EVERYDAY ELSIE

Butterflies.

Hi. We're closing on our new home in just a couple days. I'm so nervous and so excited. This is something I've waited for for a long time. I can't wait to hold the keys to our big, empty house. We're planning to celebrate on closing day with a little bit of white paint and some cocktails. My heart is exploding with happiness. I'll be back soon to share more... 

Our Weekend In Photos.

We had the best weekend with family. The. Best. To celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday we stayed at a cute cabiny resort in Branson. We took the kiddos swimming, played shuffle board and volleyball, ate pizza and relaxed. Then we went out for mini golf after the kids went to bed. Today we went to Silver Dollar City. If you're not from the midwest it's an old-timey amusement park. I went there a lot as a kid, but this was my first time since meeting Jeremy. We did kiddo rides and ate amazing food. We had to leave a little early because it was raining, but we were all exhausted already so it wasn't so bad. I'm so thankful for our family... also i need a nap. XO

The Current Situation.

You know that feeling when you know you're moving soonish so you kinda start half packing, but then you still need to use stuff so everything is just kinda a mess? That's me. Currently, I am spending every spare moment thinking about couches, curtains and what color to paint my lockers... just silly stuff. Truth be told, I'm loving every moment of this process... even the part where Jeremy says, "No, you can't paint the stairs." Ha!

Above: Pretty plants from my dad. I almost killed them (twice) but with his guidance they're alive and well. I hope I'm getting better at that stuff. New stripes. Sorta packing... more making piles, but still. Date night. We've been going out more and it's the best. 

Life Is Good.

Change is coming. This coming month is going to be insane and I am ready for it! I'm looking forward to a new season, a new team member, a new project and a new home. I try not to look ahead toooo much in life, but it's hard right now because everything is so exciting. 

ps. I got a few concerned + kind e-mails and tweets about my post yesterday. Don't worry. I'm commited to blogging. Everything is good.

Thoughts on Public vs. Private

In recent months I've been observing and thinking about a public vs. private life, specifically on the internet. I've taken time to really think through both sides without much resolve yet. It's a complicated issue, especially for a blogger. I've watched friends have their privacy invaded and I've experienced it myself in the past. This is not easy, especially when there is no real solution or method for prevention.

Most of us are pretty careful about what we put online. We work hard to create something that we are excited to share. We share our best work. We try not to over-share. We believe in balance. We try to trust that the internet is full of "mostly good people", but we also do things to keep safe. Things like photoshopping out an address on a house, or a date on an invitation. We try to guard ourselves and our families from, well, the unknown. We do our best. 

When I started Everyday Elsie it was for personal reasons. I wanted to start a photo blog. I think about having kids and I wanted a space to keep a family diary, in photos. That's also why I turned off the comments from day one (there are other reasons too) I like the idea of sharing life, but I don't necessarily always need to hear the praise and judgements that come along with sharing personal stuff. Sometimes silence is nice, right? I think so. 

Anyway... I have no conclusions, but I'm thinking about this daily. In the meantime I will continue to share photos of Jeremy's and my life together. We're getting ready to move and it's going to be a happy time. I want to document this season in photos.

I really want to share our life with you, but I also worry about doing my part to give my family a fair chance at reasonable privacy. Blogging is a relatively new thing and I think that privacy is something that all of us think (worry) about. I am a planner and I think that dealing with these pros and cons in my brain is just one more way of preparing for the future. I want to feel good about my choices before I even have to make them. 

To the thousands of you that are already following my personal blog... thank you. I'm honored that you want to follow along with the everyday stuff! Thanks for letting me air out my thoughts. I'll be back soon with photos. 

The little things...

Dolls.

(hi)!