60piggies

this post brought to you by the letter c.

2009-12-23T09:41:00.001-05:00

perhaps my mum instituted the tradition, as a placation, having endured my moaning about the woes of a birthday bordering christmas for the billionth time. or perhaps it began on a whim, and my brothers and i enjoyed the enterprise so thoroughly it became an annual thing.

in any case, sometime during my childhood it became unwritten law that we construct gingerbread houses every year on my birthday (and i use the word 'gingerbread' very loosely, in most cases meaning 'honey maid graham crackers'). unwilling participants are advised to run and hide, because if you are spotted under my roof come december 21st, participation is compulsory. triple f, baby.**

my friend crystal, who knows me frighteningly well (well, i'm certain the knowledge is frightening for her; i'm good with it) suspected that with our scrimping and saving for the adoption, i might not purchase the makings for my birthday houses this year.

she appeared last week at my front door, laden with candies and frosting and grahams. i have the best sort of friends.

so monday evening, the littles and the hubby and i happily carried on the tradition, amidst hot chocolate and a rather pitiable christmas playlist.

it's fun (and telling) to observe our varying design styles; hubby took on traditional gingerbread architecture, zee had an over-the-top seussian approach, em went for speed, bee was all about juxtaposing right angles and curves, i aimed for a clean but cozy look, and elle's philosophy was 'eat as much candy as possible during the constructing, whatever's left goes on the house.'

our temporary housing development:

(makes you want to hire us for your next home addition, doesn't it?)

thanks, crystal, for making sure my day was incredibly sweet.

:)

**Forced Family Fun at its finest.

bits and pieces

2009-12-17T22:21:00.003-05:00

...of our days.

a little madeline

feeling under the weather

a bit of sewing

envelope making

and a peterstar marble.

happy almost-friday, friends.

'tis the season

2009-12-13T17:02:00.004-05:00

it's that time of year when visions of handmade gifts dance in my head, and i realize (as i do every december) that to pull this off i actually needed to start mid-july. (will somebody leave me a comment in july? reminding me to get crafting? the me-of-future-christmases thanks you.)

so my plan, at the moment, is to not sleep until december 26th. should that not pan out, i will be wrapping up my shopping at the corner VP, midnight, christmas eve. blue cherry slurpees for everyone.**

of course, i could adopt a sensible approach and buy handmade, which is that magical combination of giving handmade gifts while still keeping a toehold on the slippery slope that is my sanity, but somehow i never manage to cave to reason.

you, however, are wise and sane. and so i shall share with you a smattering of my favoritest finds on etsy, aka the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace.

aran sweater::bellflower earrings::shall we skate::portable mistletoe::eggnog marshmallows::on a frozen pond::santa's helper::mistletoe table lamp::eggnog soy candle::december in my favorite sweater::eggnog hat::pine cold-process soap::porcupine tree scarf::winter wonderland--iced::raw art letterpress::eggnog soap bar

**if my memory serves me correctly, one of my brothers actually bought us slurpees one year. which means i'd lose points for originality, but hopefully gain a few for preserving hallowed family traditions.

twelve.

2009-12-09T17:44:00.003-05:00

twelve is a sheaf of in-betweenness, skirting the fence between childhood and the teenage years, becoming.

i think about who you are today. voluble. happy. an edacious reader, gamer, dodgeball enthusiast. eager, but with a heart that bruises easily. principled.

i hope you will always look out for your brothers and sister. i hope you will stoke your tendency to be merciful, to champion the oppressed, to find pleasure in the littlest things. i hope you want God more than air.

it's a tenuous hold i have on you, as a mother of a nearly-teen. i want you to be young enough still to take my best habits, old enough to sift through what i hand you and cast aside the dross.

i hope you are an agent of God's healing and justice. and i hope he holds you so tight.

happy birthday, b. you are so precious to me.

first snow.

2009-12-07T22:37:00.003-05:00

this morning we awoke to find the world frosted in snow.

the littlest kiddo and i bundled up and headed out back to unearth pinecones for a christmasy project. she lasted about five minutes, then abandoned me for the warmth of the house. she's cute, though.

digging (alone) for forty-five frigid minutes yielded a mere twenty-one pinecones. but i figured that since my ears were already numb i might as well stay out a bit longer and take a few pictures.

i do love a light snow (mostly in december and when i don't have to drive in it). it's beginning to look a bit like christmas.

:)

this was going to be Ten on Tuesday, but then i got tired and went to bed.

2009-12-01T23:56:00.001-05:00

1. it's a poorly kept secret that i don't like coffee so much as i like creamer. well, ingenuity recently kicked in and i am now foregoing the coffee altogether and adding creamer to hot chocolate. coconut creme creamer, to be precise.

if i'm thrice my normal size the next time you see me, you will know why.

2. sometimes elle and i are not feeling the cleaning and working and schooling, and so we set the camera timer and photograph ourselves.

that, or build lincoln logs. equally fun.

3. last week was the bestest sort of week. i got to chat by the fireside with dear friends, and meet lovelyn (and clay and ellie!), and be with family, and hug old friends close again. i vote for more thanksgiving breaks.

4. these days i am a jewelry-stamping fiend. and i have not mashed my thumb with the hammer once.

yet.

5. sometimes i happen upon a perfectly rust-colored oak leaf that curls up just so and the only reasonable course of action is to sprint indoors, grab the camera, and jet back out to take its picture. i adore november.

6. except that it is december. oy vey.

7. i am entirely unprepared for Christmas, so if anyone would like to be my personal assistant, like, on a volunteer-basis, and oversee the General Gift-Making and Decorating so that i can build lincoln log forts and not bang my thumb and sip coconut-creme-creamered hot chocolate, that would be fantastic.

8. how is it possible that we are not at ten yet? well. i extend my most sincere apologies, but if i hope to operate at even 15% cognitive capacity tomorrow, i must hit the sack.

goodnight, all.

on thanksgiving.

2009-11-26T11:19:00.003-05:00

'we should certainly count our blessings,
but we should also make our blessings count.'

[neal maxwell]

to my american compatriots, happy thanksgiving. to my international friends, happy thursday in general. sow kindess today.

ps thank you to everyone who entered this little giveaway; i've updated the post below with the winner!

a debut giveaway. (hurrah!)

2009-11-19T20:05:00.005-05:00

as a means to generate a bit more income for adoption expenses, i am now offering my handstamped jewelry and fine art photographs in my shop.

both these stamped silver pieces and the photographs make excellent presents, and will arrive nicely packaged and ready for gifting.

to celebrate these new offerings, i'm giving away a custom stamped sterling disc necklace, adorned with a lucite flower or a pair of freshwater pearls, your choice. the silver disc may be stamped with up to five names or a short inspirational phrase, like so:

to enter, just tell me which item from my shop most strikes your fancy. tweet, facebook, or blog this giveaway and i'll throw your name in an extra three times (just be sure to stop back to let me know you've done this).

i'll close the entries at midnight EST on tuesday, november 24th.

:)

happy weekend, friends.

--

updated nov 26th: we now have a winner! congratulations to JEM (jessica); i will contact you this weekend to discuss your custom necklace. thank you all so very much for the enthusiasm and kindness in your comments.

baring my soul. and stuff.

2009-11-19T09:09:00.003-05:00

where to begin?

back in my sophomore year of college (can that really be fourteen years ago? yeesh) my roomie ann and i would stretch across our bunks and solve the world's problems. don't get me wrong, i was still largely self-absorbed, but i had brief bouts of clarity, where the vast needs of others felt compelling and urgent.

fast-forward to last november in nashville, where the hubby and i attended national youth workers convention. every speaker, every session, every seminar seemed geared toward the same end: to get us to wake up and see the suffering of others, and then do what's necessary to change it.

we've met needs on a small scale. we've foregone a bit of personal comfort. but i am certain we haven't even shown up in the ballpark of loving just one other family as much as we love ourselves.

the hubby and i have sorted through these concerns many times, but over the past year we've wrestled more intently than ever. we're making changes, some of them public, some personal. i, for one, hope this continues.

one of the ways we are aiming to love God and treasure other people is through adoption. i don't enjoy broaching depressing subjects, but sometimes reality is grim: across the world, millions of orphaned and abandoned children need families. (along a similar vein, millions of vulnerable families need stable scaffolding to help them sustain themselves, to remain intact, to flourish.)

i want to be mom to a child who needs a mother. i want to play backyard kickball with her, and embarrass him with enthusiastic picture-taking before the prom, and see her off to college with my heart all at once hopeful and breaking.

this is just the start of our adoption process, and much is still unknown, but everything inside me thrills at the thought of another child to love.

we are a lot excited and a lot intimidated, with hope laced through it all. truly, the best is yet to come.

more of the lovely emily.

2009-11-15T18:38:00.003-05:00

this girl is a winning combination of brains and beauty. she has a stunning smile and a quiet self-possession, and i was thrilled to find she loves the very same authors i do. i enjoyed every minute with her.

thanks for a great afternoon, emily. you are already such an exceptional person, and i can't wait to see all you'll accomplish with your talents and brilliance.

general announcements.

2009-11-10T15:32:00.004-05:00

1. this is me, according to elle. i'm a little concerned about my entirely grey hair, but i must say that purple eyelashes are quite fetching on me.

2. this here is luce, whose name is sure to change tomorrow. i stitched her up for elle's birthday last month and only now realized that i hadn't yet made introductions here.

(and now you need a lucy too, eh? softie dolls are contagious that way. here's a free tutorial.)

3. meet my backyard leaves. (this blog gets more rudderless by the minute, what can i say.)

4. cool air scented with woodsmoke makes me heady. here i'm relegated to only a distant whiff of the fragrant stuff, but back in our michigander days, the fellow across the street heated his house with a wood burning stove. september through april was olfactive bliss.

this here is our backyard woodpile which never gets used due to our chimney's shortness. apparently, chimneys must be a certain height to properly vacuum out the smoke, and as i don't favor Death by Smoke Inhalation, our fireplace sits dank and cobwebby. alas. but doesn't the potential of that woodstack just sing to you?

5. does anyone else miss spelling lavender "lavendar"? just me? alrighty then.

(5b. soon we shall be spelling "separate" with an e, and then the world shall end.)

6. a sneak peek for crystal and john. you all are beautiful people.

7. i'm immensely grateful for imaginary friends* like jenn and love and morgan, who keep me inspired and encouraged and challenged and sane. (ahem, morgan? you need to resurrect that blog of yours so i can throw some linkage your way.)

*the "imaginary" bit i got from patty...it's how her husband refers to her online friends. funny stuff.

8. i believe we have sufficiently covered my Love for Trees in the previous eleven posts, so let's consider this photo an addendum.

happy tuesday, friends.

good people.

2009-11-05T09:42:00.003-05:00

a sneak peek for the harber family:

these are fine fellows. they made certain i left their house feeling very affirmed.

ps please extend my apologies to your ducks for repeatedly referring to them as geese. i will be sitting in the front row of the remedial class on avian identification.

happy things. a list.

2009-11-03T13:31:00.004-05:00

1. these fine folks:

2. stacks of clean laundry. (which have this amazing tendency to morph into heaps of sweaty laundry in a picosecond, but we shall not dwell on that as this is a list of happiness.)

3. the perfect pairing that is white chicken chili and cornbread.

4. friends who visit hawaii and bring me back my favorite brand of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. (you know who you are, and i adore you.)

5. bunches of photo sessions with crazy fun families in these stunning fallish milieux.

speaking of which, here's a sneak peek for brian and carrie. this shot still makes me laugh quietly to myself whenever i happen across it:

:)

6. crafting new goodies for the shoppe. (they'll be up in a week or two, promise.)

7. blankets and hoodies and knee socks to cure cold toes and noses.

8. God. (see also matthew 13.44)

9. how my kids will play hide-the-socks, a game they invented where one person stashes away their (hopefully not too crusty) socks whilst the others wait in a nearby room. the waiters then return to launch a full-scale search and the hider cackles with glee at his or her remarkable sock-stashing skills. (further proof that my children do not need much in the way of toys, they just mostly need each other.)

10. daylight saving, but only when we fall back. (the springing forward should be nixed entirely. i am not about the springing.)

11. people who read my blog even though the main ingredient is Categorical Inanity. you all deserve a pumpkin muffin.

12. ooh, pumpkin muffins. with chocolate chips.

i am done now, i promise. happy tuesday.

expectancy.

2009-10-26T14:29:00.002-04:00

lately i've felt much like this tree, stripped clean but strangely hopeful.

the best is yet to come.

catching up

2009-10-24T08:48:00.003-04:00

the thing about mothering four kids is that come flu season, someone always seems to be ill. the past couple of weeks i've nursed two sickish littles, a role i truly don't mind but which also leaches any normalcy from my schedule.

they're mostly better now (i think), so i'm attacking my catch-up list with zeal.

near the top of my list are some photos i owe you, my faves from the last couple of senior sessions. today we'll highlight the beautiful brooke.

brooke is funny and authentic and completely comfortable in her own skin, everything i wish i would've been at eighteen.

she's bright and pretty and involved in everything, but she has a rare depth to her as well. brooke has weathered sharp sorrow and loss, and this makes her strength and serenity all the more remarkable.

i had the best time with brooke and her mom...the light was gorgeous, the company delightful. i am nothing short of blessed to have a job i so completely enjoy.

thanks, ladies. and brooke, go change the world. we've been needing someone just like you.

again with the trees.

2009-10-21T22:11:00.003-04:00

in the northeast corner of our backyard stands a towering oak that is just about my Favoritest Tree Ever. it's sublime.

i'd consider moving my computer and pillow outside and living beneath this tree for the entire month of october, did it not have a certain proclivity for dropping acorns on my head. plus also nights tend to be cold, and not to mention my computer is of the desktop variety. but you know, hypothetically.

i call this oak Exhibit A.

see, most of the year when i field the question: why would you move from oahu to HERE? i have to hem and haw and generally appear an idiot. however.

come october, i merely point to my tree and say this. this is why i live here.

and also the cost of living.

holiday mini sessions

2009-10-19T09:59:00.003-04:00

the air is crisping and the leaves are turning, which can only mean one thing: holiday sessions are here!

i am currently booking a limited number of mini photo sessions between now and november 15th. these are perfect for fancying up the fam and taking a few silly or formal shots for greeting cards (or framed prints for grandma's mantle).

the session fee of $100 includes the following:
20-30 minute session
25 5x7 flat or folded holiday cards OR one digital file
one to two dozen finished proofs to select from
private online gallery to view your proofs

**more details below.

take a gander at this year's custom card designs (all are available in both flat and folded styles):

**details

additional 5x7 cards may be purchased in sets of 25. flat cards are $40, folded cards are $48. all cards are printed on quality paper cover stock and come with white or parchment hued envelopes.

flat cards will be printed in color on both sides, with a customizable message. (you also have the option of a blank back side instead if you wish.)

folded cards will be printed in color front and back, with a white or cream inside and a customizable message in colored text.

you are welcome to order prints, canvases, and any other specialty items i offer from your mini session proofs.

if i have recently photographed you (in 2009), you are welcome to order cards from your archived proofs. please contact me for details.

since holiday mini sessions are already a fantastic price, further discounts cannot be applied.

please stop by nicoleowensphotography.com to reserve your session. grazie!

leafy goodness.

2009-10-14T16:26:00.006-04:00

Today I opened the garage door to find our driveway freshly carpeted with leaves.

Autumn is grand, if a bit on the frigid side. And what the world am I doing with proper capitalization? let's cease and desist with that at once. (phew...for a moment there you thought i was tied up in the broom closet while an impostor blogged in my place, eh? no worries, i do not have a broom closet, though if anyone would like to guest blog for me, i will totally build one and voluntarily hop inside.)

speaking of blogging, i apologize for the lean pickings around here as of late. it appears that these posts actually require something in the way of cohesive thought and emotion from me...and these past few weeks (months?), the hubby and i have been wrestling with future possibilities that are exciting and life-shaking and bigger than we are. our discussions and research leave me emotionally exhausted at the end of each day, and i find it difficult to lace two words together.

[yes, i know, could i be more ambiguous? i do promise to fill in the details when we figure them out. or when God tells them to us, which is a far more likely prospect.]

so. a few notes from my recent life:
1. em is ill, the hubby is ill, the rest of us have developed close ties with lysol and vitamin c.

2. we are a Family of Readers (well, the hubby's membership is mostly honorary), and bookmarks are in constant short supply. the other day i noticed that zee was using a sock to mark his place in a novel, and from the looks of it, this particular sock had come directly from his foot. nice.

3. um. i really did have more to report, but those thoughts have fluttered off into the ether. alas. and adieu.

4. except! a quote! (or two or three)

"the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." [elie wiesel]

"whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." [mark twain]

"it is never too late to be what you might have been." [george eliot]

a study of five.

2009-10-07T21:52:00.004-04:00

notes on five:

1. i just peeked in on your little slumbering self, snuggled up with your birthday gifts: a small lizard tucked beneath your chin, your gnomish doll clutched loosely in one arm, your giant diego coloring book at your feet. i'm not sure how there's any room left for you to actually sleep, but you seem to be managing just fine.

2. you use words that are taller than you are, sliding them into conversation at whim, and rarely concerned with their proper meanings. (your mother would be proud.)

3. you are an exercise in contrasts: tender and feisty and affectionate and contentious and diffident and ebullient, and i love every last bit of you.

happy birthday, elle. you are some kind of wonderful.

hookey.

2009-10-02T13:44:00.003-04:00

today had the best sort of morning: brooding storms chased by a brightening sky, where the only reasonable course of action was to skip homeschool and head out into the wonderment with my camera and my girl. there were banana muffins to be savored, and books (just finished GUERNSEY, what a treat!), and wind, and hazelnut coffee (recipe: 1/2 cup hazelnut creamer, 2 drops of coffee. stir.), plus newly fallen leaves pasted to the ground.

we swung by the library and then home again for lunch out back (well, elle lunched; i antipastoed).

the fluttering outline of oak leaves reminded me somehow of coral. (you know, if coral were green and set in the sky. and in our backyard, no less.)

i'm crazy about autumn. the crisping air, the sun pressing on your skin, the way the day is alive with wind and scuttling clouds and a thousand blades of trembling grass reaching for the light.

meanwhile, elle has been begging for school today, namely math** and art (except you must say it MATH! and ART!). we shall get to those this afternoon, i suppose, provided i am not once again sidetracked by october's siren call.

**incidentally, i do think my girl is in for a sad case of bait-and-switch when she arrives at school and finds that the wonder of problem solving has been largely replaced by rote memorization. alas.

bits and pieces.

2009-09-28T20:59:00.003-04:00

after a soggy week, saturday afternoon cleared to a lambent sun and sky, and i got to spend a few hours with the lovely emily:

more to come!

* * *

elle has this way with phrasing that just makes me smile. "well mom," she says, "this sidewalk has positively a bunch of leaves." also, apparently she has been drawing up invitations to hand out at church, which inform the recipients that they may wish her a happy birthday if they'd like. oy vey.

* * *

as promised, a few of my faves from alyssa's session:

* * *

happy monday!

five on friday (with many parentheticals).

2009-09-25T12:30:00.004-04:00

1. so i've jumped on the p90x bandwagon, which turns out to not be the greatest bandwagon upon which to deposit oneself, as it does not pull over to let off passengers who are, hypothetically, bored out of their socks, until 90 days have passed.

tomorrow is only the first day of week six. are we there yet?

1b. incidentally, if i am not able to do pull ups without the chair by the end of the trip, i want my 90 days back.

2. contrary to popular (and justifiable) belief, i have not abandoned the quilt. right now, however, i am actually making the opposite of progress (regression? can you make regression?) due to A Lack of Pinning (also known as Laziness), resulting in rows of squares that start off matching up and end up not matching up. my seam ripper is earning a lot of overtime.

3. tonight the hubby and i are going on a Bonafide Date Night, thanks to the indefatigable lisa and matt (the latter of whom may have been lassoed into this arrangement against his better judgment. sorry, matt.).

one of the numerous things i love about lisa is that she values my kids and treats them like fully fledged human beings (and not lower caste creatures), even when they are moody and belligerent (in direct emulation of their mother, no doubt). she's a rare one, that lisa.

4. also beautiful: my bestest pals lovelyn's and jenn's journeys to bring little people into their families.

5. current list of Really Neat Things: crowder band, THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY, the starfish project, the libby sweater, and this quote:

The most important thing she'd learned over the years was that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one. [jill churchill]

tutorial: knit ruffle pants.

2009-09-22T06:30:00.000-04:00

ruffle pants are uber cute and comfy, and best of all, they stitch up easily in an hour or two. i relish projects like this one on a rainy afternoon, or late at night, when the littles are slumbering and my house has found its quiet.

materials: you'll need a couple yards of knit fabric (depending on the size of your pants), a sewing machine, thread, scissors, and pins. a serger is preferred but optional. (crybaby's boutique is an excellent source of fun, affordable knits.)

step one: i used a basic self-drafted pants pattern for the body of the pants, but if you don't have one handy you can also draft a loose pattern on lightweight paper, using a pair of yoga pants as a guide. (you can also use jeans, but you may want to extend the crotch just a bit.) i included the measurements of my pieces above, but yours, of course, will be different.

**if anyone's interested, i'll sketch out a basic pattern and tack it on here, but keep in mind that it will need to be graded if you'd like to make a size other than little girls' 4.**

step two: cut out your pieces and pin them to your fabric. cut two of the main pieces, reversing one of them. cut one waistband piece (this should be an inch or two narrower than your child's waist). cut two long rectangular pieces for the ruffles; they should measure about twice the length of the bottom of your main pieces to achieve a full ruffle. (please note that although the ruffle pieces are pictured with a long vertical edge, i cut them horizontally.)

step three: pin the top curves of the main pieces, right sides together. sew and finish your seams (serge or zigzag stitch). **do not sew together the bottom curves of either side or the top straight edge.**

step four: rotate the fold of the sewn piece so that the seams are in the center (it should now resemble pants). pin the insides of the legs; sew and serge in one continuous line up from one ankle, across the crotch, and down to the other ankle.

step five: press your waistband piece in half the long way, wrong sides together. open it and sew the short ends together, right sides together. fold it back in half so that you now have a double-sided waistband.

step six: turn the main body of your pants (sewn in steps three and four) right side out. position the waistband upside down around the outside of top of the body piece so that the raw edges line up. (make sure the seam of the waistband matches up with the back seam of the main body.) pin through all three layers of fabric; sew and serge.

step seven: fold each ruffle piece in half so that the short edges match up, right sides together. pin, sew, and serge. finish the bottom edge of each piece with either a rolled or a double-turned hem.

step eight: set your machine on its widest setting and sew a gathering stitch along the top of each ruffle piece. gather and pin each piece to the bottom of the main body's legs, right sides together (the ruffle piece will be upside down and circling the outside of the leg). sew and serge.

step nine: give it to your little one and revel in her appreciative crooning.

:)

note: the waistband is meant to be folded over, but you can easily have your child wear it unfolded if you prefer a higher waist.

happy sewing!

sneak peek: brooke

2009-09-21T13:40:00.002-04:00

saturday i whiled away the afternoon with this stunning senior:

more to come. happy monday. :)

needs improvement (a work in progress).

2009-09-17T07:40:00.007-04:00

i'm the sort of person that requires a solid eight hours of sleep. at seven hours i'm functional, six and i'm pretty much channeling attila the hun.

sunday, after a weeklong string of late nights, i was bleary and headachey and exhibiting a remarkably low tolerance for anything that breathed out of place. the littles were begging for the park with the spinning thing, and i, from my perch at the computer, kept saying no, i have this whole list of things to do and i wish we could because it's gorgeous outside but i just don't have time to do the park and all this too.

my list went something like
edit photos
record expenses
order packaging
back up images
file taxes
exercise
except it was longer and looked hairier at the time.

but somewhere in the nether regions of my sleep-deprived frontal lobe, i realized i'd left off the most pivotal items: play with your kids. listen to their happy chatter. memorize these small faces because they'll never again look exactly as they do today.

we went to the park.

true, i was pretty much straight out of a tissot entitled Snippy Mom At Park With Four Kids, but i think they had a nice time in spite of me. they had the sky, luminous and unwrinkled, the soft rush of the river, the light refracting off the water to shimmer on the undersides of poplar leaves.

we spread dinner on old blankets and watched the ducks squabble and dive. the boys collected an assortment of sticks and leaves. too soon, we packed up and headed home for baths and pajamas and sleep.

i'm far from the perfect parent, but it's nice to know there was that one time when i chose right. i'm far from the perfect parent, but i've made a concerted effort to get to bed earlier this week. i'm far from the perfect parent, but i am learning.

and my kids haven't given up on me yet.