February Snow Day / Nelson Notes

February Snow Day

2.15.2018

Over the last couple of weeks, the temperatures have been well above freezing and the wind has been blowing. I definitely thought Spring was on its way! But then we woke up to a layer of the white stuff on Monday morning. I knew thinking Spring was here was too good to be true! It's been such a mild winter, especially compared with last year. So naturally, I had to get Levi and Conrad dressed in their gear to enjoy the winter wonderland while it lasted.

(Poor Jed. School got in the way of his snow fun. But I sent him to school with a pair of good gloves in his backpack pocket in hopes that he'd make a snowman during recess with some friends).

Levi volunteered to take Conrad for a ride in the sled up and down our street. They both had a blast. Levi told me, "Mom, a long time ago when I was four (last year), I remember Jed pulled me around in the sled. Now I have BIG MUSCLES and I can pull Conrad!" Melt my heart. I hope these brothers always love and take good care of each other.

^^Happy to be along for the ride!^^

^^Then they played in the yard for a while.^^

^^Seconds before the french kiss from the dog! Haha.^^

When Conrad got cold and began to cry, we came into the hosue. Levi asked for some hot chocolate. Between his bed head and hat hair, those messy curls were practically begging to be photographed. So I asked him to sit against the wall to drink his cocoa. He cooperated and I love the resulting images. It's my awesome favorite five year old boy, just as he is. Lucky for him, he has a BIG personality to match those amazing green eyes and curly hair.

Conrad warmed up with a bubble bath. I must've been in a creative mood because I photographed that too!

I seem to go in waves with my camera. Sometimes I feel uninspired. I don't pick up my camera because I'm feeling overwhelmed with life or just a little sad or stressed. It's also hard for me not to get caught up in the comparison game, especially when I spend too much time online. Thoughts of, "my photography sucks," often plague my mind. But then I remind myself that I didn't get into photography to impress other people. I started taking pictures for me, to record and remember my babies and all our family's adventures and to challenge myself creatively. That's why I take pictures.

Oddly, I feel absolutely no guilt in leaving my camera untouched for a week or two because I think my children's lives are well documented. I mean, I have a baby book with just a fraction of the number of photos these kids have and I feel like my childhood was documented well enough.

Then, one day, I see beautiful rays of light streaming through my kitchen window or we're doing something out of the ordinary and I suddenly feel inspired to shoot several hundred pictures at once. And I love it! And I'm on cloud nine! And I can't wait til the kids go to bed so I can edit.

It's the strangest cycle.