As a woman of faith, I love when miracles surprise us out of the mundane moments of life. As I walked with Dion and Angela along the waterfront they told me about their “miracle” children – Caleb that is now 5 and his baby sister still growing in Angela’s belly. It has taken a lot of time and heartache for this family to grow – but I doubt there could be more loved children anywhere! It’s definitely going to be worth the wait!

Let me show you the beautiful family!

I love shooting at the beach – and one thing I love is that every single time I go I am surprised by it! These first photos are taken where there is typically long grass and trees – the trees were cut down and the grass was all down. But, I loved it! Changes the look and feel entirely! The texture is so interesting!

Here is my favourite shot of the day.

Caleb was getting restless – so I asked him to stand up and jump around. I wasn’t really expecting much, just wanted to get him comfortable with me – let him move around and have fun. Well… look what I caught!

And here are some of Angela in her glowing beauty…

I loved how the twig in the foreground followed the shape of her belly!

And the happy couple…

Best way to get a kid to cooperate for photos? Exclude them (like in the above two) suddenly they want to be a part again! ha ha!

What point is there to be at the waterfront if you don’t go to the water?

Angela – I can’t wait to meet your little girl – it was so much fun meeting your boys!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

It was fun having a family wedding this week as Mark’s brother Paul married the gorgeous, wonderful Simone.

I wanted to share a few shots from the celebrations of my own family. As you will see Mark’s family is diverse – which I adore. I love that my daughters have never noticed that some of Mark’s siblings or some of their cousins may be a little darker or look a little different from them. I love that I have never heard Mark utter the words “step-sister” or “half-brother” – that to him every single one of the 11 Jefferson siblings is simply that – a sibling. And as much as I am a small group person and am still (after over 12 years of marriage) a bit overwhelmed by the chaos of the Jefferson crowd… I love them. I love the fact that my two sets of in-laws get along. I love that my girls simply accept the fact that they’ve been blessed with three sets of grandparents. And I love that there’s finally another Mrs. Jefferson – someone else finally crazy enough to marry a Jefferson brother!

Here’s some photos of our family – and blending in with Simone’s family!

Sunday morning as Simone got ready and I snapped, my girls quickly cuddled in with the other kids to watch TV and drool over their DS’s….

Here is a closer look at my family…

With Mark’s mother’s side…

And his dad’s side…

And Mark with 8 of the 11 siblings (missing is Amanda, Liam and James)

And then on to Monday’s Indian celebration…

I had picked this up for Eden before second hand – I was going to change it into a shirt for her… but when the wedding came up I held on to it! Glad I did! I figured it was a visible way to show our support. Simone’s family loved it and gave her and Madi a small bindi each for their foreheads.

The kid is not shy, and just loves to cuddle!

Love this photo of Madi, Eden and their cousins Aydra and Naiya…

This one cracks me up – there are THREE kids on top of Naiya and look how happy she is! This kid loves the camera (and it’s mutual) and even though she’s getting squished she has to smile when she sees the camera!

So I let her come and pose for the camera – had to remind her not to smile too big! ha ha!

Another niece the camera adores – my niece Aydra…

Eden fell head over heels for Nickel. At the wedding on Sunday she refused to dance with any other boy except him – and he refused to dance with her. So she chased him all around. At Monday’s celebration she brought him a flower. She has talked of nothing but Nickel and was heartbroken to hear he’ll be returning to India. Look how sweet they are…

I mean – could he be any cuter?

Look how Eden adores Simone!

A photo of Mark and his brothers – all these guys are within two years of each other… and the stories they tell of growing up.. hard to imagine they’re all still alive.

And as we were heading out the door, Simone’s brother Gerard grabbed my camera and snapped one of us with the happy couple. Fun! Thanks, Gerard!

And here is one of the photos Madi snapped… not bad!

I’m sure more photos will surface as I begin the editing process. For now I hope you enjoyed a sneak peek into my great family!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

I’m in love.

Totally in love with Simone’s family. As Mark and I drove home from Brampton tonight – we could not stop talking about how much we adore this family! Each one of them is so genuine, caring and loving… we never did meet the “strange” family member most families have. ha ha! They are the type of family that takes you in immediately as one of their own. It was so fun to see all the kids running and playing together as one big happy family. So, I was going to put both in one post – personal and portraits – but it would be huge. I’ll do a personal one about Paul & Simone’s wedding in the next day or two. Check back!

For now… let me show you these portraits! I adored their Indian attire! And I must say as the family all gathered for an Indian meal tonight I was leery – I’m not much of a risk taker with food. But it was GOOD!

Okay, I took Paul & Simone outside their house. This goes to prove you don’t need much of a background for portraits. These are all taken just outside of their house in a new subdivision of houses, and an empty building lot at the end of their street. Half an hour and 5 minutes of walking… and some gorgeous light!

And here are a few more in a slideshow… enjoy!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Sunday’s wedding was extra special for me. First off, the best man was really cute and seemed to like me…. okay, it was my hubby. It was Mark’s brother Paul’s wedding and we could not be more thrilled for Paul & Simone! Simone is an absolute sweetheart. From the first time we met her, she charmed us all – Eden tried to go home with her that night.

Simone is originally from India, and it was so amazing to have her family all here! Her parents and sister & family from India. Her brother and family from United Arab Emirates. And her other sister and family from Australia. I love her family! They know how to have fun and celebrate – and really, genuinely care for each other and everyone they meet. They’re awesome!

One thing I loved at the wedding was how at the reception every single person was up dancing – imagine a conga line of young, old, black, white… I even saw someone in the conga line with a walker and another with a cane! All barriers were done – we were all there to celebrate two people. Towards the end, Simone’s family gathered up some of the gang to do what they traditionally do at an Indian wedding… they hoisted the couple up on chairs and danced around with them until they eventually could catch each other to kiss and be let down again. For me it was a beautiful example of combining of two cultures, two family’s and two people!

Here are a few more favourites from the day…

Simone’s first look with her veil…

Simone heading out of her house for the last time as a single woman..

Beautiful light at the ceremony!

The happy couple!

The hottest best man I’ve ever seen… (my assistant Rosita caught this because Eden had fallen asleep in my arms)

Could SImone be any happier during the first dance?

The dance!

Got to love this one… these are my two mother-in-laws! So great (and sometimes weird!) to have them get along so well!

And without further ado…

Tonight is part # 2 of the wedding – an Indian meal together with family. Watch for photos tomorrow!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Adam and Annie dated 15 years ago in grade nine.

It lasted a couple of months.

But Adam never gave up! Then in OAC (for those non-Ontario people… we use to have grade 13! Yikes!) they connected and started dating again. What I love though, is when you talk to Adam, you still get the feeling that he is amazed he got her. After nine and a half years together he seems still in awe that the beautiful, talented, Anastasia…. chose him.

When we were taking photos, I might be shooting one of Annie and then I’d ask Adam to join her. Every time his response was something along the lines of “Absolutely!” “My pleasure” “It would be an honour!”

Walking along you could hear him saying “you look so beautiful” or “I love your dress”.

And to ask Adam to give her a peck, you would have thought I’d offered him a small fortune. Which, in his mind I had.

And the beautiful thing- the feeling is absolutely mutual. The connection between these two is powerful!

I chose this photo to feature – I had taken a couple of photos of Annie by herself (one you’ll see below) and then asked Adam to join her. “Absolutely!” “My pleasure” “It would be an honour”….

And a few of my favourites!

And the photo before the one I featured above….

And a slideshow of the day below…

Celebrating life and love,

Krista