I take hundreds of photos every month, and most of them don’t get shared with anyone, let alone online. And yet the moments in time that those photos capture are just as important a part of our story as the other images that I do choose to share.

I originally created this blog as a way of documenting our lives, a way of watching the girls grow into who they’re going to be and a way of remembering who they once were. It’s something I want them to be able to look back on as they get older, because memories fade but (digital) photographs don’t.

It’s easy (and tempting) to only focus on sharing the fun bits, the memorable parts, the highlights and the celebrations. But I’m learning more and more as I continue through this crazy journey of motherhood that it’s really important to me that I capture the ordinary, everyday times that we spend together as well. The bits of the jigsaw that fill in the gaps to complete the picture. The tantalising glimpses into who our girls are becoming.

The chaos, the calm and all the moments in between.

This monthly feature – The Moments In Between – is a space for me to share all of those magical bits that would otherwise just stay in a folder on my laptop, never to see the light of day.

FEBRUARY

February has been a tricky month in various ways: health concerns, friendship issues at school and challenging behaviour with the girls; all the anniversaries associated with losing my Dad four years ago; plus the fire in our kitchen that has turned our life temporarily upside down whilst we work to get everything sorted out.

It’s also been really rather wonderful in many ways too:  I’ve made a huge effort to get us all out of the house more often (after spending most of January hibernating indoors) and it has lifted my mood enormously, as has the beautiful, unseasonably Spring-like, warm, sunny weather we’ve been having these last couple of weeks.  Choosing to say yes to eager-eyed requests such as playing catch in the garden after school, settling down to a board game together on a Saturday afternoon, and scooting into town instead of walking, as well as spending lots of time together during half term have also contributed.

As ever, it’s all the little things that add up to create the overall feel of our family and that’s exactly what these images represent.  All the little moments that I’m desperate not to forget.  That I want to remember when I’m old and the girls are grown up, perhaps with families of their own.  These moments are our legacy.

The way the sunlight catches Lola’s hair.  Grazed knees.  ‘Silly face’ photographs that are my secret weapon for bringing out the real smiles.  The football that has to accompany us wherever we go.  Eyelashes.  Bobble hats.  Snuggles on the sofa.  Only ever being able to capture the girls from behind as they race off ahead in search of an adventure when we go out for a walk.

Pieced together in this way these tiny details make up the big picture of who we are right now.  Documenting them is worth it.  There are often days where I feel like there is nothing worth taking a photo of.  I try and pick up my camera anyway.  And more often than not the photographs I capture on those days end up being some of my favourites.

I love every single one of these images, as always. So very much. They all tell a story, and when seen all together like this, they tell our story. Every single one has a meaning for me deeper than the surface level of what you see. Every single one brings back feelings and thoughts and moments I want to remember. Joy and contentment and craziness and comfort and calm and love.

Every single one speaks to me in so many ways.

Every single one is a piece of our jigsaw.

This is us.