The Small Things.

       Saturday I took my daughter out for the night; we went to dinner followed by going to see the play Cinderella at the opera house. The opera house is probably one of the most beautiful buildings around here, and it just has this magical atmosphere to it, perfect for little girls. Anyway it was a wonderful evening with the little girl; and she had a lot of fun too.
        I curled her hair [or as she calls it made it "twirly"], we got all dressed up and she said "tonight we're classy"... I don't know where she learned that, but she was all about being classy for the night.
       The play was good, but the best part was her face and how it lit up as she watched it. I was a little nervous about taking a 4 year old to see a play, thinking she'd lose interest; but she loved the dancing, the singing and everything about it. She clapped and laughed like a natural.
       Afterwards when we got in the car I was buckling her in and she goes "Mom, this was the best day ever!". Honestly it made my heart melt, with the happiness I could see in her eyes and how excited she was about it. 
       Sunday I took my boys to see The Secret Case of Sherlock Homes at the high school; while it wasn't as prestigious as the opera house, they still enjoyed it and had a lot of fun watching it.

       It's doing little things like this with my kids that mean so much. Not just going and doing things, but when I set everything up for a paint session or they come home and see that I've baked cupcakes for them to decorate; they light up and we have so much fun. Days at the park, or sledding at the big hill. It's their bright, pure and happy smiles that make everything perfect. I can't imagine what it'd be like without that.
       People get so busy with other things; work, life, getting stuff done that sometimes they forget how important it is to spend these moments with their kids. By Monday my house was a wreck, laundry had piled up, dishes  needed tended and it was a small war zone of things scattered; thus making Monday a long day while they were at school and I was cleaning; but it was worth every second of folding laundry to see them enjoying their childhood and experiencing new parts of life.

2014 Positivity Project

        I recently posted a journal on my deviantART page about depression, the powers of positive thinking and not being alone. After that I started thinking of ways we as people could help promote and spread positivity throughout the world and among our peers; with this I came up with a new project.
        Currently I am hosting the project through tumblr at 2014 Positivity Project and on deviantART collecting them in this folder. Maybe after some time if it grows enough I will branch it out to other media sites; but for now these two are all I'm doing... now a bit about the project:

The 5 W's

❤ What? The whole point of this project is to spread positivity through photographing inspirational/positive/motivational/uplifting quotes written on paper
❤ When? NOW! You can do one once a month, week, day or just once. However many times you want to do it! My goal is to collect 365 quotes by the end of 2014. If you do one let me know by commenting here, deviantART, tumblr or email me.
❤ Why? To spread and promote positivity through inspiration and art.
❤ Who? Everyone!
❤Where? Everywhere, Earth.

Other Info...

❤ Do they have to be hand written? They can be typed, I suggest hand written because it adds a personal touch, but honestly as long as you're doing it that's totally fine with me.
❤ What do I do with them? Other than posting it online for us to share; you can do whatever you want with the pieces of paper. I'm going to leave mine in random places for people [i.e. the library, school, work, stores, the park, etc.]

morning coffee & childrens stories

       As like any other mother, I find my children amazing; but this morning
was particularly perfect. My boys were at school already which left just Izzy and I. I made us coffee and "coffee" [which is actually a whole lotta milk, a dash of sugar and a touch of coffee] but anyhow; the snow was falling just slightly with the morning light leaking in our windows as as we drank our coffees. Izzy had my colored pens and was drawing and I was checking my messages such. 
       I looked over to find her 'writing a story', however much a person her age can write. I'll admit it was a lot of scribbles, loops and lines between [and around] the lines of your standard writing paper.
       I asked her what she was doing and she said "I'm writing a story", which in it's own made my heart swell a little ❤ but what struck me was when I asked her what it was about she actually had a story line and description of what she was 'writing' so in a sense, despite the fact it may not have been actually written on paper, in her head she truly was writing a story.
       Maybe it's just me, maybe it's because I'm her mama, maybe it's a lot of things combined; but all three of my children have picked up some type of art.
My oldest son: drawing & photography
My middle son: photography & cooking/culinary
My daughter: baking, writing & painting
       I personally think it's important that children experiment with arts and learning to find their niche with it if they enjoy it. Both as an interest and an  outlet.  I've seen their  improvement grow within it, I've seen their creativity unfold and their imagination spark.

And I find it amazing every time.

If Only For A Second

IF ONLY FOR A SECOND
20 cancer patients participated in a unique makeover experience.
They were invited to a studio. Their hair and makeup were completely redone.

During the transformation, they were asked to keep their eyes shut.
A photographer then immortalized the moment they opened their eyes.

This discovery allowed them to forget their illness, IF ONLY FOR A SECOND.

This is seriously one of the most beautiful and amazing things I've seen. Definitely grab some tissue!

Magic

 

 My daughter, Izzy.

She wanted to wear this to school today, 

we settled for a photo shoot and changed into a tshirt and jeans.