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"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."
I decided awhile ago to join Jodi on this wonderful adventure. There is no better way to capture a weekly photo of my ever changing children. These photos will add precious details to our memories that I try to capture with my words and my photographs. Thank you Jodi for hosting such a wonderful portrait series.

Jonas: Always observing. Always thinking.
Joshua: My creative soul who always sings in his mind.
Jessica: My energetic daughter, dancing and singing with smiles on her face.

sunday stills. photo 1

A single photo once a week.
To capture my emotions, to sum up the days.
To collect my thoughts and hold them in my hands.

Every Sunday, one photo.

On this Sunday: Jessica gently walks in kindness and with love.

sounds of children

I set aside my mornings for mother daughter time.
For toddler time, reading time and play time.
When Jonas and Josh were two they started a toddler two preschool.
Two hours. Two days a week.
It was time for them, time for me.













Jessica's toddler two program is here at home.
Here with me.
These moments and days travel so quickly and one day I will be home alone.
No sounds of children running down hallways.
No sounds of brothers yelling at each other.
No sounds of nerf wars and lego battles.
No sounds of soft laughter.

One day it will be silent.
One day I will be lonely.

For now all I can do is embrace this noise and these sounds. Record them in my memory. Enjoy them. For these are the days I long for. These are the days that make me who I am.

A mother. A listener. A giver. A lover.

This morning, while I made the beds and sipped my coffee, the house became too silent. As I opened doors and searched I found my little Jessica hiding in her room and tightly clutched in her hands were five tubes of lip-balm. Her smile filled the room like the soft sunlight dancing through curtains, and her lips glistened with layers and layers of balm. These moments make my heart happy.

And these moments make me realize where all my lip-balm went!

bringing in the new year.

Our New Year's Eve was simple and laid back this year. I have a feeling the days of gathering twenty of our friends at the restaurant and celebrating until the wee hours of the night are behind us. I'll try to hold onto the music and dancing, but I can pass on the late night partying.

Does that make me sound old? Because sometimes I feel old.

Most of our friends couldn't make it down this year. Lack of babysitters, out of town celebrating and small gatherings at home kept them away. Luckily, I got to meet up with some new friends (Amanda and her husband Phil and Allie) for a pre-evening cocktail and conversation. Then it was a late dinner for Jon and I. We made the last minute decision to head home with a couple friends to keep up with the tradition of watching Phish bring in the New Year. Once again, Phish, you weren't a let down. After our basement show ended we continued to sip on champagne, hang out, listen to records and strum the guitars until way too late in the night for this mama.

It was a quiet New Years, but it felt good to be home when it arrived.

It felt even better to spend the next day with my family.

Did you have any big celebrations for new years eve? Did you hang out with friends or family? Do you have any yearly traditions? Obviously ours is watching Phish ;)

You can see last New Years here.

moments from christmas day.

a happy dad / my mom /talking on phones / with baby doll / still with baby doll / dinner prep / opening gifts / happy smiles / daddy smiles / new boots / new books. Rod Stewarts autobiography couldn't make my mom happier / cuddles with grandpa / hugs from mama

Happy New Year friends!

I have some catching up to do on this little blog of mine. Photos I still want to share, words and moments I want to document and a few changes here and there. I have some projects I'm working on for the new year and some goals I want to achieve, or at least focus on. I'm not really one for resolutions. Every year I just say, "I'll eat healthy, workout, be the best person that I can be and focus all I have on my children." And every year I try to stick with this concept.

There are a few things I want to work on for 2013.

I want to write. I want to pick up my pen, pick up my notebook that accompanies my night stand and my desk and write away my thoughts. I want to gather these thoughts and place them in poems. I want to make time to edit these poems. These short stories.

I want to hide behind my camera, to learn it inside and out. I want to take a better picture. And then another and another. I want to improve my photography. I am determined to improve.

I want to become lost in my kitchen. With our move and renovation and then the holidays, time slipped and I forgot to bake. I've put little focus on my cooking. I want to get my hands dirty with the scent of herbs, the sticky feeling of freshly made pizza dough, baked pastries, and grilled vegetables with homemade dressings.

And, of course, I always want to be a better parent. A better wife. A better friend, daughter and sister.

How about you? Did you make any resolutions? Any goals for 2013?