Quiet, Lovely Christmas!

Christmas this year was little quieter than other years. A little more slow paced. And filled with a lot more love!

We really scaled back this year and celebrated Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day with just the 3 of us. We baked cookies for Santa, opened gifts, enjoyed each other and snuggled on the couch watching Christmas movies. (We also dropped off some gifts for a family that we adopted...it was wonderful to see Caleb excited to be able to help others!)

Not that Caleb wasn't excited for Christmas, because he was...but we have noticed around our house lately that we really enjoy just spending time with each other. There wasn't all of the running around, or the frantic shopping...it was just us.

AND I couldn't have asked for anything more!

My favorite photo this entire holiday season!!

Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope that your holidays were as heartwarming and special as mine was!

Not keeping a tally

Last week it was pointed out to me how much I give, but how little I seem to always receive from family and friends. I had never viewed it this way before…part of my personality is that I am someone that gives. I love giving to others… and up until last week, it’s never been about what I receive back.

But ever since my good friend pointed it out to me, it has been so hard not to begin tallying things up. And I found myself unhappy…unhappy because I started wondering why I wasn’t good enough to get back from others. Why wasn’t I receiving back as much as I was always giving out?

My tally marks were beginning to be all that I could think of…I gave person a this, but I only got this back, I gave person b that and I received nothing back….it was all that was going through my mind. And I didn’t like it. I began to spiral back down into depression thinking about all that had gone on in the last couple of years with friends, family and work…so I began to cry.

And cry.

And cry.

But I also began to examine who I was and what was important to me.

Was getting really what was important to me?

Was keeping a mental tally on my friends and family really important to me?

If they were doing the same thing, how would I stack up to others on their tally sheet?

Is judging the people that I love really how to go about loving them? Shouldn’t I just accept them for who and what they are? Isn’t that what love really is?

So over the weekend I threw away my tally sheet. I made myself stop thinking about getting. Because what is important to me is the giving, not the getting. It’s part of what makes me who I am. And I like who I am. Actually I LOVE who I am. And giving to others makes me happy. It makes me feel complete. 

I also realized that those that mean the most to me do give back...my soul is filled to the brim with love and respect for those that I am the closest to. And if by chance I get something back from any others it will be an amazing little extra to overflow my spirit.

I'm a Momarazzi and I don't care who knows it!!

One of the things that I love most about photography is that I believe that it allows us to freeze moments in time. It allows us to capture memories and savor them long after an event or milestone. But it also allows us to preserve the small moments too...afternoons at the park, going out for a bike ride in the neighborhood, a soccer practice at dusk, or just lounging on the couch watching a movie. These are the moments that I want to remember the most. The days that my 4 (almost 5) year old just snuggles up in his footy jammies with his daddy on the couch. The soccer games and practices when he is so excited to make a goal and the first person that he looks for afterwards is me. I don't want to forget any of these moments...so I have been taking photos like crazy.  And I think that it is starting to show because this is what I get when I pull out the camera lately.

Maybe someone is getting tired of mommy trying to capture memories?  What do you think?

Reddy the Elf

Last week we added a little extra fun and an extra watchful eye to our household for this holiday season. Our little elf on the shelf that Caleb named Reddy is joining in on our holiday merriment and so far he has been so much fun...along with being a little mischievous!! The first night he climbed up into our tree and sat right next to our first family ornament and watched with his careful eyes!!

 Another night he got into our art closet and pulled out some crayons and a Thomas the Train coloring book and had some fun!  

 He has also gotten into the cars and had some fun spelling out Caleb's name in the playroom!  

 And then over the weekend, while Caleb crashed out on a couch in the living room he had a sleepover with Mickey & Tigger in Caleb's bed!  

  This is our first year with an Elf in the house and I now I know why my other mom friends had so much fun with their kids and elves in past Christmas'. It really does add fun, excitement and some great holiday magic to the season!!!
I'll try to post some more photos of Reddy and his shenanagins over the next week!