Sadie

This is a tribute to Sadie - one of the best friends I have ever had.

This week has been a really, really, really tough one. Why? We had to put down our 9 month old cock-a-poo puppy on Tuesday. About a month ago Sadie developed some soars all over her body, almost like little zits. But they were small and we took her to the vet, put her on medcation and within a week they were all cleared up. A couple days after she went off the medication they appeared again, and this time were much worse. She started getting soars around her eyes and mouth and nose. We were in and out and in and out of the vet for weeks trying her on different meds and new foods, etc, etc but nothing was working. The vet deducted that she had a form of Auto-immune disorer - like a really bad form of Lupis or Aids where the body attacks itself. On the day that we had to out her down she could not open her eyes because the soars had infested them, she couldn't walk because she didn't have enough energy because she wasn't eating. The poor girl was suffering so badly. On Monday I was talking to her(the dog lovers will understand that, yes you can talk to a dog) and I asked her what she wanted me to do for her (the vet said that we definately had to put her down but I was wrestling with the idea because I didn't want to feel like I was giving up on her - I wanted to fight for her) and I made the decision to put her down when, almost as if in response to my question, she let out a couple little whimpers, as if to say "Mom, make this pain stop".

I don't know if anyone can understand this, but the pain I feel over her death is overwhelming. I have never had to make a harder decision in my life, and it litterally breaks my heart that we had to end her life. We don't have kids so she really was my baby. I seriously looked forward to coming home everyday from work to see her. She was our form of entertainment - Dylan and I would watch her crazy antics and behaviours and just laugh and laugh. She was a true companion and a great friend.

So here is to you Sadie. To your wonderful spirit. I hope you love Heaven. Some favorite memories of Sadie:

-One day this last summer Dylan and I were lounging in my parents' pool and up pops this head at the side of the pool - she had, no word of a lie, climed the tall swim ladder, propped herself on the top with her hind legs on the back wrung and front legs on the front wrung, and then proceeded to jump into the pool and swim over to mine and Dylan's floatie.

-How much she loved and took care of our foster dogs.

-One time we took her to the Terwilligar dog park and this giant dog started chasing her - she got so scared that she ran and hid under a car and SCREAMED for her life! It was pretty funny.

-Every morning we played a game that went a little something like this: I would be in the bathroom getting ready for work and she would peek her head around the corner, make sure I wasn't paying attention, and then jump at me in her 'I want to play' pose (front legs stretched out in front of her and butt in the air). I would then jump at her, but not actually catch her and she would run around the corner and out of the room. I would go back into the bathroom and we would do it all over again. Over and over. Every morning.

-Hide and go seek - we would hide in various parts of the apartment and call her name and she would have to come and find us. She was SO proud when she did find us. And we would play it in the park - Dylan and I would run in different directions and hide behind trees - she would get so confused.

-We would take her to the park and to wear her out Dylan would run to one end of the park and I would stay at one end and hold her. Then Dylan would call her name from the far end of the park and she would SPRINT to him. When she got to him I would call her name and she would SPRINT to me. We did this over and over and over and over again - seriously, the girl had a lot of energy!

-One of her favorite games was played with my neice Jade. Since Jade could run, she has loved running down our hallways (the apartment hallways). We would always let Jade get a head start and then let Sadie go, and Sadie would chase Jade the whole way down the hallway, all the while Jade would just be laughing and laughing. So sweet.

-She loved to cuddle. Even right up until the last minutes of her life, we were cuddling, just my baby and I.

I could go on and on and those are just a few. So you see, we loved, adored, cherished her. She was so much more than a dog to us. She is sooooooo missed - I can't even describe it. I love you Sadie.

Jaxon

I know, I know, lately all I have been posting about when I finally do post are my recent shoots, but its cause they CONSUME my life!!!!! (happily so). Anyway, check out this little guy at Leah Karch Photography ......




Warms my heart!!

Leah :)

Say hello to our new little friend

This is Duffy. He is our foster dog. We decided to become volunteers for the Human Animal Rescue Team (HART). They are a not-for-profit organization that rescues stray, abondoned, and abused animals in Alberta. Because they are not-for-profit, they cannot afford a place to house all the animals so in order to save animals they need people to volunteer their homes as foster parents. No homes/volunteers = no saved dogs. The more homes = more saved dogs.

Duffy and his 4 other brothers and sisters were found on a dump on a Northern Native Reserve. Their Mommy was shot in the head by some mean person so these poor guys at 6 weeks, were left alone. That is were we stepped in. Duffy (a golden retriever, husky mix) joined our household a week ago and we are just LOVING this boy. He is such a kind and sweet tempered dog. And not to mention so stinkin cute! He and Sadie absolutely love eachother. They don't stop playing (which means a lot of missed sleep for us!).

The bittersweet part is that hopefully someone will adopt this little guy and give him a permanent and loving home. I am going to bawl and probably be depressed for a week, but I will be happy when that day comes cause I will know that we helped him find a better life.

Anywho, here are some pics of Duffy - aka Duf, Duffers, and Duf Puf.

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A couple from Kamry & Jason's maternity shoot

Check out Leah Karch Photography for a few pics from my last photo shoot with soon to be parents, the Lows!!

Leah :)

So, I was thinking...

This morning as I drove downtown, pulled into the parkade at work (at 6:40 am) and strolled into the lobby saying my morning "hello" to the doorman and security guard.......very nice men who know me quite well because I forget my security card on occassion.......and hopped into the fancy shmancy elevator to the 23rd floor, I thought to myself (and do remember, this is at 6:45 am), I am one lucky chica. Most mornings I dread being at work at such an awful hour and wasting my life away here until the evening, but this moring a thought occured to me: be grateful for what you have. This may not seem all too revolutionary to some, but for me, who is always searching for something better, this was big. Yeah sure, I could be making more money and working civil hours, but you know what, I have a job. That in of itself, during these times of recession, is something to be grateful for. If I talk to the lady in the States who had to take a job at McDonalds flipping burgers cause she has to pay the rent, my life is peachy. I beat out a bunch of other suckers for this job, I have a paychek that pays the mortgage and bills, I have a fantastic husband, a puppy that I adore, a great family, a condo that we own, a new car that won't give us any problems, great friends and I belong to a great church. There are TONS of bumps (Dylan and I seem to attract bad luck like the plauge.............seriously, no joke, I mean really, honestly, horrible luck), sometimes big, sometimes small, along the way and you know what, they SUCK when you are going over them, but it is so important that at the end of the day I realize that I am SO blessed. It makes me tear up to think about how much my Heavenly Father must love me to have blessed me so much.

So, if you are feeling down, or lost, or just plain fet up of challenges and trials (like I was last night after our computer, hard drive, and laptop all decided to crash at the same time......lets remember, I am a photographer, so this is a big deal), remember two things:

1. Your BLESSINGS....... No matter who you are, what your circumstances, you have blessings. We all do. So look for them, cause it will always make you feel better about what you are going through. Why is it that we, as humans, tend to focus on the negative? The negative aint gonna get us nowhere.

2. Is your trial/challenge/bump going to matter in five years? If it is, take your time to grumpy or sad or mad......we all need to vent our emotions. If not, like I reminded myself this morning, who cares! Because if it isn't going to matter, what is the point in wasting minutes/hours/days of your life worrying about it. You can't get time back, so use it wisely. Plus, being angry and worring about things gives us women wrinkles. In my mind, not worth it.

Well, I am glad I posted these thoughts cause I know that I am going to have to come back and read them many a time to remind myself of what I felt this morning. That's all.......hope my thougths are worth reading!

Leah :)

A little tid bit

Okay, so, I realize that I have been horrible at blogging lately, but its cause too much is going on! I actually have A LOT to blog about right now.....i.e. trips to Vancouver/Seattle/Osoyoos, our first anniversary, etc, but there is just NO time. I am going to give it a shot tonight cause I have a couple hours for the first time in weeks. Not making any promises though. The biggest reason I like to blog is that it acts as a journal of sorts for me, because lets face it, no matter how many times I have attempted to keep a journal, each time I fall flat on my face with failure. So this blog is my journal.........note to self: I need to keep it updated!


Okay with that said, I thought I would just post a quickie since that is easy to do. My Mom is hosting a baby shower for a lady she works with and I made the invite for her and thought it turned out pretty good, so thought to myself, what the heck, post it.

Ther' she blows. Anywho, got to get back to life. Until next time,

Leah :)

Tami & Mike wedding pictures

On August 14th I had the pleasure of taking Tami and Mike Woolley's wedding pictures and I think they turned out grrrrreat!! Check out my photography blog for the goods!

Leah :)

Photography Blog

Howdy everyone!

Thankyou so much to everyone who reads my blog for your support and great feedback in reguards my photography. It has really given my confidence a boost, and I am actually getting really busy with photo shoots which is AWESOME!! I can't wait to turn this into a career! I just wanted to let everyone know about my photography blog http://leahkarchphotography.blogspot.com where I will be posting my latest and greatest and where I have my prices and contact info listed. Recent shoots include a family shoot and a wedding! Upcoming: a family shoot, child portraits and a maternity shoot. Keep posted and thankyou SO SO SO much for all the support.

Leah :)

Tami & Mike engagement shoot

So, here is my first official photo shoot - and engagement shoot with Mike and Tami. These guys were fun to work with - a little camera shy at the beginning, but with some persuasion and compliments, they really warmed up to the camera and me. I think we got some great shots....these are some of my favorites (and sorry, but I can't just share a few so, WARNING: lots of pictures ahead!)







































Leah:)

new hair

I CHOPPED my hair off a couple weekends ago. Why? I don't know, I think I needed a change. And boy, did I ever get a change! Thought I would share some pics of my new hairdo.

Leah :)