"kids were here" september edition...

It' time for another installment of KIDS WERE HERE where a group of amazing photographers document the evidence the kids leave behind. This month we all decided that "sometimes one is enough" so we picked our very best image from the month to include for the post and keep it simple this. This was by far my favorite KWH image from the month. My 7 year old is quite creative and whipped up this new outfit for her favorite doll out of nothing but paper in less that 15 minutes after Grandma suggested the kids have a talent show. The girl knows her own talents and I hope she always stays so confident in herself and her abilities. I think she's pretty brilliant but I might be a little bit biased. Be sure to check out all the other amazing photographers on KIDS WERE HERE blog. We'll be back next month with LOTS of evidences that the KIDS WERE HERE.

xo,

Summer

"kids were here" august edition

Adore this project and love finding the evidences that my kids leave behind. There such beauty in these things that really speak to what their little personalities are all about. I know I will miss seeing the quirkiness of it all someday. This month is a little short. Summer has taken over at our house. We are outdoors enjoying ourselves so forgive me. I will be back next month in full force. Be sure to check out all the other amazing photographers on the KIDS WERE HERE site. You won't regret it.

"kids were here"...june edition

We are a group of passionate photographers who are setting out to document details of evidence that Kids Were Here. It is a fabulous idea introduced by the very talented and creative Ketti Photography. “When I first began this project, I thought it would be fun to document the every day messes my children make. As the weeks have passed, this project has really become so much more than that.

It’s not really about messes at all, but about the stories they tell. It’s about traces of childhood I see throughout my home on a daily basis. It’s about the love we share together. It’s about living and being…creating, making, learning and trying. This project leaves me a beautiful story each month of the reminders that Kids are here now…and the time, well, its all too fleeting, isn’t it? We all need to embrace these moments and just live them too; because they really are the best moments of life.” -Ginger Unzueta

Another month of this very special project...Kids Were Here...helping me to slow down, breath, and enjoy the ride that is motherhood!

Be sure to visit our facebook page and join along. If you live with kids, I KNOW you have seen evidences that the KIDS WERE HERE...

and in case you missed my past KWH posts you can find them here and here!

"kids were here" may edition

We are a group of passionate photographers who are setting out to document details of evidence that Kids Were Here. It is a fabulous idea introduced by the very talented and creative Ketti Photography. KIDS WERE HERE has been getting some buzz and has highlighted in some awesome places: DEFINE SCHOOL and SESAME ELLIS BY RACHEL DEVINE

"These still life images serve as a daily reminder that my days are awash in chaos, whimsy, laughter and laundry (sometimes all at once). They capture toys and spills and puddles and piles. Sentimental, solitary moments of childhood ephemera. A gentle prodding to live in the now and stop looking toward the “then.” And though sometimes I pray for clean and quiet and still, I know all too well it will come. And I will yearn for tiny shrieks of laughter in my bedroom. For toys and loveys strewn about. For signs of a daily life well lived. For traces of my babies who once were. For reminders that Kids Were Here–and they were life and light and love." - Stephanie Beaty 

I don't think I could put my feelings about this project or these images I am capturing any better than the above quote. Expressing myself through my words is not  my best talent! I can say that I am so grateful for the perspective this project is giving me. I can't say that every-time something is spilled, destroyed, broken, dumped out, or undone, I first think of the messes as cute little evidences that my "kids were here", but it has helped me to think of them that way more often. It puts it all in perspective and be more present with my kids. That's something I am constantly working on with them...to just "be" and enjoy all of it. They are growing fast and even though somedays it feels like it will be like this forever...I know it won't! So enjoy the second installment of "kid's were here"! Don't forget to visit the KIDS WERE HERE  website to see all the other fabulous perspectives!

Now go see visit the

KIDS WERE HERE

website!

xo,

summer

"kids were here" april edition

We are a group of passionate photographers who are setting out to document details of evidence that Kids Were Here. It is a fabulous idea introduced by the very talented and creative Ketti Photography. I am over the moon with excitement to be a part of this project. I came across Ketti's project over a year ago and I was quickly sucked in. I was mesmerized by the simple idea...yet the images spoke directly to my heart. As a mom every image reminded me of my daily reality... all the little things that I so often find to be annoying were documented. It made me stop and think. Think that one day before I know it, all these things will be no longer. I started to look at these messes differently.I started to document the "evidences" that my own kids left behind but up until now I have never shared any of them. So when I heard this idea about a website devoted solely to the "kids were here", I was overjoyed. This is powerful stuff people...

"in the moment it is easy to get frustrated with all the mess and clutter that results from living with children. this set reminds me how quickly it will all pass. one day the toys will be in totes no longer played with. i will miss this. i'm reminded to slow down. to not stress about it. my happiness is not dependant upon everything put back into place and a neat and tidy home. 

one day we will have a wonderful reminder. evidence left behind written upon our hearts and minds of our children. photographs that will bring us back to this very day, when our kids were here." -jude wood

Do you have goosebumps yet? I do. I'm in the throws of mothering four kiddos. It's hard, monotonous and it's messy, but everyday I have at least one moment where I'm awed and overjoyed by the love I have for my kiddos and all the little quirky things they do. I can't imagine not seeing all these things every day for the rest of my life, but I know the day will come that these messes will be gone. My oldest is 10 and already I have to look harder to see him in the messes. It makes me feel all sappy and nostalgic. I'm convinced that one day these photographs will bring me back to this exact place in time in a way that most any others that I take cannot.

After  you have a look at the beginnings of my project, be sure to visit this amazing website the "Kids Were Here". Every day on the first of the month we will post something new on "Kids Were Here".  Excited yet?

Don't forget to visit the Kids Were Here website to see one image from every photographer that is participating. It's a pretty powerful set of images! Love seeing all these perspectives together in one place! Sigh...thanks for stopping by!

xo,

Summer