"Intentionally FULL!"

When I say that I have a lot going on right now would be a huge understatement! Not only business wise but personally as well. I have a few projects going on with other local photographers (I will have another blog post later as to why these types of projects are so vitally important to me) and a few big events of my own.

When I was thinking of a good title for this blog post I wanted something that of course eluded to the fact that I am ....BUSY! But, aren't we all? When I hear the word busy, sometimes I think negatively. I think that they are overwhelmed and maybe not everything on their plate is intentional. That is SOOO not the case here! So I went searching the internet for what my life is at this moment...the very first phrase I saw that caught my eye was "Intentionally Full". How perfectly fitting!

Personally, if you know me, you know my middle child is a senior in high school and very actively involved with his sports. He has consumed most of my free time lately with games, practices, banquets, events and planning of the big days ahead before college becomes his new home for the next 4 years. I am savoring every moment and taking none of them for granted. When you have more than one child sometimes one specifically needs a little more attention and focus than the others do for a short while. That is the case here. When my oldest was ready for graduation we were consumed with prom dresses and graduation announcements.She was the center of attention for her last few months as a high schooler. This is no exception. (except the dress of course. We are on the tuxedo train!)

When looking for my catch phrase title I found this definition:

"Can being busy mean that your life is rich and varied and you chose to have it that way? A lot of the things we complain about being busy with are things we intentionally and joyfully chose to bring into our lives — the houses we clean, the clothes we launder, the children we cheer on at soccer games. Sometimes we need to reevaluate how we spend our time, and sometimes it’s just about appreciating the amazing things we spend our time doing."

That hit me like a ton of bricks! For example: I complain constantly about scrubbing the bath tub. Good lord how I despise it so! I'd rather do just about any other household chore..even windows! But, that clean bath tub is where I spent time bathing my little babies and during those baths we always sang the ABC's. (one of our strange traditions). That clean bath tub is where my girls cleaned the dirt off of them after a big win on the softball field and where my son soaked to relieve sore muscles from hours of batting practice that reeked havoc on his poor body. That clean tub is where I soaked to get 5 minutes of peace from screaming kids...and after being in there for half of those 5 minutes realized I missed those babies too much and instantly got back out to go find them and give them hugs. So, moral of the story is this: I have realized lately that although we don't enjoy certain things...maybe being overly busy as one of them, all these unpopular things are necessary to bring some sort of other joy into our lives.

So, on to a few of my main projects right now!

The first is called "The Friendship Project". I teamed up with Gina over at Gina Marie Photography and since we became fast friends I thought it was a perfect fit for a partner! I decided to focus on adult women friendships because mine are so amazing and such a big part of my life that I wanted to share how incredible it is to have that support system and the dynamics of it in others as well. I will be making a post about my friendship and the friendships we come across and are lucky enough to photograph over the next few months. This is something that I have wanted to do for such a loooooong time! I am so glad that Gina knew exactly what I had in mind and jumped on board without hesitation! The stories we have gotten so far are so sweet and some are so funny! It makes my heart happy to know that so many women out there have someone that they can depend on, laugh with, embarrass themselves with and just have fun with! If you have a "Bestie" that has been there through it all and will continue to do so, share it with me!

The second project I am working on with two other local photographers (Stacey Davare Photography and Gina Marie Photography) is our Ladies Night Out vendor event! We are offering glamour/head shots during the course of the evening as well and coordinating the whole event. When Stacey and I met up to brainstorm we thought that we would offer photos and maybe get a make-up person and someone to touch up hair for the photos. That was it. We would have been content with just that. What we didn't know was how it would ignite a fire in local women small business owners who wanted to be a part of it as well. We currently have about 40 vendors that wanted to participate with us and be a part of such a great event focusing on women! This has completely blown my mind that so many agree and support what we were trying to do! It has been hundreds of messages, texts and emails to sort through and respond to. It has been being extremely time consuming to keep organized and carefully keeping track of it all. But, well worth it!

My largest event of the year is by far the Mommy n' Me Minis. I have a whole blog post devoted to it ...in case you missed it last week! It's full of information on wardrobe, why your session is so important to me and what you can expect.

http://mommyluvs3.wix.com/photosbyjoyce#!Mommy-n-Me-Information/cyh4/56f9431a0cf2e1f8bbc04cdd

So, moral of my story on this day...at this moment is this....I am choosing to be busy. I am choosing to work with others in my industry to help better myself. I am choosing to spend every moment with my kids that I humanly can before they all leave. I am choosing to accept as many new clients and new appointments that I am getting. I am choosing to be grateful that this day is here and I am so busy! I am beyond grateful for those fellow photographers for choosing to work with me! I am grateful that you all choose me time and time again to take your photos. And I am grateful that I finally realized those mundane tasks like scrubbing the bath tub or laundry end up bringing the biggest rewards. I am sad however it has taken me almost 40 years to realize what's been in front of me the whole time. I hope you all realize the joy in the small things.....and maybe this post helped you to get there. If so...I am grateful for that as well.

Hugs~

Joyce