nights cozier and snow all the more glorious?

The kindness some show when they drop off cans of food and goodies to the local food bank ...

Christmas cheer, perhaps? What is Christmas cheer, though?

Is it wrapped up in the gifts we give our loved ones on Christmas day or the parcels we so gingerly package up every year and ship to far-off relatives, to show them we are thinking of them ...

The generosity others express when they host bountiful Christmas feasts for those who are needy in our hometown ...

The toys others donate to the local toy drive, knowing it will make Christmas morning all the more brighter for one child ...?

I encourage you, if you haven't already donated something this Christmas to a charity organization or to a local church or food drive, go out and do it tomorrow! This is a season for giving - and it may not always be giving to those who fall under the title of family - it might be giving a gift for someone you will never meet in person.

Why not try donating $100 to purchase a goat to a needy child overseas?

www.worldvision.ca/gifts

P.S.

Did you know ...?

"Goats are in high demand in (communities everywhere. That's because a good dairy goat can yield up to 250 litres of protein-rich milk that gives nutrition to hungry children—and income to their parents. And two goats can breed and produce more kids every year, eventually multiplying into a herd ..."

Tied up with string.

With all this beautiful, freshly-fallen snow, it really does feel like the Christmas season has arrived. Isn't it gorgeous? I love it. We woke up this morning to find Jack Frost had written lovely, scripted messages all over our upstairs windows ... I was too slow to capture it on camera, though (I'm not very fast in the morning! LOL!), as the warm morning sun quickly melted the beautiful patterns.  Maybe tomorrow I will be lucky enough to get a photo!

And now that Christmas season has begun, have you started thinking about your Christmas shopping? I'm happy to announce that I'm DONE - yes, a trip to the States really helped, but I did have things purchased back in September for presents! Now it's time to wrap ... this year, we're wrapping all presents in brown paper and using twine to package it up ...

and as I started my wrapping yesterday, I was thinking about other ways to help out families - local and overseas - this Christmas. If you're looking for a way to help, check out this link:

www.samaritanspurse.ca

It's easy and a great way to help others this holiday ... get a shoebox, fill it with toys and gifts for either a boy or a girl (your choice) and take the boxes to your local community church and they will ship it oversease for you. 

I've done this in the past with my daughter, Lacey, and we have a great time shopping and filling up the shoe boxes! It's a great way to teach your kids about helping others at Christmas time, as well!

Also, a community sidenote: Orangeville kicks off the Christmas season tonight with their annual Moonlight Magic Celebration, running from 6-10 p.m. Santa Claus will be there, there will be a tree lighting, Theatre Orangeville will be performing 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, hot apple cider will be handed out to warm you up  ...  sounds lovely, eh?

http://www.thehillsofheadwaters.com/orangevillebia/

Angel baby.

Today, I had the amazing, humbling honour of meeting an angel.

This little angel, just around 5 lbs. of tiny sweetness, has been fighting for his life for the past few weeks ... today was the day he finally found complete rest ...

Our meeting was set up through Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, (www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org) a charitable organization where professional photographers volunteer their time to photograph newborn babies in their last moments of life as a gift for the family.

I met and photographed this sweet little angel in the halls of the Hospital for Sick Children in downtown Toronto this afternoon. Simply being in that particular hospital can make you reevaluate your own life and your priorities ... but meeting a family that is dealing with the loss of their newborn baby really makes one realize what's important in life.

What's important?

A sweet, lingering kiss on a baby's cheek.

The soft caress of a mother's hand over her newborn's velvety hair.

A big brother's smile and giggle as he holds his little baby brother for the first - and the last - time.

A dad's look on his face on the day when he is finally able to hold his baby after a month of waiting - only to know he will not be able to hold his baby tomorrow.

A wee baby's struggling breath as he finds inner strength to stay with his family for just a few minutes more ...

This family is in my prayers and my thoughts tonight  ... I struggle to even write that because it sounds so cliche and shallow, and yet I truly mean it ...

Babies are Angels that fly to the earth ...

one look in their eyes and we're never the same

They're part of us now and that part has a name

That part is your heart and a bond that won't sever

our Babies are Angels, we love them forever.

~Unknown~

Soar.

I was placing some orders today (it's catch up season for anyone who hasn't ordered and wants prints in time for Christmas - busy time for me in the ordering department of Gigi Photography) .. and came across this picture ... it made me giggle ... LOVE how the baby is just enjoying her flight and dad doesn't seem to bothered by how high his baby is soaring through the air ....

I wonder what the mom was thinking? ;)

I'm out of the office for two days but I will return all e-mails and calls when I get back.

In the meantime, Happy Monday, everyone!

People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change.
They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in.
Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters;
they will not allow life's circumstances to push them down and hold them under.

Charles R. Swindoll

                        * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *                                                                                                      

Paths.

It's funny how life takes twists and turns and leads us in weird directions but all in the right timing ..

This week, I shot a session for two sisters - absolutely adorable girls! - and, to prove what a small world it really is, listen to this: the mom is the reason I moved to Orangeville as she told me about a job opening in the charming Town of Orangeville ... and through all of that, I met and married Abby and now have set down my roots here and am raising my own family here now. Small world, for sure, and of course, God's hand is in it all, making sure we don't get lost along that pathway of life ...

Anyway, I digress.

These sisters were so great! We had a fabulous session! Thanks, girls, for putting up with all my requests and suggested clothing changes. ;)

'

I will post more of a sneak peek later ...! ;)

B.U.M.P.

Ahhh, the joys of putting together orders ... it's not my favourite part of my photography business. I just put together an album only to find out if it's short three pages so I have to take all the photos out and redo the entire album  ... argh ... so I am taking a break to update my blog. :) It's been a while since I've had a chance to write anything as I'm processing all the Christmas orders (thank you to all my clients who promptly placed orders this year!).

I have had a strange rush of maternity clients calling and booking in the studio - funny how those things work ... fall is always families, and I guess November/January is maternity/newborn season! While I am putting clients on a waiting list, if you are expecting, I have left a few open spots for some unplanned maternity/newborn sessions.

Here's one GORGEOUS gal who visited the studio recently - isn't she just lovely? I've called this entry "B.U.M.P.": baby under manufacturing process. Can't wait to meet their newborn in December!

 

Now, back to putting together orders .... wish me luck.

Marshmallow World.

Ahhh, my favourite kind of world...

"It's a marshmallow world in the winter ...

When the snow comes a tumblin' down ..."

Here's to the first *real* snowfall in Orangeville!

(And yes, Daisy's first snow experience, as well!)

Doesn't the snow make everything that much prettier?! I hope the snow stays .. although it seems to be melting fast. *sigh* Let's hope for more snow!

Lady Lumps.

My husband obliged to my request yesterday afternoon to shoot a few maternity pictures of me with the girls ... and just so everyone knows, *HE* was into photography before I ever met him - in fact, it was his camera and big lens (yes, I know....) that caught my attention from across a crowded banquet room!

Ahem.

Anyway ...

Here we are - mommy and her two girls and one baby bump.

   

and with just Lacey - it's so nice that she realizes and understands what will happen at the end of this pregnancy. She knows there is a baby coming after Christmas. Except, yesterday, she told me she wants a boy so she can marry him and dance with him. Hmmm ... gotta explain that one to her later!

...and with the little Tarzan-Jane, Lyla. So many people have commented that this new baby will make it hard for Lyla, being the middle child and being so young, but I feel that Lyla will do just fine. She's a crazy, little party animal (if you can have that title at 15 months!) and loves life. She will enjoy a new baby in the house (enjoy poking his/her eyes! I have to watch that!) and I think, in turn, being a middle child - or a child in a family of a few kids - can really shape and determine your character. Lyla will be a fun person. :)

 

and then just me and my bump ...

oh, and one last shot of the girls together ... because I love 'em. :)

C is for Candy.

*I have shot some adorable sessions lately but the model releases were not signed so I can't share them!! I'm sorry! Instead, I will ramble today.*

I saw these in the store the other day and HAD to get them! I *LOVE* candy canes! And since they only sell them once a year, I am going to stock up! I even found some Disney Princess candy canes (yes, we're in the craze right now) for my daughters' stockings this Christmas. Sweet! Literally.

My three-almost-four-year-old laughed at me when I called these treats 'candy canes'. "No, mommmmmyyyy ... they're not candyCANES ... they're CANDY!"

Okay. Sure. She argues challenges a lot of things with me right now.

Another example: "Mommy, you should mmmmmaarrrry daddy."

Me: "I did, hunny, before you were born."

Her: "Nooooo!! ... you have to KISS him and then you will ride in a pumpkin."

Ahhhh ... kids .... ahhh ... candy :) ....

Can you feel the start of the Christmas season yet? I can! It's wonderful!

Just a reminder: all Christmas orders need to be placed by the end of this week.

I'm going to attempt some maternity pictures today (as requested!) ... but only if my hubby is on board because I want to incorporate my girls in the photo and there is NO way I can do that alone ... wish me luck! I might get ONE picture but that is fine with me. I'll be happy. ;)