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.

NOVEMBER

November has felt like a bit of a strange month, though I can’t quite put my finger on why.  As months go, it’s never my favourite, with it’s cold, dark, damp days and nothing particularly exciting to look forward to.  The husband was away for a week and I was solo parenting which felt odd – it’s the longest he and I have been apart in almost fifteen years.  However, as a family we have managed to squeeze in a couple of little adventures to new places (which has done wonders for my mood and my soul), and there has been a fair bit of downtime at home too – lots of sofa snuggles and board games.

I think if I was to summarise it I would call it a month of preparations, both mentally and practically speaking: we’ve been planning and getting ready for Christmas; for the flurry of upcoming birthdays; for winter; and for the new year that we’ll soon be welcoming in.  Work has been busy and as a consequence I’ve not been as productive in the house as I wanted to be – I usually like to use this time to get rid of old clutter that we no longer need, to create space, to finish off any little DIY jobs that need doing and to tidy up loose ends.  None of that has really happened and so have been carried over to the ever-growing list of things to do in December.

As unsatisfying as November has felt for various reasons, I’m pleased with this collection of photos – they’re all special in their own way and as always, I love every single one of these images. So very much. 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 comfort and calm and love.  Every single one speaks to me in so many ways. Every single one is a piece of our jigsaw.

Every single one tells part of our story.

This is us.