Gratitude Project: Days 11-20

This has been more challenging than I imagined. My days usually go something like this:
1. Rush in the morning... grab breakfast on-the-go.
2. Work all day (unless it's an NST day in which I am at the doctor's office half-day and then coming home)
3. Get home around 3:30 and start my kick count which lasts anywhere from 3 minutes to 20ish minutes.
4. Rush to grab my camera to capitalize on the last remaining bits of daylight in the middle of winter.
5. Emails and dinner...
6. Husband time and collapse on the couch or in bed, likely with a book in hand.

Here's what I managed to scrape up for the second of three installments:

Day 11: Something Old

This Cloisonné vase given to us by Ray's grandmother in 2010. The picture is of General A.W. Vanaman, Gramie's uncle, approaching Lt. General Rawlings. The vase came from his military travels and Gramie inherited this piece and gave it to us as a family treasure. I wrote a bit more about this when we received the vase.

Day 12: Hands

 Another family piece. Ray's Aunt Ceil is a clay sculptor/artist and teacher. She created a beautiful piece for him of two hands. This is one of the hands that is displayed in our living room.

Day 13: Written Words

An encouragement card from my sister-in-law. She's amazing and seems to know just when I need the extra boost. This month has been super hard.

Day 14: Movement

Wow, I'm really craptastic at these movement shots. In my defense, it was dark out, we had terrible lighting with shadowing everywhere... and I didn't have any ideas.

I also made another one... with an inanimate object and some camera movement instead.

 Day 15: Technology

Ray took the reigns on this one. Weekend assignment.

Day 16: Animals

You all know we aren't really animal people. Well, scratch that. We're not pet people... but love wildlife. Unfortunately I couldn't get a cool shot of animal prints on our deck because the snow was fully melted and it was a challenge trying to find any squirrels or geese that are normally everywhere we go! We were also in Michigan and chose to utilize the lakefront and the copious amounts of birds. I added three here even though I really should've just narrowed down my options.

 If you can't have snow... sand is the next best thing!

 Not too terribly artistic, but the v-formation is something spectacular.

 Day 17: Memories

There are so many ways to go about this day's assignment. I chose a dish full of random shells, rocks and coins we've accrued in our marriage thus far. Surely the collection doesn't include all of our artifacts, but some fun items that come from our many hikes, beach walks, and adventures. The sticker is from Tahiti when we visited the French Polynesia and the islands within (Papetee, Morea, Bora Bora) on our honeymoon. Others are from hikes and various other adventures we've managed to find ourselves on. Being pregnant for nearly 18 of the last 24 months has really made me itch for a good, long hike up a really beautiful mountain. Alas, Illinois is flat as a pancake. The dish was given to us by my MIL-- it's Wendell August. She has lots of WA items and gifted us with a piece around the time we married.

 Day 18: Something New

New Woolrich mittens. My first pair!

 Day 19: Best Friend

That would be my husband.

 Day 20: Seasonal

Actually a "holiday" that doesn't make me all baby-sad. Of course I do get all worked up about making cute little valentines with my children... but it's not like Christmas or anything. Thank goodness that's over.

 Final installment coming February 19.