You walk into this family’s home and there is peace, a genuineness, and a whole lot of love. I’ve photographed this family for four years now, and since the last shoot they’ve welcomed the newest edition – a boy! – Landon. I really value their friendship and I hope that through these pictures you can see what a wonderful family they are!
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See why I love them? 
Posted by lanilea on May 29, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/05/29/a-growing-family-thulien/
We’ve all had them. But isn’t there something about the vulnerable rawness of a moment when your guard is down, and unexpectedly, you completely humiliate yourself? I saw a quote on Pinterest recently that said, “I don’t need to flirt with you. I’ll seduce you with my awkwardness.” Hey, if you’re awkward, be awkward.
I’ve noticed a lot of Twitter and Facebook statuses lately have to do with awkward moments. Many of them I hope never actually happen, but so many of them we can all relate to.
I thought for a Wednesday post, I’d rally up some of my own history of awkward moments. Count them. All 12 of them, and tell me how many you yourself can relate to!
That awkward moment when …
Awkward moments make life real. Interesting. Vulnerable. So instead of being hard on ourselves we might as well laugh and chalk it up to good story material later on!
Happy Wednesday ya’ll!
Posted by lanilea on May 23, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/05/23/that-awkward-moment-when/
It was in the middle of WWII in Surrey, England and two sisters found themselves walking to a pub for an evening drink. Edna’s sister had a cold and she wanted some wine. Edna didn’t really fancy going out, but she went as a support.
That “night out” changed her life. A Canadian Officer saw Edna from across the room. As he came over, she was sure that he was going to approach her sister, but no. It was Edna he wanted.
Edna was a proper lady. She didn’t drink and surely wasn’t going to go home with any man unless he was going to make an honest woman of her. Marry her. And so he did, in 1942. In 1945, after their first child Dixie was born, the found themselves hiding in a bomb shelter waiting for the ship that would take them to Canada. They were herded like cattle on to the great big ship that would be home for two weeks as they set sail bound for Halifax. Two weeks later, and one train across the country, they landed in Alberta.
This past week I met Dixie – a sweet red headed woman who is now taking care of her aging mother, Edna, in a nursing home. It was lunchtime and I had decided to soak up some sun on the rooftop patio. Even though I had a book in hand, I was much more intrigued to hear their story. After asking a couple questions, I was soon on a journey of learning how Edna had met her husband.
“I love a good love story!” I said to Dixie who said she didn’t want to bother me. I didn’t mind. I was intrigued. Wartime? England? Romance? Couldn’t get any better as far as I was concerned!
Edna, no longer bearing any teeth, lay on the bed sunning under the patio umbrella while Dixie shared with me how wonderful her mother was to her, and now she wanted to do the same for her Mom.
I was transported back in time – to an age where there was no internet, running water, or text messaging to make life and communication easier. Edna was a wartime bride who caught the eye of a Canadian Officer. She must be around 90 years-old now.
Edna would groan a bit from her bed as Dixie was sharing her parent’s love story. Dixie in turn would get up and care for her mom. She had nothing but kindness to say of her.
As we honour our Moms on Mother’s Day this weekend, I want to pay tribute all the mother’s out there who give up so much, love so deeply, guide so tenderly, pray so 
passionately, and never give up. To all those women who captivated a young man’s glance, and still captivate him today … thank you for being an example for us all who will some day follow!
Thank you to my Mom who still loves working with Dad, shooting blackbirds on the farm, planting her garden, and serving in their community. I appreciate you and Dad so much… xo
Happy Mother’s Day!
Posted by lanilea on May 12, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/05/12/a-wartime-bride/
We all have a recollection of who we were as a child. Mine? Sweet, shy and a dreamer. I had a great imagination, loved dress-up, and got my feelings hurt really easily.
When I was about four years old I had really short hair – a mousy brown bob that I could tuck behind my little girl ears. To go along with my dress-up phase, for some reason, I always wanted long hair. Even though I chopped my birthday Barbie’s hair to a bob (perhaps I just wanted to make her like me?), I still longed for something to flow over my shoulders. This would be the appropriate time to throw your head back and laugh. Okay, now that that’s done. 
I was a little girl in a dream world, not realizing how cute I was, just as I was.
I don’t mind make believe. Dress up. Every girl wants to be a princess! But somehow that “wanting what I didn’t have” followed me into my adult years, and only more in recent times have I realized it.
There is more to me than the hair and attire, aspirations and achievements – there’s just me.
For all of you that may relate to my little tidbit of vulnerability let me just say – when you know Jesus, you realize all you DO have rather than long for what you don’t. It’s a process, but the journey God takes us on of completing and satisfying ourselves in Him, is the best trip I could ever ask for.
Like a new stamp in an old passport – God is stamping my life with Himself. And I’m enjoying the ride!
Posted by lanilea on May 9, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/05/09/2530/
In London, every trinket shop, boutique shelf, and tube station will have something stating the now trendy slogan: Keep Calm and Carry On.
The slogan, with a bright red background and white text, was originally created as wartime propaganda during WWII to try and boost the morale of British citizens, in the event of an invasion. Over 2 million posters were printed and since they weren’t widely distributed, it didn’t really leave a lasting impression. In my mind, perhaps Winston Churchill’s wartime exhortations were enough to keep people fighting to victory.
However in the year 2000, a copy of the original poster was discovered in a used bookshop in Northumberland. Since artistic copyright on pieces such as this only last 50 years, it was released to the public domain. And now, it is advertising mayhem. It’s on t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads and more… With a new twist, you’ll find: Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake; Keep Calm and Go Shopping; Now Panic and Freak Out … and so on.
I have a sticker with the original slogan, Keep Calm and Carry On, that I purchased on the Southbank of London, right before I returned home. I keep it in my office on my bulletin board as a reminder of a country I love and an experience that will always be dear to me.
Today I decided that it will remind me of something else. Not to keep calm in the midst of a stressful situation, though that is good.
But it will serve as a reminder that one idea can lead to another. That even though an initial idea doesn’t happen right away, that doesn’t make it a bad one, or one that won’t someday have life. It will remind me to keep stoking the creative fire because you never know which idea will catch — and spread like wildfire on the hearts of humanity. A fire that will hopefully spark something in each it touches.
One idea, even if it fails, will always lead to another. It’s the very act of creating and imagining what could be… that is what I will never let go of.
If you think about it, God is the MOST creative of all and we are created in His image, then He designed us to create – to come up with ideas, solve problems, find solutions. It’s inherent in us and we need to tap into that.
Friends, keep jotting your ideas down. Keep trying them. Testing them. Because you never know what could be found in a second hand bookshop someday … waiting to be let loose.
Aaaand, my personal fav. Because, why not?
Posted by lanilea on April 13, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/04/13/keep-calm-and-carry-on/
Sweating from the summer sun, we’d drive the station wagon into town, fitted in our jeans and sneakers and as we walked into they store they would wave and call us by name. They knew who we belonged to, so to speak.
We could put the groceries on the “Ledingham tab” and the owners knew it would be honored. As a teenager, I would run “downtown” to pick up the mail on my lunch break and the postmistress would ask me about my parents. It was local. Like Cheers, everyone knew my name. (I know, I know, going to get the mail on lunch break in high school is SO not cool, but it was my roots and I wouldn’t change it for anything!)
Somewhere from youth to adulthood my path took me from a place where the grocery and post ladies knew my name to a big city of thousands, and then to even bigger cities, where no one knew my name – where I was literally, one in 8 million people fighting for a seat on the tube.
Those moments of observation while travelling, when I craved conversation and touch, made me realize how wonderful and wholesome “local” is.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of talking with a lady about joining a board for a local children’s theatre. Later, after a night out with friends at a hilarious movie at the cheap theatre, I parked my car at home and ran two minutes to the local, not franchise, grocery store. It was 8:58 and they were closing at 9:00pm. The lady at the counter smiled and let me grab a few things, then bid me a warm good night as I raced out the door with my five items, thanking her for the extra time.
It was a good day. It was a reminder of how awesome local is, and that everyone needs that sense of community to feel like a place is home, no matter how big your city or town is. Something about the simplicity of it beckons me away from the big-box-store-line-ups where people get irritated and rude and there’s no experience offered within it. When adventure calls, the joy of it sure is multiplied when you have community!
A ‘lil local is okay.
What’s your favourite community memory? Anything embarrassing or heartwarming?
Leave me a comment so I know you stopped by this one!
Posted by lanilea on April 12, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/04/12/lil-local/
I find it an extra special honour to photograph the first baby born to a young couple. I have to hide my swooning because I’m soaking up the love that fills the house too! This little girl is just a month old and boy did she do well at her first photo shoot! Introducing …
Mommy is an American, and every year she and Daddy visit the Apostle Islands… so we had to include that some how
The beginning…
Posted by lanilea on April 10, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/04/10/baby-natalia/
Continued ….Bernice grabbed her branch with the intensity of a man at war, and prepared herself for her coming King.
“You make me laugh.”
“My mother said always be ready and resourceful,” responded Bernice, twinkle in the eye.
Gazing down the road, she began to see a man running towards them, shouting. At first it was distant, and only an echo. Then she soon heard the news she’d been waiting for.
“The King is coming! He’s about 10 minutes down the road!” Out of breath and dirty from the travels, the young man cut off a tree branch near by, and found his place, branch in hand, alongside the road and a young child appearing as eager as he.
The flies buzzed in the ears of impatient ones. Hungry ones. Curious ones.
The silence was broke.
“Does anyone realize what is happening today?” stepped out a man from the crowd, and turned, facing each side of the road alternately.
“Does anyone realize that our town will never be the same again, and ya’d better be ready to honor the King! If you’re here just for a show or a laugh, you best be going home! Now take off yer robes, garments and anything ya can spare and lay them on the road. That way the King will know we’re paving the way for him with our very own possessions!”
“Aw, come on Gaben! We’re just here for a good bit of entertainment! You know as well as I do that nothing good ever came out of Nazareth!” mocked a crude and unfamiliar face.
Gaben stared at the man intensely, and began to untie his robe. Almost in slow motion, Gaben was not one to make decisions lightly. Savouring every truth of the moment, the crowd began to follow suit.
Greens and blues and reds and every hue found in a garden began to fill up the empty spaces on the road. Bernice so carefully placed her own purple robe on the road, and returned back to Alpheus.
The palm branches gathered were lowered, as the coming of the King was only minutes away.
Eyes continued scanning the road. A child began to cry. A hearty laugh was heard.
The distant figures began to clear in the eyes of the searching crowd.
A man riding a donkey, accompanied by a gentleman on either side, was approaching. The man’s figure looked strong and protective.
Bernice squeezed Alphy’s arm.
Gaben, taking the lead again, started to shout.
“Hosanna. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Alpheus wasted no time in joining in and waving his branch in the air “Hosanna in the highest!”
Bernice was waving her branch passionately up and down, accidentally brushing the woman in front of her.
“Oh, I’m sorry ma’am,” apologized Bernice.
“That’s quite alright. Perhaps you should be up here. I don’t have a branch. Here, take my place.” She stepped aside.
Bernice, shocked by the gesture told her feet to move for her, please, just this moment - this moment with her King.
“Hosanna King! Hosanna in the highest!” she shouted in unison with the crowd.
The King was now visible. His kind eyes were looking over every person. Every gift lain on the road. Every act of honor. He wore a smile of deep pleasure and thankfulness.
The King, still on the donkey, approached the man who had earlier mocked his coming. No words were needed. The King paused long enough for the man to know he had been wrong. The King smiled at him, and gave a chuckle.
Raising His hand to wave to the crowd, they praised all the louder. His wave turned to a fist pumping in the air.
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Bernice’s heart nearly escaped her chest as the King began to pull the donkey towards her.
Could He be coming here? Could my dream be coming true?!
Bernice lowered her head, and said one more time, “Hosanna King”.
One of the men that had been accompanying the King touched her chin, and lifted up her head to look once more.
At that moment the world seemed to stop. The worries she had had that morning suddenly seemed so petty, as Bernice finally looked into the eyes of her King.
She adored Him, and He could tell.
The King reached out His hand from where he sat. She feared her legs might fail her, and before she knew it, Alpheus was behind her, helping her to her feet. Bernice placed her hand in the King’s and He uttered the two most fantastic words she’d ever heard, “Thank you.”
His touch was soft and firm. In that moment of truth, she knew the King felt her every dream. Her every wish. Her every fear. He knew it. And she didn’t even have to say a word.
She bowed her head, and the King carried on.
The crowds continued to shout hosanna and praises to the King they had longed to see. He had changed their hearts and they had just met Him. What kind of King could do that? Only a King who already knew them.
Bernice watched for a few minutes in her own silence, as the world around her continued to move. She was frozen.
Frozen in Alpheus’ arms.
“It’s like He knew everything I was thinking and wishing, all in that very moment. My one moment with the King.”
“I wish he could rub off some of that on me. I’ve been trying to guess what you think for the last several years!”
His humour brought her out of her divine moment, and into the present.
“You have?” she looked up at him, blushing. “Well keep working on it, you’re bound to figure it out. Some day.”
Cheeky smile and all, Bernice turned towards home.
Looking at the road one more time, Alpheus called out, “Don’t you want your robe Berni?”
Bernice turned. Hands clasped in front of her, smiling euphorically.
“No. It was a gift. I don’t take gifts back.”
He patted his heart in contentment. What a girl. Hmm, what’s this?
He reached into his pocket to find his very own gift. His grandmother’s ring.
Well, perhaps the King meant it for another day.
Another chuckle and the dust was swirling. He had a girl to win.
Posted by lanilea on April 6, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/04/06/a-moment-with-the-king-part-2/
I wrote this short story in December 2007, based completely on my imagination expanded from a true Bible story. What follows is NOT Biblical fact. That’s my disclaimer! Read Mark 11 or Matthew 21 for the real thing. I know I’ve posted this before, but I just wanted to share a story about Jesus. Because sometimes we need a little imagination to truly realize how incredibly He has changed our lives.
Well…here’s a little from my imagination. Part 1 of 2.
“He’s coming! He’s coming!” gasping for breath, Alpheus pushed the door open, bent over, hands resting momentarily on his knees.
Alpheus’ tall broad stature was always recognized from afar off, but this morning his long legs could barely get him where he wanted to go fast enough.
“The King is coming! Aren’t you ready yet? Pleeeease hurry up Berni, I want a good spot!”
He paused long enough to scratch his beard and rub his sore back. Alpheus was known to all as a patient yet strong man. He was the man every girl went to for advice and friendship. Yet one girl had captivated him. Bernice.
“Oh, Alpheus, I don’t know what to wear? I’ve never met the King before,” sighed Bernice. Her hair in disarray and her robe needing some mending, Bernice ran out of the bedroom feeling desperate.
Alpheus chuckled. He went to Bernice and grabbed her hands.
“None of us have met the King! That’s why we’re so excited! We’re all in the same boat Berni, we just want a glimpse of this man everyone is calling the Messiah! You’re not the only one feeling nervous today,” his strong, calloused hand rested on her shoulder. “You…look…beautiful.”
Somehow Alpheus always knew how to make her feel better. And blush.
Closing her eyes in determination, she breathed in deeply, gathered her purple robe in her hands, and made off into the bedroom for one last look – a squeal of excitement exiting the room with her. Her nerves had suddenly transformed into sheer joy.
The small home was nothing fancy, but Bernice’s domestic flair had created a place all her friends gathered at. This particular morning it smelled of fresh baked bread and the fresh white lilies she had picked that morning.
His eyes roamed the room looking for the loaf he knew was hiding somewhere. Finding it on the counter under a cloth, Alpheus ripped off a piece – figuring his patience had earned him the pleasure.
“Did you bring something for the King?” called Bernice from the bedroom.
He swallowed quickly and confidently replied “I sure did,” and patted his shirt pocket. “My grandmother’s gold ring. That is, if we even get close enough to the King to touch Him today!”
Silence hung like last week’s laundry – an unfamiliar experience when in the presence of Bernice.
Alpheus began to tap his fingers on the tabletop. After but a few moments, curiousity got the better of him.
“So, what are you bringing Berni?”
Bernice swung around the doorway with a cheeky smile declaring, “Me!” and swung back in.
She continued, “I’ve heard this King usually prefers gifts from the heart. I thought about it, and I figured giving my heart was the best I had.”
“Well now, isn’t that the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” retorted Alpheus.
Finally ready to go meet the King, Bernice slipped from her bedroom with a grace Alpheus had rarely seen. His throat nearly closing in on him, he watched as Bernice did a royal bow.
“How’s that? I’ve been practising!”
“You didn’t even bump the door on your way out. Nice.”
Recovering, Alpheus reached out for his friend’s hand. “Like I said. Beautiful.”
She wrapped her arm in Alpheus’ and looked up at him with her hopeful brown eyes.
“I think He’s the One Alphy. I think He’s the One we’ve been waiting for.”
Alpheus patted her soft hand, opened the door and responded, “I think you may be right.”
They wasted no time in getting where they needed to go. The enthusiasm of the King’s coming could be felt throughout Jerusalem that morning.
Shop owners waved to strangers – everyone was family that day. The comaderie was tangible.
Shouts of “Come on, He’ll be here soon!” resounded throughout Jerusalem as people ran to the outer limits of the town, palm branches in hand.
Alpheus squeezed Bernice’s hand as they passed by the town square.
“Here, we should stop here and grab some branches. Everyone will have one and whether we have a good view or not, I won’t show up without one!” suggested Alpheus.
Pulling out his coin bag, Alpheus showed Bernice again that he was a man that would take care.
He’s just my friend though. Began Bernice’s inner dialogue. She had told herself time and time again that Alpheus was just a friend, but something seemed different about him lately. He was more….attentive. It almost made her nervous. But before she could continue the thought, she gave herself a mental shake, pushed Alpheus out of the way and began running.
“Last one there has to clean my feet!” shouted Bernice so the whole neighbourhood could hear.
It’s when she does things like that I wonder what I’d do without her. And Alpheus stirred up his own dust and followed her lead to the town limits.
“Well, this is where everyone is,” commented Alpheus, out of breath again, as soon as he had caught up.
The rustle of the palm branches created a comforting sound that day. The branches were more than just plants that day. It was a gift – an honor to the King.
Each one found their place among the crowd; they joined the hush. The reverance. The wait.
Mothers carried wee infants in their robes, and fathers held toddlers on their shoulders for a better look. Children had ceased to play and be bothersome for a few sacred moments as the families stood and awaited the arrival of their King.
Bernice looked up at Alpheus and whispered.
“Alph, I thought I was ready for this. Ready to finally see the King. And now that we’re here, I’ll be so disappointed if I don’t get more than just a glance. I want to talk to him. Tell him my story. My dreams. My admiration for Him and what He’s already done. I somehow feel so…so…I feel so hungry to talk to Him Alphy.”
“I think that’s what happens when humanity meets Divinity. We get hungry.” Alphy reached out again and drew Bernice closer to his side.
She sighed something akin to relief. “I feel so human.”
“Somehow Bernice, I think He knows your hunger too.”
A tear escaped Bernice’s eye like a fugitive; not unnoticed.
“I hope so. I’d hate for Him to come here and He not know, and feel, how much I already care.”
Does she care for me at all? Does she know how I long to tell her my love for her? Crazy Alpheus. She’d never see you for more than what you are – a good friend. Get used to it.
Bernice grabbed her branch with the intensity of a man at war, and prepared herself for her coming King……
Part 2 to come soon…
Copyright Lani Ledingham
Posted by lanilea on April 5, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/04/05/a-moment-with-the-king/
The journey abroad has come to a full stop, but the memories and pictures will last forever. I have been in Canada a few days and have had an ongoing (and every changing) list of to-do’s. I feel overwhelmed with blessing for how things have come together on my return home. For those of you who followed my journey while I lived in the UK, thank you! To those of you who encouraged, prayed, and cheered for me, or ooohed and aaahed at my photos …. A huge thank you. You are a part of my journey!
As I settle into a new home, new job, back at my home church, I feel like a brand new book has been pulled off the shelf. You know that smell of a brand new read from the bookstore? It’s like a new tale is waiting to unfold and all you want to do is go sit in your chaise by the window and discover it. Enjoy it.
I approach this new season with goals in mind that will require focus, determination, creativity and a lot of prayer. While blogging abroad about travels is fun, and it’s been my delight to share, I now feel the need to pull back from the online world and really focus on what will produce in my life. Rather than “share” my life, I want to be sure that I am living it in person with the people I love, and developing the gift within me. Plus, I have a brand new job awaiting my attention!
So dear readers, for a season, blog posts will be much fewer. However, I can still be contacted for photography services throughout this year.
Who knows, perhaps there’s a New York Time’s Bestseller in me, some idea that no one else has come up with, or maybe there’s new faces to be added to this journey (aren’t there always?). I want to make space in my life for it all!!
~ From my heart to your screen, Lani
Posted by lanilea on February 28, 2012
http://laniledingham.com/2012/02/28/a-new-season-begins/
