February was a long, hard month at the Maughan home, but the joy project continued anyways. Luke was gone for 8 full days and nights in NYC. Brody, Piper and I got the stomach flu (WORST FEAR) while he was gone. We started going stir crazy with winter blues and cabin fever bad. Then, all three of my loves got Influenza A. Both Luke and Piper ended up in the ER last week, and Luke was even almost admitted for pneumonia. Phew…so many bad things that we could dwell on all squished into one tiny month. But instead, we are looking for joy. Every single day. In the simple things. I am so grateful for this project to help me keep perspective! I don’t know what I would do without my camera. I have found SO MUCH happiness from recognizing how beautiful the everyday things in my life are. I love love love love this project.

I find joy in how much my kids love their dad. He is such an amazing father and husband. It makes goodbyes extra hard.

I find joy in how sweet Brody is…even to his sassy sister.

 I find joy in how curious Piper is.

I find joy in watching my mom be a grandma. She seriously makes a trip to see us almost monthly, and my kids eat up every second with her. I find joy in having deep, meaningful conversations with her. I find joy in watching her example as a mother, grandma, sister, wife and disciple. I find joy in letting her hold my puking baby all night long…..while I rock myself in fetal position.
I find joy in just being a mom. I love the days where I have all my work done and I get to be a stay at home mom instead of a work from home mom. The snuggles, getting my kids ready for the day, planning fun activities, walking them through meltdowns. I love every part of being a mother. Every single second.

PART 2: INFLUENZA A

I don’t love when my babies and husband are incredibly miserable and sick, but I do love the extra cuddles and the moments of relief. I have so much to be grateful for during this hard week of sickness. We had so many thoughts and prayers from family and friends. Meals were brought in almost every single day by such loving people. I didn’t get sick. That was a miracle. We spent so many hours together in the death zone. There were so many cuddles. Luke was still able to work every single day from home. Piper felt like a princess. Brody got unlimited amounts of screentime (next week may be rough).And I got to hang with my best friend, Rachel, for three days straight.

Kylee Maughan

Kylee started Kylee Ann Photography 9 years ago, and has since grown from a one woman amateur show to a full associate team. We shoot 50-75 weddings a year, and thrive on kindness and service. After a year of teaching Intro to Photography at the local technical college, she discovered that helping other entrepreneurs create thriving businesses is what fires her up! She hosts semi-annual Kylee Ann Sleepovers all over the US, speak at conferences and teach online courses about running a small business and marketing.

kyleeannphotography.com/kylee