Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Family Photographer in Castle Rock, CO








Okay, I am going to make this super short. I took these pictures on Monday afternoon, by Monday evening I was laying in bed feeling something awful, so they have been patiently waiting for me to get their sneak peek up!! So I am not going to make them wait any longer!! I hope you enjoy!!! Cija

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!!

I would love to say that I am one of those mom's that loves to bake with her children, but sadly, I am not. The crowding around the stove the spilled ingredients the mixing instead of folding!!! OIY!! So during the week I will occasionally invite ONE girl to help me with dinner but it is an invitation only event. Some nights I just need to "getter done". Christmas Eve, however has become our traditional "baking" day and last year I wised up and found some very kid friendly recipes that made everybody SMILE! So... while I make some of the more "complicated items" my girls have fun making some very cute and yummy treats!
First up... Sweet Pies. Our traditional Christmas breakfast. I remember one year we brought these to a Christmas Party and no one even tried one (granted they can look a little dry to the naked eye), Rod just keep whispering in my ear with great excitement "we're gonna get to take the whole plate home with us!!"
Cutting in the shortening is a mommy job but...
Spreading the cinnamon sugar is just right for a wee one.

Next comes the cutting, the uneven ends make for a yummy cook's treat!
The hard part is waiting until Christmas morning to drive into these yummy little treats!
Next, it was time for Spritz Cookies. I threw my cookie press away last year, it was completely useless. Last year we just smooched balls of dough and called them "melted snowmen" this year we tried cookie cutters. Cookie press or no cookie press these buttery cookies are a must, just too stinkin' yummy to worry about havin' the proper tools.

Reindeer's! Now this one is all kids!! LOVE IT! Nutter butters, pretzels, M&M's and white frosting is all you need. (Thanks Angela!!)



The finished product! My friend, Talia suggested dipping these in chocolate first, which I am sure would be fabulous, but too much work for my taste. I am all for keepin' it simple when I'm bakin' with the kids.
Rudolf Droppings, part mommy part kiddos!
Mommy combines and boils, the girls drop and accent!
Rudolf should have a red nose, but... we ran out of red making our reindeers.

Last but not least our favorite... Reindeer noses.
Top pretzels with Hugs, melt in a warm oven (200 degrees) and then top with an M&M. Your gonna wanna make a lot of these!

Well, our baking is done, now it's time to make a couple of lasagnas and get ready for lunch tomorrow, but soon the sun will set and our hearts will settle into pondering the wonder and precious gift of this Christmas season, our Lord Jesus Christ, born to die so that I might live! I love you JESUS!!!

Leaving a Legacy

This beautiful lady is Violet and yesterday I had the honor (and I do mean honor) to photograph Violet in celebration of her 90th birthday. Can I just tell you, I had NO IDEA how much I would enjoy this shoot. To be honest, I almost didn't do it. I had planned to take this week off, to just be with my kiddos and get Christmas stuff done but when Arlene (Violet's daughter) emailed me I took a couple of days to think and pray about what I should do. In the end, I decided that the kids would probably enjoy a playdate and I would hopefully be able to serve as a blessing to Arlene and Violet by taking the time to do this shoot for them. HA!! I was the one that got blessed! In fact, if I would have been wearing socks, I do believe they would have been blessed right off! (By the way, this a side note... in case you haven't heard, I am making the "flip flops" my signature! I'm gonna be known world wide as "you know that photographer that ALWAYS wears flip flops.")
Now, I am not a "keeper". I purge on a regular basis, always simplifying and getting rid of things we don't use or need anymore. I take pictures of things I want to remember, favorite stuff animals from when I was kid, my kid's school work etc, but for the most part, I am a "get rid of it" kinda girl. Arlene, is not. Wow!! She took me on a tour of her home pointing out furniture, dishes, figurines, linens and much much more that belonged to her mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and so on. In the picture above, the figurine in the background was a gift to Violet from her husband.
In this picture, Violet is sitting at her old dressing table. Arlene shared stories with me about how she used to sit at this table as a child and try on her mom's jewelry, oh my goodness, what a precious memory.
What touched me the most, was when Violet agreed to climb the stairs to the 2nd floor of Arlene's home so that we could take some photos with "her things". This was Violet's first trip upstairs and I was so moved to see her reaction to the things Arlene has so carefully preserved. It was positively precious. (In fact, I was so excited to share this picture with you, I couldn't sleep last night!!)
This was Violet's chair when they lived on the farm.
I am so thankful that I took the time to pray about this shoot, the Lord lovingly used my time with Arlene and Violet to remind me to cherish the people and the memories that make up the tapestry of the life He is weaving out for me.
Happy Birthday, Violet!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Boudoir Valentine Special

NOTE: While I offer full service Boudoir photography I do not post any of my "more delicate" work in this public forum, to see a private boudoir gallery please contact me at cija@3wishesphotography.com. 

This week I am beginning to scheduling appointments for my Boudoir Valentine Special. The price is $125 and includes your session time, 8 images on CD and 1 8x10 print. To receive this special price (normally $180.00) your session must be scheduled between Jan 1st and Feb 14th.

I wrestled for a few days on whether or not to post pictures to go with this post, but in the end I decided not too, I would never want to be a stumbling block for anyone. Besides it just wouldn't be in line with why I decided to offer this special in the first place. So... let me try to explain why I have made the decision to off boudoir photography. Of course it started with someone asking me to do it and then another person asking and then it was wondering if I could do it at all so I practiced on myself (now that was down right funny) but after the dust settled (literally running around the foot of your bed and catapulting yourself across the bed and in front of the camera before that timer goes off can shake up a lot of dust!!) something I wasn't expecting happened. And it's that "something" that I want to share with you. As I have spoken with some of you over the last couple of weeks regarding this type of session, here is what I have heard you say about yourselves:
"pasty white and some extra lbs "
"I need to to get my body to a shape that feels more..."
"if my kids saw them they would be truly scarred forever"
"I'm just worried my "jiggly" spots will look awful!"
Oh I get it... if anyone has "jiggly" issues it would be me. I certainly can relate to everything I have heard and felt exactly the same way going in. So... I took the pictures and was utterly shocked with I uploaded them onto my computer. Looking at the images caused me to raise my eyebrows and say "hmmph". I decided to make an album for my husband, I went to Michael's and purchased some "accents" to make it look extra special but it still needed something so... I turned to my Bible for some "quotes". I found myself in the book of Song of Songs. This is a book about King Solomon and his wife. In chapter 1 she says about herself "Dark am I, yet lovely." Pale was "in" back in her day but working in the fields had made her dark. She was very aware of her "shortcomings". The original word for "lovely" in this text is literally translated "upright". In short her opinion of herself was "hey, I may not look like a super model but I'm a good person." She and I would have been good friends. Despite her feelings about herself a man falls in love with her, they court, get engaged and eventually get married. Over time, she begins to see herself in a new way because she begins to see herself through the eyes of someone who loves her. That night as I watched my husband pour of my pictures over and over again, I began to see myself in a new way... I began to see myself as beautiful, wonderfully and fearful made and God's masterpiece (Psalms 139:14 & Ephesians 2:10). It was the best feeling ever! And that is why I decided to offer this package, in hopes that you would find yourself on a similar journey, one where you see that you are... beautiful. For more information contact me at cija@3wishesphotography.com.

Family Photography in Denver, CO













I was scheduled to be with Erin and Nate last Thursday, but they forecasted snow... keyword "forecasted", even though we didn't get the snow it was super chilly so we rescheduled for yesterday which happened to be a B-E-Utiful day (can you name the movie?). Do these little one's have beautiful eyes or what? Well... I will be in and out for the remainder of the year. I meant to take a couple of weeks off to spend with my family but... I have a really hard time saying no, so I will have a few more shoots before the end of the year. Until next time!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Newborn Photographer in Castle Rock, Colorado

Got to do a fun black and white shoot this afternoon with Garrett and his people. Isn't he precious! He has officially been awarded the "Good Baby" award. WHOA! He came, he spelt... he was perfect! I told his parents they should teach a class on how to get you newborn ready for his first photo shoot. Well, I hope you enjoy the sneak peek of this sweet baby boy! Cija

Photographer in Castle Rock, CO






So... how's the Christmas shopping coming? I thought I was doing so good until a friend mentioned that she was making Hot Fudge for the teachers!! Tomorrow is the last day before winter break and I totally spaced the teachers! Add to that my over achiever of a friend who is making them Hot Fudge in cute little jars (mind you she is going to use my recipe so I should get half the credit right?!) Hey that is a fabulous idea! She can just add my kids name to the card! Problem solved! Now back to business, yesterday I met up with Jerry & Michele. I had a really good time on this shoot, I don't get to do many couples and it really is one of my favorite things to do (as long as it's one of the cuddly kind of couples). I think Michele has the most beautiful "happy smile". Well... I'm off, I must stay on task! Until next time, I have a newborn coming today!! Cija