Because the week is filled with hectic schedules and not as much family time as I'd like, I love love LOVE to savor our family togetherness through the lens on the weekends. This is the most special time because we're all together the entire weekend and being with my family (and capturing it all) is my number one passion of all. (all photos taken with iPhone and edited with the Adobe Photoshop Express app)

So, yes, it's Wednesday and I'm just getting my weekend savors up, but, a little trip to the dentist on Monday led me to getting a root canal yesterday. Oh yeah! Fun! Fun!

I'm just SO glad and SO grateful that my tooth isn't sensitive to cold anymore (a brain freeze in my tooth is NOT fun...OMG!) and that I was able to get it done with my favorite dentist and endo before we move in a few weeks.

I never, ever thought in a million years I'd be saying that...I used to hate the dentist, but the office I found here IS incredible. I'm really sad to leave them.

So, today, I finally get to share the relaxing moments that I savored (through my iPhone lens), with my family this past weekend.

On Friday night, C had a playdate with her friend at Chuck E Cheese and right before we left she lost another tooth!! Yaaaaaay, CeeCee!!

She always SO scared when it's just about to fall out, but once it does, she runs all around the house laughing and giggling and then stopping in the mirror to admire her new space between her teeth. I love it!

The weather has been SO nice here and just like we always do at this time of year, we decided to roast some marshmallow's after dinner. We all LOVE doing this SO much because it feels like we're camping...something we're waiting to do more of once Luca gets a bit older.

As I was going through the pictures, I realized how much JOY our backyard has brought us over these past seven years.

I've spent a lot of time complaining about our backyard because every neighbor that surrounds us has barking dogs who stay outside 24/7.

So when I get a minute or two to sit outside and enjoy the calm and beauty that nature provides, it's always interrupted by very loud and constant barking dogs, which then has me going back inside.

But, this moment right here, roasting marshmallows in our backyard, even with all the noise around us, the JOY took over.

They loved roasting them, but when it came time to eat them, not so much. Luca just threw his back into the grill and Camille took off all the burnt part before eating it. HA!

But, once they were roasted, they ALWAYS came up to D and I to share their excitement. :)

The many faces of Luca. :)

And the many faces of Camille!

I love how I captured Luca showing D his marshmallow. :):)

Yummmmmy!! :)

On Sunday, the weather turned cooler, and the kids really wanted to play with the sprinkler while D was vacuuming out the cars.

As soon as they started running around, I had to go grab my phone to capture all their JOY, even though they were freezing from the 60 degree, windy weather.

I could never, ever play in the water on a cool day like they are here. Never! LOL! But, that's what I love about being a mother to my kiddos, they ALWAYS remind me to DO my JOY no matter the circumstance!

Yep! It was cold and it made them scream, but because they were LOVING it and it was bringing them JOY, they didn't quit because of it. Joy won! :)

Life lesson anyone? Yes..ME! ME! It's amazing how I can forget that.

C started to get a little too cold, so I suggested to her to get her long sleeve swim top on. As she did that, Luca tested the waters while he waited for her.

CeeCee is back!! Yaaaay!!

There's nothing better than being a kid and FEELING the JOY in the littlest things. And there's nothing better than being a mom and BEing reminded to FEEL the same.

And after that water fun, a much needed butterfly nap is in order.

This boy LOVES butterflies right now. His sister got these wings, but in purple, from a Mardi Gras parade back in February and I ended up having to hide them because they were fighting over them SO much. Thank goodness we found these, because now CeeCee's are out of hiding and everyone is happy to be flying around the house now. Phew!! Helps this mama out for sure!! :)

As I look back on the weekend, I realized something pretty big.

I've been SO excited to blog again, but I tend to get really structured with it. I love doing my weekend savors, but this weekend, I didn't feel like taking pictures and doing it.

It felt kinda exhausting when I thought about doing it.

I realized why.

Because I've put SO much structure around it, I found myself saying, "remember to take pictures for the blog...remember to take pictures for the blog" during my time with my family.

To the point where I was way more focused on reminding myself to take pictures than BEing present in the moment.

So this weekend, when I was like, "eh...I don't feel like taking pictures for the blog...I'll just skip this weekend and do it next weekend."

I dropped the pressure and the "rule following" I've created or myself, got out my head and started to reconnect with the moment and how it was making me FEEL.

When we were outside roasting marshmallow's, I wasn't planning on taking pictures. I didn't even have my phone with me.

But, when I started to SEE and FEEL the JOY of the moment, I connected with all the LOVE I was feeling and went and grabbed my phone real quick.

The next day, we had no plans of playing in the sprinkler...it was just an "out of the blue" decision. And, again, I didn't have any pre-planned thoughts to take pictures and kept my phone inside.

But, as I sat back and watched them run around with glee, my smile turned BIG and JOY was flowing through every cell of me, which then, reminded me to go get my camera.

Because I let go of the "rules" I was able to get out of my head and reconnect back to my heart and to the reason WHY I take the pictures that I do.

Not to make sure to capture something for my blog or social media sites, but to focus even more on the moments that make me stop, smile and pull me out of my "to-do list" head and back into my heart.

Moments that fill me with happy tingles and fill me with love.

I have to FEEL the LOVE and the JOY within my heart first, then I snap it.

Not tell myself what I'm going to capture before the moment even happens.

The FEELING comes first, the photograph comes second.

So when I took these pictures from my heart-led place, I was excited, motivated, uplifted and was connected even deeper to my desire to use my camera to FEEL my love even more.

I wasn't feeling exhausted, unmotivated, burnt out or telling myself "eh, I'll snap this the next time it happens."

I realized that the more I focus on the "structure" or the "outcome" of something I'm trying to achieve (like staying to a consistent blog post schedule!), I lose connection to the reason WHY I'm doing it in the first place...to focus even more on the JOY I'm feeling in the moment!

I don't have to plan it, force it or go out and try find it either, because it's ALWAYS there, no matter how exhausted or burnt out I may be feeling.

My JOY never exhausts me or un-motivates me.

So when my mind starts to take control and tell me that I've created a set plan for my blog and I have to stick to it, and I'm starting to feel really burnt out from it all, I have to remind myself to let go and only DO what FEELS GOOD from within.

Because once my heart FEELS what it loves, my mind will follow to help make, whatever it is I love to do, happen!

Kinda like my kiddos playing in the sprinkler on a cool and windy day. ;)

Until next time...

The camera...one of my favorite creative tools to help ME get out of my stressed-out-mama-head + savor (fully enJOY!) all the JOYful moments that fill my heart up with LOVE (something that's hard to do when my mind is running five miles ahead or behind the present moment)