New goals, who dis? 🥴

But really it has been a HOT HOT minute since I have done a monthly goals post. And I’m not quite sure how to feel about it at the moment. But I’m going to give it a try.

(How’s that for starting three sentences with conjunctions? I digress.)

Here’s what I know. I have been in my feelings about a lot of things lately, and rightfully so. It’s been a challenging year of sickness, a year of adding a 4th kid to our tribe, and a year of not writing or working or creating much at all. I’ve felt a little bit lost, while feeling so very happy to be growing our family. Motherhood is something else, isn’t it?

Back in my prime blogging days, when I was building Nancy Ray Photography and speaking at conferences and doing all the things, I remember someone attended an event I was speaking at and shared all that she wanted to do. I was cheering her on to create this business and work that she was so excited for!

One of the best things we can do is remember. It doesn’t come naturally to me on the brink of a new year as I’m constantly planning and looking forward, but it’s a practice I’m committed to because we are a forgetful people. My favorite tradition that Will and I have is our Christmas Date Night - it’s a beautiful evening set aside for us to enjoy a delicious meal, twinkle lights, and to make a list of everything that happened that year. And every single year, we remember a whole lot more happened than we thought. “Oh I forgot about that!” “Gosh that was this year?!” “Wow that was such a fun trip.”

And every few years, we have a momentous year : one that carries so many significant milestones and events that it leaves a mark on our hearts and changes our trajectory for the future. 2021 was a momentous year for us.

It’s going to be a sad Halloween when we choose costumes that don’t have their own theme music. The last three years have been amazing! Greatest Showman, Frozen, and now the Lion King! Here’s to forever being a kid at heart :)

One of the things I was MOST nervous about before having our 4th baby was the fact that my due date was 2 weeks before school started! Here are 5 things that have helped this transition back to school run much more smoothly than I even anticipated.

These photos. Gosh they already hold such a special place in my heart. Thank you to my dear friend Olivia Suriano for taking these photos we will cherish forever! As I’m approaching my due date, these photos remind me what an absolute gift it is to carry life inside of me. Something I will never, ever take for granted.

I’m so excited to share my brand new audio course: An Integrated Life!

I just checked, and I officially have 1,648 photos and videos currently on my phone. This is an issue, people. And I’m fairly positive I’m not the only one. As a photographer, the funny thing is – my personal photos rarely get the time and attention they deserve.

When I first began photographing weddings, I took no less than 4,000 photos on a wedding day. Then I sorted them down to around 1,500 to deliver to my client.

Who in the world has the time to do anything with 1,500 photos?!

After being in this business for years, and after being a normal human being with a full schedule and a full life, I wish I knew this one, beautiful truth about photography:

Less is more.

We’re having another BABY! 🎉 It’s true, and I can’t quite believe I’m typing these words… Baby Ray # 4 is coming this July!

I think we are all trying to figure out what to do with 2021.

Should I even set goals when the world seems so unpredictable?

I’ve been wrestling with this question, sitting in the confusion and loss and lessons learned of 2020, feeling an incredible lack of motivation.

Today I don’t have a big long blogpost about goals and motivation and how to do all the things in 2021. But I do have some encouragement, and a few things I’m choosing to focus on in 2021.

Well I’m excited to have been invited by my friend Emily to blog about my “best of’s” for this year! She asked me and a handful of other friend bloggers to chime in, and it was SO much fun to read through all of their answers last year, I’m excited to participate again!

Never has there been a more important year to focus on the good, to focus on the best of’s. We’re all feeling heavy, so I think it’s good and right to fight for what’s fun and good and even a little lighthearted!

I’ve been doing a fun little series on my Instastories on authority, and I feel like it’s shifted the way that I look at my goals. Instead of writing out my goals for the month and checking them off one by one, or not checking them off at all because I get overwhelmed, I’ve been simply “taking authority” over areas of my life that, quite frankly, have felt like areas of defeat.

What I’ve learned is this: using a little bit of different language in regards to what you want to accomplish can be life giving! Instead of “I’m going to clean out my car” I said, “I’m taking authority over my car.” It is freeing, empowering, and for me, it’s re-established the joy and authority I have in taking care of my home.

There’s a LOT going on in my family in July!! :

Going to Beaufort, NC for July 4th with Will’s side of the fam
My Dad turns 70 on July 10th!
My little brother is getting married on July 17th!
My sister is due to have her baby… also on July 17th! (prayyyying I can make it there in time!)
We have a week trip planned to Nashville at the end of the month as well, to visit the new baby!

In case you are new here, I thought it might be fun to share a little bit about me!

Sign up for your free spot in my online class where I'm going to teach you all about how to organize your family photos on Wednesday, April 15th at 2 PM Eastern!

As soon as Will’s work went 100% virtual, we headed to Beaufort, North Carolina. His family owns a home there, and it’s been such a gift to spend a few days in a place that is so quiet and right on the water. We loaded up the kids in kayaks the first day we got here and played in the sand, saw some wild horses, a few jellyfish, and I got sufficiently sunburned. It’s been awesome.

I’m keeping my April Goals simple. Along with the rest of us, I’m now a homeschooling mama and I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew this month. But I will say this:

Choose ONE GOAL. Something that you can do for you during this quarantine. It’s hard to not have a vision for the summer or know what the future holds, but we can do something that is hard and good and fulfilling for our home and family in the meantime.

Here’s my philosophy on birthday parties (and parties in general): the more babies I have, the more simple it has to be! That philosophy has been born out of necessity, but I’m actually growing very comfortable and proud of the fact that I’m a Pinterest Perfect mom. I’m just doing my thing, and I’m very happy with that.

Covid Part 4: Economic books will, from now on, have an entire section on the Coronavirus crisis.

That’s insane. We are living in this thing. Right now. The effect this mandatory cancellation of events and closing of schools is having isn’t something we’ve ever seen before. And it’s not just the US : this is a global economic crisis. It’s everywhere. The same thing is happening all over the place. It’s bananas.