365 Days of Juniper...Give or Take.

I've come full circle with my 365 day project. I ended as I began, with the Big Guy on New Year's Eve.

I didn't capture one picture a day for the whole year, but I tried. I began to peter out once the kids were home for the summer. I ended up with 191 photos and each month was represented. Overall, I'm happy with the outcome. I think it really captures who I was this year. It captures the good, the bad, and the ugly. It captures my friendships, my family, myself. It sparked my creativity, emotion, and memories.

I showed the world who I was in the year 2009, and I leave this project satisfied, with a little time capsule for myself - of myself - for the future. I'm grateful for that.

This was a year in my life:

My 365, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

My year page 2, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

My year page 3, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

My year page 5, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

My year page 6, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

My year page 7, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

Here are my thoughts as I began this project in January last year:

Who am I? This is a journey lasting 365 days to answer that question.

It's so easy to lose yourself in your labels, responsibilities, relationships...who am I underneath all of that? Who is the woman who is also the mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend?

This project forces me to slow down and spend time with me each day. I hope to learn to appreciate my face and body for what they are, not what they were or what they could be.

I want to reveal myself to myself as the days go on and see growth and progression by the end of the project, uncovering layers thought lost or never discovered.

I hope that if this project is discovered by my children later in life, they can look at it and understand who mom was as a woman, a person.

My Week...

My creation, originally uploaded by hopestudios1.

My girl WhiMSy taught me how to make a photo mosaic on Flickr! (I actually forgot she taught me this a few months ago and had to go back searchin'). Isn't this fun? You can click on the mosaic to see what I've been up to this week. Cool.

Oh, and I wouldn't be takin' care of my boy moms if I didn't mention this great giveaway on JohnDeereMom



Hurry! Run over to enter! The boys in your life (including the Big Guy) will thank you. Trust me.