Christmas is finally over...

My mother passed away this year (in June) at only 58 years old, so this was a bit of a tough Christmas for me.  I am quite relieved to have gotten through it relatively unscathed, although the 6 weeks from mid-November through yesterday were the hardest I have gone through since June.  I actually feel that it has helped me a bit in the grieving / healing process to allow myself to just feel sad at this time of year and not force myself to try to be happy.  I now feel like I can think about the future and go into 2009 with a lighter heart.

One of the things I decided to do going into 2009 to help me celebrate and enjoy my hobbies more was to create this blog.  My hope is that having this as a place to post my photos and digital creations will keep me motivated to continue pursuing these hobbies which both serve as a great creative outlet.  

I did not end up taking any photos on Christmas Eve... it was just too hard as I was hosting at my house.  But, I did snap a few on Christmas Day at my Aunt & Uncle's house.

My brother-in-law with my nephew on his lap in between the excitement of opening gifts.

My niece and nephew with my cousins kids and Santa and Santa's helper (my Aunt).

Speaking of Christmas, my hubby got me some new photography toys for Christmas.  I got the Tamron 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro lens and the Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod with 322RC2 Grip Action Ball Head.  I tried out the new lens through the front window this morning and captured some squirrels and birds in the front yard.

My hubby and I have decided to take up snowshoeing and used our Christmas money from my grandparents towards our new snowshoes and poles.  I'm really excited about getting started because I think it will be a great way to be able to get more outdoor photographs in the winter.  Unfortunately, after the 2 big snow storms we had last week, we've now had a bunch of rain that has melted most of the snow so we will have to wait for some new snow to get started.