About a month ago I started toying with the idea of TAKING A BREAK.  During photography’s slow season (Dec. through Feb.)  The truth of it all is, is that there is no such thing as “slow season” for someone trying to run a business.  If you don’t have regular clients coming in, you still have blogs to write, marketing efforts to produce, graphics to design, office space that needs organizing, websites that need revamping, etc, etc, etc.

It. never. ends.

And for the past 3 years, almost EVERY. SINGLE. EVENING has been filled with work.  As soon as the kids go to bed, my lap top comes out and I work. and work. and work.  And to tell the truth, I’m starting to get really tired.  And I don’t want to get tired.  I have seen my work getting more sloppy (not the photography part, but the blog part, and the marketing part, and DEFINITELY the keeping everything organized part).  And continuing down this road of constantly running upstream leads only to failure.

Oh, but by the way, failure isn’t an option.

So I’m taking a break.

And I am going to check my e-mail only a few times a day instead of 1,000.  And I’m going to play with my kids when they ask me to play.  And I’m going to hug them when they want a hug.  And I’m going to get my camera out because I WANT to.  And I’m going to capture my OWN priceless moments for a few months.  And when my husband wants to watch a movie or play a game in the evenings, I will.  WITHOUT multi-tasking. And I won’t have those super-busy days where I have to decide between a shower and getting edits done.

Wow.  This new life sounds pretty nice.

But I promise you I will come back.  Because I LIVE for my business.  (And my kids and my husband…)  And I live for my clients and their children, and I live for creating those timeless, precious works of art that make beautiful homes even more beautiful.  And I live for business, and marketing, and branding.  (Not so much bookkeeping and accounting.  But that’s why I have a husband.)  And I live for growing and creating and pushing myself further.  So here’s to a break!  And when I come back expect a new and improve and rejuvenated me.  Oh, I’m so excited for the rejuvenated part.

And if you are afraid you’ll miss me too much, make sure you are a part of my Facebook Fan page.  Because I hang out there a lot.  And I will continue to do so.  And that’s where I’ll share Mackay stories and Zack’s driving me crazy stuff, and business related such-and-such.

And I can’t wait to see you all back here in a few months! (Just make sure you come back.)

**Random and sort of awkward side note: Gift Cards are on SALE NOW!  Through the month of December from Kalli Barker Photography.  Any amount 20% off!  So if you have are looking for the perfect Christmas gift for those perfect people in your life, this could be IT.  E-mail me: kalli{at}kallibarkerphotography{dot}com for more information.**

So sorry to do this to you all, but today I am MIA.  No new blog post.  If you need to wonder why, refer to Monday’s post. 

Thank you for all your understanding!

We struck a deal.  I would go camping on Friday night if Nate would take me out to a Mexican restaurant on Saturday.  Deal.  Camping was okay, minus the huge storm that blew in over the night, and I wasn’t sure if our tent was going to blow away with us in it or just cave in.  At 2:00am in the wind and rain I was dreaming of my Mexican dinner I had bargained for.

Saturday night we went to our storage unit and grabbed out all of our Christmas decorations.  After dinner at my favorite place, Fernandos, we were going to decorate our house with the kids.  Dinner was amazing, the kids did great, and on our way home we were just talking about anything and everything.  And then we got hit.

I didn’t even see it coming–I was in the middle of a sentence.  It all happened so fast.  Once we had come to a stop I turned my head around and saw two sets of eyes looking back at me.  Nate was okay.  The kids were crying, but they looked good.  I jumped out of the car, unbuckled my kids as fast as I could and tore them out.  Zack had taken his shoes off, of course, so I had to hold him.  Mackay wouldn’t stop shaking.  A woman came up to me and offered help.  I handed her a child.  We jumped in her car and moved away from the accident into a nearby parking lot.  And that’s where we stayed for about an hour as the fire trucks, ambulances, and police arrived.  While Nate was checking on the other driver, talking with police, and trying to piece together what happened with witnesses, we colored by number. We sat in a car with two elementary school teachers and a middle school teacher.  We couldn’t have been in better hands.

Nate kept me updated on details as he got them.  The woman was drunk.  They found the bottle of Vodka in her car.  She tried to beat up police, was tackled to the ground, handcuffed, and taken to jail.  My fear for the person in the other car turned to complete anger.  I felt like I could have punched her in the face.  How dare she get into a car after drinking.  How did she not think of my children, also getting into a car, so excited to decorate their home for Christmas?

But even with the anger the blessings can’t be overlooked.  How she hit us in just the right spot.  How close she was to ramming right into Mackay’s door.  I don’t know how I could have lived with myself if my kids had gotten severely hurt.  How my friend answered her phone when I called for a ride.  How she came immediately to pick us up.  How our neighbors brought over two car seats for us to borrow that same night.  How our friends are bringing dinner over to us tonight.  How we are ALIVE and WELL.

So though our bodies are still in a lot of pain, we are so blessed.  And I thank you all for your help and support.

Thanksgiving is upon us! The weather actually feels like FALL today, and I can’t wait to officially start the Holiday season.  And with the chilly Fall weather outside (today it is only going to be 60 degrees here in Dallas!), some warm craft time inside with the kiddos seems like the perfect way to enjoy those kiddos.

This craft seems SO cute using pencil erasers and paint to make an Autumn tree.  The blog that I got it from IS in a different language, but you get the idea. 

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This web-site has a lot of great printables for children to enjoy!

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Cute Turkey!

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A way to remember and give thanks AND incorporate the Thanksgiving turkey.

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This has to be one of my favorites.  Thanksgiving seems to be focused a LOT around the turkey and not so much around Pilgrims and Native Americans.  I did this next craft with my kids to introduce who the Pilgrims were and what the first Thanksgiving was all about.  And using their hands to draw the heads was just plain fun.

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This next image comes from a fellow photographer’s blog.  She has SO MANY cute and WONDERFUL ideas of how to incorporate Thanksgiving into your day with kiddos.  Games and crafts galore!

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And seriously, how could you not end the post with these adorable sugar cookies?  I don’t know if I could eat them….maybe just decorate them!

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What are you doing with your kids this year to enjoy the Thanksgiving spirit?

If you have talked to me in the last few years about decorating my house for the holidays I would have sounded like a Scrooge. I absolutely, positively, have HATED decorating my house.  Getting out all the boxes of decorations, sifting through them, finding a place for them all, and then living in a house of clutter, mismatched holiday decor coupled with misplaced year-round decorations.  Ugh.  Makes me mad.  But of course I put them up, and the day after Christmas I JOYFULLY take it all down.  Joyfully.

But not this year.

Instead of the mismatched, hand-me-down decorations, I have decided to DECORATE for REAL.  I’m ecstatic about it.  I was so excited (thanks to Pinterest) about making my home look beautiful for the holidays, that I took TWO kids to THREE different stores in ONE day.  Does anyone else recognize what a feat that is?

(Inserted note: I KNOW that this is a CHRISTMAS post BEFORE THANKSGIVING.  I KNOW to many this is a cardinal sin.  But because of the DIY nature of it all, I thought it appropriate to start early to get decorations UP before the NEW YEAR.  So don’t try to hate.)

And here is my first DIY project tackled.  I saw this display and thought it all looked so beautiful.  Realizing (from a client) that the Christmas Subway art was a FREE download completely kicked me into gear.  I immediately ordered the 16X20 print through my lab, found on-line coupons, wrote down my needed list of supplies, and found the nearest Thrift shop.

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And same day I made my glitter trees with Mackay, spray painted my thrifted antique candlesticks, and excitedly pushed everything off my mantle and put these in their place.  And they look beautiful. (Mackay was my put-glitter-back-into-bottle helper and personal consultant throughout this project.)

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And I am gung-ho about finishing off my mantle as a beautiful masterpiece.  I have a little extra space that I need to do something with.  I was thinking about creating a monogrammed B in either Jute:

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…or Moss.  And can’t decide which.  If I do a moss letter, I will do a burlap wreath to go with it.  (See below.)  If I do a Jute letter, I will possibly do a moss wreath?  Thoughts?

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Other ideas for the mantle:

Presents made from kleenex boxes.

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I also thought about doing something totally crazy and putting this branch and ornament idea above my couch.  So if you find the perfect stick, and perfect husband to put up said stick, let me know.

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An already must on my list of crafts-to-do is this Burlap Christmas Tree skirt.  No sew!

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And Christmas stockings.  I am sad to say that we really haven’t done the whole Christmas stocking thing.  Growing up we always had the SAME ONE every year.  The same, super ghetto, but super from the heart stockings that my dad made HIMSELF.  (No, he is not crafty.)  So I wanted to do something special for my family.  But nothing special really clicked.  And a lot of years we even forgot our Christmas stockings wherever we were staying and used either a)other people’s extras, or b)plastic bags.  Super festive of us, I know.

But that is going to (hopefully) change this year.  I have recently got into quilting and found these absolutely adorable quilted Christmas stockings.  The pattern is for sale for $7.95 for 4 patterns.  I have consulted with my personal quilting teacher about if she thinks this is a good idea for me to undergo, and if she thinks she can help me. 

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If those stockings prove to be too difficult and time consuming, I am thinking about doing these burlap stockings.  To go with a possible frame/monogrammed letter and our Christmas Tree skirt.

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And WREATHS!  I love the idea, but I love too many ideas.  I want something to decorate my home AND my front door, and still have to choose which ones to do.

Option A:

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Option B:

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And option C:

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And HERE is where you comment with your thoughts, words of encouragement, opinions…