Well I have to say that I am feeling guilty lately of letting life control me rather then putting myself in control of my life.  And I don’t mean that I want to be controlling.  I don’t expect things to go my way or believe that I can completely control what happens around me.  It is more about taking control of the “madness” that we all feel and succumb to every year at this time.  Constantly filling our minds with all the things we need to do, the lists, the errands and buying and rushing around.  When do we ever just stop and remember to breath.

I know that so often I find myself at the end of a day thinking “wow I am so tired” and realize that I barely remember what I did or things I saw that day.  Rather… I was on “auto pilot” the entire day.  Half listening to my childrens stories, half seeing the road or anything around me as I drove through town.  I managed to just “get through”the day and never thought to stop and just breath and even take time to enjoy what I was doing.

We are all guilty of this on any given day, but factor in this time of year with Christmas fast approaching, we all go into overdrive with a mad rush to get things done.  And that sense of being on “auto pilot” is hightened tenfold.

A friend and I were talking about this issue the other day, saying how our children won’t remember the “stuff” they get as much as they will remember the time that we spent with them and the memories made.   All you have to do is remember your own Christmas’s and what you most remember from those early years.  It is the sights, smells, sounds and the “spirit” you still feel inside that is what makes you love this time of year.

So I  have to stop and wonder if it is really worth all the emotional upheaval, and exhaustion it causes us all in the end.  I decided the answer is no.  Sooo… I am trying to approach things differently this year.  How?

• I will sneek out to the mall early in the mornings, with a LIST, be like comando and seek and destroy by getting only what is on my list and nothing more.  I will put much thought into how my children play, the stage they are at in life, and do things like create Mary Jean an art center and spend time downloading songs for Keagan who is now age 9 and wanting to listen to music.  Like Queen, Pink Floyd and all the oldies.

• I plan to scale back on the decorating using things I can collect around my yard.  I have a ton of pine cones, so I will use those and take a long walk in the woods with the kids to gather branches and evergreens to decorate with.  It smells better and you get fresh air.  With age comes the understanding of how truly beautiful simplicity is.

• I will spend more time baking with the kids, listening to music, singing songs, and solidifying old traditions as well as creating new ones with my family.

• I won’t take on more then I can manage, but focus on doing the few things I set out to do really really well.

And most importantly!!

• I will talk to my children about the abundance they have in life and also the need for us to learn to sacrifice.  Yes sacrifice.  Why would I want to teach my children about sacrifice?  I truly believe that our children today get so much with never having to go without.  I also think that as parents, when we give and give to our children we also set them up to face devastation when (and there will be a time) there comes a time in their life that they are called upon to truly sacrifice something in their life.

We aren’t doing them any favors by not teaching them at a young age that life will require us to sacrifice things.  We will sit them down and have an open and age appropriate discussion about sacrifice and what that means in life.  We will talk about ideas on things we can go without and things we can look at sacrificing in our own lives.

It is a lesson we all need to heed.  We all need to teach and role model.  I am not sure what we will come up with but I have also learned that kids are way more creative then grown ups. They will likely come up with a great idea.

And I will remind them of the true meaning of this time of year.  How we are placed on this earth to do good works and to even sacrifice.  I will teach them that no matter what we ever choose to sacrifice, we will never come close to what has been sacrificed for us!

I want my children to appreciate that life is not about “stuff” rather about the love we have for each other and the grace we show our fellow man.  In heart and in deed!

Never forget the hope that this season brings. The love that is there for the taking, and the new beginnings that present themselves each day if only we choose to slow down and look for them.

a few new beginnings!

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I want to tell you about a special women who is facing the biggest challenge of her life.

I heard about Kelly Clements this past summer and the incredible struggles she now faces…

her story…   ( a fund raiser)  Please help.

Kelly Clements is a 27-year-old mother of three beautiful kids; Kason (7), Kasidy (5) and Nevaeh (3). Kelly is an especially busy mother due to the fact that her oldest son, Kason, suffers from extreme brain damage he suffered as an infant. Kason had a seizure at the age of 15 months, which left him confined to a wheel chair and unable to move, talk or eat on his own. He requires 24-hour care.

Kason not only requires 24-hour care, he also frequently has to be taken to Halifax and Montreal for appointments with different specialists. He suffers from problems with his lungs, hips and spine and will require surgery on all of them with in the next few years. He is currently g-tube fed, which means he is fed by a machine through a tube that hooks into a port in his stomach.

Kelly has never stopped since he first got sick trying to find something to help him.

June of this year kelly found out she has the most aggressive and rare type of breast cancer, doctors at the time gave her six to 12 months to live. Kelly has what is called STAGE FOUR METASTIC INFLAMMATORY BREAST CANCER. She is undergoing chemotherapy and she will undergo surgery to have the breast removed. After all of this she will be sent to Saint John to undergo Radiation. Unfortunately Kellys treatments are not designed to cure her but rather prolong her life for as long as possible.

THE CANCER HAS SPREAD TO HER LIVER, HER RIGHT AND LEFT SHOULDER, SHE HAS A TUMOR IN HER SPINE AND IT HAS TAKEN OVER HER RIBS. The cancer in her bones causes extreme pain and requires her to miss out on many activities that she use to enjoy with her family.

Kelly was unable to work due to the fact she has to stay home and care for her son, Kason. Her husband is currently working to support the family as best as he can, but with one income coming into the home it is of course very difficult.
If you would like to help in any way, contact Jeremy DeMerchant or Amy Chenard via Facebook or email.

Jeremy - jeremy@jeremydemerchant.com
Amy- amy.chenard@rogers.com or amy.chenard@gnb.ca

Benefit Concert for my friend Kelly * *

Sat Nov 22 from 9pm - 1am

Musiplex

15 Cityview Ave

Fredericton, NB

In order to make this a successful event we would like to see about 200 guests come and enjoy. Let’s all invite everyone we know to try and reach this goal and surpass it for Kelly and her family.

We hope to see everyone there!!

IF HOWEVER YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THERE A 3rd PARTY TRUST ACCOUNT SET UP FOR THE FAMILY

you will need the following numbers to deposit

 transit number is 00894

account number is 80-74682

institution number is 010

CIBC bank

 

Soooo… you can see there are a variety of ways to help out, donate or attending the benefit.  I am going to make it easy here and a little incentive.  I am adding a “donate” button below.  I am asking that you consider donating something, anything to help Kelly and her family during this time of need.

To the person who has the largest donation, I will give a free standard session and 2 5×7’s and one 8×10 as a gift.

Also, for previous clients who have already placed orders in the past 5 months, if there are additional prints you may want I will offer them at half price.   All additional profit on any prints will go to Kelly and her family in the form of donations.  Just send me your order and note that it is for Kelly’s fund.

I know that we all have financial struggles and general day to day struggles in life, especially around the holidays.  But for most of us, they don’t begin to compare to those that Kelly and her family face.  I say this so we can all be reminded of the blessings we have, that each and every day is a gift from God and we must never take even one moment for granted.

 

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Until Christmas!  I can’t believe it.  It is the crazy time for me even though I have wrapped up shooting I still have a ton to proof, edit and get orders into my lab and out to customers.

So here today I am going to share some more of my favorite images from this fall.

Happy Sunday!

9 year olds are so easy to work with.  Thanks Miss “L”.

And a familiar face, my baby planner, Mr. R.  He was in this shoot with his cousin.  It was a great time and an amazing location at their grandparents place.

they had a great relationship!  Miss L was very patient and motherly!

And some huge horses… which actually cooperated!!

Thanks Sarah and Tracy!

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