Twelve on Twelve

"The journey is the reward." -Chinese Proverb


When we look back over our life, it won't be the job title we had, the car we drove, or the money in the bank that we remember. It will be those small, seemingly insignificant moments that we will recall......nighttime eskimo kisses, chocolate milk stained faces, an impromptu Scrabble and wine night, the comforting sound of your spouse's feet as they pad across the floor in the morning, and sandy baby toes.


For me, it would be the adorable grin that slowly spreads across Hunter's face when he sees or hears something he likes, 

the way he holds his sippy--juuuust soooo--out to the side so he won't miss a single moment of what's happening in the world around him, 

they way Emerson patiently watches others around her with that sweet, innocent smile, 

and scrunches her nose 

and the first time Hunter cracked an egg to make his first batch of "bownies".

Yes, there will be those momentous occasions we remember--the wedding, the birth of our child but, it will be those small moments in time that rise to the forefront. Our lives are chock-full of small, memorable moments that are our little happies--some hidden, some not. It is up to us to discover them. And that is the goal of the "Twelve on Twelve" project.


I first came across this idea at Beyond Grace (here it is called "Ten on Ten"). The concept is to take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of the month. It documents a day-in-the-life-of you and your family. A peek into your "beautiful ordinary". Its there, I promise!


Note: Why is mine titled Twelve on Twelve? Because I didn't realize it was the 10th of the month until after 8 pm that night. So, I decided to do it on the twelfth. It also gave me an excuse to take a couple of extra photos. That is why I am giving you advance notice now. Mark it on your calendar and go get that camera out!


In the meantime, my January Twelve on Twelve.....

7:00 a.m. Hunter greets us with this look 99.5% of mornings

8:00 Helllooooo snow!!!

8:00 Ok, I cheated a little but 

could you resist seeing this sweet face admiring the 

bubble stained glass project he made the night before??!!

(bubble wrap, washable finger paints and let 'em go wild! 

they love it!)

9:00 Outside....

....meanwhile, back at the ranch, 

someone is still sleeping. 

(Ok, I cheated again with 2 photos but she's so darn sweet!)

10:00 It was a battle of wits with mittens vs. no mittens. 

I won't say who won but it ended with tears and a sippy.

11:00 The theme for today's activity table is shapes and animals. 

Someone is very excited that her older brother isn't around to steal toys from her.

12:00 Pre-lunch storytime reading: Yo Gabba Gabba from our friend Alex. 

(Its only 12 and we have read this at LEAST 27x!)

1:00 This project has been on Mommy's to do list for months. 

Hunter helped cut and iron on the felt.

2:00 Naptime and all is quiet

3:00 I went in and just took this photo without even looking! 

Just when you thought she couldn't get any cuter...

4:00 Mommy in her grubbies and sissy in her PJ's. 

Emerson just planted a huge kiss right when I took this!!! Awwww!

5:00 Testing out play-do with Emerson but all she wanted to do was eat it....until she found out she could make this cool echoing sound in the container...

6:00 Tiger Bowl for dinner. We are only 1 of 2 tables so they seem very entertained by our kids repetitive games of rip the paper tablecloth, spill the duck sauce, drop the DVD case and the waiter will pick it up...over and over and over and over.

6:00 Ok, I'm cheating again but, Mom--this is for you. We had a "scrunch off".

7:00 Our own personal light show. 

Hunter likes to get nude, turn down the lights and swing Mommy's reading light 

around and around to make "ciwcles". 

Um, I doubt I need to mention who taught him to do this.....

8:00 Their most favorite time of day where nothing else seems to matter in the world 

aside from making each other laugh. Off to bed....

7:00 a.m on day 13 and this is the first thing I saw....Life is good.

(Background on the bubble wrap stained glass made the night before. 

Our counter pre-project....)

(The artistes in action....)

(The final artist makes her mark....)

(And just when you thought she couldn't get any cuter, she pulls this....)

I'm looking forward to hearing about your Twelve on Twelve projects....