“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately...I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.”
Thoreau, from Walden
In September of 2009, following a wonderful summer of married life, I decided to begin documenting our story on this blog. I've always loved to write, and used the blog as my creative outlet to document our story and practice my budding interest in photography. This blog started with my husband, Beau, my little Canon point-and-shoot, and a pool of other hobbies that included anything from party-planning to pie-making. I documented life as a new wife, a homemaker-in-the-making, and a novice teacher in the middle of her Masters degree.
2010 was a big year for me. It started with a positive pregnancy test and ended with a brand new baby boy named Cruz. Being pregnant and bringing a baby into the world was the most extraordinary experience of my life and I found myself desiring to document every piece of it. Whether it was my quest to fill our freezer full of homemade baby food, or capture just how cute Cruz's toes looked in his new pair of flip flops, I felt a power that existed in recording our story, a power that allowed me take hold of our life in a world that moves entirely too fast. I felt that if I didn't take hold and write, the stories, and milestones, and memories would soon drift away and take me with it.
In a Personal Essay course during my undergrad., my professor once said that writing gives us the opportunity to live life twice. To document the ordinary pieces of day-to-day life in hopes that they will later become frozen artifacts of our family. This, combined with my love of photography, has given me superhero powers---the chance to literally freeze time, reflect on its beauty, and in return, be more in tune with the beauty that exists in the simplicity of everyday life. It exists all around me, even in the worst of times.
This is a blog about a normal life. About the ups, downs, and ring-a-rounds of raising a toddler while attempting to be an innovative teacher, a devoted wife, and a faithful follower of Christ. This is my quest to find my purpose and balance in this game of life. I love dinners on the back deck during the summer, traveling to new places in our own backyard or across the globe, going on picnics and playing at the park, and attempting to organize and create a happy home for my boys.
Thanks for your inspiration!
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