When people ask what I do, I usually just smile and say, “A little bit of everything.” But the truth? It’s a lot of everything.

When I’m not wiping down counters or drying teenage tears, chauffeuring the girls to school, events, jotting blog ideas, framing up the perfect photo, getting ready for my next photo contest or art event, or wandering through the woods looking for that next big shot with my camera in hand – I am juggling the countless pieces that make up my beautifully chaotic life.

Most days, it’s just me holding down the fort while my husband is away working 16+ days a month. I’m the one making sure everyone gets where they need to go, keeping the house running, and being the soft place to land when emotions run high. It’s a lot … physically, mentally, emotionally … but love fuels every load of laundry and every late-night conversation in the hallway.

“God doesn’t just see where I am — He sees who I am becoming. Keep pressing forward, even in the chaos, because He’s writing a purpose into every ordinary moment.”

There are weekends lost in laughter with family and friends that I don’t get to see nearly enough. Days spent helping remodel the old house in Athens, peeling back layers of time to make room for something new. Sundays when I sit in church, letting the message wash over me and give me just enough strength to face another week. Early mornings or dusky evenings in the garden, pulling weeds – not just from the soil, but from my restless mind. Every now and then, I sit in the stillness, breathing deeply, reminding myself that I am more than the lists, the errands, and the expectations.

Sometimes I am met with misunderstandings or harsh words — labeled ungrateful or accusations of nagging, when all I am really doing is trying to hold the seams together. Even then, I dig deeper – not for validation, but for purpose.

Here is the truth: between the never-ending housework and soul-work, I am doing something that may not look like much to others, but means the world to me.

I am studying. Reading. Writing. Pouring into schoolwork with tired eyes and a hopeful heart. Not because it’s easy – it’s not – but because I believe that there is more out there for me.

Maybe one day, not so far from now, you will find me behind the storefront window of a cozy little photography studio tucked into downtown Nacogdoches. Walls lines with captured moments that I have taken with stories to hear about this one/that one, stories that are too big for words. A place where people come in hoping for a good photo – and leaving with a memory wrapped in light.

Until then, I’ll keep showing up – for my girls, for my goals, and for this messy, beautiful middle that makes the dream worth it.

Because this isn’t just my to-do list.

It is my becoming.