finding {love} in the ordinary

doindishes*

i’m so excited about the photo challenge toni is heading up.

it’s called one hundred photos

pick your own theme

take a couple photos a week

and get inspired and grow in your photography skills over the year.

my theme is ‘finding love in ordinary places’.

ordinary places–like doing dishes.  or looking out the window.

want to join in?  what will your theme be?

you can find out more here. have fun and get inspired!

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outandabout1*

and speaking of love (nice transition, right?)

little gracie was definitely loving her frozen yogurt.

there is a ton of personality packed into her little body.

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outandabout2*

we met max and gracie at the park monday afternoon.

a half hour of awesomeness.

the way matthias is sitting in that pic (top, right) makes him look so.dang.big.

it kills me.  and it’s wonderful.  does every mom love/hate seeing her kids grow??

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outandabout3

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and a couple more sweet pictures to inspire you today.

please tell me about your day!

31 comments

  1. I really like your theme! I know for me, finding love in the everyday things usually escapes me. I loved looking through your pics and how you interpret the theme. Love it!

  2. And yes, it would be so much easier if our kids could stay at that young enough, loveable, huggable age….but they don’t. And just when your wishin’ for that comes soooo strong, they come along and do something that makes you say, “I’m doing everything right by my child, and he/she is gonna be OKAY!!!”. Love every moment!! Enjoy the fun AND the struggles. As I’ve heard often, the job of a parent, when done well, gets you fired.

  3. Oh, Lisa….I’m thinking my theme for 100 photos might just be my word of the year. What a great way to seek “serenity”, improve my photography skills and honor my word.

  4. Sounds like a challenge and sounds like fun, too. Maybe I’ll use a theme like “my new favorite places” or “God lives in LA, too”. πŸ˜‰ And yes, it’s hard to watch kids grow. I miss my little girls, but enjoy them as adults now. Maybe in the next year or so, I’ll have another little one as a grandchild. We’ll see if that happens – after Liz is done with school.

  5. Oh boy can I relate to hating to see them grow.. I posted on this very thing today in fact, as we put “Mr. Bear” into the Memory box. It’s been a little sad for the mama, but my kiddo doesn’t seem to be suffering in the least little bit! Sniff…

  6. Today we found out that my son outgrew his peanut allergy πŸ™‚ We are ecstatic, and shocked. Fynn and I celebrated with a mommy/son date by ourselves at Starbucks with cupcakes! Life doesn’t get much better (sappy blog post coming later of course!)

  7. It’s my daddy’s 66th birthday. He and my mom are in the Philippines on an annual mission trip. I got to talk with him this morning (night there)!

    On another note, I read a book to my 7yo in school every morning called Window on the World by Daphne Straggett. Yesterday we focused on Haiti. Today we are praying for the people of Haiti like we know them. Amazing how the Lord worked that out.

  8. Thank you Lisa for the shout out! I’m even more excited that you’ll be coming along. Looking forward to following your photos! xox.

  9. i have the same love/hate seeing my kids growing. it’s so neat to see the new little people they are becoming, but is going oh so fast! when i have a chance, i’m going to look into the photog challenge. sounds like just what i need to help me grow! right now we are picking up and heading out to some friends’ ranch to hang out on this wet, rainy day down here in far south texas.

  10. i have spent the day putting together 75 cards that look like the large red fry box you can get at McDonalds. this is for the atlanta ronald mcdonald house charities organization, and the card is the director’s way of thanking the franchise owners for pledging recently to continue their commitment to giving 2.5 cents of their fry tax revenue to fund the charities’ efforts. i designed the card and have hand traced and cut all the boxes, their striped white inserts, the logo for the charity, and 75 of the famous golden arches. my hands feel like they are barely attached to their wrists.

    i’m putting my feet up for a bit, but i’ve had laundry going all the while i’ve been working on this project, so i’m off to fold towels. need to vacuum too. my day off from starbucks is never really a day off!

    btw, i was thinking the same thing about the picture of matthias sitting in that tunnel. yes, their growth is bittersweet.

  11. When my neighbor and I stand out in the driveway, with kids running, skating, biking all around us, she’ll ask how old this one or that one is. I have four…it’s hard to keep up for her. When I tell her she’ll yell “Stop it!” They grow in hyper drive! I think that’s funny; I feel the same dang way!

  12. hi lisa! can i just say that i LOVE you! i know. i don’t even know you, but i love you. no, not in that kind of way. in a “wow, you’re talented, have an awesome family, and i just spent abut a half hour looking at your amazing photos”, kind of way πŸ™‚ your photos are so inspiring and your jewelry is awesome! couldn’t help but become a follower!

    xoxo
    michelle

  13. What a fantastic idea for a project! I’m going to have to go check this out…

    Again….so love coming to your blog. It’s a good way to start off my mornings!

  14. As always your photos are beautiful! I started participating in something called Project 365, which is the same kinda thing. You take a picture every day for 365 days. It is wonderful! I would like to learn to be more creative in my photography and I am hoping that this will help me!

  15. I agree, it is hard to watch them grow but also so fascinating! Seeing my daughter grow is one of the most beautiful things. She is so sure of herself and adventurous… two things I never was and pray she will always be. Oh how I pray for that!

  16. You want me to tell you about my day?

    Well, I am sitting at the computer, in my homemade leather apron, taking a rest from my spoon carving and listening to 1) Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe from Librivo.org and 2) my Bella-girl, the Silly Mutt, snoring at my side.

    I enjoy your photography, writing and jewelry! Thank you for sharing!

    Rita

  17. Hi Lisa – thank you again for sharing such a GREAT idea! I absolutely love pictures and being creative. I have NEVER taken a class and am learning as I go. I am trying to find the Hot Shots book as well – so glad to know about 100 pictures. I will think and think of my theme – Love the heart shape you made on the dish – I just love heart shaped things!!

    To me, my children getting older is very bitter-sweet! I love that they are thriving and learning and growing and that I am actively involved in this with them – I am such a blessed momma. The bitter part is that they aren’t little anymore – there was so much I loved about them being little! I feel blessed in that I was given some GREAT advice when they were very young (my two are 15 months apart). This person told me to SAVOR and enjoy every moment of every stage – even the difficult parts – because before you know it – they will be grown out of it and onto something else. So, I so heeded that advice and I embraced and savored just about everyday and still do!!

    My day will be a day at work (an office job) completing a few projects and steeling moments to read a few blogs :)!! And I will be making my To Do list for the weekend.

    Sorry to see that Matty is sick and I hope David is “moving” right along!!

    Have a great day!
    xoTiffany

  18. That sounds like a fun challenge… thanks for passing it on πŸ™‚
    I love/hate watching my kids grow up, too. I was watching my four year old getting dressed the other morning, and I cried a little as I realized that I’ll never *have* to help her get dressed again. She can do so many things by herself now. And yet it’s fun watching her grow and learn, too.
    On the other hand, I also have three teenagers, and all I want, with all my heart, is for them to grow up and get out of this phase πŸ˜€

  19. I’ll check out that photo challenge. Sounds fun! I’m starting a new series over on my blog this Sunday called: My Life in Letters where once a week for 26 weeks, I will take a photo of something for each letter of the alphabet that somehow represents my life. Letter A coming up on Sunday!

    As for kids growing up, my youngest just turned 4 and my oldest is turning 12 in a few weeks. It’s sobering to think that in 6 years he’ll be off at college. It makes me sad to think of all the time I spent focusing on his challenges with Tourette’s and how I could “fix” him when I should have been soaking up each day with this beautiful boy. I’ve learned that he doesn’t need fixing and I’m making sure to make the most of each incredible day I have with him. He is the light of my life.

    One of my favorite quotes is from the song, “Beautiful Boy” that I used to sing to Jacob every night: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” So true. Kids grow up so quickly, we need enjoy them while we can.

    I hope David is doing well. I kept him in my thoughts and prayers yesterday.

    Believe,
    Michelle

  20. What a neat project! My husband is the main photographer in our household, though I’d love to use the camera more.

    I love your dishes! Are they fiesta ware?

    Matthias is getting so big! How old is he now?

    Have a great Wednesday! πŸ˜‰

  21. I found a picture just last night of my youngest. He must have been 5 or 6 in the picture and was such a lovey mama’s boy and I so loved it! He was so concerned about me and my feelings for such a young one. Now he’s 21, still concerned about me and loves me but where did all of those years go?? How I wish I could have kept those years from moving so fast!!

  22. Matthias does look so old in that picture! I can see the teenage skateboarding cool kid he is going to be. Funny. I prayed for David yesterday and hope your appt. went well. Love you!

  23. As an aside, I positively hate seeing my children grow up. I had no idea how hard that would be. I hang onto their “littleness” for dear life even as I see it slipping away. It has to happen and that’s as it should be but my heart breaks each and every time I notice how big they are.

  24. Oooooo! Can’t wait to look into this project! I’ve been searching for something like this in the new year. Your pictures are always so inspiring. Thank you for sharing your life. It’s absolutely beautiful.

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