A Day in a Life

Joy Prouty is the eye, heart and soul behind Wildflowers Photography. Our families moved to the PNW around the same time. Somehow, we were connected and I'm so thankful for her friendship. She's honest, gentle and is probably the most artistic person I know. Even more, she's shared her gift with our family multiple times now.

Joy is now offering Harvest Sessions. These are 24 hour photo shoots of every day life. It's the greatest gift to me, because as a mama, my day is filled with millions of tiny yet magical moments that no one sees but me. Most times, I can't even see them. I just feel that twinge in my heart, that good aching feeling and I know, it's happened.

You can read more about our particular session on Joy's blog. She made a video of her favorite 200 photos (of 700+ pictures!!). Honestly, they were my favorites, too! Somehow, amidst the chaos of a 7am meeting in our basement, home school lessons, a doctor's appointment, Ruthie only taking one nap and our nature outing, Joy captured the moments that make me swell with gratitude. Here are a few that caught my eye which didn't make the video.

Ruthie is the first to wake. This ensures her an extra amount of time with mama and papa.

Her hair is so soft. I could sit and touch it all day.

Lazarus-every morning he throws every stuffed animal down the stairs. He drags down his big blue blanket, wraps himself inside and lays on the kitchen floor. Extremely inconvenient and absolutely adorable.

Elijah comes down with fresh new creations and a plan for the day.

There are a few out takes as well.

This boys is full of silliness.

There's a bear in my kitchen! At least he's a responsible bear.

Lazarus rolls his jeans. Every. Day. I think he wants to be like his cyclist dad.

When they go to the dress up closet first thing, you know it'll be an interesting day.

This is Lazarus during our reading time, which lasts about an hour. Poor kid, he can't sit still. But that's okay!

Believe it or not, he's listening. I know because part of our schooling is reciting and retelling. Lazarus does pretty well.

Kissing and cuddling my muffin before her nap.

Ahh, yes. My laundry "room" in the basement-where my ugly Christmas sweater is STILL hanging on the drying rack. Also where I find and kill about 5 spiders a day. Also where we have about 20 empty laundry detergent bottles in a pile that need to be recycled. They came with the rental, ha!





I spend about 20% of my day kicking toys out of the way. I spend the rest of the day stepping on the toys that I didn't notice before stepping on them. Eeeek!!

This is my bucket bread. If you've ever come over to eat (and it's likely you have), you've probably eaten my bucket bread. Nothing fancy, but very delicious!

When you've run out of snack food, you whip up something yummy!


Their reaction to All Spice:

Joy and Laz, cracking up at themselves at their reflection in the mixing bowl.




Dan stayed extra late so we could all go to a doctor's appointment together. We each got the Flu vaccine (yuck!). It's a new law for foster families who take in children below 2 years old. Ah, oh well. It's a small thing in comparison to what foster children have to endure.



Later at our beach outing: Ruthie knows the drill. She's so good at laying flat while I get her situated in the ergo.

Elijah is usually our leader. He always has a plan.

This pile of driftwood has been used for so many important building projects. Our winter has been very mild and we've spent the majority of January on this little piece of beach. The possibilities are endless.

Our favorite city beach is just blocks from the church. We picked up daddy from work and headed home for dinner.

Ruth loves to hold hands with her daddy. If Dan is driving, she will NOT hold my hand :(

The kids always want to be RIGHT ON TOP OF ME while I'm cooking in the kitchen. What's with that!? It's hard to have patience with them, but I find it helps to have them doing jobs. That keeps them from getting caught between my legs, ha! I tell them that the kitchen is my office and that they need to respect my work space. That seems to help a bit.

We've gotten back in the habit of using our chore cards, too. This keeps little hands busy and productive while I get dinner on the table.

We've been teaching Ruthie how to pray. I just love watching her lift her hands up to the Lord!

Poor girl bites her tongue a lot.

Up and down the stairs. All day long.

 My adorable little people in our grimy tub that needs re-caulking. 

Ruthie does NOT like getting her pajamas on. She knows sleep is next on the to-do list but she's too extroverted to ever want to be alone in a dark room.

She's always a little perturbed after getting dressed.

Ruthie gets her own wrestle time on mama and papa's bed.

Ruthie is so ticklish on her head, of all places. I love those fists full of joy!

 

Ruthie actually hates being kissed and hugged goodnight.

Dan has the BEST accents and sound effects while reading.

Lazarus always seems to NEED to do something right before bed. It's very difficult to keep him on track or discipline him. Especially when he's "reading" the Bible. 

Oh, he also finds a way to get a band aid out of the deal or suddenly needs a nail to be trimmed. Procrastination at it's best.

Dan and I rarely have quiet nights at home. We have two weekly meetings, 4 monthly meetings and lots and lots of in between hosting. We cherish these times when we can sit and read together. We do not have a tv which helps us to focus more on each other. We do watch the occasional sci-fi/thriller movie on Netflix, but we keep that to a minimum.

It's strange seeing your life documented like this-to have the whole world be able to sneak in and take a peak at what my normal looks like. Honestly, I feel so blessed to have these images-proof of the long days or mothering and teaching and cleaning and cooking and kicking toys around. I love my life and feel as though this stage will be over so soon. Because of this session, I have a new found love for my job as a stay at home mom/homeschool mom. It's a significant role I'm playing in our society and it gives me encouragement to know there are millions of mamas doing this kind of stuff every day across the world.