36 Months #TBCSmiles August 2017

Last week I was super short of time as I only had a couple of days at home between our holiday and going to the Just So Festival for the weekend, so I didn't have chance to post the #TBCSmiles for August. It also didn't feel quite right and my children needed me, so instead I wrote a shorter post about how we are coping 3 years after losing Elspeth and promised I'd be back with your smiles - so here we are.

Firstly can I thank 2 good friends who posted special #TBCSmiles smileless photos...they are beautiful, truly so serene and peaceful. Thank you.

A gorgeous sunflower with setting sun, poignant for remembering a lovely young lady who is always in our thoughts, especially on this day 💗💗xxx #sunflowers #remembrance #flowers #sunset #nofilterneeded #sunflowerfield #outdoorsandhappy #instalinklove #yellow #TBCSmiles #simslifeblog #simslifenature

A post shared by Sim's Life 🛍 Lifestyle Blog (@simslife1) on Aug 15, 2017 at 5:50am PDT

I took this photo earlier in the month in a field behind my Aunty & Uncle's house. I've been saving it for today ❤️ Sending so much love & strength to @thebrickcastle family 🌻

A post shared by Colette B (@goingonanadventureblog) on Aug 15, 2017 at 12:12am PDT

3 years is such a long time, yet never far behind us at all. You can read my 3 year post here if you wish. It is of course the reason why I collect my smiles, and why I ask you to share yours. Smiles are what keep us going - they're the reason we are here.

This month you shared some truly lovely photos, loads of big grins, birthdays and family reunions. Our shortlist was over 40, so we narrowed it down by choosing only closer shots and one favourite from each family. Sadly that only reduced it to 19, so I let my youngest child take over. It may explain why there are so many cool primary school aged boys among this month's 9 brightest smiles...

They are a delight. I can't even look at a couple of those without a big grin. It's nice to see so many adults in photos too - they don't have to be children's smiles - any smile is a good smile. These awesome smiles were provided by the following Instagrammers:

Max And Kai The Blog / Family Fever / Mrs Shilts

_TheMumDiaries / PorridgeAndParenting / SuperBusyMum

SusanKMann / Hodgepodgedays / NotMyYearOff

Anyone can join in - simply use the hashtag #TBCSmiles on a photo on Instagram. I share a handful every 15th of the month, except this month, but I explained that already.

If you can't see your smiles then please look again and keep watching, they can be sneaky, but they are always there...