The Ballard Bunch

Today I am grateful for:

Mothers. I'm grateful to have one {or two, or three...}, I'm so happy to be one {to two, or three...} and I really, truly believe that it's the most emotionally & energetically demanding job in the world. Day in and day out. And also the most rewarding, hands down.

Middle. Hump day {you know, Wednesday}, the best part of the sandwich {that last bite}, tummies {specifically my kids'} and donut holes {the missing piece in the...}. The middle is almost always the best! Once again, I know I'm OCD about lots of things and with this I am no different: I tend to work in fractions. Just like when I'm working out {'cause you know, I do it every day, right?} I measure in portions. "1/4 way done. 1/2 way done. 1/4 left to go..." And when I meet the mid-way point, it's all downhill! Totally a mental thing for me, but it's how I keep myself motivated with most things. Work, late nights with a baby, cleaning the house, a long drive; you get the idea. Also, M is the mid-point of the alphabet, did you know that? I do, because I've been keeping track. Only 13 more letters to go!

Marriage. Every day I feel lucky! Dating and relationships definitely have their place and are fun and exciting when you're at that point in your life, but nothing can take the place of marrying your best friend, committing to each other forever, raising a family, growing old together. I just happen to have married an amazing guy, and I thank my stars every day. And, with any marriage, we have our ups and downs, but I know {without a doubt} that we're both in it for the long haul.

Memories. Honestly, one of the main reasons I blog. I know it's cliche, but this really is a place for me to post pictures, tell stories, recount the day's good and bad, be grateful and vent. And all of it is for the sake of preserving memories that will soon be harder and harder to remember when relying on my ever-aging brain. I love the emotion certain memories bring for me: remembering the moment Beau proposed, the first time I've seen each of my babies, a hilarious girl's night out or a special birthday surprise. I think that's the most important reason I've taken up photography, too. I am obsessed with shooting in a way that not only is the image captured, but whoever is viewing it can feel some kind of emotion.

Mistakes. Don't get me wrong, a lot of them have sucked. All have detoured my course or changed it all together. And for that, I'm grateful. I truly believe that every time you make a mistake you are given an opportunity to learn about yourself. If every mistake were approached that way {and trust me, I'm the queen of feeling guilty - not perfect at this one}, we'd all really see our true potential and worth and move along better for it.

Merci. {or Gracias, Dank Je, Xie Xie, Mahalo or any other version of the English word Thanks} I love all things polite. Layne just started saying it. His version is Tay-Tu.