It’s been a little quiet in this space because I’ve been fighting a cold and that has zapped my energy and creativeness. I haven’t touched my personal photos in a week or two, so here is another one from Levi’s newborn session. This room has the most delicious light and I like to take full advantage of it! When I first started out doing newborn photography, I tried to do all the naked baby stuff, but as I learn and grow more, I have found it is the lifestyle stuff that really speaks to me.

I wanted to share with you a post I shared on my Facebook page recently: I Don’t Care if You Like it: I’m Going to Keep Showing Happy Pictures of my Family on the Internet. I have nearly written this post a dozen times myself. As a blogger, it seems everyone has something critical to say. I hate the comments, accusations really, about bloggers only showing the “Pinterest-worthy” stuff…I mean, first of all there is common sense, of course if I am sharing a recipe or project, or the kids playing in the sprinkler, I am going to share the best images with you! The other thing is, I want this space to be a positive, happy place.

When I posted this blog entry, On G-Tubes and Heart Defects, over two years ago, I got some nasty comments about my complaining about “a lack of money”.  I was accused of not being thankful for our health insurance. I got questions about whether we actually paid for  the insurance, or got it free because of our large family size (not that it matters, but it was a BIG name EXPENSIVE insurance company).  It was written in a dark moment, on a dark day. The stresses of my new life with a chronically sick child were wearing on me. I wrote from my heart and it was cathartic. I also hoped someday it would help another mom, dealing with similar issues.

I’ve shared with you the time Judah saved his wart (in a kitchen drawer)...and the time Enoch put a dead goldfish in his wallet on a hot summer day. I deal with difficult days by finding the humor in the situation. I have shared a few, but not many, of my children’s struggles. I’ve been accused of showing pictures of my “happy smiling kids” when things were not all peaches and cream in our family.

Here’s the deal:

I choose to focus on the positive, in my daily life and on my blog. It’s the way I choose to live. I come to this little space and share my story. My perspective. Not my children’s, not my husband’s. The happy moments are the ones I want to remember, the ones I want to have memorialized. We all have struggles, bad days. Sometimes bad years. My life is messy, but choose each day to wake up and focus on the positives, the blessings.

Happy Friday!