I knew I liked Paul & Jackie when I first met them and they told me they wanted to do their engagement photos at a country fair (see here) and that their wedding colours were yellow. My kind of people! After enjoying their wedding today I found I like them even more as I watched how they interact with each other, their loved ones and heard the stories about these two during speeches. They really truly are perfect for each other! Today’s wedding was beautiful… full of love, relationships, and joy.

Jackie’s best friend Kim and her mom were the only ones who had seen her dress… I love when the dress is a surprise for dad and bridesmaids!

I’m always a sucker for father-daughter relationships. Maybe because I adore my dad so much. Maybe because I envision what a wreck Mark will be when it’s our girls turn. Maybe because it’s just a beautiful relationship.

These two were so sweet throughout the ceremony – lots of stolen glances and looks!

After the wedding there was a special guest arrived – their dog!

Then it was on to the Hamilton Golf and Country Club – a beautiful venue, and it held an extra special place in the day as it was like a second home to Paul’s late father. They did a beautiful job of incorporating his Father throughout the celebration.

We visited the tree that had been planted in memory of Paul’s father.

And Paul took us to a few of his favourite spots on the course.

And what a great wedding party!

I’ll leave you with this one of the girls I love… what a fun group of gals!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

I am really loving these “Just Because” sessions this month! It is exciting to see people coming to simply celebrate their love “just because” though photos!

Darlene and Terry are fairly new to dating each other – and they are so sweet together! They just beam at each other! Their whole face lights up – loved watching them together! Darlene emailed me after to say that they had been nervous, but really enjoyed themselves. I did too!

My favourite one is below….

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

This past week my youngest daughter, Eden turned seven. This is a moment she has been dreaming about for a long time. We have talked daily about her birthday party for… about a year. Every day, she has a different idea for her birthday. She just loves to have reasons to celebrate! I over heard her on the phone last week to a family member asking what she wanted for her birthday – and Eden replied “I don’t really care what I get… I just want to spend time with people.” That is so Eden…. she is a lover of life and people.

Every week our church at the beginning takes time for praise reports – things we’re thankful for – and this week Eden was first to raise her hand and grab the microphone and said “I had a great first week of being 7.” This is one excited kid! I love her enthusiasm!

Eden had her birthday party with her friends from school last Monday. She chose a “Christmas in July” theme and not only did every girl (13 including ours) wear red or green… most wrapped their gifts in Christmas wrapping paper and some even gave Christmas-themed gifts. I love a themed party! I’m a nerd that way.

Then on the actual day of Eden’s birthday, I asked her what she would like to do for the afternoon. One thing was on her list. Swim at her cousin Hannah’s pool. Madi, Eden and Hannah are so tight – love that.

But my very favourite memory of all was tonight. We had family over for Eden’s birthday – just a BBQ and hang out time. Last night, Madison cut out a whole bunch of hearts in preparation for today’s family party. She had each person write down what they loved about Eden. Then before the cake, she read them all and Eden had to guess who wrote which one. I loved Madi’s idea! It has always been my pet peeve, that we often go to birthday parties and the birthday person doesn’t seem celebrated or acknowledged. This was such a great way for everyone to tell Eden why she is so special to them. I think this may be our new tradition. And I really hope that it isn’t just once a year that we stop and tell her – and all our loved ones – what makes them special!

I’ll leave you with this image… this is Eden as we sang “Happy Birthday” and shows her personality and zest for life perfectly!

Eden’s name means “Delightful” and she brings us more delight than we could ever have dreamed!

Celebrating life, love and Eden,

Krista

I have so been looking forward to this “Just Because” session. I could just tell form Kristyn’s emails she was so excited! Kristyn was a bridesmaid years ago in a wedding I photographed, and has followed my blog since. Something about the “Just Because” sessions struck a chord and she jumped on it!

So, they left their three kids with their parents, Kristyn got her makeup done (and looked stunning!), they made the almost hour trek out to my place. Why? Simply because after 9 years of marriage and 3 kids… they’re still in love. And that, my friends, deserves to be celebrated!

(Note about the Just Because sessions… they are offered until the end of July – or if you buy a gift certificate for one, it is valid for July and August months).

I love how Kristyn looks at Luke!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Cherie is one of my dearest friends. Our kids have grown up together and refer to her as “Aunt Cherie” and her kids call me “Aunt Krista”. We don’t see each other as often as we like, but when we do it’s like no time has passed. Going out for coffee we can skip straight to the heart in our conversations – and I love this gal’s heart!

A couple weeks ago we went camping with Cherie’s family and our good friend Carolynn’s family. Before we left Cherie said “I have some big news – I’m not pregnant – but I want to tell you in person.” We had so much fun guessing – but never guessed this!!!

Cherie’s big news is…. she is riding bike across Canada to help raise money and support for cancer! Cherie is a nurse at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto and has seen far too many children dealing with cancer over the years. You can read Cherie’s story here – and if you feel so inclined, please donate to this great cause!

Last week I did a 5minute photo shoot of Cherie with her new bike. So very excited and proud of her!!! Love you, Cherie!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Growing up, I loved my dad’s bedtime stories. They weren’t from a book – but from life. I come from a family of pilots – my parents took flying lessons together. My mom never went past her private license but my dad has flown for about 40 years now. My mom’s dad owned a fly-in fishing business up in Northwestern Ontario. And there were uncles and my brother and others who all flew. I loved all their stories. Grandpa’s plane going down and being missing for 3 days…. dad waterbombing mom’s car or the clothesline… dad flying up to Northern communities to play Santa to the native children… dad flying a beluga whale in his plane… dad’s plane going down to the bottom of the lake – but not before getting all the passengers and himself off… and so forth. I loved these stories!

Likewise, my dad loved to make things. Before he was a pilot, he was a mechanic. This love of tinkering with cars and machines is his pastime. As a 15 year old dad bought a 1930 Chev from his teacher for $50. Over 55 years later he still drives this car! As kids, dad built us a replica car to his 1930one that ran on a battery! He also built us a go-cart, and then made a fibreglass body to look like a Ferrari! He is always building something!

Well, 4 years ago in his retirement from the airline, dad started a big project combining his love of flying and love of making things. He started to build a plane. Looking at this box of parts and pieces it seemed like it would never be finished. But he would plug away at it whenever he could. He loved to be out in the workshop with his baby! Just on the fuselage alone is 13,000 rivets – this plane was so time consuming to make! He had to have it inspected every step of the way and finally – FINALLY!!!! – after four years tonight was the night.

It really is inspiring. Sometimes goals seem so overwhelming or too big. But I think about this box of bits and pieces, and now seeing dad flying in it after 4 years of hardwork… makes my goals seem more attainable! Reminds me also of my Grandpa who dreamed of flying but he was so poor. He talked about going to school in barefeet and being made fun of for being so poor. He said one day he would fly an airplane and snub his nose at his small town and all those who had made fun of him. He went on to fly, and later own a small flying business and did in fact fly over that town as he had dreamed. I love coming from a family of crazy dreamers.

I wonder if you who are reading this have dreams that seem unattainable and huge…. maybe this will encourage you to start… one step at a time.

Back to tonight….

Our family, and my dad’s good friend Russ who has been helping him, gathered out at the airport tonight for the inaugural flight. We were so excited to see it take off… but more excited to see it safely land again. So, so, so excited for dad and proud of all his work! He is working on pontoons with wheels next so he can land on the ground or water. We were the only ones at the airport which was fun and had a bit of a party… food, banners, bubbles, noisemakers, and fun! Madi insisted on dressing like a flight attendant – and the three younger girls gave us the full flight attendant routine (I guess they do listen on the plane!). Without further ado… here is my dad’s plane…

All the grandkids….

Mom and Dad – oh! The adventures these two will have now!

All of my family….

And it’s time!

Eden’s says “Fly Great Silver Birdy” – tried to get her to do a more simplified message but nope!

And the best part – it landed safely!

One very happy man!

And time to put the toys away…

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

It was so fun to meet little Aishling yesterday! Her parents, Alan and Diana, are just smitten with their two month old daughter… and I could quickly see why! This munchkin is so sweet and well-behaved! I’m completely smitten!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

I cringe every time I utter these three little words “just a minute.”

It’s summer holidays for the kids and they’ll come up to me and ask me to read to them, or go for a walk or just hang out… and I’ll catch myself saying “just a minute”. Eden is my drama queen, and she’ll ask “What’s more important, mom, your computer – or your youngest daughter?” Talk about a kick to the gut.

This summer I have a goal. I want to enjoy the moments with my girls – now. Not in just a minute. Because those minutes quickly add up… and soon they won’t be asking to hang out. Perhaps it will be me asking them to spend time together, and I don’t want their learned response to be “Just a minute”.

And it’s not just my kids – but the loved ones in my life. Yes, life is busy. But are the tasks I’m doing more important than stopping and giving the gift of my undivided attention? Usually not.

Last night after supper we went for a walk. So simple. But the kids just come to life at these simple things – like time with mom and dad. They laughed and giggled, hugged and skipped. When I look at these images I want to remember the joy in giving the gift of time… now. Not in just a minute.

Celebrating life and love NOW,

Krista

Back in the Fall I photographed the Dawsons and at that time Katie had her gorgeous baby belly. Fast forward a few months, and now they are a family of 5 and (New Year’s Eve babe) little Grey is now sitting up and trying to crawl!  Their family loves the outdoors so we wanted to incorporate that – and headed to the beach!

Well their dad set up our “teepee” – the kids enjoyed playing at the beach. Grey’s first time feeling the sand!

All set up – so cozy!

Beautiful Aubrey

Handsome Brant

And Adorable Grey!

A great night to play at the beach!

And I’ll end with this one – I love how even in the chaos of three kids, these two are still smitten.

celebrating life and love,

Krista

RIchard and Patricia are both high school teachers and finally done with all the craziness of the school year! Now they’re able to get excited for their wedding later this month and then their honeymoon in Fiji – sounds amazing!

They really wanted to incorporate their “kids” – meet their dogs Dawkins and Guiness. SO sweet!

Not mentioning any names… but someone looks like they were eating grass. Hmmmm….

Someone is watching and taking notes on all this cuddling….

And trying to practice what they observed – fortunately Guiness wasn’t into the kisses

It was a gorgeous night and these two were up for exploring – yay!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista