Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 11/9-11/15

Sunday, November 9, Doug and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary.  Wow!  I can't believe it has been 18 years!  Friday we celebrated by going out to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Clifford's.  It is our once-a-year splurge.

Monday afternoon I got to meet Keira's Principal.  I really liked him.  She wasn't in trouble or anything.  We needed to discuss a few things with him to help us make a decision on the direction of her schooling.

Tuesday the kids had the day off for Veteran's Day.  The weather was gorgeous!  We went to the parade and then the boys had their 6-month check ups.  We did a little shopping afterwards.  Keira bought the movie How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Wednesday I had a dentist appointment.  Just a few quick fixes.  Optional, really.  I didn't even have any novocaine.  My dentist was impressed with that fact.  :)  He commented that women are tough and that he would be a big baby about it all.

Saturday the boys had a Bible Quizzing Invitational.  Nick earned silver and Alex earned bronze.  Nancy, the lady in charge of our group, said Alex was one question away from silver.

I attended an artist's workshop where we learned how to watercolor.  My friend, Sam, taught the workshop.  She's been watercoloring since she was a child and is incredibly talented.

After that I finished up a few things at home and then went to my friend Rainey's house where we did some more crafty things.  I worked on my Project Life album (started 2013) and she made a Thanksgiving banner and a couple other things.  Her friend, Dawn, came also.  She worked on some Thanksgiving things too.  It was a fun day.

Rainey is one of the characters in our local theater group's play, A Christmas Carol, and practices started tonight, so we probably won't get to craft again until after Christmas or New Year's.

So anyway, let's get to last week's pictures, shall we?

{November 9:  Heck yes!}

Eighteen years ago today I said "heck yes!" or at least "yes" or was it "I do"?  :)  when Pastor Jim asked me if I would take my husband, Doug, in marriage. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part. We have probably experienced all of those (except for the death part, of course) and are still going strong. What does this photo have to do with all that? Well, this is a close up of one of the roses he bought for me today for our anniversary. Here's to 18 more years!

{November 10:  I do this every day}

Every day I try to find something beautiful in the ordinary.

{November 11:  A set}

Seeing this set of horses when we attend our local parades always makes me smile. I look for them every time.

Today in the USA we celebrate Veteran's Day. Honoring those that have served or are currently serving in our armed forces. My heartfelt gratitude to each and every one.

{November 12:  Normal}

It is perfectly normal to see me laying on the ground in order to take a photo of something. Leaves, bugs, flowers, people. You name it. And I have the grass stains to prove it.  :)

{November 13:  Letters}

He was pretty happy to help with this prompt since it meant he got to eat some of the gummies when we were done.

{November 14:  For me}

Photographing nature isn't something I get to do often during my busy season with my business, but it is something that I try to squeeze in now and then, just for me. I am in love with my macro lens and all of the details that it enables me to enjoy.

{November 15:  Hot + cold}

Cold whipped cream on hot chocolate. Mmmmmmmm.  (This photo got chosen in the FAB photos for the day!  Which is kind of funny since I was scrambling to get something and took this at around 9:00 at night just to get my photo of the day.)  :)

I also want to mention a giveaway that I am hosting.  Have you heard of the new movie, Saving Christmas?  Well, I got to preview it before it hit theaters and am giving a way a prize pack.  Go check it out and enter!  
Saving Christmas prize pack giveaway

Linking with Tamar ...

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Highlights from some recent sessions ...

August, September, and October were pretty busy months.  I was hopping!  Between photo sessions, being a wife and mom and all that those titles entail, raising a boatload of Monarch butterflies, volunteering at my church, being PTO Treasurer (still), etc. etc., I didn't take much time to blog.  So now I thought I would share an image or two from the sessions that were keeping me up late into the night editing until my eyeballs bled.  (Not really, but sometimes it felt like it.)  :)

(I shared some peeks back in September if you want to check them out also.  This post includes the ones that happened after those.) 

There was Zac ...

And Evan ...

And Paige ...

My lovely sister-in-law and my nieces ...

The whole B family ...

which even included a couple dogs ...

A baby bump ...

And an adorable big sister ...

My friend, Jen, and her two kids ... 

A 35th wedding anniversary celebration ...

And last, but not least, a family that I have had the pleasure of photographing a couple times before ...

Things are slowing down now that the colder weather is upon us.  Though I am hoping to do some snow sessions again this year.  They were a blast last year!

As this year winds down I can't help but feel truly blessed by all of the great folks who entrusted me to capture their memories for them.  Some were friends or family but many were people I didn't know who were referred to me, which is really a great compliment.  

I plan to spend my "slow" season doing some DSLR teaching, editing my personal pictures, and learning more about Lightroom and Photoshop.  And just spending time with my family who has been so (mostly) patient with me during this time of growth.  Oh, and finally updating this ol' blog.


In case you are interested, here are a couple other places you can find me:
My website:  Kimberly Vensel Photography
My Facebook page:  Kimberly Vensel Photography

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Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 10/12-10/18

Hello!  Happy Monday morning!  Wait, is that an oxymoron?  :)

I'm actually posting on time for a change.  Not quite sure how that happened.

The past week has been full of ups and downs.  I photographed a vow renewal on Sunday.  They have been married for 35 years!  Then I photographed a gorgeous high school senior later that day.  I can't wait to share photos from both sessions.  

Our school district had a meeting on Wednesday to announce proposals to close some elementary schools and consolidate.  Unfortunately our school is on the chopping block. 

Nick found out that he needs glasses for reading.  

And he ran in a cross country track meet on Saturday morning.  It was cold and rainy but he did great!  He finished 20th out of 60+ boys!  The thing that really got me though was this one boy, who is on the bigger side, was the last one to finish - and when he got to a certain point, a bunch of kids rallied around him and ran with him to the finish line.  It made me cry then and I'm tearing up now just typing this.  I don't even know his name, but I found it so touching that our kids are so caring.  (I'm blaming the emotions on hormones).  :)

I visited a craft show also on Saturday and picked up some really cute stuff.  The talent of folks just blows me away sometimes.

After the craft show Doug and the boys joined me on a drive up to a local apple orchard for their Fritterfest.  I have never had an apple fritter before, but it was YUMMY!  I could have eaten a few more.  :)

We also finally found a buyer for the Lincoln!  We didn't expect it to sell overnight - it is a luxury car after all - but we didn't really expect it to take 6 months either.  I will miss those heated seats.  :)

I am still participating in Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day challenge.  Here are this week's pics ...

{October 12:  L is for ...}

Lazy.  After a long, busy day which included church, photographing a vow renewal (they are celebrating 35 years of marriage!), and photographing a high school senior, I was just going to dig into the archives for today's prompt. But then this evening Honey jumped up on the couch and assumed the position. :)

{October 13:  M is for ...}

Magenta.  We are having a beautiful fall here in Western Pennsylvania.

I thought about doing "M is for Monarch" and using an archive photo (since my babies are still in the caterpillar stage and I just shared a caterpillar photo last week), but I took this photo this morning while out walking the dog and I just had to share.  The colors surrounding us right now are absolutely gorgeous.

{October 14: N is for ...}

Nick.  He doesn't let me take his picture very often, so I take advantage of the times when he lets me. Normally he yells "PAPARAZZI!!!" and runs the other way. Or he makes goofy faces. You should see how many shots I took before I got this face.

{October 15: O is for ...}

Open.  When a Monarch butterfly opens its wings, it is easier to see whether it is a male or a female. This handsome fellow is a male, indicated by the thin webbing in his wings and the two dots on his hind wings (scent glands).

Digging into the recent archives today. This was butterfly number 154 of 155 that I released so far this year. I was fortunate enough to find some late babies the same day I released him. As of today, I have 16 in chrysalis and 2 more still munching away. (The last 2 were found a few days after the 16). I might be making a road trip south when it comes time to release them, but if it is cold here, I won't be complaining.

{October 16: P is for ...}

Pupa.  Was there any doubt I would share this photo today?  :)

A Monarch caterpillar forms its chrysalis then spends about 10-14 days in the pupa stage before emerging as a gorgeous butterfly. This particular chrysalis is 3 days old. I have 15 more just like it. Along with 2 big juicy caterpillars still munching away. I expect they will form their chrysalises in the next few days.

{October 17: Q is for ...}

Quiet and Quick.  As I was pondering over what to share for today's prompt, my son brought in a praying mantis that he had found. Normally I'm not a big fan of mantises. They eat butterflies after all. However, since there are no butterflies around right now, I was excited to see her. I placed her on my flowers and just observed. She {quietly} sat very still and watched while bees and flies buzzed around her. She {quickly} reached out to try to grab a few but she was not {quick} enough. She preened herself every now and then, which is what she is doing in this picture. I hope she is {quick} enough tonight or tomorrow to snag herself a meal.

{October 18: R is for ...}

Running.  Alex has been asking me to go take his pictures for a week or so now. I think he misses his mama and since photo shoots are what take me away from him, that would be a good way to get to spend time with me. Makes me both happy and sad at the same time. Anyway, we made it a quick session. I snapped some posed shots and then told him to just explore and have fun. He ran around - having a good time like an 8YO boy should do. And then we went for ice cream. Of course. Hmmm, maybe that was the reason he wanted to go do pictures. :)

Linking with Tamar:

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Our 38th & 39th Weeks ~ 2014

Another skipped week of posting means another week of double the photos.  Brace yourself.  :)

Finished up September and having Keira as my subject in every photo.  We had fun but were running out of ideas by the end.

{September 21: Fave word}

Naturally, on her 16th birthday, her favorite word is SIXTEEN.

{September 22: Crisp}

We don't have many crisp leaves on the ground yet, but we did manage to find a few.

{September 23: Triangle}

We were pretty stumped on this one. And then this happened.  :)

{September 24: Loud}

Now that Keira has learned how to play the guitar better, she isn't afraid to play it LOUD!  :)  Here she is rocking out on our friend Seans' guitar.

{September 25: Angle}

From this angle Keira's violin looks really big and Keira looks pretty small.

{September 26: Best}

When I asked Keira which birthday gift she liked the best, without hesitation she answered this one.

{September 27: Celebration}

This was a tough prompt since we celebrated Keira's birthday last Saturday. But this evening I had the pleasure of photographing my sister-in-law and my two nieces and Keira came along as my assistant. Keira and the girls had a little silly celebration when we were almost done with the session. Goofy dollar store glasses and all.

{September 28: Game}

I'm not quite sure you could call this a game, but it is fun. Keira and I like to go to the top of the parking garage and make silhouettes against the sky at sunset. Tonight the crescent moon was also visible. In case you are wondering, Keira is doing jazz hands.  :)

{September 29: Wish}

Wish upon a star. Or a Christmas light.  This didn't come out quite like I'd hoped. Not much time to set it up. We are clearly running out of ideas and are glad to see September coming to an end.

{September 30: Where I'm from}

We are from an area that is in the beginning stages of autumn right now. Leaves are changing colors and falling off the trees, the air is cooler. Pumpkins are ripening in the garden. Warm and sunny days are more appreciated because we know it won't be long before all the trees are bare and there is snow on the ground. We have had such a nice stretch of weather these past few weeks. Sad to see it come to an end soon.


I have thoroughly enjoyed having Keira as my subject this month. However, we were running out of ideas so we are glad to see September end. The boys want to know if I am going to do a whole month of each of them. I told them maybe when it is their birth months (December and April). Maybe. They are not nearly as cooperative as their sister.  :)

{October 1: A is for ...}

Taken at Emmett's Orchard a few weeks ago. A beautiful place with some super friendly people. Not to mention some delicious food and great home decor in their shop. The two bags of apples I brought home that day didn't last long.

{October 2: B is for ...}

Butterfly {duh}  :)
This is a close up of the wing of the handsome fellow I raised and released the other day. He is Monarch number 155 that I raised so far this summer. I thought he would be my last but was fortunate enough to find 16 baby caterpillars, so I'm back in business! Just hoping the weather is warm enough to release them when they have completed their life cycle and become beautiful butterflies.

{October 3: C is for ...}

Caterpillar (of course) 
And a confused caterpillar at that. This little guy is wondering what happened to the milkweed that he was just eating. Don't worry - I put him right back after his photo session.  :)
This macro shot is a little deceiving because this sweet little guy is only about half an inch (1.5 cm) long.  

{October 4: D is for ...}

Dried up/Dead


This once was a beautiful blossom of Queen Anne's Lace, a host plant for Black Swallowtails. The butterfly lays her eggs on it, the caterpillars hatch from their eggs and feed on the plant. They go on to form their chrysalis and eventually emerge as another beautiful butterfly. And the circle of life continues. There will be plenty of this planted in my butterfly garden next year.

Linking with Tamar, as always.  :) 
Better late than never.

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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

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