Melenoma. It's been three years . . . Annual test results are in . . .

It seems like yesterday and at the same time it seems like forever, since I was first diagnosed with melanoma.

Most days I don't think about it all that much. My leg, while it will never be what it was, gets me where I want to go and even lets me garden on my knees these days.  When my camera is in my hands I don't even think about my leg, even if I'm photographing a wedding for hours on end. It still acts up after I've been really busy, but I've been blessed by the fact that I can set my own schedule. I know that after a busy day on my feet I will spend the next day doing much quieter things. I'll hang out in my chair with my leg up and read books or watch video lessons on various aspects of photography. (On extra special days, I'll do 'research' for my fantasy digital pieces by watching The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. Ahem . . .)

But these last few summers, as I get close to the time to have my annual x-ray, ultrasound and blood tests, I find myself feeling . . . a little uncomfortable. Kind of like there's a low level buzzing going on. I don't actually realize what's happening, I just feel like everything is just a bit too busy, too noisy, too out of control. I become overwhelmed much more quickly and peace gets harder to find.

Then it's time to take the tests and I wrap myself in God's promises as I visit the labs.

My melanoma doctor is wonderful. You know how normally when your doctor orders tests they don't call you unless there's something wrong? 'No news is good news'? My doctor's belief is 'No news is no news.' His office always phones with test results! Mine is good news once again. No sign of cancer recurring anywhere.

And then I realize where that discomfort and overwhelm came from. And that, for another six months I can let it go. (My check ups are every six months. Full on tests are once a year.)

This year, as I've been taking my Photoshop Artistry course I found my self creating things that showed how I felt, even though I didn't really acknowledge where those feelings were coming from.

It's oddly comforting. I made this piece after the news really sunk in . . .

Life is vibrant and filled with hope.

I had made it originally to match several others I had been working on and it love  the 'quieter' version as well but, something about the beautiful vibrancy, light and texture in the first one really appeals to me today.

Version one

These pieces were made while I struggled with those uncomfortable feelings of everything being just a little bit too much:

 

I find it interesting to see the differences in what I made.

 It's becoming clearer everyday that this is going to be an ongoing journey. I will never get rid of those 'uncomfortable, everything's too . . .'  times in my life becuase we are still living 'in the world' with all the hardship and sorrow that sometimes brings.

And that's okay. Because no matter how I feel, or what's going on around me, I know where my help comes from. That peace, and the joy that comes with it, are enough.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Back to School and a little Gift

I can't believe the summer is over already! I had so many things I was going to do, so many new things to learn, fun places to go, new plants to try in the garden.

 Some of those things happened, but my 'To Do' list always seems to be based on desire and enthusiasm rather than any kind on realistic possibilities.

It's not just me is it? Please tell me you also get to the end of your summer with a list you've hardly put a dent in, wondering how in the world 8 weeks could go by so fast . . .

It's gotten even odder for me in the last few years, now that I no longer have kids in school and I'm not driving the school bus. (I used to be able to calculate exactly how many days I had before school started based on how vivid my 'First day back to bus driving' dreams were. Got to school a little late . . . still had a good four weeks of holidays left. It took me a day and a half to get from where my bus was parked to dropping the kids of at the school's front door . . . Only one sleep left . . .)

So, to celebrate all those kids getting back to school tomorrow with their crisp new notebooks, binders and newly sharpened pencil crayons, Kim and I had fun last week with a few 'Back to School' week projects. I've started things off by making some cute little cards you can put in your kid's lunches these first few weeks. I even left a few without words so you can add your own 'love note'.

These are original sized images so they should print just fine if you copy and paste

These are original sized images so they should print just fine if you copy and paste

I'm attaching them in two images. One with lines and one without. The one with lines you could use to just print them out on regular paper and cut out yourself. The other without lines can be printed on 'print your own' business cards (I used the Avery Template) if you want to fancy things up a bit.

And, because there is something so fun about the first day back to school, I've printed up two sets on business cards to giveaway tonight on Facebook. All you have to do is leave a comment and I'll be drawing at 10 tonight for the winners . . . (Facebook post is here: Back to School note card giveaway.)

Happy Back to School!

Let Me Introduce Myself

Hello everyone!

As some of you may have already guessed from prior posts and updates I'm Rosa's new Assistant! (Assistant... Intern... Apprentice... whatever you want to call it really) Basically I'll be their to help Rosa with all her projects, carry photography equipment, act as second shooter, brainstorm new ideas, and probably make sure she finds time to eat, all while learning the fine art of photography under her patient - and very fun - tutelage.

I'll also be in charge of writing a blog post every week, so check back every Wednesday to see what I'm up to!

As excited as I am to be writing this post  I have to admit that I wasn't entirely sure what to say - this is my first blog post after all. After quite some time humming and hawing over what I was going to write, I figured I'd just tell you a little bit about myself. So here goes!

My name is Kim, I'm married to Rosa's oldest son, Morgan, and we have a cat named Smarty and a fish named Pyramus. I love to cook, bake, make crafts, read, and -of course- take pictures. I strongly dislike spiders, Styrofoam, and doing the dishes.  I like to play video games, go for walks, and listen to soundtracks of musicals and french opera. I also absolutely love to learn! I'm always eager to gain more knowledge.

I'm super excited for this opportunity to join Rosa on her quest to learn, grow, and - of course - have fun!

Thats it for me this week, but make sure to keep up to date with A Life of Whimsy, we have a schedule full of projects, DIYs, tasty recipes, and photography planned!

Until next Wednesday,

Kim

Sharing a Foodie Day with my Sister

My sister Lisa was up visiting her in-laws a few weeks ago. I haven't seen her since last summer so it was wonderful to get the chance to get together in person. (Thank goodness for FB and texting!)

I'll take any excuse to plan an adventure and what better reason than a day out with your sister?

Lisa's not a gardener as I am and I'm not a champion bargain hunter like she is (Lisa bought Holly's gorgeous wedding dress for $100!!). That meant our adventure couldn't include garden centers or shopping centers.

That's not really a problem though, because we share another love that we inherited from our dad and his parents.

Food. Interesting ingredients, like the cinnamon our sister Tamara brought back from the markets in Vietnam, or the vanilla Lisa and her husband bring back from trips to Mexico, get our creative juices going. Handy tools and unusual baking pans get our heart racing.

So we knew what kind of adventure we wanted. A Foodie day . . .

First up on the agenda was a visit to Duchess bakery. Lisa had never been and I use any excuse I can to go back.

Have you ever been? If you haven't you are missing out on some of the best food I have ever had. Even Lisa, who has traveled the world, said the same.

My favorite, even though I love all kinds of baked goods, is actually their quiche.  It is lovely and custardy and just . . . sigh. So.delicious.

We spent a little time in their store next to the restaurant where Lisa got inspired, I bought a jar of salted caramel sauce and we went home to bake apple crisp.

We didn't bake any old apple crisp though. We baked beautiful, individual apple crisps that I could freeze and bring out when special company came over.

And oh . . . how tasty they were topped with Chapman's french vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce.

All in all, the perfect foodie adventure. I can't wait until the next time we get together!

Thanks for a fabulous day sis! I can't wait until next time!

Check out the video for the full experience  . . .

A Birthday Girl

I had the sweetest little girl and her mom in the studio.

It was little miss's first birthday and her mom wanted to record it.

Mom didn't want the traditional cake smash but brought along a dress she had worn as a girl as well as her daughter's new birthday dress.

I put together a few setups that we could play in. ( I LOVE that part of my job!)

Mom also brought a cupcake she had saved from the birthday party for a bit of a mini cake smash at the end of our session . . .

What fun! She was such a sweetie.

And . . . because I love a good video slide show, I took bits of video and melded it with my favorites images and some great music: (as always,watch on YouTube and click on the cog in the lower right corner to watch it in HD 720p)

Happy birthday to a darling little girl!

Rachelle. A Bridal Shower

Back in April, when Henry's mom had the big celebration for her 80th birthday, my sister-in-law Evelyn came up with a plan to surprise our niece Rachelle who, along with her family, came from Ontario for Grandma's birthday.

Rachelle and her fiancee Garnet are getting married in the beginning of June. Most of the 'western' family won't be able to attend, so Evelyn decided to throw Rachelle a surprise Bridal shower, English tea style.

 

It was a beautiful event and we were all thrilled for the opportunity to share, even just a bit, in Rachelle's special day.

You can see the story by watching her Bridal Shower video.

(Want to see it at it's best? Watch it on youtube, click on the cog in the lower right corner and set it to 720p HD and then in full screen. :D) 

I pray God blesses you both as you prepare for your wedding Rachelle and Garnet.

Love, Aunt Rosa.

Val and Doug. A Couples Portrait Session

A while back, during an unusual mild spell, I had the chance to visit Doug and Val at their beautiful acreage for a couple's portrait session.

I had done Laura and Anthony's anniversary portraits there, late last summer, so I knew I would have some amazing locations to work with.

I wasn't quite sure how this portrait session would go though. Doug's always struck me as a real 'man's man', and I wasn't sure how he'd react to my somewhat whimsical approach to portrait sessions. After all, blowing bubbles and 'a man's man' are not two things that you naturally think of as going together . . .

He was such a good sport though! We tried out an assortment of locations on their property, each one lovelier than the last.

Doug and Val got a little snuggling in (while being closely observed by one of their boys hiding behind the wood pile! There is no privacy when you're a parent . . .)

Not only did Doug take all the bubble blowing in stride he even allowed me to post the pictures on the blog! Now that's a sweet husband. :D


I love couples portraits. So often, once you have kids and are in the midst of the demanding busy-ness that brings, you put your identity as a couple on the back burner, telling yourself you'll pick it back up when the kids get older. Taking time out for the two of you as a couple and then printing your favorite photo from the session is a great way to reconnect and remind yourself that you are more than just 'mom and dad'.

Here are some of my favorites from Doug and Val's session:

Thanks for playing with me you guys!