Reasons to Smile, 1/52

To be fair, this blog project idea originated over at Sometimes Sweet with Danielle's adorable portraits of her son's busy little life. However, when she challenged her readers to join in on the project--sharing a photo a week of anything, be it their home, their child, their partner, or even themselves--I thought it would be fun to join in.

A weekly photography project would not only give me an excuse to use this fantastic new camera Mark got me for Christmas but would also give me a goal: a reason to write every week, a theme--not simply to fall back on but rather to form my other post ideas around. Anyway, it beats rattling around in the creative bits of my brain trying to come up with an original post. A picture and a thought seems simple enough. Right? ...Right?

Originally, I thought I'd take a photo of Mark a week--because we all know I love talking, writing, and mooning about that fellow. But then reality tapped on my shoulder--Mark hates having his picture taken. Sense settled in and I realized as soon as I started that project, I would end--out of pity for his forced smiles. After the barrage of engagement, wedding, and honeymoon (not to mention holiday) photos... I think poor Amp has more than met his quota in picture taking.

So instead, I decided to base my weekly photo project around thankfulness. Or, reasons to smile as I've put it in this post's title. Of course, this past November, I hopped on the give-thanks-once-a-day bandwagon. That daily goal taught me something invaluable--that finding something to be happy and thankful for once a day goes a long way in making your day always seem better. Continuing that trend into the new year seemed a good way to go.

So, once a week, I'll be sharing a photo and a little anecdote on something for which I am thankful, something that has been making me smile. Of course, one of the weeks will probably consist of two photos, due to my somewhat belated start.

And what do we have for week one? The obvious. My husband Amp. Who makes me smile every single day with his simple, quiet ways. One kiss on the cheek, one smile, one look over the top rim of his glasses. Small things that make my heart skip and my face beam. Without fail. Sometimes even in the midst of the most heated fusses.

What makes you smile everyday?