My week in review according to
the pictures I snapped with my phone.
Avery and I have been enjoying our garden.
This week was Ave's turn to be Star Of The Week at school. She had so much fun making her star of pictures. This week was also our teacher conference with her teacher and it went so well. I just can't believe how awesome she is doing and how quick she has grown!
I spent some time kicking my feet up and catching up on several episodes of my favorite show. I want Jess and Nick to be together!
My boy who reads and reads and reads.
The past two days have been ridiculously hot here! Like August kind of hot. I'm hoping the forecast is right and it ends today.
I'm not sure if this will be a regularly added part to my weekly photo recap BUT this week I captured a picture that I LOVE but it wasn't from my phone. So for today's recap I am adding a new feature I will call
My Favorite Picture Of The Week!
This may be my favorite picture EVER,
not just this week.
I love them. I am so thankful for them both. Thankful for them as individuals and who they each are to our family and to one another.
This morning I read this blog post from one of my favorite bloggers that was so well written. It was great timing for me. She addressed a topic that I read and hear about often. If you are on facebook, instagram, or follow blogs, you have probably heard about this too. There seem to be many people who let those social media sites and what people share really weigh them down... which is sad to me. I am very aware of the real, the hard, the sad, and the ugly in my life and the world. It is out there and we hear about it a lot. I love taking pictures. Daily. I do not photograph my kids and our surroundings to show off how cute they are, or to pretend we have a perfect life or that I am a super mom. I capture pictures of daily moments that could easily be seen as normal or even mundane things. There are some normal moments that I choose to freeze and find the joy in. I want to pause and be thankful for that moment. I want to have that moment frozen in a picture for me to reminisce over in years to come. For my kids to share with their kids. Life is short, kids grow fast, so much of the world is dark, and so much of the day-to-day is hard and repetitive. I know as a stay at home mom I can fall into a rut. I can feel buried under the chores, the to-do lists and hearing "mom, momma, mommy, mom" all day long. But in between all of that real stuff, if I choose to focus on the simple and sweet moments life is much better. There is nothing wrong with people sharing joy and encouragement in form of pictures or stories. I know that I enjoy seeing beautiful pictures and reading wonderful stories. It is encouraging and inspiring for me to see beauty and success in others' lives.
Writing is not a real gift of mine and that is okay. As I originally mentioned, I read a post this morning that I felt was beautifully written on this topic and what she wrote is so close to exactly how I feel.
Here is just a snippet of the post...
I would say most people put out their best.
They want to inspire, encourage.
They want to create in order to give back and give glory to the One who made us.
The One who gave us our creativity and our gifts.
I think that is beautiful.
In fact...
I would say that if someone is encouraging you to stop using your gifts
to tone it down a bit
to show way more of the dirty and less of the talents
that I don't agree.
Can you imagine if someone told Tim Tebow to stop using his gifts so well?
God created you with gifts and talents and ways to bless and inspire others.
You were created to do so.
I love taking an ordinary moment and seeing such a deeper beauty in it.
Life is truly a mix of hurt & beauty.
a mix of raw and incredible.
ups and down.
Through it all we move. and through it all, I do believe He is sovereign.
........
Casey writes a lot of beautiful things and her blog is so worth a visit to! I hope your week had moments filled with joy and that you have a good weekend with people you love.
This morning I read this blog post from one of my favorite bloggers that was so well written. It was great timing for me. She addressed a topic that I read and hear about often. If you are on facebook, instagram, or follow blogs, you have probably heard about this too. There seem to be many people who let those social media sites and what people share really weigh them down... which is sad to me. I am very aware of the real, the hard, the sad, and the ugly in my life and the world. It is out there and we hear about it a lot. I love taking pictures. Daily. I do not photograph my kids and our surroundings to show off how cute they are, or to pretend we have a perfect life or that I am a super mom. I capture pictures of daily moments that could easily be seen as normal or even mundane things. There are some normal moments that I choose to freeze and find the joy in. I want to pause and be thankful for that moment. I want to have that moment frozen in a picture for me to reminisce over in years to come. For my kids to share with their kids. Life is short, kids grow fast, so much of the world is dark, and so much of the day-to-day is hard and repetitive. I know as a stay at home mom I can fall into a rut. I can feel buried under the chores, the to-do lists and hearing "mom, momma, mommy, mom" all day long. But in between all of that real stuff, if I choose to focus on the simple and sweet moments life is much better. There is nothing wrong with people sharing joy and encouragement in form of pictures or stories. I know that I enjoy seeing beautiful pictures and reading wonderful stories. It is encouraging and inspiring for me to see beauty and success in others' lives.
Writing is not a real gift of mine and that is okay. As I originally mentioned, I read a post this morning that I felt was beautifully written on this topic and what she wrote is so close to exactly how I feel.
Here is just a snippet of the post...
I would say most people put out their best.
They want to inspire, encourage.
They want to create in order to give back and give glory to the One who made us.
The One who gave us our creativity and our gifts.
I think that is beautiful.
In fact...
I would say that if someone is encouraging you to stop using your gifts
to tone it down a bit
to show way more of the dirty and less of the talents
that I don't agree.
Can you imagine if someone told Tim Tebow to stop using his gifts so well?
God created you with gifts and talents and ways to bless and inspire others.
You were created to do so.
I love taking an ordinary moment and seeing such a deeper beauty in it.
Life is truly a mix of hurt & beauty.
a mix of raw and incredible.
ups and down.
Through it all we move. and through it all, I do believe He is sovereign.
........
Casey writes a lot of beautiful things and her blog is so worth a visit to! I hope your week had moments filled with joy and that you have a good weekend with people you love.
What great photos, the kids are SO cute!
ReplyDeletexx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes