Most of you who follow me, know my love for gardening. I have been gardening with my mom since I can remember, but now that I have a property of my own I have been experimenting a lot with cutting flowers and different blooms. My favourites so far are cosmos, zinnias, peonies, poppies + Sweet peas. I love having fresh blooms in my house in the summertime. It might be my favourite thing about summer actually. This year we also have cattle and bees on our property along with my donkeys.

Fitting all my feelings and emotions about this 8 day trip across the pond is simply impossible. I don’t even know where to begin. But sorry in advance for the abundance of photographs you are about to see. Including the insane amount of food that was consumed during our time there.

Monica, who is the talented photographer behind Calgary Boudoir/Red Bloom Photography and I have been friends for 10+ years now. We are the definition of instagram friends turned into real friends.

Well, WE DID IT! My biggest project yet! *Insert confetti and champagne poppin’. We officially re-branded my entire business and built a whole new website all in 4 months working alongside the talented Janna of Jae Rae Creative. As most of you have already seen in Fall of 2021, my rebrand went live and you all loved it as much as I do. I am obsessed if I am being completely honest. We kept the foundations of my business but gave it a giant facelift filled with all things Miranda.

This year, as Mother’s Day approaches, I am a little emotional as I think about my son and how everyday with him truly means so much to me. He was the first to call me mom, and now I get to happily celebrate this amazing day like I have always dreamed of doing. I never really understood how special this day was to a mother, until becoming one myself. The name “mom” doesn’t come easy to many.

Usually at Christmas time I gift my baking for friends/family and coworkers. But this year being the odd year that it is, I wasn’t sure how people would feel about that. So I decided to stray away from that and make these easy DIY bird feeder wreaths. Which I am going to share with you guys how to make. They are so simple and make the cutest gifts to give to your loved ones. I had everything to make these in my house, with the exception of mini bundt pans, which I have wanted forever anyways so it made the perfect excuse to buy them. And really, who doesn’t LOVE feeding the birds?

Here I am, writing my second first birthday letter but this time its to you. Almost two years later than the first time I sat down to write one of these. After I wrote my first letter to your older brother, I really had no idea what our path would look like. I didn’t know if we would be blessed with another child, or how differently life would look for us. At the time if you would have told me I could love two children to the exact same capacity. I would tell you that you are crazy. That it would not be possible. But on June 8, 2019, that changed forever. I changed forever. Our family changed forever. Love is boundless and my heart was instantly big enough for two perfect little boys. You always hear parents talk about their children and how much they mean to them, but until you become a parent you don’t realize just how real those words truly are. One day my love, you will know that feeling for yourself.

I am sharing a blog post I wrote back in September. I never shared it, I left it in my drafts. I was embarrassed and ashamed and scared to be open and vulnerable with the world. Today, I gained the confidence to share this. Because I know, someone out there will relate to my words.

It’s almost midnight on a Friday night. Your big brother is sound asleep and has been for hours, and your dad is in another province with his friends on a snowmobile trip. It is cold, snowy and blowing like crazy outside. I am laying in my king size bed with our dog, Howard who is taking up three quarters of it. But when dad’s out of town, I have to take advantage of the bedtime snuggles with this furry boy. I just finished catching up on the latest episodes of the Bachelor that I missed on our family vacation.

This past year has come and gone in the blink of an eye. I’m here trying to figure out where the past year went, and how you are already one. I’m sitting struggling to put my thoughts into words for how I truly feel about you. It’s difficult, not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I have way to many emotions to write it all down. I’ve stopped many times while writing this, because my eyes are too foggy to continue on. How do you express your love and gratitude towards the most important person in your life in a few simple paragraph? How do I tell you how deeply I feel for you? How much you have changed me and my outlook? And how much I have learned from you? Words simply cannot express those feelings. But I will try to make sense of it for you.

Its funny how being a photographer, you never have the time to edit your own personal photos. When you do have free time, the last thing you want to do is spend it editing. Last May, my husband and I took a road trip to Tofino as one last trip before our son arrived. It was honestly one of the best trips we’ve ever been on, and one of the coolest. Totally random and laid back. We had absolutely nothing planned, we literally jumped in the vehicle and drove west. For those of you who know me understand when I say I am a planner. I literally would plan every hour of my day if I could. So this trip was totally out of my comfort zone but totally worth it!

Some nights I purposely let you fall asleep in my arms. Just so I can hold you a little longer and watch your chest move up and down as you rest so peacefully. You fit so perfectly in my arms. Sometimes you let out a sigh with the cutest little smile. You must be dreaming. Before I put you down for the night I always hold your hand and squeeze it tight. I give you a kiss on your cheek and hold you close. Often times I find tears running down my face because I don’t know how someone like me was blessed with someone like you. You’ve changed me, and I always find myself wondering how I lived the past 24 years without you? I can’t imagine my life without you. I wake up every morning so thankful for you. So thankful that you made me a mother and gave me something I never knew was missing. You’re simply the sweetest. You have such a kind and gentle soul. The way your whole face lights up when you see me walk into your room every morning. You greet me with the biggest smile and instantly wrap your arms around my neck when I pick you up. My heart has never been so full. My love for you is way different then any kind of love I have experienced before. The love only a mother can relate too.

Sitting in that hospital bed the afternoon when they laid you on my chest. I had no idea what to expect for my life going forward. I had waited months to find out what you would look like, what colour your hair would be, how the sound of your helpless cry would sound and what the grip of your tiny little fingers on mine would feel like. I had no idea what to expect for my life from that moment on. All I knew is that I loved you more than anything I have ever loved before and it happened the minute my eyes laid on you.

We have dreamed of you. You came to us during a particularly hard time and helped us find our footing. Your father and I have many promises to make to you. Some of which you may not like, and others you may not understand until you are older, but one day I hope you read this and find yourself smiling. Only to realize we only wanted you to be safe, and happy, and oh so loved.

If you follow my blog regularly, I’m sure you will know what the past 6 months of life have brought my husband and I and our families. I find life a crazy and unpredictable roller coaster that you really don’t ever know where it will take you or what is in store for us. In October, I went through such heartbreak and sadness of miscarrying my first pregnancy. Something that I wanted more than anything I’ve ever wanted in the entire world. At the time, I thought nothing in the world would ever feel the same again and I would never be able to be myself and be truly happy after what I experienced. Although I will never get the chance to meet our angel baby, I can always dream of the person he/she would have become. I may not have ever known our angel baby, but you will always have a place in our hearts, thoughts and our family.

I am currently trying to hold it together as I sit here writing this. Who am I kidding, I have been trying to hold myself together for the past month and a half now. Life is unfair sometimes, and funny but mostly unfair. It’s funny how we can hide behind a smile on our face and pretend we are okay. And people believe that we are okay, but we know deep down that we have things going on that no body knows of. I am hiding behind a screen about to spill my heart out to some people who will actually take the time out of their day to read this.

My husband and I are celebrating our first year of marriage in 3 weeks. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were reading our wedding vows in front of our closest friends and family. Some of you reading this will completely agree with the things you are about to read in this blog, and some of you will think I’m totally wrong. That’s okay. That’s the beauty of relationships and lessons we learn. We are all different. These are the things I’ve learned over the past year and the things we’ve experienced. Take it with a grain of salt, if you will! This next part in my blog is not to make anyone feel sorry for us, or put us on a pedestal. I just want to share some things that you may want to consider in the future.

Today I met a women who inspired me, challenged me and left incredible foot prints on my heart.  I may have only talked to her for 30 minutes, but I left our conversation feeling and striving to pursuit my passion and dreams. She spoke words that make me realize its moments like this that make going to work everyday worth it. For most of you that are reading this probably don’t know that I have not only one career, but two.  Both fulfilling and rewarding, but completely different careers.  As you all know, I am a wedding and lifestyle photographer but also work health care.  I went to school 5 years ago to become a Registered Dental Assistant. Don’t ask me why, I woke up one day and decided that’s what I wanted to do.  1 week later, I was accepted into the program and would be starting in 2 months.  A completely random decision and it was a career that never once crossed my mind but it was a decision I made that I have been thankful for ever since.  I have learned more these past 5 years than I ever though was possible. I have been thrown many experiences, good and bad.  Grown into a young adult, and made many life long friendships. I have the ability to help people, every single day.  Although people may not love coming to see us eryday, we make a difference.

Finally! I have been trying to make this blog post for weeks now, but our internet has not been cooperating. I wanted to share a couple of my favorite photos from our Honeymoon. By a couple, I mean a lot because it was too hard to pick just a few! These are a mix between iPhone, my DSLR and some images from our photo shoot with Meg Courtney. These images from our honeymoon mean more to me than anyone will ever know. This way by far the greatest two weeks I have shared with someone in one of the most spectacular places on earth. We did absolutely anything and everything, and it was worth every minute of it. If you have not yet been to Hawaii, do it!