Color

Looking around my kid's bedroom, "color" is revealed everywhere:

But when it came down to it, this is the photo of color that I chose:

When I came across these tights this week in a bag of hand-me-downs, I thought, "Miriam just HAS to wear these before they are too small." Discovered the rest of the outfit in the closet and "color" was made.

This little one is so yearning for the colors of the signs of spring. She stands at the window longingly watching her big bro and sis dancing on the deck, pounding on the window to emphasize her desires. Soon and very soon, baby girl!

Light

As I'm sitting down to a simple lunch, I recall, "This week's theme is 'light'" At just that moment my gaze wanders to the kitchen window where the sunlight streaming in causes these intricate shadows of the curtains hanging over the sink. Never before have I noticed this. One of my favorite pieces of photography is viewing the world in a novel, unique, different "light."

Emotion

Just realized I neglected to post week 6 last week, so here goes! The first photo is the one I submitted for the Project 52, the other two I added just for fun, because I can. :)

This emotion: devotion. As the third child (in five years), this little lady has stolen our hearts, particularly that of her father. The bond began in her newborn days when he would hold her for hours as they cuddled on the sofa watching "car shows." Miss Miriam certainly demanded her share of attention amidst the chaos of our household, yet through those hours of screaming and sleeplessness, she developed a special bond with her daddy. These days, as she is approaching a year old, she plays silly games with him, like no other. She crawls after him whining, "da daaaaa" as he leaves for work. And races to him when he returns pulling at his scrubs for his attention. It's sweet the devotion these two have. Blessings and love abound in this unique connection.

"Wild Card"

This week's project was a "wild card" and reflecting on my posts thus far I realized there are no photos of my dear Lydia. This sweet girl is so excitable and Valentine's Day put her over-the-top with thrills. I came downstairs from putting her baby sister for a nap to her vigorously and purposefully sorting her Valentine's cards, candy, and treats from her preschool party. The hearts on her cheeks and the stick-on earrings are results of the celebration. And this holiday suits her so well as her thoughtful, generous, loving heart shines.

Simplicity

My dear baby Miriam entered this world on St. Patrick's Day last year. My sweet mother-in-law (Irish runs in her blood ;) brought me this shamrock plant in the hospital. This tender, thoughtful gift has brightened many a tough day. I love how it's leaves open to bask in the glorious sunshine particularly as it shines through our kitchen window on these otherwise dark winter days. The simplicity of the gift. The simplicity of the light. The simplicity of its life and the beautiful life it represents. All provide hope that simple things, simple gestures have the potential to bring beauty and joy to lives.

Project 52 - Imperfection

Maybe I’m getting a little too philosophical about these prompts, but for some reason I’m really taking them to heart. I pondered over this one… What is “perfection”? My answer: Jesus Christ. Everyone and everything else falls on this earth falls short, thus, “imperfection.”

As a mother I spend so much time and effort trying to make my children “perfect” and making everyone else think they are perfect too! I want them to joyfully obey my every request. I want them to succeed in everything that they do. I want them to show the world how wonderful they are. I want them to make wise choices. I want them to show goodness and truth to all they meet. I want their little brains and hearts and minds to be filled with compassion and kindness, generosity and love. This week, they fell short. Of ALL of these. All my efforts, all my strivings, all my plans, squelched. They whined, they blatantly refused to complete my requests, they ran around the grocery store screaming (yes, those were MY kids). Mini imperfect people created from two imperfect parents.

So they screwed up. I screwed up. Praise God for His grace and forgiveness, His welcoming loving arms that take our imperfection and turn it around in His Son. I’m so thankful He makes good from my bad and hopeful that He does the same for my little ones. Truth is, maybe I should spend less time trying to make them perfect and more time pointing them to the only One who is.

On to the photograph: Tobias is my particular challenge. At 3 he is exerting his independence while realizing he is still quite dependant on mommy and daddy resulting in frustration and tears. Here he is: not smiling, dog hair stuck to the stickiness of breakfast on his chin, purple marker on his eye. He is NOT perfect, yet I love Him, Jesus loves Him, and there is the hope and promise of bright days for us. 

Inspiration

So I spent half the week trying to figure out what “inspires” me. Really, when I told my husband this week’s word he rattled off almost 10 things that inspire me. And, he was right. But I kept pondering, “How can I sum it all up? What is the one unifying factor in this list of inspiration?” In the shower (essentially the only truly quiet, alone time in my life), it struck me: connection. Personal, relational, spiritual, emotional… I am inspired when I witness or experience connection: a friend seeing the fruits of her leap of faith into pursuing her passion, photographing a child’s joy at the hug from his momma, my baby girl taking her first step, my husband sharing a breakthrough with a patient, God’s Word jumping off the page (or computer screen) and straight into my heart, music fueling emotion, ideas coming to fruition after endless emails, my 5 year old little girl sounding out a word and then jumping on the bed as she spontaneously puts it into a sentence… Yay, “connection” is my inspiration! Now, how to photograph it…

My brother often teases that he’s going to buy my family a drum set essentially to torture me with extreme noise for the next 15 years of my life. Naturally, the thought does get under my skin. But, you should see Tobias’ eyes light up when he plays the drums. His friend got a drum set for Christmas and ever since he’s played it, every night he prays about that drum set. He’s making a connection, he’s finding a passion, and that inspires me. Here’s his homemade version. His intensity is evident – he’s not just banging, he’s PLAYING the drums.