Memories, Dreams, and Reflections 2013

Before we move forward into a new year, it is often good to take a look back.  Thanks to Ashley for hosting Memories, Dreams, and Reflections once again so I can do that and share it with you.

{me}

Yep, this is me.

{i love you - part one}

{i love you - part two}

As you can see, I couldn't share just one for this prompt.  In fact, there are many more I could share.

{still laughing}

They keep me laughing.

{winter wonderland}

Playing in the snow with Keira.

{birthday}

My baby turned 8 this December.  He loved the soccer cake my friend, Laura, made for him.

{friends}

Me with two of my very good friends, Jenn and Kiersten.  We worked together on our school's Teacher Appreciation Luncheon.

{i was inspired}

I was inspired by my friend Sarah Halstead to try this shot during a last-minute Christmas photo session.

{spring fever}

Pretty spring blossoms.  Something I'm looking forward to now that we are in the middle of winter.

{travel or vacation}

Doug, the boys, and I visited Pymatuning this summer to see the fish.  They were both gross and cool at the same time.

{summer days}

The summer of 2013 was pretty wet and rainy.  But we did have a few hot days when my friend, Jenn (pictured above in the friends prompt), invited us over to swim in their pool.

{a day in my life}

Almost every day we listen to Alex read and/or we look at a book with him.  This time was Daddy's turn.

{all smiles}

These boys crack me up.

{autumn harvest}

A shot of my three not-so-littles during a walk this autumn.

{family or home}

My friend, Laura, (not the one who makes cakes :) ) took our family photos this September.  I think it was about 82 degrees that day and we were all sweating, but she got some great shots of us anyway.  :)

{celebrate!}

Keira isn't really celebrating anything in this photo, but you wouldn't know that if I hadn't told you.  :)

{let's do it again ...}

During our mini summer vacation, we went to Seven Springs to do some summer tubing.  It was a blast!  We can't wait to go again in 2014.  This time with Keira, who was on a missions trip when we went.  (One of the workers took this shot of us with my little pocket camera.)

{i miss you}

We didn't get a chance to raise any Monarchs this year.  I really missed that.  It is remarkable watching the caterpillars transform into the gorgeous butterflies.  (This photo is from 2012.)

{beautiful}

Alyssa, one of the seniors I had the privilege to photograph this year, is not just beautiful on the outside.

{dress up}

Keira got all dressed up for the Homecoming dance this year.  She looks so grown up!

{macro}

This was a tough one to narrow down, especially since I invested in a macro lens this year and got lots of use out of it.

{holidays}

Our Christmas tree went up a little later than usual this year, but our holidays were still wonderful.  Alex loves putting the ornaments on the tree.  The past couple years the kids have put all the ornaments on the tree without my help.

{my favorite}

Picking one favorite photo from 2013 was tough, but I kept coming back to this one.  We had a fun impromptu photo shoot downtown back in May.  I captured several fun shots of my kids.

{don't ever change}

Another one from that photo shoot.  My kids are so fun-loving and crazy sometimes.  I hope they never change!

{just because .. so there!}

I didn't share any photos of Honey yet, so ...

{hopes and dreams}

I have so many hopes and dreams (goals) for 2014 - not just for myself but for my family as well - it is hard to pick just one.  But one of them is for my photography business to double in 2014.  2013 was better than I could have ever imagined and am so grateful to everyone who trusted me to capture their memories.  God willing, 2014 will be even better.  This photo is my current header on my Facebook page, Kimberly Vensel Photography.  I'd love for you to go over and give my page a 'like'.

Just for fun, if you'd like to take a look at the prior years' Memories, Dreams, & Reflections ...
2012
2011

Tweet

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today my husband, Doug, hurt his hand quite badly while doing some woodworking. I don't want to rewrite the whole story, so if you'd like to take a couple minutes to go read it, here's the story I wrote ...

Recap of Wednesday

I took this photo of his hand after his surgery while he was still in the hospital.  He wasn't very happy with me, but he got over it.  :)

Looks kind of like the Michelin Man, huh?  :)  I apologize to those of you with squeamish stomachs for posting this photo.  It's not really that bad though, is it?


Here's a continuation of the story if you are interested.  I just read it again.  It made me chuckle.  :)

He's fine now.  After months of physical therapy, his hand is pretty much back to normal.  He has some scar tissue or something on the finger that was broken which makes a little bump and he doesn't have full range when he tries to bend it.  He decided it was fine because he wasn't going to take the time off work to have the surgery necessary to fix it.

So this week he's on vacation again (midnight week every September).  And he's been doing more work around the house.  Some of that work has required the use of power tools - a cut-off saw (not a very creative name, is it?), a drill, and a staple gun.  And I am happy to report that he didn't have any freakish accidents this time!

I am also happy to report that we are going away this weekend!  My sister is going to watch the kids so we can have some time alone.  Yay!  We were going over our agenda today.  What we'd like to do/see, where we really want to go, and where we might like to go if we have the time.


We're hoping to do a lot of outdoor activities and the weather looks like it will cooperate.  Once the rain moves out today, the weekend looks great!


I hear Doug outside using the saw again, so I better go supervise.  :)  He's making some shelves out of some leftover wood to put in the basement for shoes and stuff.  He's so handy!  I love it!


Although, as much as Honey, our golden retriever, loves Doug (he's her human), she's going to be glad when he's back to work.  He's been keeping her from sleeping her allotted 22 hours a day with all the noise he's making.  :)


I may or may not be posting this weekend.  We'll see how things go.  If we give ourselves some down time in our lodge room, I might.  But if I don't, you'll know why.  How's that for a definite maybe?  :)

Tweet