I’d never officially photographed a wedding before, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. So it was so fun to get to do it with such a dear friend and experienced photographer.

As this was my first wedding there was definitely a learning curve. It started with the fact that I (gratefully) used one of Tara’s cameras and her lenses (as hers are a good step above what I have). This meant a bit of adjusting for me at first – just figuring out the new camera. Of course the fact that I hadn’t really picked up any camera at all in about 6 months didn’t help. But, by the end of the day I was feeling much more relaxed and like I’d finally gotten a bit of a handle on things.

Here are a few things I learned in the process of the day:

1. Photographing a wedding requires a lot of fast thinking. Everything moves pretty quickly on a wedding day and it’s easy to see a shot and then miss it a second later. That was frustrating at times, but it was good for me too, because it forced me to think on my feet and figure things out quickly. In some was there’s no better way to learn camera settings than to be thrown into a wedding and have to change settings quickly with changing light as to not miss a shot. I felt like my skills at the end of the day were way different than at the beginning of the day.
2. Photographing a wedding is exhausting! It might be that I did it while 6 months pregnant, but I think even not pregnant it is a super long day and as a photographer you spend most of it on your feet. It’s easy to forget to drink water, or eat, or just take a break in the midst of trying to get the next shot.
3. I also realized that I don’t think I would ever want to do what Tara does as the main photographer. To me, at least at this stage, it seemed like a lot of work and pressure. But, I LOVED being a second shooter! Tara gives her second shooters lots of freedom, so really most of the day I got to play and find shots and just enjoy taking pictures. It was really fun. Is it possible to be a Professional second shooter? Haha. I think that could be pretty fun.

Ok, so here’s a very small, quick sampling of the photos I took at the wedding. Hope you enjoy.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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It’s far from being done yet, but I got a good start on it.

What have you worked on this weekend??

Rejoicing in the journey-
Bethany Stedman

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This Halloween we had an opportunity to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve a little differently and I loved it. It felt more real, not at all commercialized and more in-tune with the familiar familial magic of fall. So, what did we do? Well, our friends who own some property in Zelivka, right in the middle of a national park in Prague, invited us to hang out there with them for a little outdoor cook out. We each brought some fresh veggies that we threw in a big pot over an open fire. I made some homemade bread and pumpkin pie to share. My husband brought a bottle of homemade nettle champagne (which he made with nettles he picked out on the property). Our friends brought sausage to roast and pumpkins for the kids to carve. We laid out some blankets and talked, took walks around the property, ate our yummy fall inspired food, and carved pumpkins. The kids played hid-and-go-seek and ghost in the graveyard. The weather was clear and crisp, with just enough sunshine peaking through the clouds to leave long shadows through the trees.

Something about just being out in nature and hanging out with friends around a fire felt so right. It got me thinking about the type of Halloween traditions I want my kid to grow up with. I want my child to grow up celebrating Halloween because personally I love it, but I want them to grow up celebrating something more real that the commercialized holiday the candy industry has put together. I also want them to grow up celebrating it in a deeper way than the church “fall festivals” that are so common in the states – something about those fall festivals always felt somehow fake and contrived to me.

Here’s what I’d like future Stedman Halloweens to be about:

• Spending Time Outside in nature – somewhere where the trees are changing color
• Spending time with family and friends and any other wandering souls that happen to be needing a friendly welcome
• Making our own autumn feast together and cooking it outside over an open fire
• Drinking homemade beverages such as nettle beer or homemade apple cider
• Having a bonfire and roasting homemade marshmallows
• Carving pumpkins and lighting Jack O’ Lanterns
• Telling stories about saints and martyrs from the past (picking one Bible character, apostle, saint, or historical church figure and telling their story and talking about them with the kids…?? Maybe??)
• Doing some autumn inspired activities – like bobbing for apples, hay rides, nature walks in the woods, etc.
• Having a short time of prayer – praying a liturgy like this one or just praying together informally and thanking God for the people who have gone before us and the example they have set

Dressing up and going “trick or treating” could be included if we wanted it to be on any given year, but wouldn’t have to be. With all the other activities I don’t think any of us would miss it. And I can get my dress-up longings filled all year long now that I have kids to play with me {smile}.

Did you have a good Halloween this year? What would your ideal Halloween look like?

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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 But, the family love for food goes even farther back than my dad. It extends to my grandparents and extended family as well. One of my favorite food memories from my childhood is making Creme de Menthe ice cream with my grandma. She was always very secretive about her ice cream recipe and it was always so special when she made it.

This weekend I was at my parents house with my cousin (who is more like a little sister to me) and my aunt and we decided my dad needed to give us a cooking lesson on ice cream. Of course, the only choice for what kind of ice cream to make was Creme de Menthe. So, we made three kinds of Creme de Menthe ice cream. We made my grandma’s recipe first of course. And then we decided to play. Grandma’s recipe isn’t a custard based recipe so we decided to adapt it into a custard based ice cream. Then my cousin and I said we wanted to know how to make it without an ice cream maker so my dad showed us how to make a Creme de Menthe gelato without an ice cream maker. THEN since we had egg whites left over from making the custard we decided to make a Chocolate Creme de Menthe mouse. Oh, yay! It was a VERY good day! Here are a few pictures from our cooking extravaganza.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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It was a great birthday. Laughing with my hubby and my baby and capturing a fun time exploring on camera. Thanks Aunt Tam for these great birthday pictures!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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First up, I love Dutch Baby Pancakes. I tried making them with soaked flour recently and with sourdough, but neither of them turned out very well, so these ones were a special treat. Whole wheat Dutch Baby’s with coconut milk and maple syrup.

A few weeks ago a good friend of ours organized a charity walk/run to raise support for at risk children here in Prague. It was a really great afternoon and they raised a good amount of money. Here are a few pictures from our time there:

I love my husband so much and my “little man”. These pictures of my boys are from mother’s day and they make me smile:

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into my life. There will be more to come next week… well, probably.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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When I first get them I usually spend a good amount of time washing them – not with soap or anything, but I gently rub them with my fingers while running hot water over them. I’m not sure if this is something I really should or shouldn’t do, but I just don’t like the idea of putting them in my fridge that dirty. And each time that I’ve washed the eggs it feels somehow like a very sacred act.

There has been something very beautiful to me about gently rubbing the dirt away from these fragile little eggs. As I thought about this very basic and common activity today, I prayed this prayer:

Lord, there is so much in my life that feels fragile right now. There are so many dreams and desires and abilities that feel like fragile little eggs. There is so much potential there for life and for nourishment, but there is also dirt. There is much that is hidden in the bushes, covered by dirt. And there is much that is covered with the dirt of my own selfishness. Lord, would you reach down and find the hidden dreams, desires and abilities that need to flourish and clean them off? Would you find the eggs in my life that need to be nurtured so that they can grow to maturity, and the ones that need to be killed so that they can nourish other activities? I need your gentle hands, Lord. I need your help. Much in me feels fragile and easily broken. Be gentle, be kind. Wash me clean. Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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