Recipes, Crafts, Travel "Mixed" With Family Fun
I know. I’ve been slacking on the Family Focus Friday posts. Life has been so busy lately with Spring Break and work and “mommying” that I’ve been almost dreading writing on a Friday. But it’s so important to make sure that every week I slow down from the posts that I sometimes HAVE to write and focus on what really matters. Like My Wildflower.
I will never consider myself to be a great photographer. But are moments when I look through the camera and I am left in awe. Could I have taken that photo? Over Thanksgiving break we drove the family into Washington D.C. for the day. We saw some of the best Smithsonians with the kids, ate lunch, and then about 3 pm we started to walk the mall. And then I started to take pictures. Sunset in Washington DC left me amazed. The craziness of our busy lives, the evil in the world…everything paused for a moment as we walked and watched the sun go down. Come on a walk with us as we took in the nation’s capital and found beauty. (Be sure to scroll down to the bottom for “the money shot.”)
Thursday. Oh Thursday, how it always comes down to this. This Thursday, we were feeling extra pressure. Playing catch up from our cruise, stressful jobs and looming holiday on the horizon…you can imagine the scene. Feeling pretty deflated from our busy week, my husband and I made a decision. We were eating out. Not too out of the ordinary, we try to eat out as a family every month if we can. However, this dinner had a surprise attached. I had no idea that our dinner would have ended up like this. Dinner Surprises is the topic of my Family Focus Friday, and certainly worth writing about less than 24 hours after the occurrence. So what happened, you ask?
I was so hesitant to write this post today. But for those that read my Family Focus Friday posts every Friday, you know how important it is for me to document my family’s life journey. It isn’t perfect (where’s my make up?) or staged just right (can someone tell my daughter to close her legs?). It’s my family’s life freeze framed in time and preserved as a memory, good or bad. However, A Day at the Pumpkin Patch is a yearly tradition that I cannot just pass by. It’s a staple in our family’s every October. And it’s something our kids look forward to every year. They are of happy smiling faces and prized pumpkins. And memories that I was to treasure. Hope that you’ll enjoy peeking into our Pumpkin Patch memories for 2015 and our collection of photos. Isn’t my son’s face priceless? 🙂
No, no I’m not referring to parenting today. Today’s Family Focus Friday actually refers to a different kind of retreat. A marriage retreat. For the first time since before my daughter was born, my husband and I did a little getaway to focus on our marriage. Quite fitting with our 10 year anniversay closing in soon. We both came home feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the years ahead…together. What makes a marriage last? Here’s what I learned:
I know. I know. I’ve been really slacking lately on the Family Focus Fridays. The honest truth? I’ve been tired. Like really tired. Coming home from a press trip (no sleep) and right into the first week of school (no sleep), you can guess what that adds up to. (And if you say a cranky, evil and disgruntled blogger….well, you’d probably be right). Focused on a BIG school year for my boy, I had a few lessons to learn. Insert foot in mouth as I share What I Learned During the First Week of First Grade.
One of my favorite things to do these days is take picture of my kids. Being themselves. And lately, this little camera ham has been LOVING the spotlight, even asking to “picture me.” Seriously, can she be any more a blogger mom’s daughter? But on this occasion of a “picture me” session, something was…off. Something is missing here.
There are days when I adore my phone. Then there are days when I HATE my phone. Insert one of “those” days. Soooo….as a blogger, I have this horrible habit of taking lots and lots and LOTS of photos on my phone. I email them to family. I share on social media. I use them in my posts. And for the few special pictures, I leave them on my phone for printing at a later date.
Turn the clock forward about 2 years. An overwhelmingly full phone of photos was slowing down my daily routine. And this momma hadn’t backed up her photos as diligently as she could. (Don’t even get me started with iCloud!) So in a “good mom” mode one day I went to hook up my phone to the computer to download the pictures off my phone for printing. I was pumped to get this task finally checked off my list. Then the unthinkable. Instead of downloading, my computer decides to ERASE all 2000+ photos from my phone. O. M. Goodness. What do you do when your phone photos are erased?
I had to mentally prepare myself for this day. I mean after our theme park nightmare and more recently our timber incident, I may or may not have had a pail of water, fire extinguisher and 911 on speed dial. Just saying. But capturing the awe of a child’s first sparklers in hand, I mean how could I miss that Kodak moment? You’re right, I couldn’t. This is how we spent our 4th of July 🙂
I have a parent confession this week. I lied blatantly. It was a conscious decision. And it’s a weight that carried with me all through this week. And I felt so ugly.