Just reminiscing.

Warning--This post has a whole of pictures...just wanted to give you a fair heads up. :)

fyi: there is a photography tip at the end.

As you can imagine Jon (my husband) and I have been doing our fair share of reminiscing this past week with Maddie starting school and all. We've each, on separate occasions, have taken a turn reading back on our family blog. And I must say, I did get a little choked up reading funny stories and remembering our past. 

You see, I've been fortunate enough to stay home with Maddie and Lyndon their entire lives. They've been my buddies, and each other's buddies for the past 5 years and we've made some pretty sweet memories along the way. We've laughed, we've cried, we've been frustrated we've been comforted and most of all we've loved. I'm happy to say I can't think of one thing I would have changed looking back on our first 5 years of parenthood. Oh sure, I would have changed perhaps a few small things here or there but overall, the big picture is one full of memories that I want to share over and over.

Go ahead, take a look at a few of our special moments...

The concerned looks of their faces is because Maddie thought she saw an ant on the porch. (If you don't live in the South you should know that our ants really are that scary!)

From the time Lyndon was very small he has had a love affair with Cinderella. She's his girl...

Lyndon has always made Maddie crack up...

They love to play together, especially tea party. 

Jon is a musician and the kids have always loved to play with him.

He's looking for Santa.

When Lyndon was little he used to get Maddie's baby dolls and put them in his bed. Notice Cinderella cozied up beside him? :)

I found him up here one day...

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. He's obviously NOT HAPPY about wearing that jacket!

He was sick this day and looked so content while he slept that I had to get a picture.

trick-or-treating

Playing before bed.

We always do art projects and this picture is exactly how it looks every time.

Lyndon adores Maddie, can you tell?

And there you have it...a tour down memory lane. 

Even though I have moments of pain, hurt, and frustration my life is continually filled with so much joy, peace and excitement.

I'm grateful for the journey.

***Photography Tip***

Do you ever have days that you think your photography just isn't going anywhere, it's just not improving? I'm here to tell you to just keep taking pictures. Because every picture you take, you are learning and growing just that much more. Take pictures in different settings, at different locations, in all types lighting, and with all types of faces. Just snap away. And then instead looking at the picture and wishing it was better, analyze the picture and decide how you could make it better next time. Education yourself on how to improve it.

As I was looking through 3 years of my family blog I could see a tremendous improvement in my photography. And one of the main reasons I feel like I improved was because I kept taking pictures. I usually carry my camera along to most places I go. Having it assessable will give you more opportunities to take pictures. If you leave it tucked away in it's pristine case upstairs in the closet and only get it out for special occasions, I'm telling you now...you aren't taking enough pictures! Get it out, you'll be happy you did. I'm so happy I have all these pictures to look back on and I know you will be too.