I’m sitting here updating the blog and munching on some organic strawberries.

I just got back from a tux fitting for my best friends wedding this summer. I get to be best man and to say that I’m allready nervous about the speach would be an enormous understatement. but I get to watch my best pal marry the girl of his dreams (a mennonite no less!) and I cannot wait.

becky and I finally went to see avatar last night. we always laugh at each other because the first time we went to see a movie together we reached into the popcorn at the same time and we both laughed because we looked like one giant cliche. every time we go to see a movie now we make sure our hands touch in the popcorn at least once and we just smile.

I love her so much.

this weekend I get to photograph a beautiful little boy whose parents have been waiting years for him to arrive.

I am so lucky.

this last week I had the opportunity to finally sit down and spend some time with a hero of mine. sam graci is the formulator of greens+ and a world renowned nutrition expert. inspirational doesn’t even begin to describe sam. his energy seems to be endless and his warm and caring heart shines through. his only goal in life is to help people learn how the food they eat can offer them a long life filled with energy and health.

breakfast that morning was a quick protein shake and a bowl of organic strawberries along with my greens+ shake.

when we finally got to sit down over a lunch of mushroom tarragon soup and fresh eight grain bread at the earthbound bakery I was surprised that it wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. I thought he would dispense some profound nutrition advice that would radically alter my life. instead we talked like friends which is another gift he seems to have, making everyone around him feel welcome. we talked about our favorite spots in puerto vallarta and spent some time discussing the finer points of this years law and order episodes.

like I said, lucky.

I’m watching charlie brown and putting the finishing touches on my christmas post. it’s hard to describe what this christmas means to me. becky and I were laughing with some of our friends that we’re going to finally get this holiday right. we’ve been together for four years and three of those had some holidays that we would rather forget. but this year is different and to be honest, I’m not really sure why. I’m not about to start asking why either. I’m just enjoying it.

growing up we always had different traditions than most families. our family lived two provinces over so we never travelled which I actually always loved. it made for the the most quiet holidays and I have always tried to duplicate that. then I met becky’s family and that all changed….but that’s another post.

growing up with parents that owned a health food store we were of course denied anything that had sugar, artificial colors or flavor for 364 days of the year but Christmas was different. we spent the day before scouring the grocery store for the worst food we could find. the more times sugar showed up in the ingredients the more likely it was to be thrown into our cart.

we’re starting some new traditions now. becks and I have decided that we’re always going to get away to a hotel for a night or two since that’s one of our favorite things to do. so this year in the midst of the busyness we’ll be cuddling up at the bess watching our favorite flicks and sipping on organic hot chocolate. we’ll go to a Christmas Eve service here which is always special to me. growing up our church always had a service on Christmas morning but when I started attending lakeview I got into this habit and I love it. never having the chance to take this tradition for granted growing up it is something I look forward to all year. on Christmas morning we’ll take a walk along the river and then exchange our gifts.

I don’t want to brag but I’ve outdone myself this year for her present. it’s something that she’s not expecting at all….and I have a habit of ruining surprises so I’m going to stop here before I give it away. needless to say there will be photos of this one to follow!

last year I was so busy that I didn’t get a single shot of any of our holiday fun and I promised myself that wouldn’t happen again. I started thinking of the kinds of shots I wanted to get this year and at first I wanted to make the big show - snaps of elaborate light shows, couples walking out in the snow….shots that would really impress anyone who stopped by here to have a look.

then I stopped to think about it. this is the mistake that I usually make.

that first Christmas was so simple. not very organized and certainly not clean. no lights or attention. just a mom and dad and their little boy. so I enjoyed some of my favorite simple things.

I know you’re all just shocked to see lily here again. she came to help us decorate our tree…or at least the bottom 8 inches of it.

grandma’s rock. that’s all.

I always feel like a bit of a snob when I say this but I can’t eat mandarin oranges when we visit someone because I’ve been spoiled by the organic ones that make their appearance for a few weeks every winter. if you haven’t tried one you really do owe it to yourself to enjoy one…or eight.

our favorite holiday film….

last weekend I got up before sunrise and went out to get some shots around the city. I turned on some of my favorite vinyl cafe stories and headed out…..

and of course it wouldn’t be a post without a little music. this has been my favorite song for a few years, I must listen to it a hundred times every december and I hope you like it as much as I do.

and I hope you have a simple and quiet Christmas filled with the mystery and wonder of that night in bethlehem….

like I mentioned in my last post, it seems like my personal photos are always the last ones to get done and this summer was no exception….but better late than never of course.

I’ve been on some incredible trips in my life - an amazing week in mexico, two months in the philippines, hiking in the majestic rockies but I was looking forward to this summers break more than most. our new nephew, tayo, had arrived a week before and his mom had been told to take it easy so we decided to spend our holiday helping to take care of our niece and the new little one.

we couldn’t have had a better time.

what could be more wonderful than waking up every morning and being greeted by the cutest little two year old. she walks up to you still rubbing her eyes and dragging her stuffed lion behind her and says “good morning unca kevin”. it melts your heart.

soon after that our sister in law would get up and since I’m the early riser in our house, I got to spend an hour or two with tayo before becky crawled out of bed. he was always content to just lie on my lap looking at me as I talked to him. or he would nap on my chest as I watched a little tv.

every time we make the trip to carlyle we always take an afternoon to visit a little tea house about half an hour outside of town. to be honest, I could care less about the tea or the endless variety of gifts and knick-knacks. I come for the biscuits….

….and the cheese cake

while the girls were browsing the gift selection I went out with lily and my father in law to explore the town. a storm started moving in but we managed to get in some beautiful shots before the rain started…..

I had every intention of sleeping in this morning. I really did.

but I heard a leaf fly into our window and so I was up and awake at 6. becky is blessed with good sleep genes and probably won’t be up until early this afternoon.

so I’m left to my own devices and decided to catch up on some editing. I took a break to make some coffee and saw the most beautiful sunrise out the front window and had to take a quick snap.

I also usually spend these quiet mornings catching up on emails. sometimes I’m absolutely amazed at how kind some people can be and I know it’s a total cliche but I really feel that I have some of the kindest and most thoughtful clients around. they tell their friends about me. they send gifts. they take a few minutes out of their busy lives to send me an email thanking me for their photos.

it’s more than that though, these emails remind me how lucky I am to do what I do. they encourage me and bring a smile to my face. more than anything else, they just make me feel great.

one of these wonderful people is cari, whose family I’ve had the privilege of capturing three times now and she sent me this email:

Hi Kevin,

Cari

I think it’s people like cari who remind me that there is still so much good in this world, so many people who remember that the smallest things can really make the biggest difference in someone else’s life.