sunday story

Sundays, don't you just love them?  The slowing down, a hot homecooked breakfast, or maybe a trip to your local donut shop for something sweet. Gathering around the table, a newspaper, maybe some knitting, a book.  Your favorite mug with something steaming in it. Perhaps a day or worship or gathering family for a meal. Or maybe a day spent lingering in your pj's.  :)   I love Sunday stories and capturing them in my lens. These shots above are from a few years ago and they still make me smile.  My little ones were really little here. (the old days of sippy cups. my youngest one is even sitting in a booster seat for goodness sake! so small...  sigh.)  Acting silly grabbing the newspaper and hiding behind it.  Looking at these shots takes me right back, I think I can even hear their giggles.

What does your Sunday story look like today?  Click and share.  XO.

my word

It's here again.  That time of year when I ponder my word for the year. The one word that will define everything that I want to accomplish in the next 12 months.  

Last year, I selected the word PURPOSE.  I sit here and review my list of things that I wanted to accomplish. I feel so inadequate.  All the healthy meals that I planned on making, all the practice time at my harp that did not happen, the books that I wanted to read... 

Then I shake myself off and remember... The joy of helping our oldest sons complete home-schooling and start their new lives.  The excitement of building new communities with amazing women.  The quiet times in our "almost empty" nest with just one son still at home.  It was in these moments that I found my PURPOSE and more fulfillment than I ever expected.  

As I embark on a new adventure of home-schooling our youngest son and with the knowledge of what made me the happiest, I am selecting my new word for 2012... NURTURE [nur-cher] 1. to feed and protect   2. to support and encourage   3. to bring up; train; educate.  

I am inspired by my selection and look forward to helping those around me.  Have you selected your word or did it find you?  Share with me your thoughts for the upcoming year.

Finding Bliss

It's just over a week into the new year and even though I promised myself that I will be more present and remember to breathe, I'm finding it a little difficult to do right now.  I also think it's because it's January, my least favorite month of the year.  That sweet little square tile above (an awesome gift from the fabulous Leslie Adams) sits on my desk where I see it everyday and this week it's been taunting me.  Create Your Bliss. What the heck does that mean?!  How do I create bliss when my life is so hectic right now??  And then I realized, bliss can be anything I want it to be.  Tomorrow, my house will be mine again.  After three weeks at home for the holidays, my husband goes back to work and my kids are officially back in school.  Tomorrow morning, my bliss will be a cup of coffee with my favorite creamer in my favorite cup while wearing my favorite slippers in a blissfully quiet house.  I now know that creating my bliss doesn't have to big or showy or dramatic.  It can be as simple as a cup of coffee.  Creating my bliss isn't so difficult afterall, and that's a good thing. 

Today, inspire us. Share with us how you create your bliss.   

your best memory 2011

I can't help it. The last week of the year I have to thumb through my journals, dig into my archives and look at all the photos that I took the past 12 months. What I love most about doing this is that it helps me acknowledge that I'm nowhere near where I thought I would be a year ago, and that it's okay. This makes me profoundly grateful for every experience that enabled me to learn and grow, for the people in my life, and mostly, for the memories that I now get to cherish and look back on fondly. The photo above was taken during a family trip in Switzerland. And this is my best memory of the year 2011.

Today show us yours.

savoring motherhood

I did all the right things. I read all the books. I watched all the videos. I took all the classes. I went to prenatal yoga classes religiously, took walks with my husband, and daydreamed with him about how we were going to have the “happiest baby on the block.” I savored every minute of my pregnancy and was excited to do the same with our newborn.

We were ready. Or so we thought.

Then she arrived and everything we thought we knew flew out the window. Night was day and day was night. I felt as if the life I once knew was a distant memory and now I was navigating new and very foreign territory. I wouldn’t have traded my new life for the old one, but those early days were hard. Very hard.

Several weeks after Sadie was born, I realized that I had been in a deep fog. While I was wallowing in the exhaustion, she was growing and changing. And I had missed it.

Yes, this has been one of the most difficult times in my life, but I don’t want to lose sight of how wondrous and amazing it is. I want to savor it because it will be gone before I know it.

Never in my life have I been so aware of the passage of time. Becoming a mother has amplified my need to preserve memories. At seven weeks old, I am floored by how fast Sadie is growing. Sometimes, it feels like she changes from minute to minute. She’ll wake up from a nap and I swear she’s gained three pounds. Every morning, I wake up to find a new baby.  

And so I do what I always do when I want to savor a moment in time: I pick up my camera. And when I do, I see for the first time what has been there all along: chubby hands, tiny ruffles, soft skin, itty-bitty shoes, little toes, wise eyes, first smiles, and a whole lot of love.

Yes, in the topsy-turvy life with a newborn, my camera helps me savor the simple moments and remember what is most important.

Share with us the kinds of moments you are savoring this season.

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Darrah Parker is giving away one spot in the Slice of Life Project, a 6-week photography e-course that will help you savor the details of your everyday life. Leave a comment for a chance to win a spot in the winter session, starting February 6.

For more information about Darrah, visit her website. For more information about her e-course, visit the Slice of Life Project web page.