Living Arrows | Freedom

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran

When it comes to children I think freedom can be a confusing thing. Does too much freedom create unruly children? Does too little create timid children afraid to reach out? I don't have the answer but I know that throughout my childhood my mother managed to achieve a near perfect balance of freedom.

Living Arrows | Blood Isn't Always Thicker Than Water

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.

This is Iris with my mum and my mum's husband. He's been in our lives for about 7 years now. I was an adult when he entered my life and because of that I feel like I can't refer to him as 'my dad' but in all the ways a girl could need her dad this man has stepped up. He's been there for me through thick and thin. He's held my hand throughout a fair few mental health challenges, he's listened, he's talked and he's understood but most importantly he has embraced my daughter with a love that goes beyond the boundaries of 'mum's husband'. He's her Papa...he's our Papa and we'd be lost without him.

Living Arrows | Fun With Ben and Holly

Fun with Ben and Holly? An interesting title considering the look on Iris's face. She doesn't exactly look like she's having fun! This is one of my favourite ever pictures of my daughter purely because her grandparents had been telling me for weeks how much she enjoys 'the ride outside Iceland' and when I finally got round to seeing it myself this is what I was met with.

Living Arrows | There's A Toddler On The Loose!

'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran. 

Back to blogging and back to our favourite post, our weekly Living Arrows photograph. A link up sharing a snap shot of life as a child and what better celebration of childhood than a family party where you get to put on your best party dress, your fancy new shoes and you get to strut (and I mean strut!) your stuff on the dancefloor.

How To Write New Year's Resolutions

There is a simple answer to this. Don't write them. I never, ever write New Year resolutions in January. Why? Because it's a brand new year and with that comes a sense of a fresh start, a chance to start again, a chance to change, be different, be better. Some would argue that is the perfect time to start again but in the flurry of all that newness and excitement I get carried away and set goals bigger than I can achieve.

Me and Mine | October 2018

The photo above was taken as we strolled through our home town. The gorilla was promoting a local costume and character hire company and he was making quite an impression! There were lots of children (and adults!) that were afraid of this very lifelike beast but Iris astounded me with how keen she was to get near the gorilla, squealing and laughing and reaching out for a high 5! She amazes me with her bravery, she is absolutely fearless.