The warm sounds of crackling flames shooting into the starlit sky; the delicious smell of roasting marshmallow ooey gooey goodness nestled snug between two graham crackers and a chocolate peanut butter cup—these are the moments that make all the work of preparing to take 3 children on a camping trip worth it. :)

Of course, nestled into those moments are the joyous cries of delight from my darling daughters as they learn how to toast their very own marshmallows (an important right of passage in any young girls life) or the wide eyed awe and captivation of trying to understand the craziness of the flames.

Vacation. A word that evokes a powerful, pleasure-filled place within my brain. I get a chance to step away from the "routine" to a place of quiet surrender in an almost surreal experience. This year I coveted our vacation with an unusual vigor. I needed a fresh perspective, I needed a time to just sit back and take in all the changes that my children have undergone in the last few months of "growing up"—the mannerisms, the changes in speech and attitude, the awareness of their new heights and different levels of maturity.

Things never stay the same. Vacation is a good time of reflection for me and a reminder to wake up from any stupor that threatens to imprison my mind and cherish each and every moment I have with my precious family.

This year Papa and Nana Coates, Greg's parents, flew out from North Carolina to spend their vacation with us. The fact that each of our children have them wrapped firmly around their little fingers only adds to the joy of watching them interact together. The girls love them so dearly and truly enjoy every moment with them. There is something powerful in watching different generations of a family love each other, enjoy each other, and teach each other incredible lessons.

Memories were created, amd some of the highlights were captured to remind us of the details our minds will all too soon forget. Here is a glimpse into our vacation, something I pray our children will treasure their memories of forever.

Papa and Nana Coates, thank you for coming out and spending your vacation with us. We love you!

Click here to see the photos...

Well, if you have been following this project from the beginning, then you have learned a whole lot about me and my sweet family. I have documented fears, hopes, inspirations, adoption adventures, various illnesses, heartbreaks, victories, quirky tendencies, and favorite things—to hit the highlights. ;) In short, you have gotten an open and at times raw look into my life.

This project simply started out as a personal challenge to myself. Could I manage to take a photo, process it, and post it every single day for a year? And could I be real—completely frank—about myself and my life while doing it? It turns out that it was a challenging "yes!" I have traveled across the country, had 2 computers die, and faced a host of other really good bumps to derail this goal. However, none of it stopped me. I have had my hands on my camera every single day during this last year. Between business and personal work, I have shot over 30,000 images in the last 365 days. For this project alone, I would guesstimate I spent at least 400 hours of my time. Some days I felt inspired; other days I didn't. Some moments I really wanted to quit. Period. But I didn't. And I am so glad that I pressed on. This project has become so very precious to my family, and it will be part of what I am able to give my children, almost as though they get my photographic and journalistic diary from a year of our lives. I like that idea, and that has just become an added bonus, because it sure didn't start out as the goal. :)

Today is the final image for this project. Some have asked if this is the end of this blog, and the awnser is "Absolutely not!" The blog will continue, and every once in a while I will post some tidbits from my life, but it continues to have its primary purpose of showing some of the latest and greatest kids and families I have had the pleasure to capture. In fact, I will even be starting a new and very different sort of project very, very soon! However, in this project it won't be my family's story that is told. ;) So keep a look out for that project to be announced in the next several days.

Now, I cannot end this entry without giving a huge internet thanks to my dear husband without whom this project would have fallen flat. Greg has been an incredible source of encouragement to me to continue on this journey when I felt defeated, and he has worked daily as well on making sure it did get posted to this blog.

And lastly, to all of you who have been reading this story and following this project: it has been amazing to see your interest in my vida loca, to recieve your emails and your comments, and to learn more about you. Thank you! :)

About today's photo: We decided to take a bit of today and explore a park nearby where we now live. I captured this moment by shooting through the hole of the climbing wall at the playground.

My family is one of my greatest sources of inspiration and movtivation. I dedicate this project to each one of my children: Rachelle, Ariana, Emily, and Anna. I adore you all. You inspire me every day to seek to be better then the last. Thanks for allowing me the privilege of being your mommy.

Oh, and for tomorrow? I have decided to take the day off! ;)

Anna was so enraptured with all the hussle and bustle involved in moving yesterday that she was perfectly content to just take it all in. She was amazing. She truly loved every moment of the process, so much so she refused to nap a wink for fear of missing something.

Today was mainly clean up with a few things left to donate, transfer, and toss. So, because I value the power of a solid sleep schedule for my children, I asked Nana to watch little Anna today. This evening, when we all got home Anna was so excited to help. I promise; she understands pretty much everything that is said to her at this point and is enjoying carrying on small, simple conversations with us. So tonight when we explained to her that we had finished up the moving she decided to go over to a box and do what she had seen everyone do yesterday: squat at a box, grunt really loud, and try to lift it. ;) We all busted out laughing; it was so cute. She just wanted to help and show off her new skills. Ha! It made for a perfect end to yet another long, busy, and tiring day.

Seriously, how could you not smile at this?

Man, was today a long day, and it is still not quite over. However, I am amazed at how much we did get done today: an entire house moved and my picture of the day taken, processed, and blogged. Come on guys; that has got to be some sort of record!

Today has been challenging; all sorts of emotions have washed over me. Change is hard. Downsizing is hard. Not having my new living room arrangement work out the way I wanted it to, as silly as it sounds, made me emotional. (I will chalk that up to fatigue.) ;)

This is such an awesome adventure though—and a humbling one too, I might add. I have learned that I really did not realize how important all this stuff was until I tried to get rid of not just the stuff I would not miss but also some things I really liked. And the reduction of pure square footage? Well, let's just say I have been seriously feeling it. However, this adventure—this challenge—has been so good, so full of so many blessings that all my big negative feelings honestly seem ridiculous. That is the problem with feelings; while powerful, they are totally not rational.

So, now it is time to clean up the old place, unpack the new, and probably get rid of some more stuff. :)

Now I have to give a huge shout out to all the amazing friends and family we had that showed up to help us today! You all worked SO hard, did such a fabulous job, and were so positive. It was incredible. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives. THANK YOU!

Family is precious to me, both my family and the one I was born into. Unfortunately, while I do come from a large family (I am the youngest of six), we are not close. That is a fact that grieves me deeply.

However, they have taught me some important life lessons. For instance, being blood related means nothing; connection is still a choice. Relationships take work to build regardless of how they are formed, and actions will always speak louder then words.

Those lessons took on a whole new meaning when we choose to adopt. Choice. Everyone has a choice, and our families had choices on how they choose to respond to our children—and us, for that matter.

I am grateful for the one sibling I have that not only accepts and cares for me but also for my children. Meet my brother Gary. Gary and I do not always get along. In fact, there are times when we could not possibly disagree more. However, I know he cares about me, and I know he cares about my children. I know because of his actions and the choices that he makes.

Like tonight. Tonight he purposely spent time with each of my kids, loved on them, talked with them, tickled them. Never before in my life has such a sight been as precious at it is right now. To have family that cares is a gift. To be loved and cherished is amazing.

So, dearest brother Gary, though I may not say it enough, and though there are times I would like to bop you upside the head, I want you to know that I am deeply grateful for you. I love that you are getting to experience the gift that my children are and that you have made the choices that you have to care about all of us. We love you!