joy to the world.

the LORD has COME.

let every heart prepare Him room.

i hope that you all had the warmest, merriest of christmases.

i sure did.

feliz navidad!

salud, paz y amor.

a christmas eve of sorts.

time is a funny thing.

last year, my christmas eve rocked.

even though i was quite ill, i really had a remarkable day.

remember?

i was hoping that today would be a similar experience.

however, i woke up feeling not-quite-right.

and that not quite right quickly turned into one of those full-blown, nearly paralyzing migraines.

naturally, i decided that it would be a brilliant idea to wait to do my christmas shopping until four p.m. on christmas eve (or really, i just haven't had the time), so cried my way through kohls. the cashier awkwardly asked me, "are you sick?" "no, i just look this good all of the time..."

but one thing i've learned over the past two and a half years is that pain passes.

after five hours, some coke, a nice rest, and a little bit of inspiration, i started feeling quite a bit better.

i was able to salvage the evening by just enjoying time with my family.

we ate chinese food (ten points for yen king & their gluten-free food!), read the christmas story, and ended the night off right with home alone 2.

today, i am thankful for christ.

that he has a plan for us.

and that he can heal us, if we just keep enduring.

oh! and another little thing that cheers me up:

i have the cutest little brother in the world... he decks out his room for christmas every year, with lights, a tree... the whole shebang.

this year, he wrapped fake mini packages to put under his little christmas tree in his bedroom. is he not the most adorable 17-year-old on earth?

december.

i've got a lot on my mind, on this wednesday evening in december.

mostly...

how lovely miss katie {newlywed} clark's wedding was to shoot today:

how lucky i am to have my favorite, plum pair of thick gap tights that keep me from freezing my royal rastafarian hiney off...

how awesome death cab for cutie is, especially at christmas time.

and how amazingly warm & cozy my bed seems to me at present.

goodnight, december 22nd.

post script: i am looking for an assistant in utah who would be interested in shooting a wedding in logan with me on the 29th of this month!

e-mail me at amgleave@gmail.com, if you are interested. thanks!

missionary mondays.

today, i shot a nice little missionary portrait session.

though his shot isn't finished yet, i thought it's about time i'd share another missionary shoot i did this fall.

amy is heading off to poland soon to preach the gospel of the LDS church and to serve the people.

we lucked out with a beautiful fall day!

fyi: missionary shoots are discounted... ask me for details!

http://www.annagleavephotography.com

better late than never, right?

so now that i am all in the christmas spirit, i realized i never fully celebrated one of my other favorite holidays by posting some lovely memories!

so without further ado, thanksgiving at the gleave house.

though i spent a majority of the break working/studying (and thus didn't take many pictures), some of my dearest extended family came into town, and there really was no lack of celebration.

even sweet julia came allll the way from germany to celebrate with us!

(okay, maybe she's an exchange student, living with my aunt and uncle for the semester, but regardless... she loved her first american turkey day!)

good food.

good family.

good times.

what more could a girl ask for?

*i know, i'm missing photos of me and will from thanksgiving on here... but really, don't you see enough of us at BYU sporting events anyway?!

finite.

so i am finally finished with finals.

and i can't tell you how relieved i am.

after a 7-hour drive (filled with lots of new found glory, josh groban christmas {i know}, and death cab),

i am home with the family, and at last, i can begin the christmas celebrations!

i've got some exceptional reasons to be excited this christmas because:

one) it's our first holiday together as a family after two years apart

two) though still under the weather, i'm feeling much better than i did last christmastime

three) my doctor has ordered me to gain some weight to avoid becoming a twig after my upcoming surgery

...bring on the gingerbread men!

really though, aren't they adorable? my favorite christmas mythical character!

distractions.

so i was going to blog up a little update of all of the cool things we've been up to during finals week.

but alas, my internet has been pretty limited as of late (i am currently studying in my hallway), so i can't load any of my excellent photos.

and thus, i'll leave you with a neat little song that has been distracting me/keeping me company as i've been studying:

10 points for finals!

it's the holiday season.

sorry i have been so absent as of late.

between the holidays and work and finals, i've been a very busy anna.

but, a week from now, i'll be enjoying the comforts of home and family.

nothing sounds better right about now.

what brings you holiday cheer?

excitement.

so i got the best news yesterday.

this spring, i will be living, breathing, loving MADRID for a few months.

and guess what else is cool... will is coming with!

i am beyond excited.

¡viva españa!

winter 2010 cutest couple contest!

winter 2010 cutest couples contest process/rules:

• submit a photo and short biography of the couple to: amgleave@gmail.com. tell us why you're cute!
• we'll put you're photos up on the anna gleave photography & bethany campbell films facebook fan pages, and our fans will vote for who they think is the cutest by "liking" or commenting on the photos! each person can vote 3 times.

how to get more votes:

• tell your friends and family to become fans of our pages to give you more votes!
• for every time you post a link to our page on your blog, facebook, twitter, etc. (and send us a screenshot/link), you'll receive an extra 2 votes! the same goes for your friends and family.

the winning couple will be chosen on December 26, 2010

and will receive a free engagement session!

(videography & photography... a $430 value)

all other couples will receive 15% off their engagement sessions.

referring friends will receive 20$ off any booked shoot!

my hero.

this woman is incredible.

she is so strong.

courageous.

selfless, loving, and caring.

she is beautiful and talented.

she has taught me how to get through hard things.

and i am very proud of her.

te amo mucho, madre.

not just numbers.

december first always marks world AIDS day.

HIV & AIDS causes immeasurable problems both domestically and (especially) abroad.

did you know...?

about 33.4 million people are currently living with HIV

new HIV infections in '08 were 2.4 million,

while deaths in '08 due to AIDS were roughly 2 million.

there are over 7,400 new cases of HIV daily.

my heart goes out to those suffering from HIV.

to those struggling to afford or acquire anti-retro virals.

to those suffering from the stigmas associated with the virus.

there's a pretty cool campaign out there, the (RED) campaign, that is highly supportive of AIDS funding.

despite the numerous celebrities who support the campaign, it is really quite legit.

a half of a million babies were born with AIDS last year, and it's this group's goal to have zero babies born in 2015 with AIDS.

how is this possible?

well, i could ramble off a list of transmission-possibilties (thank-you, public health classes!), but i'll let you check it out here.

if you want to know more about AIDS itself, i highly recommend watching this.

it's a bit lengthy, but i promise, it'll be four hours put to good use.

and to add in some holiday cheer, as my friend tiny tim would say, "God bless us, every one."

obsessed.

if you don't have time for the whole video, start at 5:51.

so remember when i expressed my love for this?

i've recently explored a few more bands' take away shows.

and they're amaaaazing.

exhibit a.

exhibit b.

exhibit c.

exhibit d.

what i'd give to just hang out in paris for a sec and run into some of these guys. oh man.