baking
guessing
telling who's boss
waiting
us
bed-time
running
santa came!
opening
enjoying
handmade
happy
uncle
peed my pants
playing
magic.
Hope your Christmas was wonderful
Our Christmas through the lens
Saturday, December 31, 2011
baking
guessing
telling who's boss
waiting
us
bed-time
running
santa came!
opening
enjoying
handmade
happy
uncle
peed my pants
playing
magic.
Hope your Christmas was wonderful
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
I love the week between Christmas and New Years. It's probably my most favorite week of the year. There are continued celebrations, reflections, and anticipation for the year to come. At a much more relaxed pace (thank you Lord).
As we reflect on 2011 I thought it would be fun to post my favorite eleven layouts of 2011. why not?! (I also included links to the original post of each layout in case you want to read/see more :)
I made this layout at the beginning of 2011 as my one little word layout. I like to make a "title page" at the start of each personal album I make, and this was the page for this year. Love the collage feel and bits and pieces.
This layout, "name", was made for an Ella Publishing eZine article on misting. The story here was when Jonah was four years old he would only write "Jo" for his name and said he couldn't do the "nah" part. Right before his fifth birthday he started writing his full name- yay! I loved saving his little handwriting and having it in the layout.
This is a pretty simple layout but i adore the colors and grid pattern. This is a variety of Lily Bee collections all mixed into one layout about little Jordan's joy.
Do we see a pattern here? I am slightly obsessed with circles and grids. ha! This layout is one of my favorites EVER of Jonah. It really depicts his helpful heart and desire to serve others. I made this for my guest spot over at Jenni Bowlin with her gorgeous Haven Collection.
Another Lily Bee layout--- this one using the This &That collection. I just crack up looking at the series of these photos. This is our everyday life at the Hufford house :)
This layout was made for my guest spot at American Crafts. It's not my "typical" go-to colors but i just LOVED how it turned out with the orange, greens and browns. I love how there are eight photos AND tons of embellishments too.
In September i guested over at October Afternoon and just adore working with OA products. This one is a grid layout with their Sidewalks Collection (hello my name is jenni and i am obsessed with grids) It's a little recap of our summer and how my favorite part is just being with the kids each and every day. I really miss them when they go back to school.
Another October Afternoon Sidewalks layout. And another grid layout :)
I am not a huge 2 page person, but this year I discovered how much i LOVE the 8.5x11 size layout as a 2 pager-- for some reason it just makes it less daunting. This is another Lily Bee bee layout.
Another Lily Bee/ Halloween layout that was inspired by an image i found on Pinterest. I decided to make a fall looking wreath and just place the photo in the middle. I think there is a paper from every Lily Bee line in this layout--- fun!
I posted "Favorite Ornaments" just last week but it instantly became a favorite. The photos are on a file folder that opens up and tells the story of each ornament.
It's so fun to looks back on favorites of 2011 and enjoy each layout! I think it's clear that grids and circles were my favorite in 2011 :). Thanks for swinging by and taking a trip down memory lane with me!
As we reflect on 2011 I thought it would be fun to post my favorite eleven layouts of 2011. why not?! (I also included links to the original post of each layout in case you want to read/see more :)
Do we see a pattern here? I am slightly obsessed with circles and grids. ha! This layout is one of my favorites EVER of Jonah. It really depicts his helpful heart and desire to serve others. I made this for my guest spot over at Jenni Bowlin with her gorgeous Haven Collection.
It's so fun to looks back on favorites of 2011 and enjoy each layout! I think it's clear that grids and circles were my favorite in 2011 :). Thanks for swinging by and taking a trip down memory lane with me!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Hey everyone! I hope you had a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I have some photos and stories to share later this week from our Christmas Eve/Day chaos. It was fabulous. One to remember for sure.
However, today I wanted to pop in here and share a quick story about a particular gift that meant the world to me.
For months, my mom has been working on recovering old family slide through iPhoto. On Christmas morning she gave my dad, his 3 brothers, and my grandma hard-bound books with hundreds of photos and captions from their childhood. There were photos that began when my grandma was 18 years old. It was incredible to flip through.
As our whole (large) extended family gathered for Christmas Day lunch, my mom gathered us around and presented the books and said she had a gift for each of the cousins. She then started a DVD that had all of the photos from the book, AND hundreds more. The photos started in 1951 and ended with photos from today.
The photo slide show was set to music from the time the photos that were presented (Sinatra, Beatles, Neil Diamond, Starships "We Built the City", even Britney Spears. It ended with "I hope you Dance" by Lee Ann Womack). A total of 60 years of music and images.
The whole extended family watched it together-- It was an hour long and no one moved.
There were wedding photos, birth photos, and photos of loved one's who have passed on.
Even the little ones came in to watch their own photos pop up on the screen.
At one point my cousins' husband looked at todd and i in disbelief realizing this DVD covered six generations of family photos.
That is when the tears began dripping from my face.
This is why I do what I do. Photography, memory keeping, and scrapbooking is so much more than stickers, paper, and glue. Seeing those images gave us all the opportunity to relive those moments-- in a way it freezes time. It evokes emotion as we look back on our lives-- the good and bad-- and are thankful for so many blessings. To see six generations flash before the screen reminded me that time on this earth is so short. Sharing your story, your life, your heart, it all matters.
It's been a long time since I have been on the receiving end of a gift like this-- and it truly meant so much to me. I gave me a renewed inspiration and appreciation for this "hobby". No matter how fancy, detailed, embellished your pages might be-- it MEANS SOMETHING. No matter the quality of your camera, or if your images are completely grainy (like in this post), it MEANS SOMETHING.
Documentation means something. And it means more as each year passes.
Sometimes it takes viewing documention from a slightly different angle to be reminded how important it is, and why I do what I do.
I have some photos and stories to share later this week from our Christmas Eve/Day chaos. It was fabulous. One to remember for sure.
However, today I wanted to pop in here and share a quick story about a particular gift that meant the world to me.
For months, my mom has been working on recovering old family slide through iPhoto. On Christmas morning she gave my dad, his 3 brothers, and my grandma hard-bound books with hundreds of photos and captions from their childhood. There were photos that began when my grandma was 18 years old. It was incredible to flip through.
As our whole (large) extended family gathered for Christmas Day lunch, my mom gathered us around and presented the books and said she had a gift for each of the cousins. She then started a DVD that had all of the photos from the book, AND hundreds more. The photos started in 1951 and ended with photos from today.
The photo slide show was set to music from the time the photos that were presented (Sinatra, Beatles, Neil Diamond, Starships "We Built the City", even Britney Spears. It ended with "I hope you Dance" by Lee Ann Womack). A total of 60 years of music and images.
The whole extended family watched it together-- It was an hour long and no one moved.
There were wedding photos, birth photos, and photos of loved one's who have passed on.
Even the little ones came in to watch their own photos pop up on the screen.
At one point my cousins' husband looked at todd and i in disbelief realizing this DVD covered six generations of family photos.
That is when the tears began dripping from my face.
This is why I do what I do. Photography, memory keeping, and scrapbooking is so much more than stickers, paper, and glue. Seeing those images gave us all the opportunity to relive those moments-- in a way it freezes time. It evokes emotion as we look back on our lives-- the good and bad-- and are thankful for so many blessings. To see six generations flash before the screen reminded me that time on this earth is so short. Sharing your story, your life, your heart, it all matters.
It's been a long time since I have been on the receiving end of a gift like this-- and it truly meant so much to me. I gave me a renewed inspiration and appreciation for this "hobby". No matter how fancy, detailed, embellished your pages might be-- it MEANS SOMETHING. No matter the quality of your camera, or if your images are completely grainy (like in this post), it MEANS SOMETHING.
Documentation means something. And it means more as each year passes.
Sometimes it takes viewing documention from a slightly different angle to be reminded how important it is, and why I do what I do.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
From our house to yours, we wish you a Christmas full of laughter, joy, and peace.
May your heart be full with the One who was born just for you. Merry Christmas!!!
May your heart be full with the One who was born just for you. Merry Christmas!!!
Friday, December 23, 2011
As I watched my kids and their cousins decorate christmas cookies yesterday, i was reminded to ENJOY the process. about this time every year (a few days before christmas) the stress sets in and perfectionism seeps into my heart.
i begin to think about all the things we didn't do this december-- we haven't seen santa at the mall yet, we haven't driven around at night to see the lights, we haven't yet watched my FAVORITE movie, Christmas Vacation!!!! I tend to want to pile it all in in a few weeks. And if i don't???? I feel guilty. I am sure every mom can relate.
So as my kids were loading red hots, M&Ms, and candy canes on their gingerbread men, I realized that no one of them were WORRIED about how it looked, they were just having fun decorating. there was not a perfectionist nature in sight-- just joy. in the end, it's a cookie, and that's what they were thrilled about. it's my choice how I will choose to prepare my heart for the end result.
No matter how much i prepare or "do", Christmas will still be Christmas.
And that's when i realized it's not about me anyway. It's all about Him.
I posted this on my blog last year and wanted to include it here as well. Really as a reminder to myself, my heart seems to need this every year right before Christmas.
"Let us at all costs avoid the temptation to make our Christmas worship a withdrawal from the stress and sorrow of life into a realm of unreal beauty. It was into the real world that Christ came, into the city where there was no room for Him, and into a country where Herod, the murderer of innocents, was king.
"He comes to us, not to shield us from the harshness of the world but to give us the courage and strength to bear it; not to snatch us away by some miracle from the conflict of life, but to give us peace—His peace—in our hearts, by which we may be calmly steadfast while the conflict rages, and be able to bring to the torn world the healing that is peace."
When Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus to the Lord, Simeon said to them: "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35).
Christmas is not a retreat from reality but an advance into it alongside the Prince of Peace.
—David C. McCasland
i begin to think about all the things we didn't do this december-- we haven't seen santa at the mall yet, we haven't driven around at night to see the lights, we haven't yet watched my FAVORITE movie, Christmas Vacation!!!! I tend to want to pile it all in in a few weeks. And if i don't???? I feel guilty. I am sure every mom can relate.
So as my kids were loading red hots, M&Ms, and candy canes on their gingerbread men, I realized that no one of them were WORRIED about how it looked, they were just having fun decorating. there was not a perfectionist nature in sight-- just joy. in the end, it's a cookie, and that's what they were thrilled about. it's my choice how I will choose to prepare my heart for the end result.
No matter how much i prepare or "do", Christmas will still be Christmas.
And that's when i realized it's not about me anyway. It's all about Him.
I posted this on my blog last year and wanted to include it here as well. Really as a reminder to myself, my heart seems to need this every year right before Christmas.
"Let us at all costs avoid the temptation to make our Christmas worship a withdrawal from the stress and sorrow of life into a realm of unreal beauty. It was into the real world that Christ came, into the city where there was no room for Him, and into a country where Herod, the murderer of innocents, was king.
"He comes to us, not to shield us from the harshness of the world but to give us the courage and strength to bear it; not to snatch us away by some miracle from the conflict of life, but to give us peace—His peace—in our hearts, by which we may be calmly steadfast while the conflict rages, and be able to bring to the torn world the healing that is peace."
When Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus to the Lord, Simeon said to them: "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35).
Christmas is not a retreat from reality but an advance into it alongside the Prince of Peace.
—David C. McCasland
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Us at 10 days.
Us at 6 months.
Us at one year.
Us at 1.5 years
Us at two years.
Us at 2.5 years
Us at 3.5 years.
I am one lucky mama to have this sweet girl in my life. love you jor.
And i am one lucky girl to have an incredibly talented dear friend who has capture our lives behind the lens since day 10 :).
(love you mel).
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Today over at Elle's Studio I shared a bit about some ideas for filling those 4x6 photo pockets. With eight different 4x6 spots in one week's spread, there are lots of options and ideas for these larger spots.
Project Life has encouraged me to be a better photographer (and by that i simply mean I now get my camera out and use it:). It has encouraged me to stop and take in my surroundings. It has encouraged me to savor the small, everyday moments. It has reminded me how FAST the days, weeks and months go by, and that in a small way documenting the everyday makes time stand still.
Project Life has given me the opportunity to involve my family in the memory keeping process. No longer is it just "my thing", but something in which the whole family participates. I am looking forward to developing this more in 2012. It's a place to store and showcase the kids' art work. I SO love that. Before it was sitting in a stack or plastic bag and rarely making it's way into our scrapbooks.
I kind of view Project Life as our family's visual calendar. There are stories shared here --- but more than anything, it's a place to see what it's like on any particular week at the Hufford house. I often think of my grandparents and how cool it would have been to see little things from their daily lives so many years ago, especially when my parents were small. Gum wrappers, receipts, prescriptions from the 1950's-- how cool would it be to see that in an album?? I often think of my future grandkids and how this will (hopefully) be interesting to them to look through one day.
Project Life has surely been a highlight of 2011. It was something that I unexpectedly tried one day and found it to be incredibly enriching. i am looking forward to continuing this in 2012 and excited that many are joining the PL movement. 2012 will be a great year!
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