12 months of Us

December 30, 2013 • 8 Comments

I like to do a photo challenge each year, I've done a photo every day for a year (that takes a LOT of commitment...), a photo a week, and this year I got the idea off my very talented photographer friend to do a photo of my family each month. I didn't realise at the time how challenging this would be... I was in for an eye-opener!

I have loved doing this project though. It's been stressful at times (well, pretty much EVERY time), but it always ended up in giggles or an adrenalin rush. My family have been so patient in allowing me to do this (especially David, who never once rolled his eyes at my more 'out there' ideas). I would often leave it until the last possible weekend, at the last hour of decent light and shove the kids in the car to find somewhere with a decent backdrop. I remember one evening I texted David while he was still at work, exuberantly happy I had finally found a field of hay bales (I had again left this idea too late and the farmers had started to clear them). So I told him he needed to be home at such a time, then race off to the field, drag three kids across said field which was not easy (it is HARD walking across cut hay in flip flops), jump on the hay bale (again not easy), click click, OK we're done do-you-think-the-farmer-can-see-us? Run as fast as you can back to the car! Hearts racing, sweetie rewards dished out, that was fun, right?

These aren't the best photos, but I love every one of them. They were all literally taken within 5 minutes of me setting the camera up; the kids just didn't see what a great idea this was. Sonny was my least favourite fan- you will notice in most of them he is eating or drinking something, or just generally off to the side doing his own thing. But here we all are, and I am really pleased to have more than 12 photos, as I treasure the very few photos we have of us all together. Looking at them I see so many changes in my three small children, who aren't as little as they used to be...

This has been a growing year for me. I have learned a lot about myself and my family. I've learned through heart ache to value more important things in life. To try not to get so hung up over the small things that really don't matter, to not let my life be ruled by what others think. And to just stop and ENJOY life, to put unimportant things on hold and listen to my 5 year old excitedly tell me about her latest drawing, or bake a cake with my three year old, or laugh with my one year old who has smeared chocolate mousse all over his face AND hair. These little moments are what make up my life. It is so hard being a mum, and it is so easy to get caught up in all the million things that a mum and a wife does to keep the family smoothly ticking over, but without stopping to pause and see these moments, there's no point in doing all the other stuff. I still struggle to find the balance some days, but I know that's OK too. 2014 I am going to continue to let go of the things that don't matter so much and make a big deal of the things that do. We have a year full of dreams and goals to aim for which is so exciting and just makes me smile thinking about...

I wish you all a wonderful start to the New Year, and hope it is a wonderful year full of happy times for you too.

Me and my O's....

January