What do those Little Valentine Candies Mean?

 Love this lesson I saw on Facebook this week…reference was RiverKidz at RiverChurch Chattanooga.

Can’t wait to go over this with my daughter today! Hope you enjoy the lesson!

(I have included a few images from my daughter’s Valentine mini-photoshoot).

Hope you have a great Valentine’s weekend!

What some of those candies might mean:

You’re Mine – John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me is greater than anyone. No one can steal them out of my Father’s hand

True Love – John 3:16 God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. Anyone who believes in Him will not die but will have eternal life.

Love Me – Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul. Love him with all your strength.

Forever True – Isaiah 40:8 The grass dries up. The flowers fall to the ground. But what our God says will stand forever.

Call Me/Text Me – Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call me and I will answer you and tell you great unsearchable things you do not know

Always – Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age

Sweet Talk – Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth

For Sure – John 6:69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God

What to do for New Year’s Eve?

Should I just spend the last few moments of 2012 and ring in the New Year with my family at home?

Or try to make a bit more memorable by inviting other families over for a party?

Or keep it simple and do the same-ole, same-ole…nada?

In my quandry, I looked up some things on the net and thought I would share them with you…plus a few of my own ideas.

Make Some New Year Memories

Have a Photo Shoot (Of course! These pics are from a quick photo shoot I did with my daughter today)

Make some tasty, easy finger foods:

• Chicken-wrapped bacon skewers, Mini-pigs in a blanket, Pizza (of course) or make your own with your guests,
• Party Meatballs, Spanakopita
• Pita and hummus, Chips and dip, Mini triangle sandwiches, Fruit and vegetable trays, Popcorn snack bags
• Star-shaped cookies
• Kid-friendly holiday drinks

Let the kids toast just like the adults by supplying plastic champagne glasses and sparkling apple cider or other fizzy kid-friendly drinks. Your kids will love toasting to a prosperous 2013 with these delicious holiday beverages for kids.

New Year’s Eve party themes and ideas for kids

You can simply break out the party hats and horns, or plan a themed party for your kids on New Year’s Eve.

Pajama party

Skip the fancy smancy and instead ask that the kids come in their pj’s. The other parents will love this idea, especially when they are carrying their sleepy children to their bed after returning home from your party. Or, if you are hosting just a few kids, make it a sleepover. It doesn’t matter if the little ones drift off before midnight, because they’ll already be in their sleeping bags.

Dance party

Make a playlist or mix CD of kid-friendly tunes, like the song from Kidz Bop. If you have a gaming system, purchase theJust Dance Kids video games to keep the kids entertained and take the pressure off of you — teaching them how to dance.

Karaoke party

Rent or buy a karaoke machine and let the kids be as loud as they want while singing their favorite songs. Many karaoke machines hook up to your TV and DVD player so that you can watch the kids “singing” live, and also record it to watch for years to come.

Movie marathon

Most kids won’t want to sit around watching the New Year’s Eve specials on TV. So instead, rent a few movies. Depending on the age of the party guests, consider renting movies that have two or more sequels: Toy Story, Kung Fu Panda, Cars, etc.

Craft party

In between the eating, dancing, singing and movie watching, you can keep the kids busy with fun New Year’s Eve crafts. Set up different craft stations with age appropriate crafts. Remember that little ones shouldn’t be unsupervised around things that can be easily swallowed, such as beads, sequins, etc. Pipe cleaner fireworks are an easy (and fun) craft that children love making on New Year’s Eve. Learn how to make them and other New Year’s crafts for kids.

Some other great new year party ideas here: birthday in a box.

reference: http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/851051/new-years-eve-party-for-kids.

Hope you have a great New Year’s Eve not matter if it’s a big party or not! Cheers!

I was pleasantly surprised to have the opportunity to take six-month portraits for this sweet baby recently.

This young mother was such a natural, and we had the best time together.

She brought along some of the cutest little outfits, and we had lots of fun both inside in the studio and outside at the park.

First, I will share some of the photos we captured in the studio. I loved how the pearls complimented her images!

Did I mention what beautiful blue eyes she had?

Next, we went to the park for some outdoor photographs. It was a lovely day, and, boy, did mom and baby shine!

Look at those adorable chubby cheeks and baby blues!

It was quite windy, but we managed to capture some beautiful balloon shots too!

LOVE those pink poka-dots!

Oops! Where did my balloons go? Oh, there they are!

I had a blast in my studio recently photographing this beautiful, sweet little six-month-old baby girl.

She is so blessed to have a creative momma who picked out the cutest swim attire and even made the beautiful quilt shown.

Thanks, mom, for sharing your little bathing beauty with me!

(I love the new backdrop that I purchased from Lemondrop Backdrops too!)

I actually took these photographs on President’s Day, but am just now posting a few of them.

We had a bunch of fun during this little shoot with my daughter. We read some books and learned a bit about some presidents.

Of course, the popcorn and the games were the most exciting for her!

Hope you enjoy your long weekend. Have a great Memorial Day!

We had a blast with this dynamic sibling duo at our new studio for a Valentine’s Day Mini-Shoot.

Our little cupid couldn’t have been any cuter! She was totally loving the whole “true loves” theme, and we were excited with the outcome.

We were happy to get some great shots to make some really cute cards for them to share with their friends.

Our little cupid decided she didn’t really want to pose with her “loves” (American Girl doll) so we just improvised…she certainly loved the camera!

This was the vintage set that we used for the sibling shot….thought it turned out nicely!

The little boys’ “loves” were wild animals, so he brought along one of his favorite stuffed animals to pose with.

His card was perfect for him as it said “wild about you” Valentine.

This little lady was a total sweetheart to photograph in our new studio for a Valentine’s Day Mini-Session!

First off, I’ll show you a few of the soft vintage-styled images that we took to capture the gentle, girlie side of her personality.

Next up, are some of the fun, colorful images that we took to capture her energetic, spunky side.

She was too adorable in her birthday outfit…she was turning five and had her birthday party just hours after our shoot.

I don’t know why…I just thought she would look too cute in these pink boxing gloves with her outfit!

Don’t you just love her playful little grimace! Happy Birthday, to a soft, sweet, and spunky little Valentine!