I'm SO excited, because lately, I've been feeling a HUGE inner pull to pick up my BIG girl camera again (my nikon D7000, that is!).

It's been SO long since I've picked her up, mainly, because when I did, Luca was at the stage where he'd run right up to me and grab her and then when I'd try to sit down and edit, the kids would run all over the house, making a mess and then I'd get SUPER frustrated and mad at them and then I'd be STRESSED!!

So, I said, "this isn't worth it!!" Because I don't wanna take my stress out on my kids...especially when it's something I can do another time, when they're happily content with my hubs or when they're napping or asleep for the night.

Well, once they are asleep for the night, so am I. So night time editing and creating has not been working for me. Plus, right now, I really NEED to sleep and it's become my number one priority these days, so sleep it is! (I'm such a better mama when I get at least 7 hours of sleep...but I could really use 9, 10, or even 11 and 12 hours of sleep every night!! ha!)

But, lately, I've been feeling an inner PULL to pick her up again and so I did. YAY! Sure, Luca still comes at me a bit, but not like he used to. So that's nice, but what I'm really, REALLY, excited about is that I haven't lost my inner joy for DSLR picture taking. HOORAY!

My iPhone is SO great at helping me stop to savor the moments that light me UP with love from within, but for me, there's nothing like capturing those moments with a DSLR and then editing them in Photoshop.

It brings so much JOY to my busy mama heart, and because of that, it truly is a must that I do it more!!

So today, my hubs was home from work and while he was with Luca, I grabbed my flowers and headed outside.

It took me some time to figure out my settings on manual again and to play with the images in Photoshop. I'm definitely rusty, but gosh, did I have fun.

So I thought I'd share them here...FINALLY!!

I'm SO ready to blog consistently again! I've been doing mini blog posts over on Instagram (if you're on there, come say hello, I'd LOVE to follow you!). I sure do LOVE it over there, but I'm SO ready to BE back here...my home...my blog!

My goal is to try to do just that...but with my littlest one still home all day with me and my inner desire to continue my self-care, Instagram may still win the show, but I'm hoping that I'll find my groove and BE back here more!

So stay tuned...because I already have a bunch of blog posts ready to go!!

Especially an amazing one on what happened when I picked up my paintbrushes again right after C started school and when Luca was napping. What an AMAZING shift I had...SO SO COOL!! I will blog it, soon!

So further ado....

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!!!

And, I sure hope these make you smile like they did for me. Flowers are just SO awe inspiring. I can never get enough of them; the colors, the details...beautiful mandalas at their finest!!

And the back of flowers...truly amazing!! Ahhhhh....nature...always reminding me that beauty ALWAYS surrounds me...ALWAYS!!

Until next time,

Slow down to savor what YOU love (through the lens)....even if it's with your big girl camera or with your iphone...because it's the moment that fills YOU with JOY that matters most!! ;)