I promised I would share a few photos of inside the house, so I thought I would do it before we took the Christmas decorations down.  I only photographed the living/dining area, but I’ll show some other rooms soon.

Here is a little peak at where we live. 

The results of a personal photo shoot.  I am going to change out these photos every season…or whenever I feel like it.

View from the stairs:

Other side:

Our little family photo (we’re are doing this ever year):

This Christmas Justin & I received an addition to our little family.  NO, it’s not what you’re thinking.  It’s Mr. Thomas of course!  My mom knew how much I wanted an animal and since she had my name in the exchange, she gave us Thomas.  I was never a huge cat person; however, this cat was made for us.  He makes next to no noise, he likes to play but is usually pretty lazy, he watches tv (seriously, it’s so funny), and he loves to cuddle.  It’s so funny, you can pick him up and turn him upside down, or put him in about any position ever and he doesn’t move, he is the calmest/funniest cat ever.

He is about 3 months old and even cuter in person.

*I love that he has white on him – our house is dark, so it makes it easier to find him :)

Oh, and a little Christmas recap.  Within two days we traveled from Bainbridge, to Clarksburg, to Bainbridge to Clarksburg then back to Bainbridge (that was Christmas Eve), then on Christmas we did Bainbridge to Clarksburg to Bainbridge again.  Needless to say we were worn out, but wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  It was great to see all our family!

Here is a little snapshot of our Christmas morning at my parent’s house.  Whitney & Damon couldn’t be there this year, so we connected over oovoo (she really wanted to see me get the kitty).  It was a nice solution, but I am already crossing my fingers that everyone can be home next year. 

My favorite memory from this year stands out from most years.  After all the eating and game playing, my family all squeezed in the living room while my dad set up a projector and put on old 8 mm films from when they were kids.  It was so great to see him & my aunts, Granny & Pop John, and of course my Nanaw & Poppy (my great grandparents).  I took a video of it, but I won’t put you through it, you really can’t tell what was going on.  We also saw a little of my parents wedding!  That was my favorite, I can’t wait to see more of the films.

I hope you had a wonderful Chrismtas!  It’s been a great year & I can’t wait for 2009!

I am so excited about my new blog!  Many of you probably noticed how often I was changing the look of my old blog…well, I am finally happy with it!

Things I love about the new site: it’ s easy to navigate, everything you might need is in a drop down list at the top,  it has larger images, it has a better web address (www.cassidydawn.com/blog),  oh, and of course the adorable houndstooth background…gotta love that!

I hope you like the new site, be sure to update your bookmark now  as all new posts will be here!  It’s a fresh new look for a fresh new year!  Come on 2009!

I have lots to blog about from the weekend, so keep checking back for that (Christmas recap, Christmas cards, new sessions, products & best of the year photos).  Have a great Monday, and I will be back tomorrow!  Now go and poke around the new blog!

*please note, the only thing I have left to fix is the twitter – but it has been taking me so long to figure out why it isn’t working, I didn’t want to wait any longer.  So if you don’t see any updates, it’s not you, it’s the blog.  I am working on it.

Here is a look at our Christmas cards this year.  I will be posting the others I designed soon, but I wanted to share this today.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

So, are you almost ready for Christmas???
I haven’t bought a single gift yet this year (we are planning on doing that this evening). The strangest part…I am not stressing about it. I’ve been thinking so much this year about Christmas and all the traditions that go into it. For me, it’s lost it’s focus. It’s become so much about “I need to get one more gift”, or “when will I have time to get this gift”, or “we don’t have the money to be spending presents this year”. Seriously folks. That shouldn’t be what is in my mind this year. So a couple of weeks ago I stopped it. I’ve really just swept it aside and decided that it’s not important. I wanted to share this video that has completely changed my thoughts on the matter. For me, it’s always been more important to go to Church and celebrate the Lord, and just spend time with family, but this video made an impact on me for future years.

It’s not only because things are tight for us (hey, we are just starting!) It is that this time becomes so stressful. So what can be done to change it?
Our solution:
Next year we won’t be participating in gift exchanges. Not only do we not really have the money to buy a gift for the person we drew, in the big scheme of things, is that what really matters? We want to make the season for us to be completely about the Lord, love, family & friends. In place of one of our gift exchanges next year we will be having a big dinner (like Thanksgiving, but not present stress). Any money that we feel we can give will be going to a Charity – let’s face it, they need it so much more than we do. Maybe we will even make some gifts, aren’t those the best anyway!
Of course this won’t be the case every year, but for next year, it’s our plan. I know when we have kids (a long time from now!) things will be different.

This post wasn’t to bring anyone down, or make people mad. Everyone has their own opinion on the matter (so please, no mean comments). I do think that giving gifts is a great way to show people you love them – however, when you don’t really have the means to give them, why put so much stress on yourselves. Isn’t the holidays really just about loving each other & celebrating our Lord.

So Merry Christmas. I hope it’s a great one for you this year!
Love, Cassidy

I *love* when a family “gets” it. When they get that it is so worth the time to take an hour or two and take photographs of your family – everyone changes so fast, why regret that you didn’t do it sooner?! Diane “gets” it. After we photographed Ellie’s senior pictures she started organizing a shoot for all her children. They are all in different places & so busy. The oldest lives out of state, one just spent a semester in Italy, and so on – they are busy! That didn’t stop her though, she made it work.
The shoot was a blast – obviously, look at who I got to photograph. Beautiful & so stylish, I can’t complain. I will however mention that it was freezing that day, the wind was awful – but fun never-the-less.
Have a great weekend! Christmas is just around the corner! – I guess I should start my shopping :)

Just wanted to share an image from a shoot I just finished editing – love it!
More to come soon!
keep checking the blog – I have some exciting blog changes coming your way very, very soon!!!

and it’s really coming down! I thought I would post a little video of it for those that aren’t getting any snow.
*Yes, Aunt Vikki – it’s for you. Can’t wait to see you next week!

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Since I have been meeting with such fabulous brides lately, I am so in wedding mode! I found this inspiration board on Snippet & Ink (my favorite wedding blog) and just thought it was so lovely! Just my style & perfect for this time of year! Have a wonderful wintry weekend!

*Oh, and if you don’t have plans tomorrow evening, head over to my Church in Bainbridge! We are going to have a great evening of praise & worship! Email me if you are interested or need directions. Here is some info about it on facebook!

Yep, it was my turn in front of the camera. Every time I need a photo for something I have to dig through snapshots from over a year ago (I just don’t get in front of the camera). So on Saturday when we were out photographing our new place, Justin decided that it was my turn to get a few headshots to use on the blog & other things.
So here is a sampling…I’ve got tons, but not tons of time to edit photos of myself…so these will have to do :)I really just love the snow coming down in this shot:

Of course Justin wasn’t going to get off easy, his turn!The many faces of Justin:

Now, on to editing some fabulous sessions…

Saturday was bliss. Absolutely wonderful. I am sure you have caught on to how much we love our new home…it’s perfect. We had our first snowfall here on “pine ridge” and we decided to go out and have a photo shoot or two…I wanted to have some photos our our place to share here on the blog, and I was desperately needing some updated headshots – so yes, it was my turn in front of the camera…yieks!
I thought today I would share our home, and tomorrow I’ll give you a little peak at MY photoshoot…of course I had to put Justin in front of the camera too – so check back tomorrow for that…but for now….

View from the road:From the driveway:

This is the cave under our driveway – how cute is that “window”?A view from our porch:Have I ever mentioned how much I love pine cones?
Well, that was just a sample…more to come soon. Have a great Monday!