2015 – how we grew!

The first few months of the year were hot and humid and as the garden blossomed so too did my belly. We spent many days at home and at the beach and when I wasn’t submerged in the ocean, trying to cool down, I was preparing for Percy’s arrival – baby essentials, pregnancy essentials, packing the hospital bag and waiting, waiting.

The 52 Project started with one of my very favourite portraits and I wrote a few photography tutorials that became some of my most popular posts to date: shooting on manual for beginners, ISO, aperture + shutter speed and how to photograph your kids without revealing their identity.

Autumn arrived and so did Percy. And then we came home from hospital and stayed there for a good month or so, relishing in our babymoon, taking the fourth trimester slowly, working out my new mum-to-three role and navigating our family-of-five dynamic. I wrote a letter to a brand new mum, struggled with accepting my postpartum body and attempted to maintain a regular, albeit different, yoga practice.

So much time spent at home inspired many posts on simple, purposeful living. And it’s true –  simple doesn’t always mean tidy, it really only takes three steps and sometimes its the practical things that make the biggest difference to my days. And yet regardless of how much I embrace simplicity and regularly declutter, the work of motherhood is real and relentless and sometimes it really does wear me down.

Some weeks were tiring and challenging (particularly around this time) but honestly, life with three children has been joyous (the big age gaps definitely ensured a smooth transition). Everything didn’t go according to plan but I’ve been thinking a lot about my ideal family home and the importance of stability and routine as we move towards a new year and come May, a new house.

I’m signing off for now – Christmas is here and I want to enjoy it by tuning out and switching off. I need to rest and rejuvenate! I’ve got small, meaningful plans for 2016 – less of this and more of this because I know to the very core of my being that the little things are the biggest of them all.

I hope your Christmas is abundant with family, feasting and gratitude. A heartfelt thank you for visiting this space and offering support with your time, kind words and sincerity – it means the world.

See you on the flipside.

In love and light,

Jodi x