"to every thing there is a season..."

In my relatively short lifetime I have wanted to be a marine biologist, a nurse, a midwife, a vet, a superhero, a teacher, a linguist, an illustrator, a photographer, an Air Force pilot, the list goes on. I was not one of these children who ‘always knew’ what they would be when they grew up. My ‘dream career’ could change from one week to the next, heck; it could change from one minute to the next!

But there has been one constant in my dreams of the future. Whenever I was asked at high school “what would you like to do when you leave school?” or “where do you see yourself in 10 years time?” I would say (in all seriousness) “I see myself married and surround by kids!” Apparently that’s not what my teachers / career officers / mentors wanted to hear so I told them my ‘back up’ plan (see career list above!)

For as long as I can remember, being a wife and a mother (in that order) has been my life’s ambition – I couldn’t think of a greater future than marrying a loving (and handsome!) man and building a home together, and then filling that home with children!

I have looked forward to caring for my own children, teaching them and learning from them.

Well, now I have it – I am living the dream! (haha…. I’m going to keep it real here and say that when I envisioned this great and glorious future of mine I left out the part where I would spend the majority of my mornings picking up yesterdays dinner from off the floor! And I certainly didn’t see myself spending a good portion of my day smelling like baby throw-up and other spurious aromas!) But I love it, I really do.

For the last year I have been juggling the roles of mother and wife with the role of photographer and though I have loved being able to develop my skills and be part of so many people’s lives, my home life – this precious treasure that I have waited for and worked for, has suffered. Last year I felt that I was just ‘getting by’ in my life. That I could (only just) keep on top of everything but I wasn’t excelling at any of it.

I wasn’t being the wife or mother that I wanted to be (if you don’t believe me – you can come round and see my spare room which is where all the excess stuff got thrown last year and that now I have to somehow dig through and find my life again!! J)

It was clear to me that something had to give…

These decisions have been weighing on my mind for a while now and even when one can clearly see the best course of action, implementing those actions can be so hard.

This is not about whether I can ‘make it work’ or even whether a mother should have a career or work outside the home. We each do what we feel is right for us and this is about what is right for me and my family…. Right now.

So it is with a heavy heart (because the right decisions are not always the easiest!) that I leave behind professional photography, and pursue my life’s ambition… building a family of my very own. I have loved capturing your stories and I have loved been part of those tender moments that make up your lives. Who knows where I will end up and when we may meet again?

One thing is for certain, I won’t be leaving the world of photography completely behind.

Dominic sold one of our cameras (and bought a wii with it?!!!!) but I have managed to keep hold of the good camera (and I hid my favourite lens too so he can’t go and trade it in!!) and will continue to work on my skills and to capture the stories of our day to day lives because there is still so much to see and experience!

I will of course keep blogging (mostly because I love it – it’s like therapy… but cheaper!!) but this blog will most likely develop into something quite different from what it started out as…. I am excited to see it evolve and always, you are more than welcome to join me on this journey…

X

Special Delivery...

Wow! The stork has certainly been busy around these parts...! (Before you ask, I'm not talking about us! haha!)

This time I'm talking about my sister and her husband who had a visit from the stork last week!

Meet my darling little niece Izzy...

Haha!! I *love* the hair!! It makes me think of a little fairy or a little imp! Sooooo cute!!

I love Caleb's reaction to meeting his newest cousin....

...But I think I love Izzy's reaction more....

Welcome to the funny farm family Izzy! We are so excited that you are here!

Thanks for stopping by - I will be back soon with another photoshoot to share!

x

capturing the 'everyday' moments

I want to capture more of those everyday moments - those seemingly mundane tasks that actually make up our lives. Because really, our lives are not lived from one big celebration to the next, they are lived in those in-between times, each and everyday (yes, even those days when you get up and decide it is just too distressing to get dressed so you stay in your jammies until 3pm! What...?! Well obviously I'm not talking about myself here, noooooo! I mean....you know....other people! ahem!)

Moving on, have you heard of Project Life? It's quite HUGE in the scrapbooking world (for more information click here) and I am in *la-la-love* with this idea!! I'm feeling so inspired to take a picture every day of what's going on around here and what we're up to, jot down some journalling and call it good!

I have been involved with scrapbooking for about 8 or 9 years now (oh...my....word!! How old do I feel right now?!!) and to put things into perspective I am about 5 years behind in my scrapbooks! Yep - I said it - 5 years!! I haven't put our wedding pictures into an album (how's that for ironic?!) and I am collecting bits and bobs that get shoved unceremoniously into an otherwise empty album for Caleb working on Caleb's scrapbook here and there.

Alas, it means the day to day details of our lives, those funny little stories and the things that actually make us who we are, never get recorded. And that's sad because there is so much in those moments that make up our daily lives!

I have been quietly playing along with Project Life since the beginning of the year (without the kit as I can't afford to fork out $85 for the shipping! but that's a story for another day...) and already I have an album that is rich with pictures and stories of our lives. Like I said, I love it! (Actually I said I *la-la-love* it but it's getting late so I should probably stop singing!)

So here's the idea - you start any day you like (we started on Jan 2nd because I like my weeks to run Sunday - Saturday) and take a picture every day for a year. You can use a regular camera, or your phone's camera (we are using a mixture of pro camera equipment and just the cameras on our phones) - we're not too worried about having amazing-quality-fantastic-arty-farty shots here, we are just concerned with capturing the moment/s, otherwise we'd spend so much time everyday trying to get the perfect shot that our project life album would be just filled with pictures of us, working on the project life album... and what's the point of that?! haha!

Ok, I have talked more than enough! I just wanted to share with you a few of the pictures we have captured so far (and that are already becoming favourites of mine!)

This next picture makes me laugh so much every time I look at it! Dominic made the mistake of leaving his Christmas cheese board within reach of Caleb on the sofa and whilst he popped out to get something from the kitchen, Caleb saw an opportunity and seized it! Here he is with an entire block of cheddar, nibbling away at it like a little mouse!! haha!

Ok, I'll admit I did get a bit arty with this next one. It's because I was cold and getting bored waiting for Robin Hood! :-)

This one is Dominic with the new love of his life...

So there you have it, a little slice of our lives from the past couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to all that this year brings - and especially I am looking forward to capturing (and celebrating) the every day moments.

A picture a day, for 365 days! Wish me luck!

x

amy + sam : wedding

Last week Dominic and I headed up to Whitby for Amy + Sam's winter wedding! (Remember them from this post?)

Every now and then we come across couples who are so much more than clients... Amy + Sam (along with their families) are those people. From the moment we met them, they made us feel welcomed and a part of the family. We feel so fortunate to have met them and to have been able to be a part of their special day!

Amy + Sam were married at St. John's Church, Sleights and had an afternoon reception atTrenchers Restaurant. Later on in the evening, everyone headed up to the Saxonville Hotel for an evening celebration! Everything was so perfect! So classy and so...fun!! This is a couple who always seem to be smiling and who LOVE to laugh! (Check out the pictures of the speeches!)

I thought I'd try something a little different this time around... introducing my first attempt at a slideshow! (eeep! <--- that's my excited squeal! Ok, it's excitement mixed with anxiety in case it doesn't work!)

I had a really hard time narrowing down my favourites for the blog so the slideshow is quite long (6 mins) - and because it is my first time doing a slideshow I breeched all kinds of copyright laws which means it now doesn't have sound! (But hey, at least youtube didn't delete it and then drop-kick me off the site! We must be grateful for these small mercies!)

If you want the full effect, you should play Bruce Springsteen (Fall Behind) in the background whilst watching this, as that is the song that Amy + Sam chose for their first dance. Ok.... on with the show!!

Amy + Sam.... What can I say?! You are a lovely couple who kept us laughing all day!

Your wedding was wonderful... it all came together so beautifully!

Thank you for allowing us to share your day with you!

Much love and appreciation,

Jo + Dom

xx

a look back at 2010

Wow! Can you believe another year has flown by?!

I thought it would be fun to look back on our weddings from this past year and to say a huge THANK YOU to those couples who asked us to document their weddings and in doing so, invited us into their lives - even for a small moment. Thank you, Thank you for making this year so spectacular for us! We have loved spending time with you; sharing your excitement, your joy, the laughter and the tears!

Here is the '2010 Hall of Fame'......

**you may notice quite a few weddings that haven't been blogged before - this is because I decided to move blogs half way through wedding season! (Not recommended!) I will try to get them up in the new year**

Arlene + Graeme:

Nat + Shane:

Lauren + Karl:

(Dominic's sister!!)

Stacey + Devin:

Laura + Richard:

Hannah + David:

Emma + Shane:

Sarah + Craig:

Kelly + David:

Stephanie + Terry:

Kay + Mark:

Amy + Dane:

Helen + Ashley:

Kirsty + James:

(My baby sister!!)

Emma + Chris:

And the most recent wedding (this couple got married yesterday!!)...

Amy + Sam:

I am so thankful to have worked with such wonderful people and I am especially grateful to have Dominic with me - such a great partner to work with (even if I do sometimes joke that I'll fire him! haha!!) I have loved this year!

Have a great (and safe!) celebration and please pop back in the new year for exciting changes!!

See you in 2011!!

xx

it's beginning to look a lot like...

Ok, Ok, I know – it’s been ‘lookin a lot like Christmas' for a while now! But I have been busy, busy with my nose to the grindstone (what a weird phrase THAT is…) preparing wedding albums etc.

I am just this week starting to feel the Christmas cheer! (hurrah!)

I wanted to let you know that I’ll be taking a little break during the Christmas season – as of Monday 20^th December, I will be officially ‘out of the office’ until January 17th 2011. I'll be checking on my email from time to time but the next few weeks will be dedicated to spending time with my family and enjoying this Christmas season. Unless I have otherwise stated to you personally, print orders will not be processed until the new year.

That being said - I do have lot's of things I would like to share here on the blog. So while I won't be working, I will still be posting!

Let the Christmas festivities begin!

x

Around here...

...we've been celebrating our little man's birthday!

We have had a couple of days of simple celebrations (mostly involving snuggles, snow and cake!) and it's been so wonderful!

**WARNING: This could get mushy!!**

I can't believe it has been a year since Caleb first made his appearance! I don't think I ever shared pictures of those precious moments when we first met! Here is Caleb (only a few minutes old) laying on my tummy...

What a whirlwind this year has been! I remember the nurse handing Caleb to me and an immense feeling of relief came over me. "Wow!" I thought "That's the hard part over!"

Can I just say... HAHAHA!!

This year has been one of the toughest of my life! (Who knew you could function on that little sleep?!) And it has also been the happiest!

Here are some pictures taken over the course of this year...

This little man has changed our lives and our world! I can't believe how much richer, how much deeper and how much LOUDER our lives have been since he came on the scene!

Caleb - we love you so much! We feel so blessed to be your parents! You make us smile and laugh so much... you are our little ray of sunshine!! Happy Birthday Caleb-Bug!!

xx