living arrows

Living Arrows 2018 – 3/52

by with 4 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized

Almost exactly a year ago I took some photos of Nerys, sitting on our bed one evening, having her hair dried after a bath.

I actually used those photos for my Living Arrows post for the third week of 2017, and here’s one of my favourites from the set.

 

I’m sharing that photo because, by complete coincidence, this week’s living arrows photos are almost identical!

We didn’t get out for our usual jaunt to the park or the beach this weekend, and so I didn’t have my normal chance to get a photo of the children.  On Sunday night though, Nerys was once again sat on our bed, having her hair dried after a bath and it just seemed like the perfect photo opportunity.

living arrows

What you can’t really tell from these photos is that she was singing at the top of her lungs the whole time Steve was drying her hair.

I believe it was mostly ‘let it go’ from Frozen that she was belting out, but there might have been a bit of the Moana soundtrack mixed in there with it.  She does love to sing this one.  At her Christmas concert you could really pick her voice out when they were singing, which just really made me smile.

I do hope she’s still singing away and happily letting her daddy dry her hair this time next year.  If I remember I’ll try and take some more photos then!

 

Living Arrows
Siblings project january 2018

The siblings project – January 2018

by with 2 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized

Last year I was determined to commit to a few photography projects that were all based around capturing our family.

I was really quite proud when I made it to the end of the year with all three projects, and I was so thrilled with the collection of photos that we now have as a result.  So I’m committing to doing it all over again this year.

Along with the Living Arrows project I’ll be taking a family photo every month for the Me and Mine project, and a photo of the children together each month for the Siblings Project.

I have to say, I think we’re off to a good start with the Siblings Project this year, with this set of photos taken on a recent trip to Victoria park!

We’ve noticed recently that Nerys is getting very close to catching Rhys up, height-wise, which you can really see in these photos actually.

Considering there is just over three years between them, there really is very little height difference.  We think she will overtake him before too long, as she’s like her dad and will most likely always be tall.

Rhys on the other hand is more like my brother we think.  He was big as a baby but is almost on the short side now when you look at him alongside his classmates.  I think though he will have a big growth spurt when he’s a teenager.  I am pretty certain he’ll end up being around six foot.

Who knows though, that’s part of the fun of being a parent isn’t it? 

The not knowing, the waiting to find out who your children are and which road they’ll take.

Rhys and Nerys both like to talk about what they’ll be when they grow up, and who they’ll marry and I love hearing their ideas and wondering what the future actually holds for them.  Nerys at the moment wants to be a teacher and a mummy, and thinks she might marry her friend Ella.  Rhys, thanks to his time spent on Minecraft, wants to be an architect and a builder, but he’s not sure who he’s going to marry yet.

I keep having to reassure him that he’s only six so it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know who he’ll marry yet!

Does anyone else’s child talk a lot about who they’ll marry when they get older?

At least both of mine seem ok now with the fact that they can’t marry me or their daddy, because that one upset them for a little while!

 

The Siblings Project - Dear Beautiful
living arrows 2018

Living Arrows 2018 – 1/52

by with 15 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized

Last year, and the year before, I took part in the Living Arrows project run by the lovely Donna at What The Redhead Said.

The project was inspired by a poem by Kahlil Gibran that features the line:

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth

The idea is to take a photo of your children every week, building up a wonderful collection of photographs capturing their childhood.  I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the last two years, and am so excited to carry on with it again this year.

Our first photos of the year were taken the day after Boxing day, when we were all in need of a bit of fresh sea air after the festivities.  The photos make it look like it was a gorgeous day, and it was nice and sunny while we were out but my word it was cold down at the beach!

living arrows

I love these photos though, and I’m pleased I’ve stuck with my tradition from previous years of taking quite simple, straight-on photos of Rhys and Nerys for the first week of the project.  I know I’ll love comparing these pictures to the ones I’ll take in the last week of December.

Looking back over the photos from last year really made me smile so much, I really do love joining in with this project and capturing my children every week.

Now I’m just looking forward to seeing what adventures 2018 brings them, both big and small!

 

Living Arrows
living arrows

Living Arrows 2017 – 52/52

by with No Comment PersonalPhotographyUncategorized

So here we are, the last week of the Living Arrows project for 2017!

I’m so, so happy that I stuck with it again this year, I really love having this little record of our year.

Seeing as this last post for the year falls on Christmas day, we’ve gone for a bit of a festive theme for our photos.  When we pulled all our decorations out from the cupboard under the stairs we found this Santa hat in the mix.

And the children have been fighting over it ever since, both of them wanting to be the one to wear it.

living arrows

 

living arrows

I think I’ll have to splash out on a second one for next year to stop the arguments!

I’ll be posting all our photos from the year at some point next week, which I’m really looking forward to because I love seeing how much the children have grown and changed over the year.

For now though, I’ll keep things short and sweet and wish you all a wonderful Christmas!

 

Living Arrows
#ShowYouWereThere round up

‘Show you were there’ round up

by with No Comment Show you were thereUncategorized

It’s Sunday, which can only mean one thing around here – time for another round up from my lovely little Instagram community #ShowYouWereThere.

In case you’ve not heard about it before, #ShowYouWereThere is all about getting more parents in more photos.  So any photos that feature you, or your partner, in some way, shape or form then just tag them with #ShowYouWereThere when you share them on Instagram to join in, and potentially be featured in one of these little round ups!

Now, on to my four favourite photos that were shared in the last week.

First up is this beautiful bump shot from Lyndsay at Fizzy Peaches.  It’s funny when you think how long the 9 months of pregnancy can seem, but then the same amount of time flies by once they’re born!  Violet will be one before we know it!

 

My second pick for this week is from Cath at Battlemum.

It’s such a lovely photo, that hopefully helped Cath to remember the good moments from this week rather than just the rough day that she talks about in the caption!

 

Next up is this lovely photo from Jaymee at The Mum Diaries.

It’s just such a happy picture, it really made me smile this week.

 

My fourth and final pick for this week is from Lianne at Ankle Biters Adventures.

I love how cosy they look in this photo, and I also really love Lianne’s comment about how different her children are from each other, it’s something I find so fascinating to see in my own children!

 

Thank you so much to everyone who is using #ShowYouWereThere, I love seeing your photos popping up over on instagram, they always bring a huge smile to my face!

Now, my turn.

Last weekend we went out for a walk on the beach and around Victoria Park, where we stopped to take a few family photos for November’s Me and Mine project post.  We managed one or two nice ones, and a few sillier ones, which so often end up being my favourites.

How great is Rhys’ face and pose in this one?!

show you were there family photo cwmdonkin park swansea

 

If you’d like to join in with my little community and possibly be featured in my next round up (with a nice link back to your blog!) then just share a photo of yourself over on instagram using #ShowYouWereThere.  It’s all about getting more parents in more photos.  And if you’d like to take part in my guest post series ‘The photo I’m thankful for‘ then take a look at this post or email me at thisgloriouslife@gmail.com for more information.

 

#ShowYouWereThere round up

‘Show you were there’ round up

by with One Comment Show you were thereUncategorized

It’s Sunday, which can only mean one thing around here – time for another round up from my lovely little Instagram community #ShowYouWereThere.

In case you’ve not heard about it before, #ShowYouWereThere is all about getting more parents in more photos.  So any photos that feature you, or your partner, in some way, shape or form then just tag them with #ShowYouWereThere when you share them on Instagram to join in, and potentially be featured in one of these little round ups!

Now, on to my four favourite photos that were shared in the last week.

First up is the beautiful wintry photo from Suzy at Our Bucket List Lives.  I just love the look of wonder on her son’s face, and the intense stare from the owl!

 

My next choice for this week is from Wendy at Naptime Natter.  I’ve featured Wendy several times before, and I always really love seeing her photos over on Instagram.  All the expressions in this particular photo just really made me smile.

 

Next up is this picture of the lovely Esther from Inside Out and About.

Not only does she look fab in this photo, I also love the fact that she was celebrating her sister’s graduation, how amazing is it that she came away with a 1st!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb14YCuhLE3/?tagged=showyouwerethere

 

My last pick for this week is from Kerry at Kerry Louise Norris.  This is just such a sweet photo, I had to share it!  And now I want to go out and get matching pjs for me and my family!

 

Thank you so much to everyone who is using #ShowYouWereThere, I love seeing your photos popping up over on instagram, they always bring a huge smile to my face!

Now, my turn.

A quick selfie, from a bright autumnal trip to the park last weekend.

show you were there

 

 

If you’d like to join in with my little community and possibly be featured in my next round up (with a nice link back to your blog!) then just share a photo of yourself over on instagram using #ShowYouWereThere.  It’s all about getting more parents in more photos.  And if you’d like to take part in my guest post series ‘The photo I’m thankful for‘ then take a look at this post or email me at thisgloriouslife@gmail.com for more information.

 

#ShowYouWereThere round up

‘Show you were there’ round up

by with No Comment Show you were thereUncategorized

It’s Sunday, which can only mean one thing around here – time for another round up from my lovely little Instagram community #ShowYouWereThere.

In case you’ve not heard about it before, #ShowYouWereThere is all about getting more parents in more photos.  So any photos that feature you, or your partner, in some way, shape or form then just tag them with #ShowYouWereThere when you share them on Instagram to join in, and potentially be featured in one of these little round ups!

Now, on to my four favourite photos that were shared in the last week.

My first pick is from Amy at The Smallest of Things.

There’s just something about the way her daughter is looking at her that makes me smile!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BblkmEJh5tU/?tagged=showyouwerethere

 

My second pick is from Vicky at Team Triffic (Ted Wears Organic).

I love this picture so much, twinning is most definitely winning!

 

Next up is this lovely photo from Kirsty at Kirsty Ralph.  Kirsty has captured such a sweet moment in this photo, I love it!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbL92YBnsWL/?tagged=showyouwerethere

 

My last pick for this week is from Hayley at I am River.

There is always so much joy in the photos that Hayley shares of her with her family, they never fail to make me smile!

 

Thank you so much to everyone who is using #ShowYouWereThere, I love seeing your photos popping up over on instagram, they always bring a huge smile to my face!

 

Now, my turn.

Last Sunday we braved the cold and went for a walk along the seafront, not long before the sun disappeared for the day.

I took some photos of the children together for this month’s siblings project post and then handed the camera over to Steve so that I could jump in a few pictures too.

show you were there

I still have to make a conscious effort to loosen my grip on the camera and hand it over, but I’m hoping that the more I do it, the more it will become second nature, and the more photos of me with my children there will be!

 

If you’d like to join in with my little community and possibly be featured in my next round up (with a nice link back to your blog!) then just share a photo of yourself over on instagram using #ShowYouWereThere.  It’s all about getting more parents in more photos.  And if you’d like to take part in my guest post series ‘The photo I’m thankful for‘ then take a look at this post or email me at thisgloriouslife@gmail.com for more information.