10 on Tuesday

1. I am glad you all liked yesterdays idea. I did too. That's why I copied Heather and did it too! If 15 is too much you could say the 5th starting in Feb and do it until next february! Or it doesn't have to coincide with the date. Just do 10 pictures in one day. Or five. I was really trying hard to do horizontal pictures too. I just naturally take vertical. My eye just sees them easier.

2. I am starting an online photo class again with the lovely Wendy Schulz today. Coolio. Could be tricky in the winter but it's a go.

3. I love that I can say to this girl, "please will you come out onto the deck even though it's cold out - the light is SO nice right now and I'll just take a few frames???" And she'll do it. And look cute at the same time.


4. Eli loves to make up songs. Especially about Oliver. This is what I hear ALL DAY long........


5.I've decorating for Valentine's Day. (Regan says a little bit too early and a little bit too much.) I'll share my mantle and banner and all that tomorrow or Monday. (I know you are on the EDGE of your seat for that :) ha!)

6. One of my very favorite shots from yesterday was this one of Alden. Because it is SO Alden. He is a big goof and I love it.


7. Nichole noticed there was lots of reading in our day. And it's true. Normally there is lots from me too, just no pictures of it!

8. Did I mention that our computer is having troubles lately. Like worrisome troubles. We might end up getting a new one sooner than we thought! I am glad we have Time Machine and that it backs everything up often.

9. I just found out this week that NONE of my emails from my photo website get through to me. CRAPPY! And I am not sure why or how to fix it. Bummer!

10. Some of you have mentioned that you wanted to play along in the our family in photos idea that Brooke and I are doing on Fridays from my friend Jenn. We'd love to have you play along. Email me (steedr@gmail.com) for the list. And would you like a linky thing that you can link up to too or no thanks on that??

15 on the 15th

So I have all these amazing photographer friends and they inspire me in soooo many ways. One of my good friends Heather (whose blog is private so you can't see it but trust me AMAZING. Pictures and everything else). She did this thing that on the 10th of each month this year she's gonna take 10 pictures of her family during the day. And I wanted to do it too. All her pictures were so inspiring and awesome. She's gonna do b&w too. And since I wanna be like her when I grow up I'm doing it too.... but it was past the 10th. So I am doing the 15th.

So yesterday's pictures.













I took a LOT of pictures today (in fact Regan announced to the kids that mom was going overboard with the camera.) He sure is a good sport (and so are my kids) to put up with it constantly in their faces :) I have lots of today that I loved but all these are my favorites. And there is a big break in the middle since we were at church and that isn't the place to take my camera.

Spiritual Sundays

"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that here is love in the world." David O. Mckay

Foto Friday: Our Year in Photos

Month 1 Week 2: Group Shot

The second week of the month we'll focus on relationships.

To know more about this project you can read my first post here.

For the second week of each month we'll focus on relationships. This weeks assignment, group shot, I took it as all my kids but looking now I should have done my whole family... whoops. I'll have to take one of those on the weekend! But here are my kids two days in a row.



They were playing in costumes today. I had just found a container of costumes (I knew it was here SOMEWHERE - but of course I found it waaaay after Halloween!) I told them to all get together and Lucy picked out a crown for Oliver. I love that these kids love to play together!



You can check out all my other entries for this here

Go check out Brooke's!!

Listography: List 54

List 54: Things to do this Winter

1. Send Regan snowboarding.
2. Try snowshoeing
3. Do some indoor photography with kids and lights
4. Go on a family drive to Waterton
5. Build a snowman
6. Make Borax snowflakes with the kids
7. Take my photo class

In the Craft room: Project Life

Sooo I thought I'd share what I am doing with my 365 pictures this year. Using Becky Higgins' great Project Life to make an album as we go.

The great thing is that now I have a great printer, my awesome new Silhouette AND project life. Am I spoiled or WHAT!!! So today I did this....


First I designed my journalling cards in Photoshop and printed them on my Canon PIXMA MG5220 printer. I used some digital scrapbooking paper from Erica Hernendez. I just used the rulers (although I have to say rulers in the Silhouette program would be REALLY helpful!!) and lined it up. Yes it took a few tries but I did then get these about each member of our family. (I wrote whatever my kids said so yes there are some silly answers!)


So here is my title page.

All Project life stuff plus some American Crafts cardstock that matched and another little journaling card I made about our family. The top picture will get replaced with a family picture as soon as I take one this year!

And here is my inside spread.

I got the 2012 card from here and I just changed the color of 2012 to what I wanted (aint photoshop GREAT!) and then all the cut stuff I used my Silhouette for. The Butterfly is a font I have.

From now I am doing week at a glance spreads. But I liked this to give a snapshot at where we are right NOW starting the year.

10 on Tuesday

1. I got a Silhouette Cameo. And I loooooooooove it. So much fun. So far I've only done scrapbooking pages but I'll share some tomorrow. I want to get vinyl soon and get designing my own designs on it instead of cutting out theirs. (not that theirs aren't cute :) )

2. We are on day two of school's back in. And I was ready for school to be back in.

3. This child is a goof.


4. I shared this picture with the Christmas pictures but never told you about it. We had each of the Steed grandkids paint themselves and grandma got them all. Alden painted himself a small guy (funny since he's the biggest of all the grandkids) and the momma's painted the babies for them.


5. Loved this shot.


6. Snow. Finally!

7. Oh how we miss our good friends the Wilde's!! We were all soooo excited to get together for a small visit in the Christmas break. The Wilde's were with us in Medical school and residency. And they've moved away for one year so their dad can do an R3 in ER Medicine. In 6 months they'll be back and the kids can all have their best friends back.
My favorite things to notice in this shot:
• Anise has lost a sock (happens EVERY time they come over)
• Maggie has an iPhone to keep her still
• Eli is of course covering his face cause it's a picture
• Lucy and Alden are both SO happy to be seeing their best friends.


8. Oh my how this little man brings me joy!! Before I had Oliver I told myself that no matter what I would enjoy the baby just in case it is my last. And really I have. Even in the middle of the night. Almost everything he does just brings a smile to my face. :) Love him.


9. This month I am working on the Living room. Getting it all decorated up. Just bought curtains and rods. But decided that I need just plain white ones so I'm gonna go back to Home Depot and switch. That is what I had a first and then I wavered. I always think I shouldn't like just white as much as I do. But it's what I LOVE!

10. Next up for the living room... pillows!! Gonna sew some on our craft night!

Spiritual Sundays

Foto Friday: Our Year in Photos

I'm starting a new project today. With my great friend Brooke. And I got it from another photog friend named Jenn. Jenn came up with and explained it best so I'm just going to quote her here:

"Earlier this week I posted how I've been thinking a lot about the kinds of photographs I want my kids to have of their childhood. Not all the posed "let's go out into this beautiful field and take some beautiful smiling photographs", but the actual "I have the coolest room and I love playing lego on the floor" photographs.

But that led me also to thinking how great I am about starting projects and not so great about finishing them. Which got the wheels turning in my head about a great project that would require a minimal time commitment and still get me exactly what I want.

And so the Our Year in Photos Project was born. One photo a week for a year. Each capturing a specific part of our lives and of my kids' childhood that I want remembered.

Once I started writing the idea down, I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop thinking about everything I wanted captured, everything I wished I had photos of from when I was 4, everything I wished I had photos of from when my kids were 4. So I planned out the entire year. And I am so excited for every single week.

Here's how it's going to work. Every Monday I'm going to post a prompt. You have to take one photo for each week. That's it....just one photo a week. This is not a time-consuming project. There will be some weeks where I take 2 photos (one of each kid) but not more than that, for this project . The prompts aren't going to be difficult - think "a photograph with my little peanut wearing her favourite shirt".

By the end of the year, I - and you too if you play along - am going to have an album of images that really show what our everyday life is all about - where we live, what we love, who we love.

Because it's just the way I am, there have to be some rules. And know these are really more for me than you, in an attempt to overcome my perfectionist tendencies.

You may not quickly change your child into matching clothes right before you take the photo because it's going to actually be printed and put in an album. Whatever they're wearing goes.
You may not rush around and pick up all the toys on the floor and put away the jackets, shoes, whatever is lying around before you take the photo. Whatever your house looks like at that moment goes.
There will be the occasional prompt that requires you to be in the photo. You may not skip over those ones. Obviously your kids know that you're there every day, but 10 years from now will they see it in the photos?
Do it. It's only one photo per week."

Sounds great HEY?!! Join us. We'd love to have you.


Month 1 Week 1: The Vehicle

The first week of the month is a photograph a room in our home.
This week's "room" may not technically be in our home but it's somewhere we spend a lot of time together.







So go check out Brooke's shots this week!

Listography: List 53

List 53: Favorite Books of 2011

I read 65 books in 2011. I know cause I keep track on Good Reads.

My 10 favorites were (in no particular order)

1. The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
2. Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling by Helene Dujardin
3. The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis
4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
5. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls,
6. To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi S. Swinton
7. The Family Dinner by Laurie David
8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
9. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
10. Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision by David duChemin

Overheard

This child is so funny.


On Christmas Eve he was kind of grouchy. He didn't want to leave Grandma's house to go home to bed.
To which I, of course, replied that we had to go home to bed so Santa could come cause he only brings toys to good kids.
Eli: "Well I don't like Santa."
Me: "Why not?"
Eli: "And he doesn't like me."
Me: "Yes he does"
Regan: " He likes all kids"
Eli: "Nope. Not me. He doesn't like little boys."
Me: "How do you know that?"
Eli: "He told me"
Me: "When?"
Eli: "2:30."
Alden: "Yeah, well where were you?"
Eli: "In the North Pole" (said in a tone indicating obviously)
Alden & Lucy start laughing.
Me: "Eli he likes you and he'll bring you some presents tonight."
Eli: "I don't want them. You can give them to Oliver."
Me: "What about the train set you asked for?"
Eli: "Our baby can have them. I don't want to go to bed."

And he CAN NOT stop kissing everyone. But especially Oliver. I am worried it is going to scar the poor child.

10 on Tuesday

1. I took a break on blogging. And then I went back and added some posts. :) Cause I'm tricky like that. They have LOTS of pictures. Feel free to peruse them and comment on them.

2. We took down all Christmas stuff today. And it was great.

3. Regan took some days off this week and it is great too.

4. We took some family pictures the other night. This is one of the treasures in the bunch.


5. I looooved seeing the clouds hugging Chief Mountain like this.


6. Regan and I (along with some help from Matt and Shannon) tiled our fireplace. Still have to grout it. Should have done that tonight but I didn't.

7. I am doing Project Life this year. Heard of it? I'm excited and ready to go!!


8. I am starting a GREAT photo project I am rrrrrrreally excited about!!! I'll be sharing my first on Friday!

9. Is this weather not the strangest!! Just let the wind stop!!

10.Happy New Year from the Steeds!!

Christmas 2011

for our family looked a little like this....