Happy Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful for my family.

I love being married, I love having a daughter, I love being able to be at home with her and I love that John works from home and gets to be with her too. When other things get crazy, or I get a bit stressed, or down, or jealous of others, I remind myself of these four things and it makes everything better. I could not imagine life without these two, they have made my world richer, happier and lots more fun.

I'm also grateful for our extended families close and far away. We're so happy to have such a large family and we count each one dear to our hearts.

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." George Eliot

"Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts." Author Unknown

Happy Thanksgiving.

Bradley-Schmidt Seattle Wedding

I had the privilege last year to photograph my friend's sister's wedding up in Seattle. I was both excited and super nervous as it was my first paid wedding. I felt quite honoured to be trusted with this endeavour!

Alex and Tiffay's wedding was beautiful and intimate. They had moved the wedding forward a month in order for her brother to be there, as he had been called back to his airforce base and would have missed their original date. It was mostly family and a few friends, and they held a larger reception a month later in her home-town, Yakima, WA. It made it really special and cosy.

The weather of course was freezing and overcast, but fortunately the rain mostly held off. I remember expressing hope for more sun and getting chuckles from all the native Seattlites! The weather didn't dampen anyone's spirits however, and the ceremony was filled with beautiful moments, from Tiffany being given away by her parents, to Alex washing Tiffany's feet. After pictures, we moved onto the reception which was a in a really fun restaurant, called Buca di Beppo where again the atmosphere was cosy and intimate. All in all a lovely day:

Family Photo Shoot Sep 2011

I'm taking a small break from prepping for a wedding this weekend to do a quick blog post. I realised that I hadn't yet posted our pictures from our little photo shoot back in September, when Sophie turned 1. I asked our wonderful housemate, Tabitha, to snap some pix of us - she is an aspiring photographer herself and has such a great eye. I was looking forward to not have to bring a tripod and run back and forth from the camera (since I haven't yet bought a remote for my new camera) and do all that work, but only end up with about 10 shots. She did an amazing job. We traipsed up to a "wild" area that's right up the street from our house and was gorgeously dry and dead and I love how the pictures came out.

So...one year into parenthood. What can I say? It's been amazing. So far, there have been more ups than downs and Sophie is just so much fun. She started walking a little bit after her first birthday and just loves getting herself around all by herself. She has challenged us in many ways, and in many more ways, brought smiles and joy into our life. We just can't wait for every day we get to spend with her. She is our little social bee, loving new kids (though needing some time to warm up), and loves to sing and dance. She knows how to colour, and the other day, put her little spoon into the dishwasher (with my prompting... :). She puts a smile on every face, and easily shows us her own three-toothed smile. She is happiest when eating, and loves being outside.

We always tell people that this is way more fun than we thought it would be. And it's true. What joy and life she brings into our lives.