What I Love About Being a Mama: One Hundred Kisses

"Mama, I want to give you one hundred kisses!"  ~my Lila (about twice a week) And I'd happily let her.

One of the things that I love most about being a mama is... getting one hundred kisses in a row.  :)  Truly, I love the affection my children give me, and the affection they allow me to give them.  It's a wondrous thing.  Snuggles are one of our love languages, and we always hug and kiss each other every time one of us leaves the house.  Even if it's just to the grocery store.

Our favorite way to watch a movie is cuddled up on the couch together, pillows thrown all over the place.

Lila kisses the palm of my hand every morning when I drop her off at school, a la "The Kissing Hand."  Just this morning, she held up the car line because she jumped back into the van to kiss Charlotte on the head.  No one minded a bit.  :)

Parker melts into a puddle when I scratch his back or run my fingers through his hair.  It's how I used to get him to sleep when he was a baby, and he still adores it.

Charlotte won't go to sleep at night without running into the living room to "get Daddy's kiss" first.

One of my favorite quotes ever is this one:  "Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."  ~C. S. Lewis

How do you and your kids show that you love each other?  Do you have your own little "love language" or bedtime snuggling rituals?  I'd love to know more about how mamas love their babies, so tell me in the comments below!

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From now until Mother's Day, I'll be doing a blog series on motherhood, entitled What I Love About Being a Mama.  Yesterday, I shared with you a bit about sibling relationships and asked you for tips on fostering friendships between your children.  Today, I'm shared with you how much I adore their sweet cuddles and affection.  Stay tuned for the next few weeks of this series... I'll be featuring interviews, giveaways, and special gifts just for my readers.  I promise, you won't want to miss a single post!  :)

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Also, don't forget about Mother's Day Mini-Sessions happening this weekend!  It's a terrific gift idea, and one that most mamas will appreciate far more than flowers and dinner out.  Photographs last forever, and I hope you'll let us encourage you on your motherhood journey by photographing you with your own little loves (and even your own mama too!).  Click here for more information, and register through the CONTACT button at the top of this website or by calling 727-698-0344.  Sessions are limited, and several have already filled up, so don't wait!  Book your Mother's Day Mini-Session now!

What I Love About Being a Mama: Sibling Friendships

Undoubtedly, one of my favorite things about being a mama is when I get to witness how much my kids truly like one another.  Not just "we-love-because-we-have-to", but actual friendship.  Snuggling, tickling, laughing, playing because-they-want-to friendship.  It warms my heart to no end to see these sibling friendships developing and growing.

I was folding laundry on Lila's bed yesterday, and Lila climbed into Charlotte's crib to play with her, like she so often does. They just began snuggling under the covers and tickling each other and giggling like little girls do. My heart melted into a puddle when I saw them being so loving toward each other, all on their own.

My camera was in my office, but my iPhone was nearby, so that is what I used here. After all, "the best camera is the one that's with you."  ~Chase Jarvis

I actually texted this photo to my two sisters immediately afterward, because it made me think of them. We're still best friends to this day, even as mamas ourselves.

Parents, never underestimate the importance of fostering real friendship between your children! I'm so very grateful for my sisters... the way we have always helped each other through different stages of life, having all of those inside jokes that no one else thinks is significant, much less funny. How we support each other even if we don't agree, how we can call or text in the middle of the night if we need a listening ear or a bit of advice about a sick baby.  How we've comforted and encouraged one another through breakups and boyfriends, marriages and babies, through life and death and sickness in between, through prosperity and heart-breaking loss, through cross-country moves and changes that cannot be reversed. I am sp grateful for our undying friendship and our unconditional acceptance and support of each other.  I know that my sisters always have my back, even though we are scattered across the country.

Our parents gave us these most wonderful gifts: each other.

It is my intention to guide all three of my children to not only love each other, but to truly like each other now and forever.  To give them what I have with my sisters.  And it's a beautiful thing to witness this unfolding before my eyes.

So what about you?  Are your children also friends? Let's talk!  I'd love to know your tips and ideas on how to develop sibling friendship in the comments below!

I'll go first!  :)  There were three of us girls, but only two bedrooms upstairs. So the two who were arguing the most would have to share a room until we learned to get along. We didn't like it at first, but it worked like a charm.  Mom was pretty brilliant like that.

Now it's your turn!

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Today is the first day of my new blog series entitled, "What I Love About Being a Mama".  Stay tuned for the next few weeks as we celebrate mothers all over the world.  I'll be featuring interviews with other mamas, special gifts, and giveaways just for my readers!  Be sure and subscribe so that you don't miss a single post!

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I also hope you'll join me this Friday and Saturday, April 11th and 12th, for Mother's Day mini-sessions at Honeymoon Island in Dunedin!  I'd love to melt YOUR Mama-heart into a puddle when you see images of your children loving on each other, and loving on YOU.  Register now by emailing me through this website (contact link above) or by calling me at 727-698-0344.  It would be my honor to celebrate you and your children, even if they're grown up and not-so-little anymore.  They'll always be your babies, after all, right?

xo, Stacey

Mother's Day Mini-Sessions

Mother's Day Mini-Sessions are now open for registration!  I'm honored to be photographing sweet, sentimental mamas and their beautiful children in Tampa Bay next weekend, and I hope you'll join us!

I want to be very clear... These Mother's Day Mini-Sessions are meant to be shared and enjoyed and made as meaningful to your family as possible.  If you'd like to, consider inviting your mother to join in!  Ask your mother-in-law.  Your grandmother.  Your children.  Your grandchildren.  Your special aunt, perhaps.  Or your mama-figure, whomever that is in your life.  Think about how precious a multi-generational photograph would be to your family.

We just want to celebrate you!

Sessions will take place in 30 minute increments:

Friday, April 11th morning 8am - 9:30am

Friday, April 11th evening 6pm - 7:30pm

Saturday, April 12th evening 6pm - 7:30pm

These sessions are limited, and some of the above appointments have already been filled by current clients and email newsletter subscribers.  If you'd like to reserve your session, get in touch with me asap at 727-698-0344, by emailing: stacey at staceywoodsphoto dot com, or by using the contact form on this website.

This year, receive a gift that won't fade or wilt, one that won't break or go out of style.  A gift that encourages you, just as much as you encourage your children, every time you walk past it hanging on your wall.

I can't wait to meet you.

xo, Stacey

Where I Belong

You belong among the wildflowers.  You belong in a boat out at sea.  Sail away, kill off the hours.  You belong somewhere you feel free. Run away, find you a lover.  Go away somewhere bright and new.  I have seen no other who compares with you.

You belong among the wildflowers.  You belong in a boat out at sea.  You belong with your love on your arm.  You belong somewhere you feel free.

You belong among the wildflowers.  You belong somewhere close to me.  Far away from your trouble and worry.  You belong somewhere you feel free.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  --Jeremiah 29:11

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Unlikely combination, I admit... but Tom Petty, the sound of seagulls and shallow waves spilling onto a warm beach, and the book of Jeremiah make up the soundtrack of my life this week.

Friends, here's hoping you find peace in your heart, when and where you search for it.  For me, it was on a beach on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.  Right where I belong.

xo,

Stacey

On being kind.

Earlier this week, Lila's kindergarten teacher brought Lila and I home after school, because my car key broke and fell off my ring somewhere between the parking lot and Lila's class line.  Crazy accident, right?  But that sweet woman generously offered to rescue us.  The women in the front office were so kind and helpful, looking up phone numbers and offering their best advice, and a phone and phone book too.  The assistant principal actually found my missing half of a key the next day and returned it to me.

THANK GOD FOR KIND PEOPLE.  Kind people who hurt when you hurt, who offer to help when you are in a jam.

In this world of go-go-go, it's often so easy for us to just look past people who are having trouble in favor of our own busy schedule and to-do list.  But these people didn't.

So on Friday, we brought flowers to the school staff and to Lila's teacher.  Miss Anna in the front office was so surprised and overjoyed.  They were just simple wildflowers from the grocery store, but I wrapped them in kraft paper and washi tape and added a pretty handwritten note.  I didn't spend a lot of money, in fact it took me longer to rewrap them and add my personal touches than it did to purchase them.  But they thanked us over and over.  And my heart swelled.  And Lila grinned and ran off to class to take her bundle of flowers to her teacher too.  She wrote me back a sweet thank you note and she loved all over Lila at school.

You know, I was struck by how good it made me feel to make someone else happy.  Even though they made me happy first.  Isn't kindness a funny thing?  I've read somewhere that kindness is actually a selfish thing to do, because it makes you feel amazing in the process.  I'm not sure that I believe that.  But I have to admit that even when I start out in a grumpy mood, I can feel my spirits lifted after I've done something kind for someone.

Love doesn't just talk about loving on people... love actually does.

This week, I want to challenge you to show kindness to someone.  Do something extra special for someone who doesn't expect it.  Do it "selfishly" if you must, but do it with a genuine smile and a sincere heart. I promise you will be so happy afterwards.

Kindness doesn't have to be big and showy to make a difference.  Pay for someone's coffee in the Starbucks line behind you.  Hold the door open for a mama with a stroller.  Hold the door open for anyone.  Buy flowers for a friend.  Make a pan of Shauna's enchiladas for a new mom and take them to her.  Take your kids to the park or to a movie.  Read one more story at bedtime.  Refrain from nagging your husband and instead ask him if there is anything you can do for him.  Smile at and say hello to the stranger you pass on the sidewalk.  Download a song your kids love and play it in the car.

And don't forget to come back and tell me how awesome you feel.  :)

Bleeding hearts

Today would have been my Momaw's birthday. She never forgot mine.  Or Chris's.  Or any of the kids.  She and Popaw always mailed a card (with money tucked inside), and it was a guarantee that it would arrive either before or on our actual birthday.  Her last week here on the earth, we were lucky enough to FaceTime with her in the hospital, and as sick as she was, she said, "Oh no, I haven't forgotten a lost tooth or a birthday, have I?"  Bless her sweet heart.  Always thinking of us.

She passed away on Valentine's Day of this year.  I find myself dreaming of her today, remembering her kind voice and her positive attitude.  I am thinking of her tiny flower garden, and the stories she would tell me about the plants in it.  Buttercups, red roses, and pink and red bleeding hearts spilling over the broken sidewalk.

I wish I could grow bleeding hearts here.  (And peonies.  And clematis.)  Unfortunately, it's a bit too hot and humid for these pretties to thrive down here, but they will remain in my memory as the most poetically beautiful flowers in the world.

I also remember her shenanigans.  Once she "baked" a sponge cake for someone (I can't remember who, just now) when I was just a girl.  She put this big round piece of sponge on a plate, and covered it in chocolate icing.  After we sang Happy Birthday, she handed the knife to the guest of honor, and urged him to cut the first slice.  We got the biggest laugh out of that sponge on a plate.  My mom was afraid to cut into Momaw's birthday cakes for years after that.

I don't remember if she ever tried this in my presence, but she used to giggle about putting a tiny inflated balloon down the center of an angel food cake, and then frosting over the whole thing to hide the balloon.  When the knife popped that balloon, there would be an awful mess to clean up... but goodness I can just see her slapping her knee now.

If Momaw were still alive today, I'd bring her over a sponge cake and a card, and we'd eat cake and drink 7-up, and I'd bottle up her pretty laugh to listen to on days when I miss her too much.  Like today.

Beautiful

{ You're beautiful.  You are made for so much more than all of this.

You're beautiful.  You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His. }

Isn't it wonderful when you hear a song that you feel must be meant just for your heart?  I love when that happens.

I heard this song by MercyMe in the car yesterday.  I'd heard it before, but never really listened to it.  This time, it reminded me of the toughest months of my life, and then it made me smile at the thought of my bright future ahead (I'm claiming it now).  I thought of my girls.  Oh the drama that they will face at some point in their lives.  I want to sing it to my girls day and night, so that they know how loved and BEAUTIFUL they are, no matter what they are going through at school, which friends like or dislike them in a given week, or the mistakes they have made.  I want to hold Parker's face in my hands and tell him that he is sacred and treasured, no matter what grade he made in science class, and even when he misbehaves.  He is beautiful.

And of course, being the reader that I am, I went home and looked up this song.  I discovered that the songwriter had his own daughters in mind when he wrote it, even though its message applies to anyone of any age.

So maybe it's what you need to read today too.  You're welcome to print the image above if you need the reminder.  Just double-click above and save it to your desktop.  I hope you print it and hang it at eye level, say it out loud to yourself, and your children, every single day.

Because you ARE beautiful.

xo,

Stacey