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Joy of Love… Day 10

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Where they are comfortable.

I couldn’t nail down one specific place that my children are comfortable… so maybe I can just say anywhere in our home.  Because we live in a 1940’s style home, we do not have a ton of space so the kids have had to become pretty creative as to where they play.  I am constantly finding miscellaneous things in my room as they day is over.  Yesterday I found a wand, pair of socks and artificial flowers nicely arranged on the top of 2 empty laundry baskets.  Being that spaces are so small, the kids have created their own special forts, tea parties and of course wedding ceremonies.  On Tuesday day we had a friend over playing and I was able to catch them in the middle of their dinner.  Blankets strew around the room and towels attached to handles on doors, the room had become a magical restaurant and the pretend food had become an exquisite platter of cake.  (What else do you have for dinner in your pretend world at 4?!)  Clearly comfortable!

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  • Jessica McAlpine

    Hi there! I’ve been enjoying your website for several months now, and today I recognized my niece Addie in this picture. =) That was fun! Love your beautiful photos….

Celebrating 4 years with Elise and a give away!

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At 4:32 am four years ago, my sweet little Elise was born to us.  In this past year her personality has come out so much more, and I love it.  She is outgoing, very social, smart, and compassionate.  Wishing that she could go off to school with Lydia, she plays school with Ben and “teaches” him all the letters in her name and words that she feels compelled that he must know.  We look forward to the next year to see the little girl God will grow her to be!

To celebrate my sweet girl,  I am giving away 3 free 60 minute photo shoots in the Twin Cities area (30 miles within the 55422 zip code).  You must be available to have your shoot be on April 16th or 30th. Images available for purchase on CD or with prints, but are not included in shoot.

To enter:

Leave a comment below bragging on your child or children/ spouse/ parents/ siblings or pet.

Additional ways to enter:  Tell your friends about this giveaway via Facebook or Twitter. (Leave a comment here letting me know you did this.)

Friend me on my business Facebook page, and come back here letting me know you did this (link to my FB page HERE)  Comments on Facebook will not be included as entry’s!

Contest ends Sunday Feb 13th at 11:59pm central time and winners will be announced on Monday Feb. 14th.

Here’s to celebrating your loved ones!

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  • Angie

    Happy Birthday Elise! Nora can’t wait to celebrate Valentine’s Day with you on Monday:) Let’s see…bragging about my kids. I love Nora’s helpful heart and Levi’s huge squinty grin!

  • JenD

    What a great giveaway! I love that my two big kids ALWAYS say the most hilarious things at just the right times…they never cease to turn my bad days into funny days. I’m also lovin’ all the smiles and cuddles I’ve been getting from my baby girl. I gave you a shout out on my blog (http://dzioba.blogspot.com/2011/02/photo-shoot-giveaway.html) and on my facebook status. Hope you have a great day celebrating Elise!

  • ELIZABETH GILLASPEY

    What a sweet little girl! She is so beautiful and I love that she is teaching her little brother all that important stuff! I hope Emma will do the same with our little buy that is due in May. Happy Birthday to you Elise! You can sure tell your family loves you!

  • Dawn

    Big sisters are GREAT teachers! Happy Birthday to Miss Elise! Love your offer- I boast about your wonderful skills to my friends all the time (your work is on my calendars every year & folks always comment on what nice photos they are). As for bragging on my kids, I’m admiring the goal of my 12 year old, who has convinced herself that she wants to get A’s so she can go to college for engineering at Madison- and still love ART. I was NOT thinking like this at 12!

  • Rachel

    Happy Happy Birthday to you, Elise! And to you, Karen! You were the one who had the hardest job so I always believe in saying Happy Birthday to the mom too! I get my mom lunch every year for my birthday because I was born at lunch time! Anyway, enough about me…
    Mason has such a tender heart toward the lost! He made a basketful of cookies for our neighbor and bought a Bible for him this last fall. When Joe first saw the Bible he looked like he felt a little awkward about it. But, when he read the insription page he teared up. Mason had written: To: Mr. Shafbaur, From: Mason, because I love you! He is so concerned that Joe does not know the Lord that there are times that he will be crying for him. For instance, when Joe had to be taken to the hospital Mason cried because he knew that he had not become a believer yet. Mason asks Joe on a constant bases if he has been reading his Bible. Of course, I could brag about my other children. Cassie’s entrepenourship and her amazing talent for learning the violin and wanting to learn the worship songs we sing at church. Miranda’s love for learning and teaching others and wanting to take that to India someday to help the children there. And there’s Bailey who has sped her way to the top of the Elk River Softball girls world in her pitching and the consern she has for others when they are hurting. And Josh, who has such a tender, sweet heart and likes to encourage others. But, that is about it. Oh, no! You said spouse and parents! Well, Steve is my knight in shining armor and my parents are the most generous people in the world! Come to think of it, I could go on bragging about my family, but you would probably get tired of it, so I will leave it at this: God has blessed me with the greatest family and church family that I have needed throughout the years!

  • Tracy

    What an awesome giveaway! I found you via Jen D. and I must say your photos are wonderful. On to my kiddos…I love my son’s ability to build anything and everything out of Legos and the fact that my daughter would rather be the prince and let me be the princess!

  • Shelley

    Karen: Happy Birthday to your big 4 year old! I love following your blog!
    Mattias was VIP this past week at school. His teacher told us that is a quiet leader in his class…could a parent ask for anything better than that! We were asked to write a letter to him for her to share with his class. Here it is…Dear Mattias,
    You are special because you’re a child of God! You’ve always, since the day you could speak, had an inquisitive mind. Your curiosity and love for learning will take you on many wonderful adventures. You are a wonderful, caring and helpful big brother. You are mature beyond your years. You’ve always taken a genuine interest in people and places. You are loyal, hardworking, and tenderhearted. Since the day you could talk you started to sing. We love listening to you hum as you play around the house. Mattias you’ve got a great imagination which is so wonderful, because your creativity will take you far! We are so proud of you and love you so much! We can’t wait to see what God is going to do with your life!
    Love Mom and Dad!

  • LauraJane

    Happy Birthday, Elise!! How is that little girl 4 already?!?
    So mine is a little story about my oldest (writing about all 4 might get a little long! 🙂 Kyla came home from WOW this week and Jonathan (who was her group leader)told me they had something to share about the night. He had tears in his eyes…so I wasn’t sure what to expect! There is a girl in their group who has cerebral palsy. She was being made fun of by two kids. Kyla stuck up for her. She made the little girl feel loved, told her she could “color her picture however she wanted to.” I was so proud of her and told her that it is a gift that we have words from God, and that she used hers to stick up for this little girl who doesn’t. She was also dancing by her and gave her a hug when she left. I know we’re not supposed to be prideful, but I think you’re allowed some of those proud moments as a parent….I don’t take any of the credit as a parent, it is God in her compassionate heart!! I told her God was smiling about this one, and so was I…even with tears in my eyes!

  • Jennifer Mulvihill

    Wow! What a great giveaway!!!! A family photo shoot would be a HUGE blessing to our family! My husband Josh and I are expecting our third baby on or around April 1st–a girl after two boys! We recently moved into a new home and community and I have the perfect spot for a new family photo! Your work is beautiful and I know you would do an excellent job capturing the personality of our family!

  • Jennifer Mulvihill

    Just Friended you on Facebook! 🙂

  • Ann

    How exciting! I love your work and would love some family pics! My son just turned three and loves all things music and singing and my nine month old daughter is so smiley and happy! They both are huge blessings!

  • Stephanie

    SO my kids are great! Arianna loves to help out around the house and since becoming a big sister she has learned to be more patient and share her parents. She really loves Isabella and always makes sure that we include her – especially when daddy gives her a kiss when he leaves for work! Isabella giggles when we kiss her and only cries when she needs something. She is a very social baby and will sometimes get our attention just so that we will come and smile at her. She loves her big sister and it is a joy to watch them interact. I’d LOVE to have you take their pictures. 🙂

  • Stephanie

    Oh, I’m your friend on Faceboook

  • Stephanie

    And I’m publishing this on FB too!

  • andrea

    Happy Birthday Elsie:)

    Honestly I’m lovin on my husband today…incredible provider, gentle and loving, and best of all he’s quirky and crazy just like me!

    ps…I’m already your friend on facebook:)

  • andrea

    oops…apparently I can’t type…Happy birthday ELISE! not Elsie for goodness sakes!

  • Barb Johnson

    Hi Karen! Not sure if you’re up to a family of our size :-), but we’d love the photo shoot!

    Happy birthday to Elise, too!

  • Mandy

    I have the two little boys I always dreamed of having. The thing I don’t have – professional photos of them. A series of photos to capture them at this fun age would be such a blessing!

  • Jenny Kluznik

    What a great giveaway Karen! And a happy birthday to Elise! I would love the opportunity to brag about my amazing husband. We just celebrated the 12th anniversary of our first date, and enjoyed recounting the many adventures and wonderful discoveries we have had since sharing a chocolate malt at Snuffy’s.

  • Michelle W

    I found you via Jen D’s blog – what an amazing giveaway! And Happy Birthday to your sweet Elise:) We would love to have a photo shoot with you. You pictures are so beautiful! I have 3 girls (ages 5, 2 and newborn), and what I love most about the older two is their incredible imaginations and uncanny ability to turn the simplest things into hours of fun (like piling all their pillows, blankets and sleeping bags onto a bed so they can play “Princess and the Pea”) What I love about my newborn most is the fact that she still sleeps most of the time:), and when she is awake she is so alert and attentive to all that’s going on around her.

  • Samantha Cree

    4 years old is a super fun age! Happy Birthday Elise. Our daughter Linnea was born almost 8 weeks ago, and she is the biggest sweetheart! She is such a good little sleeper – only wakes me up once a night. My husband Josiah is the proudest daddy – I didn’t change a diaper until 3 days after Linnea was born because he wanted to do everything for his little princess.

  • Cara Dimitroff

    Happy birthday, Elise! I will brag for a free photo shoot. =) Joshua is now 10 months old and is the love of our lives. He loves to make us laugh with silly faces & games. He adores his daddy and wants to do everything Brian does. He is smart, charming, and has a sweet & peaceful spirit. I am honored to be this little man’s mama!

  • Rosa Gaona

    My mother Genevieve – born under a tree in Bird Island, MN where her family worked in the beet fields. She dreamed of being a singer….she married, divorced, raised 8 children…had many hardships in her life, but through it all she kept on singing and dancing….. At 78, she is the youngest she’s ever been and at the same time, strong and wise. She has forgiven, she is happy, she is free. She is my role model.

  • Ruth Christenson

    We have been enjoying our new daughter so much. tomorrow she will be two weeks old. It’s such a joy to be back in these baby days where we ooh and ahhh over every little movement. The best is watching the 5 year old and 8 eight year old look at her as though they are completely in love.

Joy of love…day 09

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Passions and hobbies

My kids aren’t really there with any hobby’s yet, but they are passionate about things.  It seems to go in waves as we get introduced to new things.  They tend to hold to these passions for months at a time.  Ever since Lydia was about 2 she has been completely passionate about the baby Jesus manger scene.  When she was about 2 we went to a friend’s house and the baby Jesus could actually be removed from the manger.  At 6 we went to their home this Christmas and she still remembered the manger scene.  She has created numerous clay, play-dough, drawings, and ornate paper manger scenes.

Then we moved on to babies when Ben was born.  We had 4 baby car seats looming around our home.  Every time we went to a garage sale the girls would pick up a new baby outfit or their babies just because “they needed new clothes”  (Special thanks to all my friends who went through this stage with me.  I am grateful for the many times you let the girls “play” with your son or daughter’s car seat!)

Now we have moved on to yet another passion (or should I say obsession).  At Thanksgiving we made the mistake of showing the kids the Sound of Music on the car ride to Milwakee to visit my in-laws.  Since then there have been numerous “shows” on the stairs in our home.  And Fredrick, “Rageeta” (Brageta) as Elise pronounces it, and Marta have been taking the places of Ben, Elise and Lydia.  There have also been sightings of nuns and a captain in the Feder home.  Really the best part is my kids, even Ben, sing right along with the Doe and deer song.  I have to say that at times it can be completely annoying, but for the most part, I love it!

Here is Elise singing her all time favorite song “Doe a Deer a female deer, ray a drop of golden sun….”

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  • Stephanie

    I remember Lydia playing with our carseat at MOMS 2 years ago, just before or just after Ben was born. 🙂

  • andrea

    Feed that imagination…it’s truly priceless:) BTW, love the series!

Joy of love… day 08

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A gift from the heart.

My husband had a high standard to live up to.  For his 30th birthday, I had successfully pulled off a surprise party for him.  There were so many obstacles from his parents showing up a day before unexpectedly to the fact that he wanted to go to another restaurant than I had planned to take him to, plus keeping a toddler and preschooler quiet about it in the process!  Needless to say I pulled it off, and for a guy that doesn’t like surprises, he was completely floored and surprised. So when my 30th birthday rolled around the following year, he wanted to make it just as good.

And it was!

I came home from a day of shopping to find the kids gone, the house cleaned and a husband ready to take me out on the town.  When we got in the car, a series of clues were given to me and a scavenger hunt was on.  He took me to 5 different places and after receiving each clue, it created and even bigger clue which would lead to the BIG gift.  I actually had no idea what it was, but after a night of fun, I was give the gift I had been wanting for the entire year…Lightroom AND a monitor calibrator.  (I know I am a total geek!)   I had been ridiculously crazy with kids and work and life and he knew I wanted to mainstream my work flow.  I was tired of sitting at the computer for hours on end and that I wanted to spend more of my evenings with him, it was the best gift I could have asked for that year.  The perfect gift from the heart.

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    the joy of love… day 07

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    Generations was the assignment for this day.

    My dad and Ben have this great relationship that as a daughter I just love seeing.  Because I had 2 sisters, it is great to see my dad in a whole new light with my son.  It makes me appreciate him so much more.  I hope that one day my son will have many qualities that my father possesses.  Fo now, I am just enjoying watching my dad be a grandpa to not only his granddaughters, but his grandsons too!

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