Bittersweet...

I know we all have those moments when a photo, a phrase, a quote or music affects our emotions, makes us stop and think... that's what happened to me when I saw this picture -

It may not look like anything special to you, but I just kept starring at it and flood of bittersweet emotions filled my heart... I felt blessed for beautiful children God gave us... I felt sad they they grow up way too fast... I felt happy that we could spend a day together with my sister... And I felt lonely, knowing that my older girls are having more fun spending time with people their age and they don't need their mother by their side like my four-year-old does... I felt lucky that all of my siblings live withing 35 min drive... and I could not understand how come we don't see each other often enough... I enjoyed this beautiful weather of summer days... but in the back of my mind the feeling of the summer coming to the end, didn't let me enjoy it as much as I wanted... I was glad that it's always pretty easy to get this group photographed, and it was pretty sweet that they even volunteered for the next few shots with addition of their imagination to them... but it was bitter to see how fast the time has gone since we spent a similar day in the same backyard a few years ago, which REALLY seemed like yesterday -

... Do you ever have those moments? Do ever think that life is flying by too fast? Do you think this summer is missing a month or two? Like never before, for me this summer went by too fast. I never felt this way but I would've loved to start summer all over again. If there was a button I could press to have that happened I would've not thought twice.

And here are a few more pictures from "YESTERDAY"

And "TODAY"...

I think photography is the most amazing thing invented ever. Love it and appreciate it SO much! I think that love of photographs is what keeps me going with Project Life. Yes, I'm up to date with pictures, a little behind on journaling, but that can be fixed any time.

So, that was the reason for my absence. I wanted to spend every moment possible with my kids enjoying summer. I cut back on the internet time, didn't blog for a week and didn't do much cleaning.

During this break though, I have been thinking nonstop about scrapbooking. Does it really matter that much if papers on the page match perfectly? Do I really have to make it innovative every time? Will anybody care if one of the lines on the page is not perfectly straight? All I wanted is to FILL my albums with memories. THAT is the only thing that matters.

Of course, I do get joy just making pages too, but I should let go of some perfectionism. So I was finally scrapping again! For two days in the row. That felt so good! I'll have a new project to share with you soon.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer and I'll see you soon!