Capture The Everyday Moments

"We Take Photographs As A Return Ticket To A Moment Otherwise Gone." -Katie Thurmes

I love taking pictures! Although portraits are my specialty, I love to capture the ordinary everyday moments, too. I take pictures daily on both my DSLR and iPhone, but only share a small fraction of the pictures I take. Life has been so boring for the past few months due to the quarantine, so instead of sharing the continuous loop of each day at home in a weekly recap, I'm going to share my favorite DSLR photos, month by month, over the next few weeks!

We are in the midst of a massive project right now. Between our project, homeschooling, and everyday life, I planned to skip blogging completely this week, but here I am with a few extra minutes. Sure, my little kids might be refusing to sleep, but I'm going to take advantage of this time while they are mesmerized by Moana for the billionth time! (Just keeping it real!)

After months of social distancing, and days of extremely hard work, I am exhausted mentally and physically. I have so many things I want to share, but I only have the energy to share a few of my favorite pictures right now. I'm going to start with February, make my way through March, April, and May, and hopefully by the end of it, life will be somewhat normal so I can get back to weekly recaps!

Life At Home 24/7

As we head into the gazillionth week at home, life still seems so surreal! Nine weeks ago today was our last "normal" day, but as the day came to an end, we began to realize that life as we knew it was changing fast. I still can't seem to grasp the concept that THIS is our life now. 

Our area wasn't hit hard at all, so the quarantine seemed very strange, but we are slowly starting to open up. A lot of restrictions, like wearing masks in public, are still in place, and many people will continue to work from home for months to come. School is nearing an end, and at this point,  I am honestly praying that kids are able to return in the Fall! Truthfully, Welcome to the Sh*&show is pretty much our home motto these days!

I can't seem to bring myself to refer to this as our new normal anymore, because NOTHING about this is normal. We are getting by, and I am so thankful that my family and I are healthy and safe in our little bubble, but I still feel sadness over how everyday life came to an abrupt end. At this point, I just want this all to be over, and I want to return to life as we knew it. 

A Socially Distanced Mother's Day

When social distancing began, I didn't think we would still be in "quarantine" for Mother's Day, yet here we are! Truth be told, it didn't matter where we were today, as long as we were able to celebrate motherhood. I spent the day with the five beautiful kids who call me mom, and had a short visit with my own mother. The day wasn't perfect, but it was exactly how it was supposed to be during this stage in life!

I sometimes have a difficult time letting go of the concept of perfection, but as I get older, I'm learning. Mother's Day is not supposed to be filled with one picture perfect moment after another. Motherhood is incredibly beautiful, incredibly emotional, incredibly challenging, and incredibly rewarding. Motherhood is both perfect and messy at the same time, and it makes sense that Mother's Day will be the same way. The trick is to focus on the moments that are so good that they will take your breath away, and be captured in your memory forever!

I never thought I would be raising five children. I always hoped for four kids, but I didn't think it would be my reality. My wish came true, along with something a little extra AND a bonus baby! Even on the days when raising children brings me to my knees, I still thank God for the gift of motherhood. There is so much pressure to be more than just a mom, but I consider it my most important task, and I am SO proud of my little humans!

Menu Planning: The Big Family Way

One of the many things my husband and I agree about is the importance of family dinners! It's no surprise that taking a family of 7 out to eat is incredibly expensive, so we save eating out for special occasions. Takeout can also add up very quickly, so we rely on menu planning for our almost daily family dinners!

I have been planning our meals for many years, and it's a way of life now. It just comes easily, and naturally! Before I started, I thought it was unnecessary, and I didn't think it would work for us. I can honestly say that it was life changing! I save so much time and energy, and we really save a lot of money compared to what we would spend eating out and getting take out once a week!

In our family, we have a picky eater (GRANT), a child who has Celiac Disease (Liam), a non-meat eater (me), and a baby who is now eating the same meals, but somehow, I manage to please everyone with each dinner. It really isn't difficult to juggle, and we usually end up with leftovers. (Hello, lunches!) After years of trial and error, I perfected my method for menu planning for a big family with dietary concerns, and I plan to share my tricks with all of you!