So a careful observer would note that I haven’t been blogging. For like a year.

This is not disconnected from an emotional space I was in last fall – I think a lot of us were there. I started this specific blog post in early fall. I wrote about how I loved the leaves, the fall, the inspirations of nature and sudden beauty. It was a plea to tell those of you who were inquiring about foliage and holiday card shots, to tell you that even though there is yes beauty in nature, that there is something more. I wrote:

Don’t get me wrong – I love love love the fall, the leaves, the inspirations of nature and the sudden beauty.

There is an internal conflict, because I know I can get you the smile and pose shot – I know you will look beautiful and will fit right into a Gap catalogue. But I also still genuinely believe – your every day is beautiful.

And then November elections hit. And really, man, I just still don’t have words to explain how yucky it feels to me, to be self promoting on Facebook when there are real people, hurting real feelings. Like, I can’t post photos of cute puppies and my happy family without feeling something inauthentic.  Because I was sad. Sad about the election, sad about my youngest going to full day kindergarten (leaving me alone for such massively long stretches after 13 years of being a stay-at-home mom with a part time photo gig), a little melancholic about turning 40 and time passing. My business partner had her own crises, but those are not mine to tell! So anyhow, I stopped blogging.

I didn’t stop taking photos. I did reflect a little about whether June Day Photo was what I was supposed to be doing with my time. But what I came back to was yes. That yes, the core of this post is true. That even if the world around is yucky, and not everything in your life is perfect, there are still beautiful moments in your every day lives – and in mine – that drive the passion of my photography. That’s what I want to do with my life.

So here’s my family, one lazy Saturday. One year ago.

 

I woke up to the girls building a blanket fort right outside my bedroom door.  It is super sweet to wake up to the chatter of happy voices (don’t get me wrong, that DOESN’T happen every day!).  These photos are peekaboo outside the tent and then a few when I peaked under the blanket.

Downstairs to breakfast!  Hair brushing, boiled eggs, a game called Smash It, and it’s-too-early morning stretches.

 

Then to getting dressed – the sweetness of lip gloss and pink lacy dresses.  I personally am not a very girly-girl – so when I *had* girls, I resisted these girly girl things. But sweetness overtakes and I just can’t not love and be in love with her giddy excitement at lip gloss and nail polish and all things sparkling.

Jessie had art class at the Soha Arts Building with fabulous teacher, Maria Christopher. Snapped a pic of a good friend. Love the light in that studio!  Love my sweet Jessie’s love for creating.

My husband had a meeting, so I took the crew to Five Guys and Despicable Me! Chatting with the crew over burgers and fries = some of my best memories. Watching eyes widen at the screen, or give full cackles. . . . watching my kids watch a movie is better than watching the movie itself.

It was a lazy late afternoon after that. The girls built some project with their Goldiblocks engineering set. Dad came home and shot some hoops, played a game with Clara. The kids ate dinner.

After dinner. . . bedtime. My sweet girls pushed their twin beds next to each other to snuggle. And Micah waved goodbye as Jim and I headed into the Philly for a date night.

My life is beautiful.  Let me know if you’d like me to hang with you and show you how yours is too.

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