Family Is My Heart

  There is nothing in this world that means more to me than the ones I love. I am a very empathetic person who needs compassion and consistent emotional growth in life. To me, life is meaningless unless you have people to share those experiences and important moments with.

  Today's photo challenge was "thing you love most."
  My family and friends are what I love most and am most grateful for. My husband avoids the camera like it's the plague, so for now a photo of the little men whole came into my world and stole my heart will have to do.

  I love these boys with all that I am, and I'll never stop saying how blessed I am to have them in my life.

Cabin Fever...

 So, I forgot to blog yesterday for my day 7 challenge. The day was long and I ended up going to bed uber early with a little bit of a headache. I completely forgot about it. 

So today, I'm going to toss day 7 and day 8 together, because right now they are somewhat linked due being home bound by the weather. If it isn't pretty out soon, I think we'll all start having bouts of cabin fever. 

Day 7- photo of the day challenge was "this adventure" 

  We had planned (my kids and I), to take a short trip to the park and walk around the boardwalk yesterday. We love the park and it's a nice relaxing view. The park is an option that allows my boys to explore while I can monitor them and feel safe. 

  At Glen Hilton Jr. Memorial Park in Hickory, NC, there are a few different play areas, picnic zones, and the boardwalk is centered around a view of the lake where a lot of ducks come and wait for feed. We didn't get to visit though... nature had a different plan for us, and we got rained out. 

  That's where today's photo challenge "these four walls" comes in. We got stuck at home due to foul weather. So we played with paints, crayons, and made it a arts and crafts kind of day. 

  We are grateful for our home. Having a shelter over our heads and a warm place to be when the weather is not favorable is a blessing. 
  
Today is still kind of yucky, so we're playing indoors again. Today is movies, music and games. 

Have you ever tried to teach a 2 year old how to play musical chairs? lol 

My Place of Peace

 Earlier this year, my husband and I finally took the plunge and purchased our first home together. For me, it was a scary but thrilling experience and I'm glad we took the risk. 
  For the first time ever, we have something we can say is our own. There are no rules about pets or pet deposits. We don't have to worry about upstairs or downstairs neighbors anymore.
  It's actually been 8 months this month, and it feels amazing to have achieved something this great with the man I love. 

Today's photo-a-day challenge was "Grateful for this place". Our new home is something I am grateful for. I wanted something that is ours to raise our kids in, and we worked our bums off to get it. I am very grateful to have this place.

  
  It's an amazing feeling when you get that first key that is for your own place isn't it? Having such a blessing come to us will be something I will never take lightly. 

What place are you grateful for? 

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Gloomy Weather

 Lately, where I live, the weather can't seem to make up its' mind. Friday, it was a lovely day with a higher temperature into the high 70's. The days following, it's been wet and cloudy. So, that made getting today's photo challenge of "this beautiful morning" a bit difficult. 

Nonetheless, I believe that every morning I wake up is a beautiful day and an opportunity for a fresh new start. So, here is today's challenge. 

Day #5: This beautiful Morning

Cutest Little Monsters

There is nothing in this world like having children. The thing is, there aren't enough warnings in the world about the phase your child goes through called: toddler. 

It's like a foreshadowing of what I can only imagine the early teenage years will be like. Screaming, seemingly drunken wobbling, hiding food in strange places, and running around with flailing arms like a drunk person. It's... Adorable.

No, really... I love every second of it. My kids crack me up with their crazy. They make me wanna pull my hair out sometimes, but I can only hope that's a normal mom feeling when you've got 2 year olds. 

I love watching my boys grow and learn how to do more and more on their own. I guess that is one of the great rewards of being a parent. 

What's the big drawback? 

Bedtime...

I absolutely hate the fight to get them in their bed for good. It's a game to them, and exercise for me. It's also a war I have yet to win... Because they know how to use those adorable little faces to get just one more story or one more hug. 

That leads me to today's photo challenge: This adorable face. In my case- their are two of those adorable faces, and though they can stress me out and exhaust me... I am blessed beyond measure that they are here.

Day 4: Grateful & blessed for these adorable faces.

Comfort I Can Count On

  Today's photo-a-day challenge is being thankful for "this familiar thing". I chose to make my familiar thing, my pets. 

  My pets are like children to me, but they hold a different piece of my heart. They offer a different type of comfort and peace that nothing else can. Those sweet eyes and the soft nudges of a wet cold nose are a priceless gift. 

  When my husband and I were still renting homes, we refused to move into a place that didn't allow pets. We understood their reasoning, but to us, we just cannot part from them. They are what is familiar to us. They make us feel like we are home. 

Day #3- Grateful for this familiar thing (in my case these familiar furry things lol)

Do you have furry familiars/companions? Tell me all about them in the comments!
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Thankful for Creative Outlets

   Okay, so I put a little bit of a twist on today's photo-a-day challenge. The challenge was "Grateful for this piece of creativity." I decided to kind of put my own spin on this and showcase how grateful I am for even the simplest of creative outlets... such as coloring. 

  Coloring is the first creative outlet most of us get to establish a connection with as a child. For the better part of my childhood, there was nothing in the world like sitting down with my favorite coloring book and a big box of Crayola crayons. I still love to color... only now, most of my coloring is done via the click of a mouse via the color palette on Photoshop... but I do believe my love of coloring opened the door to my passion for art.

 Day #2: Grateful for creativity and color

  Now that I have children, they get to explore art and put their creative energies into coloring. So, I am grateful for creative outlets that allow us to find ourselves and bring out the passions that dwell within. 

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For All Things Be Grateful

  This is a really late post but I really wanna get it going. For anyone who follows my page on Facebook, you know I have been doing a 7 day challenge for black and white photography. It's been awhile since I had done anything like that, and well... it's sparked a little bit of inspiration within me. 

I want to continue the challenge. I wanna push myself to find something new that captures my attention every single day. Life is too short and often we let it pass us by as we take it all for granted. This month, I wanna take it all in. 

I scoured the internet to find another challenge that I felt suited the overall theme of this month, and what I was looking to do. 

 Photo-A-Day 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge!

  Today is November 1st (for about 15 more minutes anyways... oops lol) and I wanted to share my 1st photo of the monthly challenge. I hope that you'll join in with me and share what you are grateful for each day in the comments or on my Facebook page. Share photos and/or stories. The more the merrier. There is always something to be grateful for.

Day #1- Grateful for this moment

  The image above is the 1st photo of my now 2 year old twin boys. My husband and I had been trying to get pregnant for nearly 9 years, and we thought we just weren't capable. Finally, it happened and we were having a baby.

  Early in my pregnancy, I had an ER visit because I thought I was having a miscarriage. I thought my body was trying to take away the blessing my husband and I had wished for, but it turns out, I wasn't miscarrying at all and wasn't carrying only one! My husband and I were in complete shock, but I wouldn't take it back for anything in this world. I can't imagine life without them both. 

 Having 2 infants within 25 minutes is definitely a challenge, but it's sooo worth it. I will always be grateful for the day they were born, for the 1st time I got to see their precious faces, and to hold them in my arms.