somedays, the “urgent” takes over. and why i love, even though today i struggled to love, ten on ten. i was far from focused on capturing the “beauty of my day”. but was instead focused on getting from one task to the next. one job to the next. one necessity to the next. failing completely at savoring & admiring the important & the beautiful. but as the day closes, i am reminded. and feel encouraged. reminded to focus on the important even if for a moment. to seek & notice beauty as a part of worship in my day. to live with gratitude for the things i take for granted. and encouraged because as i look back at these ten photos of the day, i realize that i did stop a few times and take notice of the life whizzing by.
sometimes, it is fun for me to hear from friends what words they would put with “my” photographs of “their” family.
as i think i know their stories, when you ask someone, it is amazingly beautiful what you hear.
ask people their story more. authentically. ask them and wait, with hope, for an authentic response. you won’t be disappointed. for truth & authenticity can be the most refreshing & freeing place.
so i asked fellow photographer, melissa parsons, to add a little story to their home & life here as a family.
and here is what she shared. and to follow is what i captured.
Home.
Four years ago our world and routine was shaken up a bit when a job opportunity for my husband presented itself in San Diego.
I realize, there may not be a better place to “have” to move, but it was actually a bit of a tough decision to uproot ourselves from Houston, TX – the only place that I had ever lived, leave family and friends I’d known since childhood, our church and idyllic neighborhood, to move somewhere almost completely unknown.
We were leaving Home….just the four of us.
The first time I took my kids to the beach just a few minutes away from our new house, I kind of lost my breath a little bit as I just watched them soak up the sunshine and their little eyes take in the space and the sound of the water. I still get that feeling now four years later every time I step my feet in the sand and watch them run for the waves. The expanse of the ocean envelops me and reminds me just how small our little worlds are. Our problems, our stresses….what can feel so big at the time…the water starts to take those away like the grains of sand swallowed up in the waves.
It didn’t take me long to realize that we hadn’t left Home at all. In fact, Home was wherever my three favorite people were with me, and we were richly blessed for the opportunity for that place to happen to be here. Our previously booked calendars and long list of “to-dos” had been replaced with nothing but time to explore this new, beautiful area together. And even as our calendars started to fill back up, we became more cognisent of what we filled them with. We have cherished our family time, and remind ourselves not to take this beautiful place we live for granted. I like to plan for and dream of where the future may take us. There is comfort in putting down roots, and it’s easy to get connected to a place that you love as your home, but I’ve learned over the last four years that home is not a place…home is the space we share with the people we love.
parsons 2014 from stacy bostrom on Vimeo.
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well, at least they were from whole foods… and maybe organic. maybe? and they ate off cutting boards, because the dishes were dirty.
it was a day that started like that.
yup. totally like that.
but instead of feeling overwhelmed by their dirty faces, bad breakfast, and jerseys tucked into swim trunks. i decided i’d take pictures and see if there was anything redeemable about the day.
we all have those very ‘un-glamorous’ days, especially as moms. but really – even when the kids look scrappy & the food isn’t beautiful – i hope to still take pictures.
oh, and yes… kai has clothes. he has shirts. but that’s over-rated & just more laundry.
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photographs, that move, have a unique way of allowing us to somehow almost relive an experience… and i love the challenge of telling a story this way. with a little creative flare, corey villicana & i pooled some clips and here are about 4 minutes of beauty from the wedding recently…
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with my two favorite models.
one day, we were at school pick-up… like any other day. phoebe and kai toddling around while us moms chat and wait for the “big boys” to come out of class with their huge backpacks. phoebe and kai – pointing at each other’s shoes… being little.
the next day, i get a text that phoebe is now at children’s hospital and will be there for weeks. she has leukemia. it is hard to wrap my mind around the thought of how life has turned a few too many circles for this family.
so while phoebe’s little fluffy curls are still sweetly framing her face – i took some pictures of this stage of life for them.
so we send prayers. and we send thoughts. and we wish we could send a miracle.
we all have hope. we all know that her light will be shining for a long, long time. a strong light. a beautiful light.
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while we are loving the lingering spring blossoms and flowers… i’m ready for summer.
i’m ready for just switching between pj’s and bathing suits…
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live these moments.
and that is far from the whole story.
i love what my co-photographer corey villicana posted on her blog – another look at the day.
there is so much more.
there was so much more underneath the beauty, love, and joy. the stories in each photograph are theirs… the emotions, love, & authenticity is ours with which to engage through these images & to admire. i, personally, can’t wait to see how their life unfolds. as lisa (the sweet sister of the bride) mentioned, he is the combination of the sweet safe love, support, and patience she needs & the adventurous spirit she lives out. and it is so clear, that she brings so much to his soul. this combination of sweet love, joy & adventurous spirits is destined to give them a lifetime of happiness.
in the months to come, i will put together moving photography – clips of video from the day. so we will revisit the day again in this space in the future – and think none of us will mind.
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as i download millions (ok, not millions. but it seems like millions.) of photos from an incredible wedding weekend of festivities in mexico, i’m wishing i just had 20 hours to do it all right this second – because already i am DYING to see them all… so for now, my goal is a big-ole blog post by the end of the week.
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being away gives perspective & appreciation on the “away” & on the “home”.
equally i think.
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