the honey home

a woodsy walk, v. 1.7.16

It’s no secret that I’m a coward when it comes to cold. I’ve already spent this week firmly planted in the house by a fire, and try not to leave the house unless the temperature reaches above 50 degrees.

Last week we (thankfully!) had a couple of warmer days, and we took advantage of them by going out to The Forest–our name for the local national park.

I love to go here, not only because the boys’ imaginations run wild, but because mine does too. Growing up, we had no “forest” but a few trees at the edge of our property. But I would go down there and pretend the trees were multiplied a hundred times over so I could be lost in the woods for a while.

boys in the wood

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beginnings

We’re at my childhood home for the holidays, but the agenda didn’t call for just enjoying the vacation with Christmas movies and hot chocolate.

No: we are project people.

We’re project people, and this is a big project. A big, big project. A big project that needed a big huge clean-out before the actual project could start.

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This is a hamhouse. In the past, it was used for smoking hams. They were hung from the ceiling by strings and then smoked. My family has lived here for twenty-nine years, but we’ve never smoked hams in here. We’ve never smoked hams at all, actually. The strings are still hanging from the ceiling, though.

cleaning out

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how I take photos of my (little) kids

a 18 mos-3

I first intentionally picked up my DSLR after my oldest son was born. Over the next four-and-a-half years, I cut my photography teeth on chasing around one, then two, then three little boys. I am not a fan of posed pictures. This is good, since it’s fairly difficult to get a newborn to smile for the camera, or to get a two-year-old to say “cheese”.

Children can have an uncanny way of making picture-taking extremely difficult, don’t they? I still remember the day my oldest learned to turn his back on my camera. He was barely two years old, and I was trying to get a picture of him in front of the Christmas tree. I’d lean around him to try and see his face, and he’d keep scooting so that he was facing away from me! He’s a come a long way since then, but then again, so have I.

Being at home with my littles gives me lots of chances to capture their childhood in photos, and especially if I’m having a rough day, there’s nothing I love so much as to be able to photograph my children. Here is a rundown of how I make it happen–even when they’re not exactly feeling it.

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twenty-one months

mo 21 mos-2

Anselm Ioan turned twenty-one months yesterday.

I missed his last monthly update (mea culpa!) and a lot has happened since October. For one thing, he walks!

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morning people (and thoughts on value)

There was a grump in the house this morning.

I really consider myself a morning person. My husband says I’m not, because I am not a chipper morning person–the type that you usually think of that fits the stereotype of someone who loves mornings. I do not jump out of bed at daybreak with a song on my lips. I don’t really jump out of bed at all, and not just because it’s sort of difficult with an almost-third-trimester belly. I am just not a break-of-dawn bed jumper. But I love the morning; it’s my favorite time of day. I just like mornings to be very, very quiet.

valued-2

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