Hola, friends. It's Wednesday of a short week around here. We're off to Chicago for a bit of the holiday weekend to celebrate C's 6th birthday. She's a huge fan of Navy Pier so off we go this Friday!

What are you doing for the holiday weekend?

Even if you're not taking any grand trips, promise to celebrate the ordinary moments.

“And while it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away. It is venturing to give new life and to nurture it to maturity. It is working hard for the pure joy of being tired at the end of the day. It is caring and sharing and giving and loving…” ~ Marilyn Thomsen

This is my life. My wish come true. ~ MJ

Looking up when things are looking down. ~ Paige

Man, I need a drink. ~ Marilynn

Random love notes from Hubs after a rough day. This is my life. ~ MyLittleAddiction

Gearing up for ice cream cone days on Cape Ann. ~ Joy

Sometimes you just need to take a day off. ~ Brittani

Enjoying a peaceful cup of coffee with just the birds and my chimes for company. ~ H at teddy4775 on Instgram

The boy on his bike ~ Julia

Teacher Appreciation Week begins today for us. Celebrating some special people. ~ Theresa

Water drops on leaf / so fresh and clear, round, and bright / gives life to nature ~ Jen as JenMygatt on Instagram

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Gigantic thank yous to the incredible artists who joined the party this week. You embody Marilyn's words, "daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away."

I hope you'll snap a few shots of your week ahead and tag them with #celebratethenormal.

Next week we're going head first into joy with the theme:

xoxo, MJ

First off, my dears, thank you so much for all the insightful comments throughout the regular (sort of, right?) Tuesday/Wednesday series, Chat It Up. My intent behind the creation of Chat It Up was to have a space to listen and converse like old friends, and you all have been so gracious to engage in all sorts of different topics and posts! Now we're ready to move into something new, and I'm excited!!

Can I share something I've been trying to work around for a while?

I lead a normal life.

Alright, there. I said it.

I'm married and a mother of three children. I have a full-time job in communications. I drive (wait for it) a dark blue minivan (ahk, the horror! :)). I don't have a lot of opportunity to travel. I don't eat at amazing restaurants often or bring together meals that would amaze you. I haven't (yet) created photoready interior spaces to gawk at or crafted something that would stop you in your tracks.

But.

I have a knack for appreciating the mundane and celebrating the ordinary. Perhaps it's my Catholic faith and my love for Ordinary Time over the high points of Easter and Christmas. Or perhaps it's my desire to always support the underdog, the underappreciated around us. Or maybe it's because this is my life, the one I've been graced with, the one I've worked quite hard to create, and I love this normal.

When I began taking art lessons in high school, my first instruction was to begin really seeing and looking at everything. Noticing shadows and changes in tone. Examining the saturation of light and the details of texture once overlooked. I remember driving home that afternoon and finding the lines created by telephone wires and the pattern that emerged from the curbside rocks all freshly intriguing.

So here's where you come in.

Tell me, are you normal, too? Hipsters and desperate housewives need not apply.

Every Wednesday on Pars Caeli, I'll be celebrating the normal and ordinary through words and photographs and images. I'd love for you to join me because it's a hashtag party.

Snap away on Instagram and use this hashtag - #celebratethenormal - to capture the beauty of the ordinary around you. Images of people, places, and things are all welcome. In fact, you might be one of those 'Grammers who is more about the caption than the photo so bring that on, too!! I'll be featuring these beauties on Wednesdays (along with links to your account and/or blog if you're cool with that. If you'd prefer to submit anonymously, too, please do).

You've got the whole week, and I'll check in every Monday at midnight to pick some selections for that week's Celebrate the Normal.

What's your extraordinary normal look like? Show me. I bet we can elevate it to something pretty amazing.

xoxo, MJ