December 5

The gorgeous and talented Christine Weeks! My guess is that this woman can do anything. And if she can’t, please don’t tell me; I’m enjoying living in this fantasy world. ;)

December 4

My little friends Grace and Micah were baptized tonight at church. I was going to link back to the photo shoot we did a few weeks ago, but oh yeah, I haven’t posted those images yet. This is an excellent reminder to do so! So anyhow, tonight these sweet kids were baptized at Redeemer—and it got me a bit choked up. Baptism itself doesn’t save; Jesus is the Savior of mankind. But we baptize our babies, our toddlers, our teens, our adults because it’s a sign that we belong to God. What a beautiful expression of faith tonight, to see Grace publicly proclaim her faith and to see Micah receive this sacrament. Afterwards I told Grace how neat it was to see her baptized, and she informed me with great excitement that she got to take communion. Yep, communion is pretty darn exciting, too.

December 3

Gorgeous, sleepy, snowy Saturday.
A rescheduled dinner.
Cancelled Christmas party makes room for long conversation and dessert.
Hilarious laughter.
Grateful for family and friends.

**I did indeed pick a theme for this year’s DPP. It’s portrait time for me—all people, all 25 days. My husband says I’m only allowed to use him once. After December 1 I told him, “Well, it’ll be another 23 days of Livia then.” ;)

December 2

December 1

Nothing says Yuletide quite like an arm fart. At least, nothing says Yuletide like an arm fart when you’re seven years old. I’m going to have to whip out my camera faster and in a stealthy ninja-like style if I want to capture Livia in a candid moment. She went from placing an ornament on her little tree (ah, such a classic moment) to mugging for my camera to arm farts. Such is life in the Tredway household in 2011.

DPP Flickr Pool

Back by popular demand is the December Photo Project Flickr pool. While the point of the DPP is to take photos and show them off to the world on your own blog (or another personal chunk of internet), I agree that Flickr makes easy work of showcasing the DPP. So join the group and show us what you’re shooting!

Also, we’ll soon have links to all DPP participants so you can peruse their sites on your own time. I will also feature various DPP images here on my site.

Thanks again to Kristen of Winged Feet Design for the awesome DPP badge for 2011. I think she did a wonderful job! Check out her Etsy shop for more fun creations.

Happy shooting everyone!

The Littlest Lawtons

My niece Madeleine and nephew Noah are too darn cute. I love their energy and drive. They are both creative and smart as all get out, not to mention very photogenic. More photos from their shoot to come soon.

Happy holidays, friends! I hope you all have enjoyed lots of turkey and lots of family time. I’m admiring a fully decorated house this morning as Livia was extremely excited to put up the Christmas tree. It was up on Thanksgiving night—a first for us. My dad and I got up early yesterday to partake in Black Friday sales. We ate our McDonalds breakfasts, drove around town, bought a few things and were home by 9:00am. Certain friends of mine get really wound up about the evil stores on evil Black Friday. To that I say, bah humbug. I wouldn’t trade my early morning adventures with my dad for anything! It’s a great memory.

And finally, hello!, the December Photo Project starts next Thursday! I am chomping at the bit to get started. Woohoo!

One Week and One Day

I can’t wait to get rolling with the December Photo Project! I’m mulling over the project, wondering if I want to add another challenge to it this year for myself. We shall see.

What I’m really doing right now is avoiding the stack of dishes that need washing and the Thanksgiving recipes that need prepping. Netflix is cued to Garfield for Liv. The sun is shining. We all got good nights’ rests last night. It’s Thanksgiving! And I’m more than a tad giddy.

Thursday with My Camera

Just thinking about the December Photo Project makes me want to pull out my camera for fun, to snap away at the world and see what I capture. Shiloh, our Coton, didn’t love his close-up this morning. He seemed uncomfortable in front of the lens. I can identify. Sometimes it feels awkward when someone starts taking your picture, without permission nonetheless, before you’ve had a chance to do your hair and get the sleep out of your eyes and brush your teeth. He seems to have recovered admirably now, however, and is curled up tight in his doughnut-shaped dog bed.

I had a conversation with Tara this morning about how to go about the December Photo Project. Clearly the challenge of shooting and posting a photo for 25 days straight is enough of a challenge. But what if you want to pick a theme or find something that really correlates to the nature of your blog? I love the idea of tailoring the DPP to either represent you personally or give you a challenge on top of my challenge. I think of Renee Welstead (Love Equals) and her gray couch series a few years ago. Or of the year Renae Morehead posted daily on our recipe blog Needs More Butter. What about shooting on Manual instead of Program or Aperture settings? Tara mentioned shooting at a particular hour each day, or focusing on one subject for the entire month. I know all the grandparents out there would be content with a photo of their grandkids every day.

I find that taking one photo and uploading EVERY DAY is challenge enough. It’s the uploading and publishing that’s the clincher, though finding something interesting to shoot can certainly be a challenge. It pushes your mind to new levels of creativity and pushes your internal editor to uncomfortable places as well. Sometimes I talk myself out of photos because they are too boring or too artsy or too much like the one I posted the day before. Let the DPP squash those voices, and let it set free your creative impulses. The 2011 DPP is going to be fun, my friends. Can’t wait!

The 2011 December Photo Project

Let the games begin! All instructions for the December Photo Project are here. Read about how to join up, where to get a badge for your blog, and how to “like” us on Facebook.

Note: this year’s project is open to Facebook users (if you don’t have a blog). Create a December Photo Project Album and start uploading a pic a day beginning December 1. Woohoo!

**Many many thanks to Kristen Stewart for this year’s DPP badge design!!