Quite out of the blue on Tuesday, I received an email inviting me to the opening of BONDS Australia‘s new Doncaster Store, to meet and chat with Sarah Murdoch, take a few photos and enjoy all that bonds has to offer.  I LOVE a bit of Bonds, and am a fan of Sarah’s, so I picked myself up off the floor (where I fell after reading the email!), and off went Milla and I today.

Let me start by saying, I was totally unsure of what to expect, having never been to an opening of anything before.  Certainly there would be no red carpet (or would there?!), nor would I really get a chance to sit down and chat to Sarah one-on-one.  Surely not.  So – I didn’t actually PREPARE any stunningly amazing questions for her.  As I was driving, I felt a wee bit of panic creep up on me.  What if I DID actually get to chat to her?  What would I say? What would I ask her? What if I got all flustery and fumbly? By the time I made it into the store (without checking EXACTLY where I had parked my car – note to self – NEVER EVER walk into a shopping complex without a tent, packed lunch and cookies that you can leave a trail of crumbs, thereby leading you safely back to your car……….), I was slightly frazzled.  I think I covered up nicely though!

After some browsing, and the obligatory two-year old toilet stop, I was introduced to Sarah, and we had our photo taken.  Oh my gosh.  She is so effortlessly graceful.  Tall.  Beautiful and NORMAL!  Such a lovely Mama. She and Milla and I were ushered to the back of the store for a chat. We talked parenting. We talked work-life balance.  We talked about snuggling up in bed with our children.  Laughed over the contents of our handbags. She pulled out her iPad for Milla to play with – not minding about the sticky banana-fingers. We talked about taking out children for granted, but then realising that they are treasures.  The feeling we get when we THINK we want to have some peace and quiet away from our children, but when we are actually AWAY, our hearts feel slightly empty. She showed me photos of her little gang on her iPhone. They are super cute. We talked about how children take stock in everything around them – they are in their own time – enjoying the little things – things we should be more mindful of. She smiled and laughed.  With me. I felt special, and that is good.

We. Just. Chatted.

It was lovely.  She may be one of the most well-known faces of Australia – an icon even – but I saw her today as a beautiful, caring mum, daughter, wife and person. Just like me.  And you. Thank-you Sarah for reminding me that no matter how busy, grumbly, tired, famous or ‘anything’ that we are, we are all CELEBRATED by our families, and celebrate the little things.

I took all of these photographs on my iphone – that ensured I captured the moment, and the little things that Milla was loving, rather than fiddling with my big gorgeous camera – so the quality isn’t fabulous – but the memories are.

Milla LOVES her gorgeous stripey wondersuit and hoodie – I think she gets a bigger kick out of parading around her own ‘baggie’!  Yes – she was wondering around nearly nude – after she tried on her Wondersuit, she felt there was absolutely no need to get dressed completely again.  How could I argue with that cute belly!  The new Store is fabulous – stocked to the brim with all of our favourite Bonds-wear – knickers galore (it was all I could do to stop Milla from tearing them from the hanger and wearing them on her head!), tees, hoodies, sloppy joes, skirts, dresses, trackies and more.  Whip on over and have a look!

Thank-you to Bonds Australia, and the lovely Sarah Murdoch.

This wedding was no exception. I recently photographed the wedding ceremony of the gorgeous Beth and Damian.  I cried.  More than once.  I think it was the beautiful prayers that did it.  Or maybe the love with which they looked at each other.  Or maybe I had something in my eye.

Thank-you for allowing me to photograph such a beautiful ceremony – it was a pleasure.

Thank-you for allowing me to join you for the afternoon – I had a blast!

action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living, out of our over-confidence, out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope, and out of hope…..progress.

(Bruce Barton)

(you too can have a FABULOUS FAMILY REEL MOVIE! This was my Milla in the space of 10 minutes – imagine how AWESOME it would be to have your day in a REEL movie.)

Milla Macey is nearly 20 months.  She can scream like a banshee.  Louder than a banshee.  She has just learnt how to jump. She can eat double her weight in strawberries.  She weighs as much as a 30 month old, and is a tall as a 27 month old.  She is the skinniest looking gigantor I have ever seen.  She loves to snuggle and have special mummy time.  She says ‘hello Daddy’ to Wilbur over the phone.  She makes enough splash in the bath to be mistaken for five children at once.  She keeps me on my toes.  She knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid to get it.  She will push the other M’s out of the way if they dare to climb onto my lap.  She likes to eat standing up on a stool at the end of the bench. She has more hair than is necessary.  She sucks her thumb, and doesn’t care which hand it is.  She is a delight.  We LOVE her to bits.

(this posse of photographs was edited using the FABULOUS RADLAB from GET TOTALLY RAD! AWESOME timesaver and VERY cool tool!)

I am here. Working feverishly behind the scenes. Please stick with me blog readers, I’ll be back super soon.