Canadian Thanksgiving

I always meant to post a blog about Thanksgiving.  Luckily for me if I’m too busy during the Canadian Thanksgiving I can just hold off until the American Thanksgiving!  Besides – who says you can only be thankful once a year? That’s just silly.  And so – here are a few things I’m feeling thankful for today:

1. My girls.  Obviously.  They fill my world with so much laughter and fun and love.  Sometimes I sit and think about where I would be if they had never happened.  I think my life would be far less rich without them in it.
2. My parents.  If you had asked me ten years ago how I felt about my parents you would probably gotten a less than enthusiastic answer.  But as I have become an adult and gotten a bit of a view into what makes a family work I have also developed a deep appreciation for all that my parents are.  When I was 15 I couldn’t wait to get away from them.  As a 25 year old, one of my favourite places to be is in their company.
3. My dearest girlfriends.  I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you in my life.  I don’t think many people get to experience such deep love for their friends the way that I do.  You guys support me and care for me and laugh with me and call me out when I’m being ridiculous.  I’m so very blessed to have you.
4. The Dearhearts.  This kind of goes in with #3, but I think it also deserves it’s own bullet point.  The opportunity to express this new side artistic expression of myself alongside two of my best friends has been life giving in so many ways.  It’s opened up a whole world to me and has given me a platform to see outside of myself and to meet so many new people.  I love traveling and singing and loving with these girls.
5. Lauren Hamm Photography.  I was just saying to someone a few days ago that living an artistic life doesn’t always mean you’re necessarily doing the right thing.  I’ve tried all sorts of artistic expressions – acting, singing, drawing…  And while I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and even found success in some of these different areas I never felt quite as right as when I started this business.  It has only been through photography that I feel without a doubt that I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing.  I love it, and I am so grateful to all of the people who have trusted me with documenting them and their families.

Below are some of my favourite images from our annual Hamm Family Thanksgiving Camping Trip.  It’s always a bit cramped and almost always too cold but every year we go anyway.  I’m so very grateful for my family (and our various tag alongs – I’m looking at you Chantal!) and that we always make time to invest in each other.

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