First Snow Storm of the Season.

Snow has been a bit problematic for me for the past four years --- ever since I experienced a somewhat traumatic event that took place during a Nor'easter in late 2006. Slowly but surely I am learning to make peace with snow ... and to even appreciate it again as I did when I was a child (snowball throwing never gets old).

I have a child that absolutely loves snow. And despite his Haitian roots ... he also loves to swim in rivers and lakes just after the ice has broken. This kid loves the cold and hates the heat. Weird, I know. (I guess he was fated to live in Maine!) Because of this aversion to summer heat, I am more apt to get him to play outside in the cold winter weather --- which means I had better make peace with it.

And so --- I grab my camera --- as shooting pics of our daily life always gives me solace.

These pictures are not award-winning art --- but they are my therapy. Toting a camera while venturing around the snowy property --- finding the beauty in the snow --- enjoying my son and his dog as they kick the snow around --- all of this will heal the anxiety I feel when I am surrounded by mountains of Maine snow.

More snow-filled pictures to follow --- as weather permits :)

Love,

Jodi

PS. What do you enjoy about the snow?

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An LL Bean Christmas.

We Mainers love our LL Bean. And the flagship store in Freeport? Well, it is totally awesome! I can't believe it has taken me 15+ years to visit it. This series of shops (a village really) is open 24-7 ... year round. And on a recent trip back from Nashua, NH to Bangor, ME ... the kids and I took a break from the highway and shopped at LL for the first time. Good stuff ...

There is a trout pond with live fish!

Stuffed majestic animals everywhere. Museum quality and very educational.

An aquarium where kiddos can get an inside peek of what it looks like to live underwater ...

And Isaac FINALLY got to see what a Grizzly Bear looks like (he has been SO curious about them for a year now) ...

He was mesmerized and quite impressed.

And you could literally hang out here all day. There are two cafes for all your stomach needs ... as well as this (above) "family room" for relaxing, game playing and reading by the fire.

Or one could hang out and read with LL Bear ...

When we were done shopping (for Uncle Jamie, Daddy and Uncle John) ... we were treated to an unexpected and totally "Maine Christmas" treat ... a horse-drawn carriage ride through some of downtown Freeport ... courtesy of LL Bean.

What a great impromptu evening of shopping, learning and enjoying the spirit of Christmas. I highly recommend a stop to downtown Freeport, Maine ... and especially to the LL Bean Flagship store. And if you head another 1.5 hours up Route 95 ... you can pay us a visit as well :)

Oooohhh ... and LL Bean gives free concerts in the summers ... so plan accordingly.

Love,

Jodi & Family

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New Friends that Feel Like They Have Always Been in Our Hearts.

So, a little while back I hosted an Annual Pet Portrait Fundraiser Contest to benefit the Humane Society. It was a wonderful success for both my studio and for the Bangor Animal Shelter. Money was raised, animals were helped, people were proud of their award winning pets ... etc. All good stuff to be sure. BUT, what I didn't expect ... and am forever grateful for ... is the number of amazing people I met while organizing the event and while photographing peoples' pets ... and how many lifelong friends I believe I am now blessed with because of those efforts.

Topping the list of amazing new friends are Robin & John Kingsbury (Miss Robin is pictured below with my kiddos). You may remember seeing their dog Sir PAL (Piss-A-Lot) on my Flickr page. I love these people. Truly. Already. And hopelessly. And they are just as in love with us. How cool is that?

They invited us to their family camp for the 4th of July ... and it was as if I had always been there ... like I grew up knowing the place. Their extended family is so much fun. So loving, welcoming and talented. Robin's Aunt is an incredible artist who has the nerve to suggest that she "is just a nobody". Excuse me?! Well, no one is a "nobody" and I can't think of one other person I know who shares her artistic talent! But that's a Mainer for you ... hardworking, talented people who are more modest than they should be. Anyway, I love her already too. And her husband, Skip ... seen here being goofy :)

The kids had such a great time too! Isaac could barely stay out of the water ... and I caught Meaghan GENUINELY smiling on at least two occassions! And if that weren't enough ... my usually quiet and conservative husband talked up a storm and actually drank 4 beers. I have never seen the man drink more than 1 since he was in high school. So he was quite comfortable.

And it is so easy to be comfortable with these great folks. I love them, love them, love them. Good, good stuff.

And here's the thing ... the world is AWESOME. And I have learned that when I open myself up to the Universe ... am content with myself ... and approach people in an authentic and loving way ... that I found the most AMAZING people to share my life journey with. I can name at least a dozen people that I can call my friends now ... whom I have only known for 2-3 months ... and with whom I have the best times with. No expectations, just enjoying eachother ... endlessly. And I am so happy with it all. (I only hope that I give them all something in return as well ;)

I distinctively remember putting it out to the Universe that I wanted to meet and fall in love with some new friends ... as I was feeling a bit empty from some shallow and sometimes harmful friendships of the past ... and the Universe responded ... bountifully! What a lesson for my kids too --- become your best self --- love with wild abandon --- put all your desires out to the Universe (God/Source/etc) --- then reap the rewards of your love and trust.

Thank you Source! And thank you to all my rock-awesome friends. As Robin said, "There are no coincidences" ... and I am forever thankful that she and I crossed paths at the exact moment in our lives when we were meant to.

Love you all. You know who you are. If you don't --- then I need to remind you how much I love you! Thanks for all the lovin' in return. That is why we are here on earth --- for no other reason than to love one another as best we can.

Rock out the love ...

Jodi & family

For more pics of our fun day on the lake ... see here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thishandmadelife/sets/72157624432962080/

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Moose at the Camp. For Sure.

We have always assumed that there are moose on the 100+ acres that Halis shares with his brothers. But aside from moose droppings and moose tracks ... we had yet to officially spot them around the camp. That is, until Halis and his Brother invested in a wildlife cam. So, here they are:

Time for me to suck it up ... and go spend an evening at the camp ... so I can wake up bright and early to capture mama and her baby on "film". I am not a huge fan of the "boonies", but I'd like to give this a wildlife photography thing a shot. I'll let ya know ...

Love,

Jodi

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Promoting Maine.

A representative of the Maine Office of Tourism recently wrote me --- asking if they could obtain rights to use one of my photos (shown below). I agreed to allow them, signed a small contract, and am now looking forward to seeing how they make use of it.


It is not the first time that I have given some rights to others to use my work ... but this one feels a bit more exciting than the rest (calendars, news articles, etc) because my pic may be used to promote the state I love so very much. AND because the pic is of my husband and son (though faces are not seen) enjoying a sled ride down one of our fave local hills.


So - here is hoping that the photo will be put to fun use ... and that I will one day catch sight of it somewhere unexpected :)


Love,
Jodi

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Wordless Wednesday : The Last of the Fall Foliage.

Love,
Jodi

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Love for Our Troops : Isaac & I Troop Greet in Bangor.

(terrible iphone pic - sorry)

Isaac and I spent our afternoon yesterday at the Bangor International Airport saying farewell to a large group of brand new soldiers heading over seas. It was both lovely and sobering.

First, I had to explain to my son why we are thanking these men and women. I - who am firmly opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - am still fully respectful of the jobs that these soldiers are doing for our country. I needed to find a way to articulate my love and respect for these men and women in uniform to my son without glorifying war or using political talk. So - I did the only thing I could think of at the time - I drew a map. I explained that this little piece of land here on the map is called "America" ... and it is where we live ... and there are all sorts of other countries all around the world too. And each country has men and women who volunteer (or are ordered) to protect that country and all the people in it. Sometimes one country wants to hurt another country --- so these men and women sometimes have to leave their homes and go fly over to other countries to stop them from trying to invade our own. I further explained that just as Daddy protects us from anyone who might want to hurt us --- these soldiers have the job of protecting our entire country. That is why we say THANKS.

Now, I know that this is very oversimplified ... and war is way more political and nasty than I would dare explain to my 4 -year old. And frankly, not all men and women in uniform are honorable. BUT, they are all human ... they are all our brothers and sisters ... and in the best situations ... they are off to do what they believe is right in order to protect the freedoms we hold dear. This is what I want my son to understand and to respect.

So, Isaac and I waved flags, clapped vigorously and shook many hands as these men and women arrived into our airport. We welcomed them to Bangor, thanked them for their service and told them to be sure to come home safe. All our well wishes were happily received. And it felt so good just to share a smile with these folks before they headed into the unknown (these were mostly young recruits headed off for the first time) ... but it also was heartbreaking. Some of these boys looked like babes to me. And some of the women were very likely somebody's mama or little girl. I don't want them to have to leave. But if they must ... then Isaac and I wish them a safe return.

In fact, we are now official "Troop Greeters" (we read the rules and signed on the dotted line and will now be called at all hours of the day to let us know when troops are coming home or leaving). Our name tags will be here shortly.

Isaac - of course - made best buds with a little blond troop greeter (almost 5 years old) who told him she has been Troop Greeting since she was born. She taught him how to "greet" and then took him around to pass out goodies to the soldiers once they were mingling. It was so very sweet (and a little rambunctious) :

And now I believe he is in love. I am sure it will not be hard to get him to come with me for future Troop Greetings - as this little sweetie told him that she is there as often as she can be :)

I am proud of my little man --- proud that he is learning love and respect for those who serve --- and praying that these wars will end asap.

Love,

Jodi

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Wordless Wednesday : My Birthday Walk.

Thank you my men ... for an awesome birthday! I love you both so very much. And Daddy, you have such original thoughts ;)

Love,
Jodi/Mama

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Bangor Car Show 2009.

I am having a blast of a time hanging out with my neice and nephew tonight ... (and Isaac of course). We all went to the Bangor Car Show today and I took many many pics of vehicles ... most of which whose names I have no idea of. But the above photo is my favorite ... because I tend to love faces way more than cars.

I will post the rest of the pics tomorrow via Flickr. Will share when done.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Love,
Jodi

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Around the Farm.

It is a small farm - no doubt. Just 16 acres ... littered with all manner of wild fauna ... 2 goats, 16 chickens, some dogs and some cats. But we get our eggs and milk in this way. And the future may hold other farming ventures here on this fertile land ... just 2 miles from the city's shopping center. Till then, we are more than content with the life we have here. Simple ... yet just minutes from the chaos and entertainments of the city. A strange set of circumstances brought us here ... but now we can't imagine being anywhere else.

I recently met a guy up here from my hometown area of Nashua, NH. He was just passing through and asked me "So, what are you doing up here?" I replied, "Loving every minute of it." And I do ... at least most of the time.

I thought for today I'd share some of the pictures that I took around our place this weekend. Enjoy:

Love,

Jodi

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