what a week at the gulf looks like

Every year we spend a week at the Gulf with my parents, my siblings, and all of the cousins. The children and adults alike countdown to this memorable week. I love the memories that are made sharing space and unrushed time together for seven days.  There really is something special when you spend days and nights living among one another and having time to just linger. With almost ten grandchildren this year, it was also filled with a bit of chaos, but in a good way. Today, I share with you What a Week at the Gulf Looks Like .  I don't think I could ever accurately share our week together, so I have picked some of my favorites. There really is something magical about the Gulf.

Head on over to see what talented Ashley Jennet | The Stork and the Beanstalk has shared this month.

kids were here l april 2013

I am excited to introduce you to a new project called Kids were Here .  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. This project has already made me stop and look at the messes so differently. I don't really see them so much as messes anymore but documentation and living proof that I am surrounded by my children daily. It has helped me see that these messes are really gifts.  Gifts of their laughter, their love, and their presence in my home.   One day, these messes will no longer be here and I will be so grateful for these images that bring me back to this place.  A place where yes; sometimes the days seem hard and long, but where we spent years together, living and loving through life and learning together one day at a time.

"in the the moment is 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 dependent 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

**you can see the images and blogs of all of the ladies participating in this project by going to the Kids Were Here blog.

10 on 10 l the october edition

"love isn't always perfect. it isn't a fairy tale or a storybook. and it doesn't always come easy. love is overcoming obstacles, facing challenges, fighting to be together, holding on & never letting go. it is a short word, easy to spell, difficult to define, & impossible to live without. love is work, but most of all, Love is realizing that every hour, every minute, & every second was worth it because you did it together." -unknown love is us--every day.  it is the simple moments. it is the laughter and the cries.  it is everything we have together.  now and always. 

please continue with our blog circle and see what the very talented  Renee Bonuccelli

summer's end 2012 l a mother's heart

i love the long, sun-drenched days of summer and am always sad to see them come to an end. these memories will always be cherished and never be forgotten. as i look back on these pictures, i see the beauty that is found on even the most ordinary day.  i see the details, the smiles, and connections of my children and my heart becomes so full.   i see the warmth of the sun and glimmer of the water that surrounds us daily and i feel so grateful.   i feel so blessed to call this place home and these amazing people family.

summer's beauty 2012 from Ginger Unzueta on Vimeo.

i am so grateful for Let the Kids Dress Themselves and their Summer Shot List Project  .  i had such a great time doing this project over the summer months.

project 52 l week 35 l relaxation

our theme this week for project 52 is relaxation. my favorite spot at the end of any day is down by the lake.  there's something about the stillness of the water and  the breeze on my face.   i can go down there and find complete relaxation.

please continue with our circle and see what the talented Clara Huynh of Heart Inspired Photography has for us this week...

just us l july 2012

it's already that time again for JUST US.   this is a time once a month, when i make sure to get "into the pictures" with my family.  i love being a part of this amazing group which was formed on the bloom forum.  i find so much inspiration in these ladies. they are all so amazingly talented. this month my sister-n-law was so sweet to snap a few shots of me and my three kiddos while we were at Longboat Key (my husband had left a couple days early to head out on a mission trip with our church to Guatemala).   i hope you enjoy.  maybe next month i will get a little creative with my remote and tripod...who knows?!

please follow our group and see what fun pictures they have captured of their sweet families.  next up is the beautiful Celeste Jones l Wilmington Deleware Photographer.

project 52 l week 27 l 4th of July

we spent the week of the fourth at long boat key, fl.  i cannot wait to share more images from that fantastic week, but for today our project 52 theme is 4th of July -independence.  i captured this beautiful image of my 8 yer old daughter as the sun was setting. this image seems very fitting for this week as i watch her become more and more independent each day.

please continue on to the blog of Clara at Heart Inspired Photography and see what fabulous image she has this week...

ten on ten l the june edition

thanks for continuing to follow this fun lifestyle project.  if this is your first time here, please follow this link to read more about the ideas behind it. this month's 10 on 10 evolved after an afternoon of fishing with our three children.   now that the lake is in our backyard the children love spending the late afternoons and early mornings with daddy on the lake.   according to my oldest, mom's casting skills aren't quite up to par.   this particular afternoon, our youngest, who is 2, had her first turn with the fishing pole.  big sissy had received a "real" full size youth rod from daddy that morning, so she passed her "barbie rod" down to baby sissy.

i am thankful to have the details of this fun first of our baby girl.

please follow along with the other talented ladies in my group. first up is Jennifer Kruk Photography.  i am certain she will have some beautiful images to enjoy.

project 52 l week 23 l abandoned

welcome back for this week's project 52 theme.   this week our theme was abandoned.... doesn't the baby of the family always feel like the one "abandoned" or left behind?    i can hear her as i stare at these images yelling...wait for me, wait for me!!

love seeing them so happy and so in their own worlds...

please continue with our blog circle and see what the talented Clara Huynh of Heart Inspired Photography has for us this week.

project 52 l week 7 l love

"the greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance" brian tracy

welcome to week 7 of project 52.  i am enjoying discovering this year's themes with this great group of ladies from the bloom forum.  this week our theme is love.  i feel very blessed to be surrounded by so much love in my life.  ultimately it isn't the things we have in life, but the people we share our lives with.  i am so blessed to have loving parents and in laws, a loving husband of almost 13 years and three amazing children that have taught me so much about unconditional love.  not to mention the love i have of my siblings and dear friends.    my life is very full and for that i am thankful. 

as i was thinking of love i thought about unconditional love. i don't know if i truly felt this extraordinary feeling until i became a mother,  but i certainly know it very well now.   it tugs at your heart and no words can really explain the magnitude of it.   this led me to think of our dog buster brown.  our loyal companion for almost 13 years as well.    i have written about our buster before.  and it just amazes me the love our pets bestow on us.   over the years buster has certainly seen his "spotlight" dim,  so to speak, as we have had more children, taken on more responsibilities, and just become busy raising our family.  but his love for us is unchanging and always faithful.  it's beautiful.   so for this week i dedicated my love session to him and my oldest daughter.   to me there is something so warming about seeing these two together. both, continue to teach me so much about unconditional love..

please continue on with our circle and see what the super talented mary schannen of Melange Photography captured for love...

project 52 l week 43 l veteran's day

another week of 2011 has flown past by.  i simply cannot believe the Christmas season is upon us.    it seems like just yesterday i was celebrating the time change and the "longer" summer days....this week's theme for project 52 is very special as we observe veteran's day.  veterans: is there a veteran in your family? what do these veterans mean to you? how do you say thank you?  as most of you know my husband has served in the USMC for almost eighteen years.  we have been married for twelve of these years.   he returned home in May from an almost ten month deployment which feels so fresh still in many ways.  we are savoring the time with him home.   our children adore their daddy and i must say i am so proud of him.   he serves our country so selflessly.  he has had to miss so many milestones in our childrens' lives, special occassions, holidays..the list goes on.  but when he is home he always puts us first....and it shows in all he does.   this week's pictures are of our five year old.    it has been such a blessing seeing their relationship grow and strengthen during the time my husband has been home.    he adores his daddy and looks up to him in many ways.  in his five short years of life he has experienced three deployments plus many other times of separation due to training and work ups.  i am grateful to all the families who endure so much for our country...and thankful that we can be a part of such a wonderful group of people.

now don't forget to head on over to the blog of Lynn, Bugsmom Photography, NJ, and see what image she has chosen this week. 

a beautiful beach night...

you may recognize this gorgeous family from a post i did with them last fall.   i was so excited when jill contacted me to take family pictures again.  they are super fun to capture and the love just really radiates from each of them.   we were blessed with wonderful weather and were able to relax and have some fun!!   it was their son, zach's 7th birthday, which was really a funny coincidence, because the last time i photographed them, it was their daughter's special day!   thank you so much jill, dave, grace and zach for this opportunity.  i really enjoyed our time together.  i hope you enjoy your preview of our fun night at the beach...

project 52 l week 20 l desire

it's week 20 of project 52.  this week's theme is desire : what do you desire, is it tangible? is it a goal?  as i think of my desires....what do i desire most in my life?  i desire to have a house filled with love;  a marriage that endures all, to see our children happy, thriving, healthy and growing up to be compasionate and caring individuals; and finally....to be GREAT --- for the Lord.    the past month our church has been preaching on being great.  and it isn't in terms of being good at something, but by leveraging your life to live out what God has planned for you.   its made me think of so many facets of my life.   and i will say that being GREAT for the Lord is above all my greatest desire. 

one week during the series the following quote was shared:   "passion is waking up in the morning, wherever you are, however old or young and bounding out of bed because you know there's something out there that you love to do, that you believe in.   that you're called to, something that's bigger than you are and you can hardly wait to get at it.  it's somethign you'd rather be doing more than anything else in the whole world.  you invest in it because that cause means more to you than money.  and you know it 's something that makes the world a better place for other people and not just yourself"  whit hobbs

this week i leave you with a few pictures of our children at the beach....in these pictures, i see our children  happy, loving and thriving...what more could i desire?

now, head on over to Robin Moore, Cary, North Carolina Photographer's blog and see what she desires...

the beach l spring break day 5

it has been a wonderful week having school out for spring break.   it really did reconfirm my excitement to home school next year and have this time daily as a family.  this week we set out to have some relaxing but fun times together.  we spent some time at home in the blow up pool, we went strawberry picking, we went kite flying, we went bowling, and today we headed to the beach.  the beach is always such a great place to go to spend some time playing but it is especially fun this year as all of the kids LOVE it. i will be sad to see school back in session next week, but know that summer is right around the corner.

 

a frame a week wednesday l week 9

this week was the first of march and also marked our first trip out to the beach this year.  we live only about 10 minutes from the beach and love spending time out there.  bathing suits are not needed to have fun...it is funny how the different seasons bring different fun for us at the beach.  the best part of this year is everyone LOVES it!!   last year it took our middle child, M, a while to warm up to the beach. loud noises can sometimes bother him and i'll never forget our first trip out last year. we were all so excited and ready to play and he stood on the boardwalk, ears covered,  screaming to go home..this year was a different story.   we didn't stay long as it was still a little chilly but we definitely can't wait to go back very soon.  miss E...

making a "sand angel" ...

 finally baby C...oh boy, she loved the sand!