Ruby's Farmhouse at our house!

If you like aprons that remind you of Grandma's cookin' and hand crocheted potholders bring back good memories, (or if you just like to have coffee and hang out!), you are welcome to join us on Monday, Nov 17th at our home. We will be having a holiday open house for "Ruby's Farmhouse" featuring reproduction vintage table linens, aprons, etc. Every item that is purchased on Monday evening will be discounted by 25%! You might be able to do all of your Christmas shopping in one place! Please check out www.rubysfarmhouse.com to see more of the cute products that they offer.












Here is a picture of one of the aprons from the Fall Set of linens (and I bought a matching little girl's one too--too cute! ok...and the tablecloth..and the potholders..they were all so cute!)

Drop me an email at julie@hiscreations.com and I would be happy to give you directions!

PS: Ruby is my great grandma!











Hope to see you there!

Harvest Crusade 08

Damion was blessed to be asked to help document this year's Harvest Crusade. This is a powerful three day event held at Anaheim Angel's Stadium each year. This year, over the three days, there were over 109,000 people in attendance and 11,278 of them made decisions to serve the Lord! It's such an exciting time to see people give their hearts to be healed and touched by God. If you would like to find out more about the annual Harvest Crusades, visit www.harvest.org

Thanks for your patience with us!

We owe you all an apology, we have not been good bloggers for the last month or so and we're sorry :(  But, it's for a good reason and that is, that we have a beautiful new blog coming out anytime!  It's so nice and features huge images and a beautiful background and we can't wait for YOU to see it!!! You will find it at the same address so don't worry about that.  We can't wait to show you!!  Thanks so much for being patient with us!  We're trying to be patient too :)

Planning for the holidays....

Monday night the 20th.  What are you doing?  Well, if you're in our area, drop your pizza, jump off the couch and come over to our house!  Our good friends Christina and Robert, (friends since the college days) are missionaries to India, a place where there is lots going on right now! They are planning to return to India at the end of this month, but wanted to share some of what they will be doing with us.  We will be hosting a coffee/dessert evening at our home on Monday evening to hear more about what we can do to support them in this important venture.  You are very welcome to come and hear more about what you can do to influence India as well.  Please email me at julie@hiscreations.com if you are interested in coming.

Also, don't forget that Christmas is fast approaching.  It's time to get those holiday portraits taken before time runs out.  Call or email us today to set up your holiday portrait session with Damion!   This year, we are proud to offer customized holiday card designs by Belly Bean Designs.  They helped us create our own personal holiday cards last year and did a superb job! PS:  Here's a little tip:  If you never get your cards sent out by Christmas (like us), then it's a great idea to send out a holiday card around New Years to celebrate all of the holidays! Just when your friends are lamenting the passing of the Christmas, they'll be surprised and happy to get an unexpected gift in the mail from you!  

Here is our 2007 holiday card.  Thank you to Julie Weaver for the fabulous photography!

Happy getting-ready-for-the-holidays! Yippee!  Julie

Recyclable vs. Non-recyclable materials

When we started researching what was recyclable and what wasn't, I was in for a few surprises! (I just highlighted a few of my favorites here)  This is a very general list of materials that are recyclable through our program, but please check with your local program to find out the specifics of the program in your area.

Recyclable:
Paper: copy paper, computer paper, magazines, junk mail, envelopes, phone books, newspaper.
Cans: Aluminum beverage cans and steel cans: soup, pet food, spaghetti-0 s :)
Cardboard: corrugated boxes, cereal and food boxes, etc.
Glass: spaghetti sauce bottles, wine bottles, juice bottles, glass jars, cream soda bottles
Plastics: This is a little more complicated so I will break it down by category. Almost all plastics are recyclable. This will be indicated by a triangle of arrows on the bottom with a number inside. The number indicates the type of plastic that the container is made of.  You can find out more specific information by looking up Recyclable Plastics at wikipedia.com, where I gathered this general information.

#1: soda bottles, water bottles, salad dressing, peanut butter, jam

#2: Milk plastic cartons, juice, water bottles, produce bags and plastic grocery bags from the store, shampoo and conditioner bottles, Starbucks cold drink glasses, most cup lids

#3: Juice bottles, PVC piping, plastic wrap used to wrap meat at the grocery store

#4: Most squeezable bottles, butter lids

#5: yogurt containers, butter tubs, throw away plasticware such as Ziploc containers

#6: SURPRISE: polystyrene, which I always thought was styrofoam=bad for environment. Cups from Juice it Up and Chick Fil-A, To-go containers, meat trays from the grocery store

#7: Other, mixed types of plastics such as baby bottles, juice bottles, etc.

Non-Recyclable:

-Plastic or wax covered cardboard = frozen food containers, juice or milk cartons

-foil

-Waxed paper

-Soiled paper plates

-Most lids i.e. from water bottles, milk and juice containers, squeezable bottles, etc (My sister-in-law mentioned a place that will accept all kinds of lids and non-recyclable plastics, so I will find out more about that!)

-Light bulbs, window glass, pyrex, ceramics, mirrors

-Tissue paper

I hope this gives a few more ideas about small things that we can do to make big changes!  Please share any other tips that you have on how you "reuse, recycle, or reduce" and I will publish the ideas in the next post!  For now, we are busy enjoying a visit from Damion's dad who lives in Napa, CA, so we will be posting more soon! Have a blessed week.  Julie

Proof that I am a "recycling nerd" ...see below!

A Year of Change

OK. So Damion and I have never been what you consider "green," but we do believe in using our resources to the best of our ability. It was about this time last year that I noticed we were creating so much garbage that we had to take the trash out at least once a day! It just seemd like that was way too much garbage for just 4 people. So, Miranda and decided to do a little project to learn more about recycling.

WIth the help of the LA County Fair and online research, we found out more about what materials were recyclable. Here's a little bit about what we learned: Almost all types of plastic these days are recyclable. If it is possible, the bottle or container will have a mark on the bottom with the three arrows in a triangle as well as a number inside. The numbers range from 1 to 7 and each number is like a code that helps the recycler determine what type of plastic the container is. Of course, tin, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and other materials are all recyclable as well. We also found out that we are very lucky to have a curbside recycling program which takes all kinds of plastics and materials. I know that my parents who live in Texas don't even have curbside recycling and that some recycling programs in our area only take specific materials such as #1 plastics (i.e. water bottles) and aluminum cans. It's best to check with your own area or recycling program to find out what type of materials they will accept.

For one week, we kept track of every container that we were able to recycle. Believe it or not, by the end of the week, we had recycled almost 1,000 items. That included every baby food jar, every plastic bag from the grocery store, every water bottle!! Can you believe that?

Since then, we've kept it up! According to Damion, I've graduated to a "recycling nerd" now (just because I pull out his recyclable garbage from the trash!! :) But, I am so happy to admit that just a few days ago I realized that we are only taking out the garbage about every 3 days now. Yeah! I know it's a small thing, but it makes me happy that we are doing whatever we can to benefit our children's future on this Earth.

Next post: surprising things that you might not know are recyclable!

Have a blessed day! Julie

Josiah Judson Stonecipher

September 11th will be forever engrained in our minds as a day of beauty now! This little guy wasn't expected until Oct 2, so the unexpected birth of Josiah Judson surprised us all! Tom and Ileana (Mommy and Daddy now--you might remember some pictures of them from our vacation a few posts ago) were some of the first people to hold our little ones as they came into the world. We've waited so long to be able to return the joy of loving their "gifts from above" so the privilege of being there when little baby Blue came into this world was priceless! We hope you enjoy the slideshow telling the story of his arrival....

Baby Blue, we are so glad you're here. We cannot wait to see what remarkable things God will do with your life!

It is here!!!!!!!!!

We interrupt this blog session for the long awaited, much anticipated, and absolutely awesome new Canon EOS 5D Mark II. At 21MP and the ability to capture 1080p HD video, I'm afraid my Christmas list has changed to add this and a bunch more Compact Flash cards to handle all those High res images!! And, its $500 less than its predecessor (The 5D) when it debuted.

I'm afraid the release of the Nikon D3 tempted me to "think" about change , but I knew Canon would drop in with a big surprise.

(This pre-production photo was borrowed from dpreview.com, which by the way is the absolute best site to get the great in-depth reports on consumer and professonal camera equipment.

Damion.

Mary + Jed

Mary and I had been corresponding for months, so it was such a pleasure when Mary and Jed Rabe left Oregon to head down to So Cal for their honeymoon and we got to do a portrait session with them! They were both just as sweet and as in love as they sounded by email! We had a great time hanging out at Downtown Disney, one of the many stops on their Southern CA honeymoon agenda. Of course, we couldn't help but eat at Rainforest Cafe while we were there, always a treat! I think what we like about Mary and Jed is that they remind us of ourselves 10 years ago: they are young, but have the all the determination and love that they need to take on the world. In this slideshow, you'll be able to see honest and true love, admiration, and appreciation just in the way they look at each other. Of course,10 years later, we still have the spark and the love, but it changes in so many ways as you grow up together and we believe that it will continue to be the same for them too. It was refreshing listening to them tell stories of how they got to know each other, the joys and wonders of their wedding, and the challenges and triumphs of their new life together.

Mary and Jed, thanks for letting us play a special part in this time in your life. Many blessings to you and may this first year be only the beginning of all that life has to offer you and you have to offer each other. May you share lots of laughter, many tears of joy, and support each other's dreams always! Many blessings, Julie

Amanda + Matt Engagements

Adventurous. That's how I would sum up Amanda and Matt's engagement session in San Francisco. Since that's where Matt proposed to Amanda, and they left their hearts there (are you singing that song in your head yet?), of course, we had to go there for their engagement photos!

We had a blast scouting out different parts of the city; small streets, big streets, alleys, and parks. Amanda and Matt have a way of making you feel so comfortable and we talked the entire time. Ok, well...I talked the entire time! :) The way they were able to spell out their relationship naturally in front of the camera left them with some incredible images that really capture who they are together. The most "adventurous" part came at the end of the night when we were supposed to catch the last flight home.....from Oakland airport.....and we were stranded.....at Golden Gate Park...an HOUR before the flight was supposed to leave!!!!!!!! Right when I called to tell Julie that we weren't going to make it home that night, we found a limo who kindly rushed us to the airport and we made it onto the airplane....with 5 minutes to spare before take-off. You've never seen three people running, barreling, leaping through the airport as fast as we were! We left security so fast, I was running in my socks, through the terminal with my shoes and belt in hand along with my photo pack bouncing on my back. I still can't believe we made it.

Amanda and Matt, thanks so much for sharing this adventure with me. I thoroughly enjoyed the two of you and our time together. We are looking forward to your wedding day with much anticipation. And Happy Birthday Amanda...we hope these images make your birthday even happier!

Damion.

We're Back!

Hi everyone! We are back from our much needed vacation, where we did NOTHING for a week except play at the beach (and we did visit Santa Barbara one day too!) We've never had a beach vacation before, so we weren't sure what to expect, but it was great. Stayed right on Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard. Most of the time we were one of a few families there and it was an excellent place for the kids, waves strong enough to boogie board, but not too strong; lots of soft sand; and tons of sand dollars and shells to collect! Less talking, more pictures. A photo essay of our vacation:

Our bathing beauties:






































Miranda and her trusty boogie board!



















We all did a lot of boogie boarding, even Livy (in her way)!!













Check out the background action (click on the photo to enlarge!)













After a day at the beach, nothin feels better than a warm shower and a big hug!














These are our dear friends Tom and Ileana. They came came a stayed with us a bit. Ileana is a beautiful photographer too. She actually took some of these pics with her camera.














You might notice the bump in the middle. That's baby Blue. He's due Oct 2, but has decided to surprise all of us by arriving as I'm typing this!!! (9-11-08)














Beautiful Mission Santa Barbara. This fountain was built in 1808, exactly two hundred years ago.



















I have lots more pictures to show you of the Mission, and Stearns Wharf and Damion boogie boarding....who wants to see that? Blogger's giving me problems, so I guess that will be it for now. Thank goodness we'll have a new, better blog soon, with bigger pictures too :) Have a great week everyone!!

On Vacation

On the beach now. Weather is a perfect 72 degrees clear and sunny.

Looking for Bridal gifts?

We found the cutest collection of bridal gifts today at Windsor Cottage in Upland, CA. My daughter Miranda loves to go there to drool over and dream about their huge Webkinz collection! While there, I saw their display of gifts from the Mindy Weiss Two's Company collection. I fell in love with these gifts because they're so are cute, unique, and useful too (and aqua to boot!) Here's a sampling of a few of what they offer!

From Mindy's Website.....
"Love is in the Air" Mr. and Mrs. Luggage Tag Set

"Mindy's Tips: Love is in the Air

You’ve said “I do” and now you’re off to your honeymoon! How will you let everyone know? Simply stroll through the airport with these Mr. & Mrs. luggage tags! You’re sure to hear “oh look, they are on their honeymoon!” Even if you don’t, these tags may get you an upgrade to the honeymoon suite!

Ultimate Wedding Organizer with 25 sections

Mindy's Tips: Talk About Planning in Style!

This book has been labeled "The Ultimate Wedding Organizer". If you want everyone to know you will be walking down the aisle soon, then this is the book to carry. You will be stopped on the street and asked "What is that darling notebook?" That is the perfect opportunity to say those 3 magic words..I'm Getting Married!

Girl's Best Friend Jewelry Roll

Mindy's Tips: Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a girl's best friend and of course we want to take good care of of our friends! This is a perfect little roll for our buddies! Great size for traveling - will fit right in your purse. Made for necklaces, rings, bracelets and all the jewels girls love. Not only for the bride but a great gift for your bridesmaids, mom and new mom-in-law. Hey, they all have best friends too!"

Well, I can't give too much away, but let's just say that we love weddings and we love showering our brides and grooms with special gifts. Go down to Windsor Cottage and check out this cute collection for yourself!!

What a great surprise!

It was so exciting to receive this thank you gift today from Stacey and Jacob.  She had said that something would be delivered to my house today, so I was waiting with anticipation, wondering what kind of glorious thing it could be!!  And here it is....if you haven't seen these before, it's an arrangement of beautifully fresh fruit and chocolate covered strawberries from Edible Arrangements.  They were so sweet and even sent two bears for the girls!  Our truest reward by far though was when Stacey wrote "We have beautiful images to show our children and grandchildren one day."  That's what brings tears to our eyes, knowing that we've preserved a treasured memory forever.  That's what this job is all about and why we love it so much.  Thank you so much Stacey and Jacob...we will try not to inhale all of the delicious fruit at one time!  To all the other photogs out there, I hate to brag, but this confirms that we do have the best clients (and friends) out there!  Julie

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