Don't get me wrong.
I love me a good gift! or lots O gifts.
And I think we've missed the point with kids...dramatically.
Tis the season to buy the most and spend the most?
To add to the already heaping mound that most have.
Spoiling kids most definitely fulfills what they want...and are they getting what they need?
Love.
Time.
Affection...just to name a few.
Exploration.
Adventure.
Experience...are some options.
Time to talk.
More time to laugh.
To be deeply heard.
The truth is.
I don't think we're paying enough attention.
And how can we?
Our faces spend more time looking at screens than they do human beings.

I remember listening to a story on the OWN network, about a biker dude who's wife wanted the "Best Of Oprah" DVD Collection as a gift. So he bought it, not thinking that he'd EVER be caught watching it, until one day...His wife was out and there was nothing else on. So he threw in the DVD  and the episode was an interview, author Toni Morrison of The Bluest Eye asking this profound question: "When a child (or anyone you love) walks into a room, do your eyes light up?"
This question got him thinking...tired from a long days at work, HE knew how much he loved is family and of course he knew that they knew, he was their father!
And yet...
It's as simple as, "Let your face speak what's in your heart."
Often we might know how we feel and what's being expressed is something entirely different.

When I attended my yoga training in Bali a couple of years back, one of my favourite teachers stood out, precisely for that reason. Anytime he was talking to you, he was completely present. Making you feel as if you were the most important person in the world...the only person in the world.
And no you don't have to be an enlightened being chanting om while on your head for 8 hours to achieve this! Although for some reason, I think it helps!
It's available to us all. At any moment.
And yet why is this so seemingly difficult?

We can say this life and society makes it very challenging to be present.
We can't however, always let excuses keep us from doing what truly matters.
The gifts that keep on giving will never amount to much under the Christmas tree however they'll come back 100 fold in a world that is desperately in need of one another.

Look at the Quinn Family story, unfolding in the photos above, you'll see...
A family that thrives because they play together.
Down the road the kids get to see this...
A mom who doesn't pretend to have it together (this is why I love you Amanda!)
Because what's real is beautiful even if it's a lil fckn chaotic most days.
Brush it off with some humour and a glass of wine (when the kids go to bed of course)!!!!
Dad comes home from work in time to catch the end of road hockey, dress shoes ready to get a little dirty, as he grabs for his baseball mitt and away we go!
Interestingly enough, they didn't have to change a thing to produce what you see above.
It's the Quinn's just being themselves.
And really it's easier than we make it seem.

So less of the stuff that doesn't matter: Other people's facebook walls, celebrity gossip magazines, messenger, text and emails (that can wait or better yet, pick up the phone?)
When our focus is 'out there'...it's not 'in here'.
And our families need all of the focus, love and attention we can give them...and then some.
These are the best gifts we could possibly ever give.

And don't forget! At every possible moment: Let your face speak what's in your heart.
love,
jodi renée

Labels: baseball, etobicoke, family, kids, life, lifestyle, ontario, story, Toronto

How cute is this little man?!?
Meet Parker.

xo
jodi renée

Labels: baby, kids, life, lifestyle, mini session, Toronto

We first met for their wedding at the Rosedale Golf Club ...
Kate arrived in 2009...that was then.
This is now...
A gorgeous family of 4, Parker full of joy! oh baby boy is he ever!

Nothing makes me happier than being invited into people's lives.
Again...
and again...
and again.
That speaks volumes to me.
Fuels my passion in so many ways.
And over the years, what finally comes together...this.
Something personal, beautiful...and full of life...love.
Jenn thanked me for 'magic'...I have to remind people that, it's really you.
If the work you see is beautiful, it's because these people are.
Truth - is beautiful. Honesty - is beautiful.
(sometimes even if it's downright ugly) ...why? Because it's real.
It's honest and it moves us.
For moving images, you must be willing to be moved.
To be moved, you must be more than a 'photographer'.
In fact...this has NOTHING to do with being a photographer, a great one...a good one, amateur or Pro.
If you can't be real with YOU - don't expect the same from the people that hire you. Or the people in your life. Period.
What shows up, what you create and express is constant feedback.
Showing you...where you're at and where you're willing to go. Or not.

Go there.
Always.
Go.
There.

I don't always...
And I know it when I do...and when I don't.
You?


xo

Labels: babies, baby, families, family, kids, life, lifestyle, Toronto