“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.”

― Eudora Welty

(Note: We’ve been on vacation with NO COMPUTERS (ahhh, bliss!) so my usual “Thankful Thursday” post is a day late.)

My children are at that age when they have absolutely no desire to have their picture taken but yet, they love to look at pictures of themselves.  It’s a frustrating process for any mom trying to document the fleeting moments of childhood.

Despite all the groans and hiding from my camera, they always, always, always want to hear the story, the mundane everyday details of what they did or said at the point in time when the photo was taken.  Then they repeat the story, over and over to whoever will listen, until it becomes part of the personal history that shapes who they are.

For me it’s like capturing a piece of their childhood and making it stand still, if only for a moment.

I’ve heard it said that “the pictures you want tomorrow, you have to take today.” So I intentionally  take photos of normal everyday things that I think are never going to happen again… before they never happen again. I take photos of my children falling asleep in my arms, snuggling with their favorite stuffed animal, trying to cut their own food, building couch forts, jumping on the trampoline, playing basketball…stupid stuff, important stuff, random, silly and serious stuff all mixed in. Like life – all mixed in – only in electronic format.

Thank You Moment

Being a mom is a season in life not a destination. I want to grab it and hold it and remember it for all the special everyday miracles it holds, even if my miracles look like this in 60% of my photos.

And sometimes, I’m just lucky enough to capture these moments too.

How about you? What moments do you wish you had more photos of? How can you be intentional about grabbing a moment before it gets away from you?

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“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.”

~Barbara Johnson

People usually think of Christmas or Thanksgiving as a time for establishing traditions with their family, but my favorite family tradition is in the summer. In fact, our summer always starts the same way. Each year as the kids get off the bus on the last day of school, all the parents and older kids in the neighborhood ambush them with water guns. Some years we do it a day or two early to throw them off since, by now, they know to expect it. One year we also did it on the FIRST day of school. They never saw that coming at all! It was great.

To add to our fun, my husband is one of eight children, so my kids have LOTS of cousins that they are close to. Invariably many of them make it here for the water fight and look forward to it every year. It’s become their tradition too. The more kids the better!

Here are some photos from this year’s water fight.

My husband waiting at the bus stop

One of the older kids from the neighborhood waiting behind a bush at the bus stop.

My husband chasing our son with a water gun as he gets off the bus.

Water fight fun!

Thank You Moment

This is a tradition that not only my children look forward to and enjoy, but that their cousins and closest friends share with them. This will be something they all talk about and remember long after my husband and I are gone. It is a heart memory. I love that we are making these types of memories in their lives.

Is there a special way that you kick off the summer or something you do every year during this season that your children look forward to? Don’t overlook the summer as a time to establish fun family traditions that will stay in the hearts of your children forever.

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“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather loved in spite of ourselves.”

~ Victor Hugo

When we were first married, my husband and I would each take a turn, on opposite years, planning our annual wedding anniversary getaway trip where we would spend some time relaxing at a romantic Bed and Breakfast within a few hours’ drive from our home.

One particular year, my husband planned a trip to Lancaster, PA. If you’re unfamiliar with this area, it’s filled with rural farmland where the Amish live. It is known for handmade craft items, great food and beautiful scenic views. While we were shopping at one of the Amish country stores, my husband bought me a surprise present. It was a hand painted sign for our kitchen. Don’t get too excited.  My romantic, thoughtful kitchen sign said, “I serve 3 meals: Frozen, Microwave and Takeout”.

It takes a brave man, confident in his relationship with his wife, to give a sign like that to any woman on their anniversary.

Instead of being offended, though, I was touched remembering all the cooking “experiments” he suffered through during the first years of our marriage without complaining. We both laughed about it and that Amish sign is still in my kitchen today.  It helped me realize that my husband didn’t love me because I was perfect. He loved me in spite of my faults. And he encouraged me as I grew out of them. He still does.

Thank You Moment
Marriage is a moving target because both people are and should always be changing. They are continually growing into their relationship together, with the other person’s help. I am a much better person today, because of my husband, then I could ever have become without him. I am so grateful for his sense of humor, willingness to eat my cooking, and so many other loving acts of kindness too numerous to mention.

How has the love of another person changed you?  Consider the simple acts of kindness that are so easy to overlook in the busyness of everyday life and be grateful that someone loves you enough to do them. 

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