2x12 project | december & 2012 recap

wellllllllllllllllll...  it's come to this.  ;)  haha.  the finale of the 2x12s (joe breathes a sigh of relief!)...


remember that snowstorm over Christmas?!  the big one around the 29th-30th?!  well, we were storm stayed in fredericton...  the kids were all playing outside and enjoying the big, fat snowflakes coming down, joe was helping my sister shovel her deck...  i grabbed my camera and...boom!

december's 2x12!

haha.  oh, we had fun, didn't we?!  heehee.  seriously.  if you could just SEE the relief on joe's face.  it's real.  ;D

here's a look back on all the 2x12s for 2012!

thanks for following along, friends!  glad so many of you enjoyed this because (after lots of feedback from friends & family!), we're gonna do another project like this!  only THIS time, it'll be a '5x12'...  that's right!  a howe family snapshot/portrait/as-fancy-as-we-want-to-make-it photo each and every month!  and i've gotta say...  i'm VERRRRRRRRRY excited about this one.  and joe is too, i might add.  :)

so we're gonna get ye ol' tripod out and get used to it, mama!  ;D

check back soon for the 1st installment in our 5x12 series!  :D :D :D  it'll be good.  i promise.  snowball fight, anyone?!  ;)

2x12 project | november

the bushes needed some serious whacking...  joe's got scruff galore...  but here she is: the 2nd to last installment for 2x12s for 2012.  :)

can't wait for a christmas-themed finale! oooooooooooh... what should we do for it?!?!? thoughts?!?!?!

2x12 project | october

say whaaa?!  it's only october 22nd and i'm ready to share our 2x12 for this month??!  this is unHEARD of, folks.  ;)  haha.

last week, joe & i got to attend a church conference in our city, the Global Leadership Summit! soooooo many inspirational speakers and challengers of our time.  speakers like bill hybels, patrick lencioni, craig groeschel, john ortberg, jim collins...and for me especially, a young woman by the name of pranitha timothy, who risks her life and the lives of her family, to work with IJM (International Justice Mission), a human rights organization that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression...  such a powerful testimony and a poignant reminder that God is still at work, bringing hope and healing into the very darkest parts of this world!!  WOW!!!  we were so incredibly blessed!!  (...and for those of you who know us know that THIS was a big deal!  we actually got to SIT TOGETHER!!!!  ahh!).

so, okay.  this is us.  during a break.  out amongst the gorgeous leaves outside the church.  :)  love these.  thanks, joseph, for humouring me!  love you!!  XO

2x12 project | august + september

yeah...  ok.  there's no august.  :)  booooo.  bummer.  i know.  you were dyin', weren't you?  ;D  seriously, i do NOT know where august went, but i'll tell ya...  i have not one, not two...but THREE for september.  ha!  made up for it, didn't i?!  (oh, the chuckles we share, blog...)

so...  yes.  september.  mom had her knee replaced, so we visited her quite a bit at the hospital.  robyn snapped this on one of those trips.

elevators are fun.  (joe's the most enthused here than i've ever seen him.  LOL!)

...and i should have known better than to want to snap a pic (i thought it would be nice) of us cozying up on the couch, watching our fave PVR'd shows.  haha.

FYI : he can't wait for this project to be done.  ha!

2x12 project | july

ahhhhh!  this can't be right!  i'm posting our 2x12 and it's NOT the last day of the month!  ;D  haha...

back from 2 glorious weeks of vacation (well, with sheena & mark's wedding in the middle)...  amazing, amazing...  i soooooooo needed the rest and time away.  still checked and returned emails/FB messages but all in all - a GREAT vacation!!!!  so very grateful!!!  :D

we used joe's parents 3/4 ton truck for the week and their fifth wheel...  whoda thought i'd LOVE camping so much!?!?!?!?!?!  i L O V E camping!!!!!!  so excited to do it again and again...and AGAIN!!!  :D

i didn't use (although i brought all my gear with me) my 'big' camera much...only the day we were at the beach...  but i DID have my iPhone with me all the time and took TONS of photos with it...  thinking about taking up iPhoneography full-time.  ;)  ha.  i kid.  anyhoo....  wanted to take our july 2x12 while we were on vacation and here it is.

ahhh...  love him so very much.  happy first day back to work, hon.  xo.

psst!!  i'd love for you to follow me on INSTAGRAM.  (you can find me @hollyhowe...)  always lots going on and you can see daily/often what the brood and i are up to!  ;D

happy monday, friends!!  i'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!  :D

2x12 project | june

better late than never!! :D this was us only 2 days ago! yes, still june!!! ;D

oh happy us!  xo!

2x12 project | may

here's our 2x12 for may...  our anniversary dinner out (our anniversary is may 8th) at one of our favourite restaurants downtown!  ahhhhhhh...such a great night!!  excellent food, charming atmosphere and very cute company.  ;)

                          

one thing joe & i are realizing more and more...  we need to date more.  ok, yes.  date at all.  ;D


ps - we were TOTALLY going to 'reenact' one of our wedding photos, but alas...time was not of the essence.  with joe's crazy travelling schedule, my wedding season in full swing and a bunch of other factors, we just could not make it happen.  which bummed me out.  :(  who knows?!  maybe we'll do another 2x12 project next year!  :D

could happen.  ;)

2x12 project | april

april was a crazy, busy month!!  and by the looks of my calendar, it's only gonna get crazier!  thus, the reason why i'm so glad i started this series.  reminds me to take the time to focus on joe & i (if only to get this crazy photo taken...  ha!  his words...  and i hope he's joking...)  ;)

this month marked my first wedding of the 2012 season....  soooooooooo stoked to share angela & kris' wedding pics this week!  (yes, THIS week!!!  i'm so close!!)  :D  as well as lots of portrait sessions, a baby session and more maternity shoots than i've had in a long time!  ha!  i LOVE it!!!!!  shot another one on sunday.....  :D  josh & katherine's sneak peek will be up sometime tomorrow...

k...  sorry.  back to our april 2x12.  :D  jacob worked the camera this time...  and i must say, he did a fab job.  (possible 2nd shooter someday?!)  ;)  how awesome would that be!!!!

anyhoo....this marked the last sunday night that daddy would be leaving us for the road....  well, the last one FOR A WHILE anyways (i hope!).

we look a little TOO happy the night that he's leaving....  ;)

thought i'd share a few more of my little family.  :)  enjoy.  xo.  and PHEWF!!!!!  i made it!!!!!  posted april's 2x12 IN april!!!!  ;D

he's special. ;)

ugh. please excuse my messy hair, bushes (eyebrows) that need whacked, etc...

PS - i thought we would FOR SURE use an umbrella for this month...  ;)

2x12 project | march

march, march, march...  oh what you did to me, march.  :)

for this 2x12, i wanted to convey a common scene for march.  joe & i took to a healthier lifestyle like never before.  each of us are on the treadmill every day for an hour.  we're eating better, drinking lots of water, going to bed earlier each night...  it was just time, you know?

anyhoo.....  here we are on the treadmill (well, for the shot -- SITTING on the treadmill...) in our trusty sneaks.  :)

in love again with exercising.  thanks, in part, to these puppies!  joe & i went to the running room and got properly fitted for a pair of sneakers -- probably, for me anyway, the first time ever.  LOVE THEM.  almost as much as i love TOMS.  :)

...and yes, we wear the same size.  :)

thanks to my sweet honey of a sister for taking this month's 2x12!  love you, heather!!!  xo!

2x12 project | february

hooweee!  am i ever glad that february has 29 days this year!!  juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust made it.  ;D

as some of you may know, i took on a personal photo project for 2012.  one where my goal is to take a picture of joe & i each month, doing something that is personal & pertinent to that time of year.

well, here's our february portrait courtesy of miss robyn howe.  :)

i got some feedback on my business page about what to do for a february portrait, and you all thought we should do something romantic and loving, being that february is considered the month of LOVE.  :)  i got it.  ;D  well, this is one of the most romantic times in my day.  the time when joe's home from work, i've got supper cooking and he comes up behind me and gives me a big embrace.  GAH.  i love him.  xo!

happy leap day, everyone!  :D

2x12 project | january

this year, i really wanted to take on a personal photo project.  to challenge myself creatively and to get some pictures of joe & i along the way.  that's what '2x12' stands for: '2' - for joe & i and '12' - for the 12 months of the year.  :D  (maybe it needed no explanation!  ha!)  i was GOING to do the 'family version' of this....  like a '5x12'...  but i thought that since this family started with the 2 of us, i should start there.  :D  saving that 5x12 idea for next year!  :D

soooooo...through the inspiration of some wonderful photogs, gail werner (gail did a self-portrait series) and jenna davis (jenna did the 'couple' version too!), in particular....  :D  ...my goal is to capture joe & i each month, doing something relevant to that month and time of our life.  :D

i'm really excited about this project as i'm usually the one TAKING the picture, which...hey.  i don't mind at all.  it is my job and i love doing it...  but i just think that our relationship, the one that STARTED this family, is worth documenting.  :D  (...by the way, i'm not entirely sure that joe KNOWS about this project.  ;D  here's hoping he's willing to go along with it!  ha!).

anyhoo...without further ado, here's our 2x12 for january!  :D

(taken with the instagram app on joe's iphone)

this is US from last weekend.  the first skate of the season on the pond at joe's parents' farm.  (SIGH.  such a perfect day!)