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We all missed the memo it was time for our photo. Matthias under his dad’s truck. Eliot with an attitude 😉 Byron not quite sure what was happening. My post run pony. But hey! We still did it.
Another day of “I don’t love this photo, but I know I’ll be happy we took it later on.”
(Something I have on repeat in my mind: Don’t wait to feel pretty. Don’t wait for the perfect time. Just keep taking photos. And stop thinking these are about you.)
Grateful for: Matthias. Eliot. All the churches able to livestream their services for families at home. And specifically our church, Lakeside Bible. ❤️
The home I met his family in middle of 2015. I was wearing a cat-ears headband at the time & I found out a year into our marriage that it had embarrassed him. This is the place we stayed in for two summer breaks. The house we stayed for Christmas time when we came to town. The home we moved in to for 12 weeks after the... accident?... end of last August. And now, we’re here again, to be free. Montgomery county on lockdown, we wanted to be away. So a weekend here was in our books. So grateful for parents with property. ❤️
Frost family dinner has continued and that makes me happy. Tonight Matthias (and Toby - you can tell in this photo😉) worked on the Camaro beforehand. The Frozen soundtrack was blasting from its speakers at one point... evidence of times changing & nieces who know how to ask politely for what they want.
I try to avoid mirror selfies for our picture of the day here, but sometimes that’s all I can muster up. Matthias & Eliot have been asleep for a little bit now & I was doing my nightly routine wondering what the heck I was going to do for the daily photo... then decided just this. This is my life and that’s what the photos are for.
I haven’t done a ton since Eliot was born, but I’ve been consistent in doing a little bit every single day. I have some small weights I use for a quick workout and I usually do it at night. It’s been nicknamed my toothbrush routine.
I realized after snapping the photo that I covered my face in them. For years I trained myself to be ashamed of selfies like this - because they were endlessly “before” photos in my mind. Ouch. 🥴 It hurts to say that out loud. I hope my daughters never feel that. I’m happy to say I don’t feel like that anymore, even 15 pounds above my “proper” weight. I’m being consistent in the little things and that makes me feel proud. I should’ve taken a clue from my mom on that one a long time ago.
Monday is one of my favorite days. But today feels a little dimmer with even more people I care about being affected by the current chaos. Ready for this to pass.
In the meantime, at least I have another sweet backyard portrait with my favorite men. ❤️
In bed with a snoring Eliot in my arms & Matthias asleep beside us. You should go download the app “The Chosen” right now & because you’ve probably saved so much money in quarantine like us this week, you should support it with your money! But if you can’t, just download & watch for free!! It’s G O O D.
I feel life. That pulse that runs through when you feel alllll the way alive & at attention. A perfect Saturday including the private conversations that make me *feel*, art, community, festival talk, & time just cooking a fulfilling dinner.
March 20th, 2020. Morning with Hannah Joy, Ollie, & afternoon with the boys. ❤️
I think I’m experiencing mastitis? I won’t go into detail here. But ouch. Doing all of the things to keep myself well.
quarantine doesn’t feel all that different right now for us. other than the shift in energy in the world & on social media, I feel untouched so far by this. I don’t like that the stores are packed, but other than that I haven’t *felt* it yet. in a couple of weeks when days pass without activity during all the events I previously had on my calendar, I’ll feel it. I think. Matthias was told to work from home, but I’m super distracting... I like to talk. 😳 so he packed up his stuff from work and took it to P3 where there was an empty desk waiting for him. 😆
I am hoping & praying the world is just overreacting.
Sitting on the floor next to my cub enjoying his bumbo seat from aunt Kendra. Writing this entry a day late. I’ve been doing a poor job recently of showing up every single day like I was before. Not because I’m more busy than normal, I’ve just let our photos slip from my top priorities for our day. I feel like I’ve just gotten lazy with it & I hate that. It would be one thing if I was moving on to different things and had no more time, but that isn’t the case.
March 16th, 2020. I can see why people assume I’m an enneagram 4 (I’m not) when I take ridiculously dramatic photos wearing my husbands robe in our kitchen at 1am. 😜 I was out of ideas. Making love-eyes at my kettle seemed the only appropriate option.
March 17th, 2020. Had the first of many meetings today planning an event for when all of this chaos passes. I am so very excited about it. We need more art, more community, more peace.
In case for any odd reason you thought I had my life all together, I’ve included a photo of a bedroom in our apartment that still has to be cleaned out, organized, and turned into a usable space.
March 12th, 2020. If I waited for the days I felt pretty enough to be in a photo to take our daily pictures, instead of having 172 days of of them, we’d have only a small handful. If I waited until creativity inspired me to take our photos, it’s likely we’d have likeee 30 photos.
We aren’t doing these to impress anyone. (Let’s be honest, these aren’t impressive anyway.) I’m not showing up every day to prove anything to anyone other than myself:
I can be faithful.
I am worthy of being in photographs.
Our life is worth remembering and this is the best way I know how. Taking these photos & journaling our days.
When we started this project we were living with Matthias’ parents after a dog attacked very-pregnant-me at our apartment. We found ourselves packing our stuff into a storage unit & moving only what we needed into his parents place. We were planning to stay a month & it ended up being 3.
I started this project at the end of that first month there. It wasn’t a good time to start something like this. Honestly, there were a lot of good excuses for why I should wait. But I’m glad I didn’t.
I’m glad I started in the thick of our hardest season we had ever walked through as a couple.
I find that I don’t love the photos the day I take them usually, but I look back even just after a few weeks and I am so grateful we have them.
If you’ve been wanting to take more pictures of you and your family, you. absolutely. should. If you need encouragement, I’m here. And if you start your own daily photo project, even if it’s a short term one, tag me so I can see and celebrate sweet, mundane, messy life with you.
Wednesday brunch & photos that I wish I had dressed up for (or at least taken the solly off for😂)... I need new clothes like ASAP. Also, these were the best of all his faces. He’s a smiley baby, but not in photos together 😂 Last night I stayed up past 2am to deep clean and I. Am. Feeling. It. Today. Goodnight 😴💤
I feel so alive. I’m excited to rise in the mornings. I have meaning & direction & hope. Filled to the brim with my dreams. I am happy & driven in this season and thankful, so very t h a n k f u l for that.
today I: felt horrible. then felt better. then felt way worse than before. and now I feel better again?🤭😂 I’m grateful for a day of rest & I’m so glad I don’t feel like throwing up anymore. 🙌🏼
dragged my feet to the post office today... and it actually wasn’t horrible for once. that felt worth mentioning considering how much I was dreading that errand. 😂 had an unexpected facetime call from Leslie Burris to collab on a genius Young Living project she is coordinating. Bonin family dinner was canceled due to some of the littles throwing up so Matthias and I packed up to spend the night in New Waverly so he could work on his camaro. and somehow it’s past midnight now so... goodnight.
Two months today. Two months of having Eliot Lionhart earth-side. Two months of arms & hands being constantly full. Two months of not sleeping very often. Two months of adjusting to this new role as mama, the life-giver he trusts for everything. Two months of the sweetest mornings I never knew to dream of & look forward to. I love these days with a newborn. I’m going to recreate the photo with Eliot on my hip at month one, but didn’t get to it today. so that’ll be tomorrow’s photo.
