For a while now I have been contemplating a personal project. Back in 2012 I did a project 365 – taking a picture every day for a year. I really enjoyed that project, although I have to confess I did miss a few days! The project taught me to look for things in our every day, it encouraged me to pick up my camera every day and I love that I now have the whole year to look back at and be reminded what life was like that year. That year I really saw the beginning of my photography journey. I really began to see the growth in my photography. But most importantly I saw growth in me. I began reflecting on what it means to be a wife, a mother, a daughter and what it means to be me. I could see myself through my kids and I could see myself through our every day activities. But looking back at that year I realized I was 90% behind the camera. I have little pictures of myself with my kids and my husband. I can’t look back at them and tell my kids where I was and how I was involved in their story.
And this is where my thoughts and pondering have brought me to today: Stories of the Heart. I want to share my story with my kids. I want to be part of their story. I want them to know who I was before they came along, I want them to know who I am as a wife and mother right now and I want them to know my joys and my frustrations. Now in the years to come they can better know themselves through my story. Most importantly I want to be a part of their story!
I am going to embark on this journey for one year. And rather then shoot one picture each day, I am going to post one picture a week; with a theme for each week. This weeks theme is Introduction: Share a picture of yourself and your life right now- share about your life right now– the joys you are experiencing and the frustrations. What is your life like today – February 19, 2014.
If you would like to join me on this journey please send me an email I would love to follow your story as well!
Here is my Week One Picture and my thoughts below (and I have to add I’m really missing my D600– the low light capabilities on my D90 just aren’t the same!!). Blessings!
My name is Kristin and I am 29 years old. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a photographer. My days are filled with preparing meals, feeding small mouths, breastfeeding, changing diapers, wiping butts, dressing kids, doing laundry, trying to keep the house clean and picking up toys. My days are never dull and I always have something to do. I have a husband who happens to be a pastor, and we’ve been married for almost 10 years (I still can’t believe its been 10 years!). We had many, many ups and downs. But I believe those ups and downs have strengthened us.
I have three small children. Two girls and a boy. These kids are my life. They are the source of constant joy and the occasional frustrations. They are the small beings that demand my everything everyday. They are my life. These kids do not lack personality! They are all so incredibly and wonderfully made; each is so unique and talented. I love watching them grow and I love watching them learn. You can see the world a whole new way through the eyes and experiences of a child. And for that I am blessed.
In between my role of wife, mother, housekeeper, chauffeur, cook, launderer, bookkeeper and so many other titles, I have found time to pursue one of my earliest loves, art– in photography. From about the earliest I can remember, I have loved drawing, colouring and anything to do with art. Art was my passion in high school, I loved it! But as life goes things happened and I am where I am now. For about four years now, I have been on a journey pursuing my love of art in photography. I can see such progress over these past four years but I am even more excited to see where my photography will continue to take me. I am constantly yearning to learn more– to push myself to find joy in the ordinary, to find creativeness in the boring and to find beauty in the everyday.
This picture truly captures the craziness I feel my life is at right now. Its a good craziness, but its crazy! Our home is filled with lots of laughter, lots of tears, lots of things flying everywhere and a whole lot of love!
Here’s a few more of our crazy family!! We had a lot of fun doing these the other morning. We didn’t prep- we took them as we were- morning breath and all!
