I grew up with a crazy large family.
First, there were my parents. Then, there were my siblings: Nathan, Joshua, Anna, Noah, and David. After that? There was a network of cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents who hung photographs of each other all over their homes and cooked the most enormous Southern meals. On top of this, my childhood best friend was basically my sister. We met when we were ten, shared lockers (voluntarily!) all throughout junior high & high school and we took the same classes and had the same friends and played the same sport and and worked the same after-school (library!) job and virtually lived at one another’s houses. I mean, we even painted our bedrooms the same color.
After high school, I fell in love with Andrew and gained a whole new family. Andrew – the middle child in a family of three boys – was the very first Chandler Boy to marry and, when I joined the Chandler family, I gained awesome new parents and two new brothers to boss around (and boss around I did!). Over time, I gained a (gorgeous!) new sister-in-law and an awesome niece and nephew, too. I love Andrew’s family just like I love my own – all fourteen of them on my side; all seven of them on Andrew’s side – and we have family members scattered all over the globe: They’re in Asia and The South and The Northwest and The Middle East and they’re all over the West and Mid-West, too. I love to love my people. And the past while? That’s exactly what I’ve been doing.
This time last year, I looked around and realized that my work-life balance was completely and totally out of whack. I had (and continue to have!) the most incredible career. I was a Girl Boss who turned her passion into a sustainable job with a livable income. It was awesome! And even more amazing?! I was able to do this while staying home with my children. I could not have planned my life out better if I had tried and I literally had everything I ever wanted – an awesome husband, incredible kids, an adorable house, and the opportunity to create something new every single day.
But! Despite all of these amazing things, I felt totally cooped up. I had so much Mom Guilt – I was constantly working fourteen or fifteen hours days, we ate out all of the time, we sparred too much and, with a new home, I had a huge stack of waiting-to-be-done projects that felt like they were never going to get done. I’m not exaggerating: It took me six months to paint our downstairs half bathroom. Six Months!! We were running full speed ahead all of the time and it got to the point where I couldn’t even handle the pressure I was putting on myself. It was such a crazy time! And for the past year? I’ve slowly been changing and re-shaping the way I approach all of my time – my work time and my family time and my friend time and even my me time (who knew there was such a thing, right?!). I cook more. I play with my kids more. I don’t work past 10:30pm anymore. I take weeks off shooting to catch up on editing. I watch my favorite TV shows and bulk make proof boxes while listening to Broadway musicals and Britney Spears. I let my kids build forts in my office and don’t even care when they inevitably make a mess. I read books and snuggle my dog at the very same time. I even take the time to stop and smell the roses! Literally! I took the time to plant roses in my backyard this summer!!
My life didn’t magically snap back into something more manageable because I wanted it to – it took a ton of prioritizing and re-prioritizing and re-re-prioritizing – but right now, life is so good. My kids are happy. My husband is happy. I am happy. I used to stress out if there was laundry that didn’t get folded or dishes were left in the sink; nowadays, I shrug my shoulders and feel grateful that I took the time to make dinner, even if it means that the dishes run a little behind. I used to stay up crazy late every night and, the next day, I would be a super grouch who couldn’t get anything done. When I took my business full time in 2014, I completely stopped working out. I didn’t even take time to hike! Now, I either go to the gym or take Barre classes four times a week. It’s amazing. All of this is amazing.
And my clients? Ah! My clients!! I have the most amazing community of clients and I’m so grateful for each and every one of them. So many of my clients are like a family tribe to me – I am able to photograph the most genuine and creative and wonderful people! – and, the better I take care of myself, the better I can take care of my clients. I used to answer every email as soon as it hit my inbox. Now, I sit down two or three times a day and answer emails at specific times. I shoot on specific days of the week. I edit (or don’t edit!) on specific days of the week. I take more time to get to know every single one of my clients on an individual basis. With this new balance, I am able to create the art that I have always wanted to create. I have better focus, more drive, and more creativity than I ever have before and, for that, I am so thankful. I don’t have a secret recipe for achieving work-life balance but, from where I’m sitting right now, I’m just so grateful for the way life is going. I don’t even know where this gushing came from but, basically, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the awesome people in my life right now. Y’all are awesome.
Here’s some photographs from the past few weeks! And be prepared! There are a TON from the County Fair this past weekend. I’m a total sucker for County Fair photographs.
Our nephew Wyatt came to visit our Kansas City family in August and, when Henry and I popped up there for a few days, we brought him back home with us for a few days more. Wyatt was born smack dab between Max and Henry and the three of them had the best time running around the neighborhood, taking over parks, and building civilizations on Minecraft.
Also, the beignet place at Kansas City’s Farmer’s Market owns my soul.
The boys started soccer two weeks ago and they are the cutest soccer players ever! Look at those faces!!
And last but not least! Here are those carnival photographs I told y’all about!
Henry’s still mad he was too short to ride most of the rides but the photograph below of him grimacing is going to make me laugh for at least the next thirty years. He’s such a sassy pants and I love those sweet little cheeks of his. Homeboy starts preschool in a few days and I can’t even believe he’s old enough to learn his ABC’s!
Hope all y’all had the most amazing Labor Day! I could say that we went swimming and grilled hamburgers and lounged in the sun all day today but, in reality, we had a pajama day and ate ham for dinner. It the most wonderful – and relaxing! – lazy day!
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