ducks in a row

i think the words embrace, evolve, and edify are going to be the words on my life and not just for this year.  i kind of enjoy having theme words for life, keeps me on track!  i have done more growing this year than i have in a long time.  i have to give most of the credit to my dad, who is still teaching me and helping me to grow in ways that i didn't know i needed.  i am finding myself even though i wasn't looking.  i think that's the best way to grow and find, to stumble upon it unexpectedly.  those unexpected ah-ha moments that life gives you and you are so thankful for them because that's what keeps you moving and going.  i felt like i have changed a lot since i got married.  these past 6 years have been the hardest, the most meaningful, fun, humbling, trying, and tender years for me.  Raising two kids with an amazing husband is something i have profound gratitude for.  and i want even more kids.  i have been doing a lot of reflecting and pondering on the matter lately, how i can be a better mom....

i have always struggled with balance.  i remember when i was a sophomore in high school crying to my mom about how i was doing way to much in my life and i was simply shutting down because of it.  that's what i do when i am involved in too much.  i shut down, close doors and turn off.  i remember pleading with mom for an answer to my overwhelming problem of being too busy. 

so we made a list. a list of everything i was doing in my life...things from homework, to swim practice, to piano lessons, young women's, the list goes on....we then prioritized them and then eliminated the least important ones.  it was hard getting rid of things that i enjoying doing, but in the end it was worth be because i was more balanced and all together a happier girl.   i have used this technique in varying degrees over the years.  and most recently have mentally prioritized what is most important to me.  family, photography, my hobbies/talents, friend/relationships and simply wanting to learn to just live in the moment and not waiting for the next moment to happen.

i have always been a girl who loves to do everything, i have countless interests and sometimes that's a problem.  so this thing called being a mom is quite a challenge sometimes, lately its most of the time.  i get frustrated because all i want sometimes (okay lately its been a lot of the time) is to have a quiet moment to myself to craft and create.  this is totally selfish of me because i know what should be my first priority, my beautiful children.  i must be taking them for granted or something because i'm having a hard time enjoying being a mommy to them.  so once those feelings started creeping in, i realized i needed an attitude adjustment and a reality check.  and i now feel like i'm getting somewhere.  i have decided projects come last...first family, then photography....then whatever else happens after that is just dandy.  i feel better about life when i'm in tune with what the Lord wants me to be doing, and i'm happy to say that i feel like i am doing that!

i can't do a post without a pic, so here is are a couple from my everyday life.  hudson loves the bath. i look this of him a couple of months ago, once i knew he could crawl/fall into the bathtub and loved to splash in the toilet water, the bathroom door are ALWAYS shut!  tess loves being a big sister, and helping. i'm constantly telling her to stop picking up her brother, but this pictures was one of those moments where i just let it go because they were both having such a great time together and that's what matters!