"Never lose sight of even the smallest things that bring you joy."

There is so much I want to write. I feel overcome with swirling thoughts and emotion.

Today is the end of another birthday week. It has been a lovely week. I was definitely intending to blog about it - it was a peaceful week, as desired, full of the many things I love, time with friends, reading, time at the gym, a little rollerderby, many good meals. There were lovely gifts, flowers, sentimental makeup (something only good friends can have between them,) a gorgeous dress from the hubby, a stunning purse, the best hand cream ever.

But, birthday week is about a different type of celebration as well -  It is about seeing ALL the goodness.

Today, I headed to breakfast with some truly wonderful friends, where we laughed and cried a bit as we talked about our friend Jenn, who passed away recently from cancer. Full of warmth, and some sadness, I came back to the office to do some work, because all these meals out, have left me a bit neglectful of my responsibilities.

As I sat here photoshopping I was thinking about about what I was going to blog about birthday week, and not quite feeling it. Then it was placed right in front of me, as often happens.

Moments ago the mail came, in it was a very special package.

In the package was a book, and on the back cover it said:



These are the words that encompass a significant part of who I am, and why every year I slow down and focus extra hard on the details of life during my birthday week. These words and my focus on the details,  help me make sense of our world.

This book has a very special meaning.

About a year ago a photo of mine was selected to be a lead part of a touring national exhibition on the faces of cancer and now it has become a book. It is a photo of John driving Maggie to Children's Hospital for her Leukemia treatment .  

As if there isn't enough magic in the day today, it so happens that John and Maggie are making this trip today, it's a different kind of drive today though, as our Maggie is well and strong now. She is probably sitting in oncology right now, and hopefully seeing her well and strong is giving other parents, who are a different place in their journey, hope.  

Seeing this photo in a book full of bravery and hope has left me shaky and in tears and not yet able to put the emotion into words.

You can see some of the photos of the book on their website.

 
Remember, "Never lose sight of even the smallest things that bring you joy."

It will always help.

Thank you to the founders and organizers of this book, Andrew Stawiki and James Burns, to the many people who photographed and those that shared their stories. I look forward to digesting it all.

I appreciate you. I appreciate that you allow me to live this life with my camera. As this year is my tenth anniversary, each month, until October, (the first ten months of the year,) there is a little celebration which is listed on the blog and our facebook page. First we had something for Bella Sessions, then children, and then March - which was my favorite.

For a donation to Comox Valley Hospice clients received a mini-shoot, including their best shot. It was first come first serve, for past clients, it filled up in 8 minutes.
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Each month has a party favor sponsor, we have had Roots the Salon, Podlings and March was Bodynetix, who gave each participant a free Hot Yoga Class.  Thank you.

Last Saturday we photographed 32 amazing women. Some I have been photographing for 10 years, through weddings, births, career changes, and growing families. I had moments during this shoot, where I was taken aback. These women are shining. They are truly living - and they seem more beautiful then ever.

I felt humbled to be recording it.

This day was full of sentiment for another reason. I developed this idea last year. I wanted to photograph women, as typically we can be so critical of ourselves, and if we have a hubby and/or kids, we are often not in the photos that are taken, as we are taking them.

When Jenn became ill last year, right away, we knew we had to shoot and we did, with her husband, her son, and her siblings.  I met Jenn when she hired me to photograph her wedding. Ironically, she is one of the clients and friends I have that have commissioned photos the most. It was who she was, someone who documented and celebrated, she put high priority on women loving and accepting themselves. So, as I was shooting on Saturday, I couldn't help think about how she was probably high-fiving you.

Thank you all for the blessing that you are in my life.

You are beautiful.

(and thank you for helping us raise $550 dollars for Comox Valley Hospice, a very important charity in our community.)

The images may take a minute to load... if you click on the bottom right of the slideshow (the box with four arrows) you can see them larger.
 

Toad in the tree started making a children's hat, which has affectionately become known as the Jenn hat, as it benefits the Love from Jenn Foundation.

The hats, which you can pick up at Podlings or by contacting Kim or Amanda directly at kim@toadinatree.com or amanda@toadinatree.com are now available in grown up sizes .

Don't say I didn't tell you.

Here is just a quick shot of one of the hats, it is available in other colors as well .....

I have been jet setting, well really, I have been in Vancouver and Victoria. Now I am settled at home and today is my first day back in the office in what seems like eons. I am crossing back into routine and I am feeling warm and fuzzy about it - it won't be long until I crave spontaneity and change, I teeter back and forth, but for now, it is just perfect.

I have photos to share, but much office work to be done.

So, I leave you with this sweet-pea, little four day old Sweet Pea, Tellulah Bea, her and her lovley, loving family make my heart go pitter-patter.






Oh, did you hear I photographed 32 AMAZING women on Saturday, we had a blast and raised some dollars  for the Comox Valley Hospice Society.

The above sentence, both parts of it, make me very happy. More about it later.....

Three years ago Vanessa and I started mailing each other birthday boxes, they contained seven gifts, one for each day of birthday week. We look forward to our boxes, they keep us connected, and well, who am I kidding, we like the gifts. There are a few guidelines to our box.  You must not spend more than $150 and the receiver must open one each consecutive day of birthday week, no cheating allowed, just ask Vanessa, she has tried before.

I have been an advocate for birthday week since I became a mom. Please be strongly advised, birthday week is not for children.

Birthday week rules:
- you can choose when it starts, as long as it covers your birthDAY
- you get to decide what is for dinner every night in your house
- you buy a book based solely on it's cover art
- and you do something special each day. Special can be a dinner out, some spa-ing, a little shopping, a guilty pleasure movie, a treat, a long phone chat with an out of town friend, coffees with friends, or some alone time... you get the idea right?
 Birthday week is not about putting the pressure on anyone else, not your kids, and not your spouse (although they should really step-up just that extra bit as to not rain on your birthday week parade.) Birthday week is about taking a little extra time each day to treat yourself well and enjoy some of your favorite things.

Since Vanessa was in town, we decided to do our birthday box in, "real-time". Off we went shopping in Victoria. Funny thing was, nothing caught our eye. So we went where we knew our inner consumer could easily be excited - the bookstore.