This week I'm grateful for... the week that was

I started 'Grateful Saturday' in order to take a moment every week to reflect on the things in my life that were positive and appreciated. It's a grounding, important thing in my life and I am convinced that it helps keep me looking for and focusing on life's positives.

I've always done 'three things'. Who knows why three, but three it is.

I've had a HUGE week in blogging land this week. Really awesome support and love coming at me from all angles and I'm positively overwhelmed and so very grateful. Thank you to everyone. I stand behind the fact that I think blogging makes us nicer people. I really do.

It's been so hard to stick to just three things, but, this week I'm grateful for...

145. Companies that 'get it' - Elk, Leona, Prey, I love that you got a random email from some chick with a blog and you ran with it. You didn't try to 'corporatise' me or go on and on about your 'brand'. You didn't have lots of rules and regulations... in fact, you had none. You just got that blogging is about having a conversation with a friend and you pulled up a chair. Are you listening, Ford Territory???

146. Shiny Tim - again. I know. It's boring now. But I'm just so darn grateful for those captured family moments, I really am.

147. Bloggers - Lots and lots and lots of bloggers. I'm probably running out of ways to say I'm grateful for our little community, but again, I am just so happy with the lot of you that I'll repeat myself again and again and again. And again. Thank you for joining in with Grateful Saturday each week. It means a great deal to me.

So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) and pretty-please add a link back to me. Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. 

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[Image by Tim Coulson]

My family was shot by Tim Coulson

So, as promised, here's the Maxabellaland family as seen through the masterful lens of lifestyle photographer Tim Coulson...  And, yes, that's me. So, I guess my days of pretending to be a petite, classy, blonde are over, but at least you know what I mean when I blog about things like my hair taking over the entire world.* It's all completely true. It could actually happen.

I was supposed to wait until Tim sent me the CD with all of the images on it before posting, but he's been teasing me with posts over on his own blog all week. I just couldn't wait any longer to share on mine!

Tim shoots 'documentary' style - families 'doing what they do'. So we had breakfast, dressed the Tsunamis and ourselves, played outside on the swing and trampoline for a while. Typical Saturday morning stuff (the image above, for example, is me consoling Cappers because she had a melt-down (an annoying meltdown) after I called her... annoying. I know that's not a nice thing for a mumma to call her daughter but... she was!)

What do you wear to a 'doing what you do' photo session? I didn't want us to be matchy-matched (the white t-shirt plus jeans uniform springs to mind) or too stagey-staged (everyone wearing red). Otherwise, it had to be clothes that we would typically wear on any given Saturday, although I banned myself from my signature-noncolour black and I made sure none of us clashed! Seemed to work okay.

Tim just slotted right in. From the minute LOML opened the door to his smiling face, he was just part of the family. His easy, confident manner is crucial to the style of photography he does - he was both present through his excellent company and invisible in the way he blended in. At one point a pillow-fight broke out and you could just tell that Tim was itching to put down the camera and join in! Fortunately, he stayed on the tools and got some great shots for us.

We spend many a weekend at a fave, little-known spot, and that's where we took Tim next. We tromped around playing in the playground, walking along the paths and skipping stones. I kept forgetting that Tim was taking photos, to be honest. The resulting images are some of my very favourites.

Oh, the joy of having this record of our family doing what we do. What a wonderful morning we had with Tim and, aside from his magic with the lens, it was an honour to meet him. I mentioned on a post on his blog that I always thought that good photographers had an ability to capture light that the rest of us don't have. But now I know that it's because they carry that light around inside them. Tim just shines, I tell you!

I know that images of my family are far more exciting for me, than for you, so I thank you for your endless patience. And please do stop over and say hi to Tim... he's very nice and his blog is lovely. I'm off to look at my photos once again... can't stop looking... will never stop looking!

* Not to mention my butt... does the camera add 5kg or 55? And please remember, I look completely different to this in my head.

[All images by Tim Coulson]

Snaps for the snaps

We've never had 'professional' family photographs taken, even of the Tsunamis. And definitely not of me. I even shied away from having a typical wedding photographer. I'm just so... shy... who me?... having my picture taken. I get stressed, or act the ham or my hair just threatens to take over the entire world. I just never look the way I think I look in my head. Reality check needed, anyone?

Anyway, you can imagine how nervous I was at the thought of snapper-extraordinaire (and soon to be famous given the love he is deservedly receiving in our blogging world) Tim Coulson coming over to our place yesterday to record our family 'doing what we do'. You mean, like, reality? You want the 'real' us? Really?

Oh, why not? I suddenly thought. Why not?

So glad. So glad I just decided to go for it. Tim put me at ease within about 5 seconds of coming in our front door at 8am on Saturday. We were all in our jamies. The porridge was threatening to bubble over on the stove. I was baking disastrous-looking (but not bad-eating) cinnamon scrolls. In he came.

So glad. We spent the most terrific morning showing him around our place and then taking him to a little spot that we love to go to as often as possible. It was just so wonderful when he loved everything we love almost as much as us. Snap snap snap away he went and I wasn't nervous or silly or hammy at all. I was just me. I have no idea what the majority of the photos look like yet, but I'm loving the sneak preview Tim has posted... and I will do a 'big reveal' post in the next couple of days to show you more of the good stuff.

So glad. Tim does a different sort of photography. He really does just capture a family doing what they do. No posed, awkward, matchy-match shots. Just 'a day in the life' stuff and a beautiful record of home and family life as we know it. It felt like a lovely morning with a lovely friend and I'm hoping that the resulting images capture the beauty of the day. Can't wait to show you more.

Have you had professional shots taken of your family before? 

(If you've blogged them, share a link as we'd love to take a peek.)

Do you like having your picture taken?

[Image by Tim Coulson]

This week I'm grateful for... photography

I've had an ear infection. Yes, I feel like a two year old. An excruciatingly-in-pain two year old. I will never again be intolerant with an ear infected child... that mo fo hurts like... well, fo!

We have Mr Timothy Coulson coming around super-early tomorrow morning (Saturday) to take our pictures. How cool is that? Only it's not cool now because I've been laid up with the ear-thingy for a few days and haven't 'done' the house. So Tim - who likes to take 'real life' images of family living - is quite possibly going to get more 'real life' than he bargained for.

But I'm not even worried about the house...

I'm having my picture taken. I don't really like having my picture taken. I'm about as photogenic as Brynne and I don't have the distractaboobs. Eeeek... Plus Maxi-Taxi is being a real pain in the ear whinging about having his own picture taken, so Tim's bound to appreciate the 127 images he captures of the back of my first-born's head. But not to worry... check out the gorgeous photo shoot he did with Beth's fam and the one he did with Emily's fam. See how lovely my house and family are going to look? Oh, wait, that's just Emily and Beth...

ANYWAY... this week I'm grateful for...

142. Photos - I might not like being photographed, but I'm so glad that over the years I've just leaped in front of that lens regardless. We are a very lucky generation to have our lives on film. Our up-and-coming generation (who are pretty much living out their lives for the camera) may beg to differ?

143. Light - a photographer's light, that is. I'm thinking that the ability to capture light is crucial in this image-making business. I'm hoping that Tim's mastery is going to make all those cobwebs and all the chocolate stains and all that can-never-be-removed Weetbix-glue look amaaaaazing...

144. Penicillin - thank you, thank you Mr Fleming. Without you the shoot would be shot.

So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) and pretty-please add a link back to me. Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. 

[Image is snaps from Emily's shoot with Tim Coulson. Gorgeousness.]