Vanessa loves the camera. Often she takes less than flattering pictures, so I'll volunteer to take on the task of editing and weed out the bad ones. :) Here are a few of my faves from over the last few months.
The above pictures were taken while eating out with friends. I love that she intentionally takes pictures of my hands, even if they do reveal aging and the fact that I wash them obsessively. (She also took a picture of a stranger picking his nose from one table over. I'm sure he'd appreciate me not sharing, even if we don't know him. And fortunately I didn't notice until scrolling through pictures later that evening.)
Yum! Toast!
"Me in Mommy's sandals."
"My hand over the camera." For someone who loves Space right now -- it looks like Mars or Jupiter, doesn't it?!
"Tree pieces." (We finally had an old and dangerous silver maple taken down. We're hoping Daddy will one day turn what is left of the trunk into a foundation for a playhouse.;-)
"Mommy, kiss me." (Mommy going through mail on the front porch.)
"Look! I take a picture of my face!"
"Daddy sleeping."
Last Monday Vanessa came into the kitchen and asked "Mommy, I need the minicard to take pictures. Please?" Then a few short moments later she said "Watch. I'll push W and it will go out. I push T and it goes in." And then as she faced the camera in the mirror she said "I'll just take a picture of myself."
When thinking about Vanessa's perspective and the simple things that make her happy, the following quote came to mind.
“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." ~ Unknown
If only we could all try and live by this idea each and every day . . . I have found that if I depend on things outside of my control to make me happy, I'm not as happy as often as I could be.
Another quote that spoke loads to me: "Happiness is not a life without problems, but rather the strength to overcome the problems that come our way."
Other than the desire for convenience, we don't need much. I've often told Daddy (Adam) that I'd be happy living in a box as long as we are together. And although at times the idea of winning the lottery sounds grand and awesome, I would never want the winnings if it meant driving a wedge between me and my loved ones. Relative happiness shatters easily while absolute happiness is eternal and unlimited.
