merry Christmas!

merry Christmas to all my family, friends and the incredible people that i got to work with in 2011!!!!  :D :D :D  may God bless you and the ones you love!!!  xo!

...and before i sign off of all things blog/Facebook-related for a few days, to be with my family....  i also wanted to share this song with you -- a reminder that Christmas is Jesus.  Emmanuel.  God with us.

deck the halls!

ahhhhh...i just LOVE the music of the season!!! enjoy another new favourite of a much-loved carol! :D





3 more sleeps!!!  :D  (...the anticipation isn't building or anything.  NAHHHH.)  ;)

our 2011 christmas card.



...and a few extras too!  ;D  the kids & i had some fun in front of the tree....very much an IMPROMPTU photoshoot (which, let's face it, is the way to go with kids...  my kids, anyway.  the less stress about what they're going to wear, capturing them 'in-the-moment' -- the better!).  anyhoo...  we had fun.  :D

first up, jacob....  my eldest son will be 9 in january!  (GAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!  Time.  seriously.  we've had it out before.  slow down, would ya?!!).

...but was it shot with canon or nikon?!

;D

haha!  this is awesome!!!!!!  (...and yes, i'm a canon girl!)  :D





on a side note.... i finished my Christmas shopping this morning!!!!!! woooooo!!!!! now to wrap it all! ha!

stay tuned for our family's Christmas card and a few more from my mini photoshoot with the kids!  teehee!  i love this time of year!!!!!!  have a wonderful pre-Christmas tuesday, everyone!

family | scott, ryanne & hayden 2.0

a few weeks ago, i got to meet up again with ryanne & scott and their cutie-patootie hayden...  ryanne wanted some family portraits around the house, all decked out for Christmas....and i was more than happy to oblige!  ;D

s&r -- merry Christmas to your adorable little family!!  ...and happy 1st birthday, miss hayden!!  <3

--H

engagement | patricia & jeremy

soooooooooooooooo pumped about this session!  you see, i got to work with this AMAZING couple... über cute patricia & jeremy!!

p&j -- i LOVED your session and cannot wait to shoot your may 2012 wedding!!!!  :D  wooooooooooo!!!!


--H

family | the macks

words cannot express how much i love & appreciate this family!  sooooo thankful for you folks -- andy, kelly & anson -- and how wonderful it was to meet your parents, kelly!  :D  thanks for making the trip up...and spending a special someone's 14th birthday with me!  :D

enjoy my faves from your session!  :D

lots of love from me to you!

--H

ps - thank you, by the way, for wearing such delicious & festive colours!  :)

family | matt + julianne + jonah

i love, i love, i LOVE when a client keeps coming back to me.  not just because i appreciate their business (because i do!) but because i so enjoy seeing their family grow up.  :D  and such is the case with julianne!  this was my 1st time meeting her hubby, matt, but her son, jonah & i?!  we've been at this for awhile.  ;)  what a handsome little man he is and wow...is he ever growing up!!!!

thank you again, moore family!  i was excited to shoot all 3 of you this time!  :D  (the halls of crandall will never be the same....  ha!).

enjoy a few!  ;)

--H

engagement | sarah & bryan

GAHHHHH!  so excited about this post!!!!  :D  ...and another announcement!  (more on that a little later...)

a few months ago, i was encouraging folks to like my Facebook page!  if i got to 300 likes, i was going to draw from all the names and pick one lucky winner of a photoshoot!  well, sarah won it!!  :D :D :D  (like my schnazzy drawing system?! ha!)...

sarah & bryan are sooooooooooo amazingly sweet and fun!  i couldn't WAIT for their session!  they're both attending school in virginia so we had to wait until their american thanksgiving holiday to do their shoot...  i was so stoked!  i mean...look how gorgeous they are!!!  :D  it was a TAD chilly (compared to virginia temps!) but they hung in there.  i'm so glad they did!  :D

thanks guys!!!!!  hope you enjoy your pictures!

family | the smiths

tracey, thanks so much for inviting me down to hillsborough to do your family pictures!  ...and boys (aka shawn, zach & brett)...  thanks for 'going along with it' for mom's sake!  ;D

enjoy some of my favourites!  :D

--H

feeling festive tonight.

i'm not one to decorate my house november 1st.  nor do i like the ultra traditional rendition of carols.  :)  thus, this post tonight.





very much getting into the christmas spirit!  hope you are too!  :D  (...helps that the kids had a number of dress rehearsals and concerts this weekend!  hoooweee!  what a weekend!!).

family | the wilsons

susan emailed me a while ago, inquiring about me doing some 'wilson family photos' for her family!  she wrote, "...i really want some original Holly Howes for my wall!".  SUE!!!  you're the sweetest!  :D

i love this family!  i've known sue since camp wildwood days and travis...we grew up at the same church.  his mom & dad taught me in sunday school.  too cool, hey?!  :D  oh, and by the way...  sue & travis are raising my future daughter-in-law, jericah.  ;D

hope you enjoy!  xo!

--H

reminder to self!

'nuff said.  ;D  seriously.  i've got 8 families and 2 engagement sessions left to edit...then i'm on vacation!!!  :D  well...for a few weeks anyway!  looking forward to some quality time with my family!!  :D

*to my wonderful clients:  if you're wondering when your pictures will be ready (and wanting to have them in time for Christmas!), i hope to have every last order DONE & OUT to you no later than december 15th!  :D

happy 1st day of the last month of 2011!!!  (CRA-AAAAAAAZY!!)