my 100th post & one of the most intimidating experiences of my life...

The night before I had a dream, well a nightmare I guess, that I forgot our nice camera & accidentally brought my first digital camera. It's about the size of a credit card and there's a piece of tape over the battery compartment to keep it from popping open due to hitting the deck one too many times.

Needless to say I was relieved to awake.

 

I warned her.

I warned her that I'm not a professional.

I don't have a professional camera.

I'm not a very commanding person...

so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get everyone to look at me & say cheese.

She's a brave gal & she said she didn't care.

She wanted me to take their wedding pics.

My sweet & beautiful cousin Hannah {& her honey, Matt}.

 

The closer that fine day got, the more nervous I got.

 

She assured me she'd still love me even if they turned out horrible.

 

The thing is we aren't just cousins. 

This girl is like another sister to me.

We grew up just a couple blocks away from each other.

 

It was really an honor to take the photos at her wedding.

And thankfully she did like them.

 

Hannah & Matthew ~ September 26, 2015

But just look at these cuties.

Kinda hard to take a bad pic.

 Dad's first look at his little girl as a bride. <3



We did some cross country photo taking.

Some of the highlights being my sister's barn, a beautiful local church, & a gorgeous old home on a brick street.  Hans was a wonderful bride. Not a bridezilla in the least. In the midst of these barn pics we discovered that her skirt had become infested with a bajillion baby grasshoppers. She didn't even freak out then! What a gal. hahaha...good times...good times...
{That's one to tell to the grandkids one day, Hannie.} ;)

 I couldn't help but try some of the vintagey filters on these church pics.

And I tried really hard not to sing "Going to the Chapel" whilst snapping my fingers in the process, but to no avail.

Who am I kidding I didn't even try not to. ;P 

The 3 amigos: Kels, Hans, & Gus



 My sister Kelsey, the matron of honor, was 9 months pregnant with JoelyPants.

She was terrified she was going to go into labor during the ceremony, but thankfully did not. Ha!



I've known these lovely ladies & dear sisters in Christ since we were all little girls. The best part about taking photos of people you know and love is that you can make them laugh like this. ^_^ I love making people laugh as much as I love laughing. :D And I love it when people smile like they mean it. Don't play. Smile like you mean it. ;P

 



Hannah & her "little" brother Noah
 He loooooves his sisser. 



 

 My nephew Wes thought it would be totes hilar-lar to photobomb the groom's shots.

(I'll admit I thought it was pretty funny myself. I don't know where he gets it.) 

Now you see him

 



Now you don't ;)



 

Mother & Son



 I don't know Matt's family as well as Hannah's of course, but they are just the sweetest people.

Our families mesh very well.



 Noah's still not quite sure about this Matt character...

 but Hannah seems pretty sure.  

Gus wrote & performed a beautiful song for the happy couple.

You can hear it here: Cleave to You

See the pretty ruffley backdrop thingy?

I got to sneak behind that to take the next pics.

{Like a stealthy ninja sniper photographer. *cue pink panther theme*}

And then my worst nightmare happened.

No, not the camera one.

I. missed. the. first. kiss.

Yep.

My camera decided to be a stinky & take it's sweet time like it is prone to do in poor lighting.

So...

a reenactment was necessary.

The empty auditorium is kind of a nice touch though in my humble opinion.

But guess what?

She was true to her word & didn't hate me.

Not even a little.

 So, by God's grace they did not, in fact, turn out horrible.

He really carried me that day.

I felt extremely inadequate to the task at hand,

my heart was in turmoil because I had just broken up with my boyfriend,

& I tend to be a squishy puddle of emotional-giftedness anyway at weddings of my loved ones,

but He carried me through it all.

He's so good.

Now as I look back at these photos, nine months later, I can recall to mind His faithfulness.

 

He's always been faithful to me.

 

"This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope.

The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness."

{Lamentations 3:21-23} 

 

Hannah & Matt,
I pray that the Lord will bless you with many happy years together.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve Him by serving you in this way.

Love you lots!


"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
 And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight."
{Proverbs 3:5+6}



something's missing...

{Photo Source}

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time,

you've probably realized that I'm rather a girl of few words.

I prefer to let the pictures do the talking with just a wee bit of commentary sprinkled in.

It's just the way I am, I guess.

 

This post, however, will feature only one pic, and it's not me or anything I made.

(It's Lucille Ball being her hilarious self.)

 

Last Wednesday I lost something.

Well, I didn't lose it,

I brought it home so I could show it to my niece & nephews,

it's just no longer a part of me.

 

One of my front teeth had to be removed.

There. I said it.

Long story short:

The tooth was defective ever since it grew in when I was a kiddo.

It has given me nothing but trouble ever since.

Recurring infection, a root canal, & one other oral surgery later...

my body finally decided the tooth no longer deserved to be a part of me...

because of this the bone part of the root had started to break up,

and the gum, with less & less to hold onto, started to recede so...

the gimpy tooth had to go.

 

Eventually, I will have a permanent implant.

But, I had some bone loss which they are fixing now with some bone grafting.

I know, feel sorry for me. ;)

Actually, that part isn't really as bad as it sounds.

They just packed some grafting powder up there.

When they first mentioned bone grafting I envisioned part of my elbow

or something being cut out & transplanted into my mouth.

 

So, now I get to wear a temporary false tooth on a retainer type thing.

(The call it a flipper. That doesn't sound very technical to me, though.)

Thankfully, they did a wonderful job matching my other tooth.

I think it looks quite natural!

(I'm actually wearing it in the previous post. See if you can spot the imposter! hee hee)

I wouldn't say it's comfortable, but it's not unbearable either.

I think my speech is only slightly affected.

I've learned I shouldn't chew gum while wearing it...

and I'm not supposed to bite with it.

It's all fork & knife eating for me. Very proper!
You want to know what I really miss?
Biting into a perfectly toasted English muffin.
All wonderful with little lagoons of melted butter.

 

 

I was ever so nervous in the days leading up to The Extraction.

I loathe having work done on my teeth.

(Probably since I've had so much of it!)

I've been known to be so tense I hold my breath...

and pass out.

{Embarrassing.}

 

Thanks be to God, on the actual day I felt remarkable calm.

My family were all praying for me

so I have no doubt that was the source of the blessed peace.

 

There was really no pain to speak of.

Apart from the initial prick of the anesthetic needle.

The tooth came out very easily & all in one piece.

(Thanks again, Lord!)

 

I felt all of seven years old again.

Unable to properly make 'f', 'v', & 'th' sounds.

(By the way, 's' is no trouble at all, so the song

"All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"

 isn't accurate. Just sayin'.)

 

This whole process will be months long.

At first, when I didn't realize how long this could take

I joked that it was too bad it wasn't closer to Halloween.

Just think of all the great costumes: Pirate, Hillbilly, Hockey Player...

It was just a joke, but now it could be closer to reality.

(So be sure to tell me if you think of any good costumes.)

;) haha!

 

Well, I'm not really sure why I felt the need to post about this.

Hopefully I didn't make anyone ill.

(Maybe I should've put a warning at the beginning.) :P

I guess I was just thinking how this is a pretty big...

gee, I'm not even sure what to call it...

Trial? Experience? Occurrence?

Well, let's just say it's kind of a big deal in my life right now.

I thought maybe it would be good to share it with my blogging friends.

 

So, if you've made it this far thanks for listening. :)

You're a peach!

 

 

 

 

 

Aunt G's fox scarf...

What a delightfully quick knit this adorable faux stole was!

Although, the original pattern was in some sort of Scandinavian language

so the translation was less than perfect.

(As if knit speak weren't confusing enough at times! haha!)

Looking at other's examples on Ravelry proved a big help!

I modified the head shape, ears, & face coloring.

 

 

I embroidered the eyes & nose with some black yarn I had leftover from another project.

I decided on embroidery rather than buttons.

(Sometimes buttons can look a little spooky.)

 

 

I sent Aunt G a pic & she said that she loves it. :D

 

Knit in Knit Picks Brava Sport in Paprika & Cream

 

***

Email me if you are interested in placing a custom order for your own fox scarf!

$20 (+ shipping) in Premium Acrylic

$25 (+ shipping) in Washable Wool

 (75%Superwash Merino Wool, 25%Nylon)

 

{Photos by Momma}



the rest of my knitted gifts...

I finished Mom's shawl on Christmas Eve Eve. (December 23rd)

I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Mom was quite pleased with it too!

 Yay!
It's so pretty & soooo soft!
 

 

The photo below looks like the sort of gift I would love to receive...

BUT...

it's not for me!



 

This is what happens when you don't get all your knitting projects done!
It is supposed to be a cabled sweater for my sister Aimee.

 



 

I got her a necklace & headband & stuck them in the bottom of the box.

Then I piled in the yarn for her cabled sweater & a "learn to knit" booklet!

Inside the booklet was a little note.

I think I thought it was a lot funnier than she did!

(I can't help it if I crack myself up!)

Thankfully her birthday is in February - a more realistic goal.

We should still have some winter weather left to wear it in too -

if this year turns out anything like the last.

a very Calico Critter Christmas - the sequel...

You may recall my post last Christmas entitled a very Calico Critter Christmas.

I thought it might be fun to create a sequel this year. :D

With the help of PicMonkey I even added snow & photo corners

 to make it seem more like an old family album.



 "Do come in for some hot cocoa when you're through, children!"

 

"MARTY! Do be CAREFUL!"
 



***

 

Yep, this is what I do when I should be knitting Christmas gifts...
;)