The Puzzle

a little mental unraveling…

so here it goes….

I see LIFE as a giant puzzle,

and there are many little pieces to that puzzle.

Among all those pieces, there are:

HAPPY

FUN

LOOKS LIKE A PERFECT FAMILY

sort of pieces

 

and these "perfect moment" pieces are shared in photos, and in stories.

BUT....On the flip side

there are moments, even days (as with everyone else)

that the pieces to life's puzzle illustrate the "messy moments"

– an absolute disarray, turmoil, mayhem,

a wreck!!!

But it’s a beautiful wreck,

because we learn so much from those days

if we allow ourselves to!

But for the record, I’ll probably stick to blogging about what makes me happy!

Just so you know...

we have those chaotic, frustrating, and super complicated moments, sometimes days!

Real quick.

One more tidbit of frustration in our home on this "glorious day"…

so......my Bucket List

(trying to accomplish everything on it before the summer is history,

yet attempting and longing not to get uptight if we don’t fulfill everything,

or if it goes completely "NOT how I imagined!")

So my idea today....its raining, can't go outside

....lets build a fort!!!

Cross it off our Bucket List!

The boys were super excited, and we got a really cool fort built

(but everything unraveled before I got a photo!)

They started fighting about what goes inside the fort, and it just got ugly from there! We (Josh & I) both just observed them, and we both must have been thinking the same thing...

"surely one of them will give in,

and they'll stop fighting & work it out"

however,

the screaming got louder,

the punches got harder,

and one of us had to step in,

as they were both very determined. So I said it....

I had had ENOUGH!!!!

"STOP!!!! we're done!!!! the fort is coming down!"

Ohhhh my....

there were tears,

and more tears,

and yelling,

and more yelling....

you get the picture,

TOTAL CHAOS!!!

So behind our "perfect" photos and our stories,

sometimes there are ugly times,

There are hard talks, tears and all the stuff that makes a family real.

We have those times,

and we always will have those times.

Just because I don't write about them,

doesn't mean that they don't exist.
those times are real,

those times are memories too

I'll look back at all the times,

(good and not-so-good)

and appreciate both!

Family is hard work, but ever so rewarding.

And every memory,

every smiling moment,

every season,

every road trip,

every trial that ends with triumph,

every blog post is hard-earned.

But sometimes, the best things in life are hard-earned also!

This is life.

This is real life.

And there will be more chaos.

And there will be more frustration....

But there will also be

more joy.

more laughter.

more smiles.

more moments.

And there will be lots more Love.

And it is ALL worth it.

All of it.

So Bring on Life.

This is our life.

And I Love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is this blog for?

My reasons have changed over the last 2 years.

Initially, it was to promote my Photography work; however, I have laid that dream aside for now (in a sense)I was trying to juggle too many things:

striving to be a Godly wife

giving my all to be a nurturing mom (a new mom at that!)

keeping my house in order (did I mention I'm an organizing freak!?)

trying to grow both my Real Estate business as a Realtor for Kaufman Realty & Auctions, and my small photography business

and living what we call "Life"

 It was WAY too much!
 

I still love photography, and I still photograph my family, and try to capture the memories that are being made!
Seeing life happen through my lens excites me!

Crayons are a necessity around here these days! I love the masterpieces he creates, and I love hearing him sing as he colors! That's the best part!

 

A milestone has been reached at the Crilow house!

I'm not sure if its a milestone for me (the "helicopter mom" side of me) or Trevan!.....eating grapes WHOLE and not cut in half!!!

(its the little things, right?)

 

And this is just a sliver of our life...

what has been going on @ the Crilow House

so far this SUMMER!

True Ties Are Never Broken!!

I love a cHiLd'S iMaGiNaTiOn.....

'Horse & Buggy'

Addison and Ryland are the "horses" and Lane is the "Amish Guy?"

It was SO GrEaT having Heidi and her 2 BeAuTiFuL children here with us overnite.....the only bad thing was.....

IT WAS WAY TOO SHORT!

We made the most of our time together by watching the kids play(lots of laughs), and then catching up with eachother once we stuck them to bed!!

It's amazing how the distance never breaks a TrUe fRiEnDsHiP.....

During our childhood we were apart for 6 years, no contact, and then Heidi moved back to Florida our 8th grade year!!!

The Best Thing you ever did, Heidi!!!

And now since High School we've been apart again, with occasional visits!

I miss you, Heidi and I truly enjoyed the time spent with you and your kids.....come back soon!

Savor the Moments, Before They Become a Memory!

I think the Beach became more Beautiful....is that possible? Funny how when you have something right at your finger tips its difficult to enjoy it, I mean REALLY enjoy it! Since I made the move to Ohio, the Beach has become even more stunning and so expansive, I don't remember it being so BIG! Maybe I'm seeing it through the eyes of my 1 Year Old!

I pledge to Always enjoy Life and Everything that God has surrounded me with at the present time....because you can't go back! I sometimes wish that I could make Time Stand Still.....Like the moments I see Lane and his Daddy playing & laughing together, or when I am holding Lane, his head on my shoulder with his little hands around my neck! I savor those moments, and I want them to last forever! Kids grow up so fast.....Way Too Fast.....and those moments are then just a memory in your mind! I don't have the best memory, so that is why I have my camera pointed at Lane and his Daddy often! Very Often! My photos trigger my memory, and I remember those funny, sweet moments that we share as a family!