Heather Smith Photography

Let's face it. Christmas has become a very materialistic holiday. So many just think about what they are getting for Christmas, how much money they'll get or who can get the biggest gift. We tend to forget about why we even celebrate Christmas. Well, here's an easy reminder. . . It's called CHRISTmas. The first 6 letters in the word gives it away. We celebrate CHRIST's birth. The ULTIMATE gift. The most precious gift anyone could give.

Personally, even though we celebrate the birth of Jesus with a birthday cake every year and give to the needy, etc, throughout the year off and on and could care less about any gifts for myself, I've quickly realized that between me not getting much as a child and my husband being spoiled as a child, we are SUCKERS when it comes to CHRISTmas for our son and this year, our SONS. (This thrills me to be able to say "SONS" this Christmas! I got my present in September this year!!) This means that we can't help but want to work our butts off and give them everything they could want. It's not right. How many gifts we give our children do not tell them how much we love them. Honestly, there is nothing that our children can hold in their hands that can ever show them how much we love them. Really, I LOVE the fact that a few of my friends only give their children 3 gifts because that's what Jesus got. Jesus received Gold, Frankincense and myrrh. Their thought is if three gifts were enough for jesus that should be plenty for their own children. I admire them. I hope to one day be able to do this. Right now though, I'm just one big SUCKER.

So, although our children may be spoiled, as a family, we decided to count down the 12day's of CHRISTmas by doing 12 days of Random Acts of Kindness. Granted, these were all planned out so I guess they're not quite so random. This is a new CHRISTMAS tradition in our family now! I want my children to know the reason we celebrate CHRISTmas, why it's better to give than to receive, but the only way they'll "know" is by doing. So, here's what we did and few cell phone snap shots of us doing them. This really helped us get in the CHRISTmas spirit but also helped our son and family in countless ways!

12 Random Acts of Kindness

1.) We brought hot cocoa and muffins to Landon's teachers.

(they were very thankful for the random act of kindness and even posted on FB that they appreciated it)

2.) We gave Hot chocolate to the Salvation Army Bell ringers and donate money

(this guy told us that we "made his day" which made Landon's day!)

3.) We put quarters on these Cards and taped them to the toy machines inside of Kroger.

(we just hope that children actually got the money but even if some adult took it, I hope it was at least because they needed it. But sometimes we just have to give to give and hope for the best. )

4.) We donated a big bag of dog food to our local animal shelter.
(and we got to take a tour and see all the doggies, puppies and kitties which Landon really enjoyed)

5.) (This was Landon's idea) we bought 18 toys and stood outside of Kroger and CVS and handed them to every child we saw.

(this Act of kindness was one of the biggest for Landon. We heard stories of sick kids and kids parents who were in jail and didn't have any toys for christmas. This really touched Landon's heart and the joy on his face to give toys to these kids was priceless. You never know what people are going through and I really think this made a SMALL difference in our community. ALSO - during the hour and half that we spent handing out toys a man gave us $10 and told us he LOVED what we were doing and that we could buy more toys with it or just donate it but that he knew we'd do good with it. So Landon also got to see that when other see us being kind and giving, it beings out the kind in others as well.)

6.)While in line at KMART there was a little boy (about 6 years old) and his mother. The only thing they were buying was a pack of hot wheels cars and he was SUPER excited about them. We gave him a $5 gift card to help him pay for it.

7.) We gave our UPS man a christmas card telling him how much we appreciate him. (He's at our house sometimes 3-4 times a week for my business and he helped us work with our dog who used to HATE him)with a $15 Applebees gift card and KID pack of coupons for free items for McDonalds for his 2 year old little boy.

8.) Made a homemade meal and took it to a mommy who just had her second baby.
(There were several people from MOPS who did this for me and she was one of them. She had never even met me before and still signed up to bring me dinner so I had to return the favor!)

9.) Josh and Landon spent 1 hour helping people load groceries into their cars and take their shopping carts back for them at Kroger.

(This was a really good one for Landon. He realized that it's not just about giving presents it's about giving our time to help others. Josh said everyone was so nice and let him help put their groceries in their cars and take their carts back. People even gave him candy canes as a thank you. This was also big for my husband. He really enjoyed doing this with our oldest son.)

10.) We took a Christmas card to Landon and Josh's Barber with a $15 gift card in it.

11.) Landon went through his toys and picked out a whole bag full to donate.

12.) We went through some clothes and donated them.

In addition to these acts of kindness, Heather Smith Photography fans have been so generous in helping me get 30 COATS donated for the needy!! I'd like to reach 50, so please continue to donate if you can!

This was a wonderful experience and we'll continue to do this each year for Christmas. CHRISTmas should be today what it was about on the very first CHRISTmas.

Giving to others and showing God's love. That's how we bring others to know Christ all while teaching good values and giving back to our community. What could be better than that?!

Merry Christmas everyone!

OUTLINE for the Mamarazzi Academy Photography Workshop by Heather Smith Photography
*Everyone participating needs to bring their favorite snapshot that they’ve taken*
*Bring your camera and your camera’s manual with you!*
Be sure to have plenty of batteries and memory cards cleared because you will be doing LOTS of shooting!!This class will book fast! Please email hsphotography1@aol.com to secure your spot!
When payment is made, be sure to add your email address with it! This will be how I contact you with all info before the class!

Outline for becoming a MAMARAZZI Academy GraduateCapture the moment, no matter what
Quantity, then quality
Fill Flash
Turn it off
Catch lights
Editing/mini photoshop tutorial
Camera Recommendations

Posing, oooor not!
Getting CLOSE
Angles
Finding the Beauty in everyday
LOTS MORE!!
Thinking outside the 8x10 - -

Let’s go practice

Critiquing your snap shots from the day

LOCATION: My HOME

DATE: Saturday, January 28,2011 (BAD WEATHER (more than 3 inches of snow) RESCHEDULE DATE - Saturday February 18. )

TIME: 1pm - 5pm

COST: $115 before November 19 - $135 after November 19
(NON REFUNDABLE - If there is an emergency and you cannot make it, you will be first on the list for the next available MAMARAZZI ACADEMY workshop)

ALSO INCLUDES: Snacks and Beverages, (and since it's winter time - expect lots of hot cocoa and cookies :) yummm!)

Goodie Bag (inside: a photography book, A gift Card from me for $75!, other valuable goodies), a door prize, and finding out how to be a MAMARAZZI which is PRICELESS!

PAYMENT MUST BE MADE IN FULL TO OFFICIALLY BOOK A SPOT! THERE'S ONLY 10 SPOTS AVAILABLE! I CANNOT HOLD ANY SPOT UNTIL I RECEIVE PAYMENT, ONCE PAYMENT IS MADE, THAT SPOT WILL BE HELD JUST FOR YOU!!