There’s a sense of formality that comes with posting family portraits online. I want to do it right. And yet it took everything in my power not to title this post “My Big Brudder’s Family.” Yeah, so that would’ve been baby talk, but I truthfully think of Adam as my big brudder—and I love him for always being the guy I can look up to.
Shooting Adam, Kristin, Madeleine and Noah last fall was a particularly fun thing for me to do. It felt like I was pushing the pause button to take stock of their lives. Setting it up as a true photo shoot allowed me to tell them where to stand and how to move, etc.—all the photographer commands I hold back when shooting in an informal setting over birthday cake or Thanksgiving dinner. When I step back from the images and take it all in, I’m struck by how awesome it is that Adam has such a cool family. I love my sister-in-law and my niece and nephew. We really live a full and rich existence.
I like Valentine’s Day. I like the sentiment behind it, the gifts and special occasions it gives rise to, and the unabashedly cheesy nature of it. You don’t have to use the finest ingredients or finest materials in order to express your affection. And that suits me just fine.
That being said, I received a phenomenal bouquet of roses last Friday. They are amazing and I’ve enjoyed them every day. My Valentine further melted my heart by sending our daughter a bouquet, too. (Note to Livia’s future husband: you have your work cut out for you!)
Livia’s class will exchange Valentine cards at the end of the school day. Around 90% of our elementary school comes from impoverished families, so I admire how teachers handle V-Day celebrations. They send out a class list and encourage all children to make their own valentines with teacher-provided construction paper if needed. The kids will exchange cards and then take them home to open them. It’s a win-win and fun for everyone regardless of family income.
I really enjoy making cards with Livia each year. I like including a non-sugary treat, which then allows me to feel a bit better when I send along sweets like the cupcakes below. It’s fun to see Livia grow in ability from year-to-year. This year she was super-focused on writing the recipients’ names and checking off the class list. I even left the house for a Walgreens run and returned to my child studiously working! Those of you who know Liv know what a feat that was for her.
Our special Valentine cupcakes were simple to prepare: box mix with sprinkles, Wilton’s easy buttercream frosting, and a strawberry heart marshmallow for the top. The time that Livia and I spent together, making memories right alongside cupcakes, was extra sweet.
We are not guaranteed easy lives, friends. In fact, the older we get, the tougher life is going to be. We will see friends and family become ill, get divorced, deal with death and suffer through all kinds of other trials. But God in his grace lavishes us with great love—the joys I see and hear and taste and smell today are from him. I can open my eyes to see this beauty and I can be thankful for it.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Liv and her bear Ornament who regularly gets dressed up as a giraffe.
I’m having a moment of This is My Life. This life of mothering a funny, passionate and observant seven year old. This life of attempting to know where a million different stuffed animals are so a classroom of 1st graders can have the appropriate visuals for their presentations next week. (Apparently Livia volunteered to bring the animals other kids didn’t own. Because yes, we own them all. Or we did at one moment in time.) This life of checking the school lunch menu each morning to see if their offerings beat out a turkey sandwich and Clementine. This life of spraying a little girl’s hair with smoothing spray to keep the frizzies at bay, then using just the right elastic so that her hair stays put all day. This life of putting little tennis shoes in the pink Hello Kitty backpack in case her snow boots—and socks as the case may be—get too wet while she’s playing at recess. This life of Special Breakfasts and rewarding Good Learning days and finding drawing after drawing of Mommy and Livia holding hands with hearts above their stick-figure heads. This is My Life. Praise be to God.
I prayed for this child and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. – 1 Samuel 1:27
I began hunting through my files tonight for a new header for Needs More Butter. Dressing up that space brings me a little bit of pleasure, so I indulge from time to time. Hunting for food pics made me realize that it’s been awhile since I’ve taken shots of the foods I make. Okay, kind of interesting tidbit. However I found a photo of Jeremy’s lunch at the Cliff House when we were in San Francisco a few weeks ago. Oh my goodness, that meal was delicious and the company was awesome (my Aunt Carol and Uncle John) and the view was spectacular.
And then I realized that I’ve posted two—just two!—shots of our time in San Francisco. Ridiculous. Obscene really. Here we visited this amazing city, which gave me a much-needed break from life at home, and I haven’t blogged about it hardly at all. Tragedy of all tragedies.
And then I realized, as I set thoughts of San Francisco out of my mind and continued to hunt for food pics, that I haven’t blogged more images and thoughts about Maralee’s birth. San Francisco no longer seems to be the only glaring tragedy, rather there’s a string of blog failings.
And then I realized there was more. I scrolled backwards through my files, noticed many extra gems from the December Photo Project, and then recalled a shoot from last fall that I still haven’t posted about in depth: my brother Adam and his family. What in the world? Who am I? Who have I become? Weeping and gnashing of teeth! Woe is me!
Or not.
But I have a lot of catching up to do.
Now, can someone pay me to blog? And while they’re at it, pay me to post links on Facebook as well? Because today, I would’ve made some money doing that. I am good at doing that.
**The image above was captured last Sunday, the day after a snowstorm dropped about a foot of wet, heavy white goodness on our lawns. The trees have never been prettier. Somehow we managed to escape any downed limbs in our yards, thank goodness.
Friends. Coffee. Brunch. Encouragement. It’s kind of like MOPS on a smaller scale. If you’d like to hear what we heard last week, check out Kerri’s blog. She did a fabulous job speaking.
**Table decor courtesy the creative and talented Tara Mackrill! I love her eye, and it blesses us moms month after month.
Wherein telephone lines and plum trees become things of beauty…
I’m playing catchup from last fall! I shot my friends the Erdmans last October and am now invoking the better-late-than-never clause. I enjoy this sweet family so very much; my time with them is always great and editing their images is a joy for me. I hope you enjoy a few pictures from warmer days!
Me: What are you doing?
Livia: I’m sunbathing. I’m a vampire and I need to stay in the shade. Because you’re the mommy and you don’t want your little girl to turn into dust.
Just another Saturday morning in the Tredway household.
Who, I think, looks a lot like my Dad. Thanks to Aunt Carol for snapping the shot! It was fun to actually get in on a few pictures with my camera.
We went there. And now we’re back again.
Of course there’s more to tell and I’ll share it soon. For now, the daily duties of life call out to me and I find myself firmly settled in normal life once more. I’m grateful for the ability to get away for a few days, as well as the ability to return to mothering and photography and homemaking, etc.