Je m'appelles Christa giveaway!

lo' in behold! it's my 200th post!

*do a little celebritory jig*

i was thinking of having it all be a surprise box of

my stuff i think are mint...

but i'm never good at keeping surprises anyways

so if you're the lucky one you get:

10 greeting cards embellished with my favorite personal photos

and my kingston headband made my me

and early 1900 vintage camera (for decorative purposes)

all you have to do is do 1 of the following to enter...raise your chances of winning by commenting each time you've done steps 2-5.

1) leave a fun comment here

2) follow my blog

3) write a blog post about my giveaway

4) twitter this giveaway

5) facebook post this giveaway

bon chance!

{entries close next tuesday. winner to be announced wed.}

it's pink.

a couple of weeks ago brandon's mom and sister surprised winter with a decorated room to call her own! I had painted the wall weeks prior but hadn't had the time personalize it for her. i am so grateful that they could do this for her. it meant so much to her and made her new house feel like home to her. winter loves keeping it neat and clean now that she has some furniture.

winter also put up glow in the dark stars and moons on the opposite wall (not shown) above her dresser. she loves her room...where she doesn't have to share with Brighton...though she loves him dearly also.

winter and brighton.

winter is wearing her mardi gras mask we got on our trip.

thank you diane and megan!

the look

My Mod Gallery Standout and prints arrive earlier this week! I love metallic paper so much! It's so my style and goes perfect with my photography and all the colours I'm so attracted to.

Something is missing here...I need Sherrard Photography over it!

Help Scribblin' Sisters! yes, i notice my chairs don't match...i hope to change that soon.

Pic of my sister and her husband, its one of my favorites!

DIY your wedding

a bit of stuff i'm using for my wedding. i love festival lights!

My wedding is near the water. I needed a way to hide the misquito candles I have to have for my May wedding. What was a cost effective way to keep with my wedding carnival theme and have the dual purpose of hiding hideous tacky misquito candles...

hurricane glasses!

i found for $3 at hobby lobby

check out how I did this!

can i call him daddy?

photo of winter taken by me

we must have all known. it was bound to happen. she loves her father to goodness and that is the man she calls her "daddy", but the daily male role model in her life is Brandon. He loves and cares for her and she loves him. we've never brought up the subject to her...we knew it would come up some day soon as we are planning to marry.

a little big conversation

"mommy, Brandon is going to be my step dad just like a step mom, right? can i call him 'daddy'?"

i'm taken back by what seems to be a long thought out question

(my thought: how long has she been pondering this)...

"yes, chicken, when mommy and Brandon get married he will be your step dad. do you want to call Brandon daddy? maybe you should talk to him about it."

"yeah. sometimes...sometimes i want to call him daddy."

why is it that 4 year old's surprise you with their little conversations that subjects are so monumental that when asked you have to remember to shut your gob and collect your thoughts only to appear as the grown up that has answers to their little big questions.

i can see a lot of things are going through her mind each day as each of our newer and happier lives progress. i see her trying to help and hope that me, her daddy, and Brandon will all just get along okay. this way she won't have to pick sides. we are doing everything we can to show her that we can all be okay with each other. it's okay to love more people...all the more people will just love and care for her back.

a friend from church today directly asked me if winter has expressed wanting to call Brandon daddy, which is what sparked this post (a couple of other events). it's obvious how much Brandon loves and cares for winter and Brighton. and i know winter reciprocates those same feelings for him...i only suppose that she needs some sort of term of endearment.

the small print: a reader from my facebook expressed her concern on this matter. here's my reply as i feel i've not given you the whole background on the matter:

my blog is never meant to be malicious...even through out the cheating and divorce it was never cold towards him or called him bad things as much i felt it. most of my readers can relate and it helps me to know i'm not the only one that see these sorts of issues and they give me advice on how to deal with them. Naturally all these things are talked privately before posting...and they do get sorted out.

justin knows this issue. winter has spoken to him about it and i have spoken to him about it. we all knew it was the enevitable. justin, i'm sure, doesn't like it...but it's his daughter and he loves her and she knows it. and as much as it hurts him he knows that she loves him and that will never change and nothing can take the place of that.

thank you for your concern and expressing it in a loving way.

Amanda & Dave's Wedding - San Antonio

i shot the whole ceremony in manual. when you have such beautiful natural lighting there's no need for flash. i like to capture the ambiance of the life of the ceremony. go natural. learn to shoot manual.

set your flash on remote and set it coming from a different angle than where you shooting the photo. you gain a dramatic high fashion lighting. it's sometimes difficult getting your camera to focus when the lighting outside is getting dark. use a flashlight so that your camera can have a place to focus when shooting in low light.

my dear friend Amanda got married! i was so glad i got to be there and photograph their wedding! the wedding was held at a beautiful mission in San Antonio. i loved it!

with a dream in my cardigan

when shooting at night, which i was forced to because it was the only time there was no rain

the few days i was there, you must have a slow shutter speed and a steady hand or tripod... IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT HARD FLASH LOOK...which i hate.

first thing first...right off the plane...In-n-Out. honestly.

...

"riverdale is a one horse town" brandon calls it. we came to LA to visit his family and drove 3 hours north to Riverdale! It snowed on the grapvine.

we made our rounds visiting the grandparents. brandon had so many memories to share.

Grandma Goldie's chocolate syrup recipe is the best!

...

Winter made bestfriends with her cousins from california...it took only 2 minutes and a pink Nintendo DS.

It was so great to finally meet Francesca and Jake ... it beats just talking on the phone forever!

...

and we finally wised up and engineered a way that our arms wouldn't get tired carrying brighton around the airport...to bad we figured it out as we arrived home in Houston.

it was a lovely trip and i can't wait to go back this summer when there's no rain!

xoxo.

"the content of their character"

"King, demostrating his patented 'the wink and the gun'

maneuver for picking up the ladies."

david drake

I am appreciative of what this man did for this country in his time, but who is this man really. Like any other man...no offense to those who truly care and respect their families and wives.

please read david drake's latest post:

"the content of their character"

p.s. brandon is taking me and the kids to California tomorrow! expect tons of photos!

know who you are

photo of myself taken by me today. i've been avoiding

napping as i probably won't want to get out of bed.

i was reminded again today that i am daughter of God. with all that can easily make my smile disappear in an instant i forget how strong and loved i am just as quickly. forgetting who i am and not standing tall as i should have been is what's kept me in a troubled marriage and i can't not let it destroy the precious virture and gifts i have left still in me. i will not lose myself to the anxiety i feel by the threats of my ex. i am determined to have a great life and blessed eternity. please pray for me and my family tonight. sometimes i feel discouraged.

here are some suggestions i heard that would help for those who are in need of encouragement:

• read your patriarchtical blessing
• discover your gifts
• practice your talents
• ponder the things and lessons that you've learned from your friends.
• have hope
• list your blessing...here are just two of mine:

photo of us in san antonio a couple weeks ago.

you wake up one morning a changed man?

photo by me at hotel icon

another phone call ended abruptly with the ex. this time it was me getting emotional about the children's wellfare being in his presense for an extended about of time. the children got to spend a few hours with him last week as a test run for us all. i'm trying to gain trust enough in him that i feel it's emotionally and mentally safe for the children to spend extended leisure time with him.

he's acting in a way he's acted a time before. Mr. All-of-Sudden-Capable-Father...it was an act back then too for everyone. i feel like he's trying to give me a false sense of hope and trust before he pulls the rug out from under me and the children again. After years of being manipulated to only find out you've been lied to for the entirity of your marriage you feel gutted and the same gutted feeling returns when you have to deal with the deja vu of your ex's behavior. Who or what is telling him to act this way and to accomplish what?...he wouldn't do this on his own...i know what his individual behavior is like when it is unwavered by anyone else.

weeks ago i wrote about letting go. i am ready...so how do i get rid of the little gutted feeling i feel in the pit of my stomach?

sponsor info

photos from snippet and ink

in exchange for you services for our wedding you receive in exchange:

• 1-2 of free advertising oh my wedding photography site and blog as preferred vendor
• a feature posting on my blog after my wedding
• and awesome pictures by elizabeth and possibly video footage for your advertising needs
  My photography website receives a few hundred hits a day. I have a premier vendor listing (for 5 years) with getmarried.com who host a show on WEtv on cable.

To make my carnival wedding dream come true I still need (even just for loan):

• aqua coloured linens
• tables and chairs
• popcorn machine
• cotton candy machine
• consession supahs (volunteers)
• 10x20 canopy tent

................................................................................................

if you think your small business or craft can contribute to my wedding contact us at mailto:atthenealyweds@gmail.com

i'm gonna take ya

photo taken by me

its been a year since i've been in a plane. and for a military brat like myself that's long past over due. last night we decided we would make a day trip of New Orleans. I have never been before.

us before take off waiting in the terminal.

"the best part of flying is taking off and landing."

i made a friend on the flight. her name is Karin. she is from Koln, Germany. we shared our travel stories (and email addresses) and recalled the same places we have been and things we have experiences. she knows so many people from her travels. she told me of her friends in south africa that are designers and photographers and that we would enjoy eachother's company when i go. when i retire i do want to have a life like her's.

...

see all the photos at my facebook album.

we walked through the entire french quarters. i found a peaceful small little court yard tucked away from the loud worldly parts of "Nawlins" dedicated to the history of the city and the truth to the origins of the architecture.

thank goodness for light weight tripods!

we saw alot of gypsies and listened to loads of different music. we enjoyed the jazz of cafe du monde and the eery gypsy music of chartres. lunch was delicious. i loved my crawfish etoufee...and brandon had red beans and rice with chicken. lovely!

hope you enjoyed a little stroll through New Orleans with me. my polaroid wall looks great with our adventures and life.

xoxo.

isn't it the best!

photos taken by me

there was just a little chill in the air but the sun warmed the earth perfectly. after running a load of errands on our day brandon laid a blanket on the front lawn and invited us to an afternoon nap. we laughed and took photographs and winter drew pictures. most days are perfect like this...i want more days like this. then brandon offered to vacuum out my disgusting car! yes...it's meant to be!



p.s. brandon and i leave for new orleans tomorrow. it's my first time there. expect photos!

it's gray. project in progress

boyfriend and i enjoyed chatting it up while we paint. did you know that i love to paint rooms...maybe it's the mexican in me?

our office looks mint!

can't wait till i've got my large wedding pictures blown up to put on the walls to entertain my clients.

san antonio wedding polas

Amanda and Dave's wedding at the Queen's Mission in San Antonio was so gorgeous! Amanda was my friend in high school in Mons, Belgium. I am so happy for her and was so glad to finally be a guest at a wedding...that only meant I could have fun taking fun photos!

view more photos on my facebook album

amanda's older brother jae was my dance teacher in high school! its so great to see old faces!the next day we went to the Almo. this place is very cool. the river walk was empty...yah, our luck, no water. but we all enjoyed ourselves...even the kids loved it!