Thank goodness for photos. When I look at these moments, I am so grateful for every single one of them, big or small. The tears I shed last week as I sat in the van willing myself to go be social with the kids after a tough morning… their tears… the squabbles, the messes – they don’t seem so bad when I pause with gratitude for these moments.
Those tears and squabbles, messes and hard moments – they’re all a part of the package of living and learning together. They are how we grow to understand one another, love one another, and be better together. But sometimes after a day or a week of those moments, looking at these moments is like a sort of therapy. Joy therapy. Little buoys to keep me afloat after a tough week, and inspire me as we embark on the next. And it’s really not the photos – it could be written word, time spent remembering… it’s the moments, the experiences.
This collection of moments is from the last two weeks, I believe…
Some moments of note: Brother tag-team art project, a map of our neighbourhood in the works by Bre and Cohen, a walk to the hardware store with a grandma, a 7th birthday breakfast, homeschool co-op, the museum, lots and lots of plant learning love, and one pretty darn cool lego stop motion iPad rig.
This was the first birthday crown I made, based on instruction in The Creative Family and other patterns online – Cohen has had it since he was tiny and each child has their own that is brought down for their birthday. I just LOVE this tradition. I also love the idea of sewing a button on the band for each year – which we have done with Milo, but nobody else. Ahem. That’s just how things roll around here!
A couple other beloved birthday traditions are a slideshow of photos of the birthday boy or girl, and more recently, plain-paper wrapped gifts with drawings by mom and dad to be coloured in. I am always amazed at how excited they are to colour in the drawings, even though it means waiting longer to open their gifts.
In case anyone is wondering, these are the face paints we use, and love.
If you have a special moment (or a collection) to share, add a link to the comments, or share about them there.
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Thank you for sharing your moments! ♥
I make quarterly photobooks of the kids through a self publishing company online. Im kinda crazy about them and every time I get a new one, I bring it everywhere with me, sharing it with my friends and family. Sometimes I wonder if they feel like those people who would be forced to watch their friends vacation slide shows?!
The book have become such an important part of our lives and are so dearly important to me. Recently both kids have started to look through the books with us and comment on the photos – I love this! They’re becoming very special to them too!
ps. I cant get the facepaint link to work..
Serena, I love your idea of quarterly photo books. I can imagine how much work that is! I’d maybe pull of one yearly. When Cohen was a babe, we made tiny 6 month iphoto books, thinking we’d make them regularly. That is the only one we have. ; )
Thanks for letting me know about the links – they’re updated now.