Half way there

*This is a snap taken from this week's beach adventure with dear friends. It is, as snapped :D

It has been a most delicious summer. We've had adventures as a family, trips together and apart... gatherings with friends, and quiet days of doing lots of nothing. It is perfect. It is exactly why I love summer. It's when I get to connect with my children, have fun and relax. I have flowers on my deck, and plants on my covered porch. We've created fairy gardens and a dragon's volcano lair. We've learned about managing spending money, and we've gone to grandparents' house and been spoiled with attention. We've been to the beach, and swam in our pool and our grandmother's as well. We've gone to a carnival. We've spent whole days in pajamas. We've had dessert first, breakfast for dinner, and crazy what's-your-favorite-quick-dinner-you like dinners. We've had delicious meals from the grill. We've gone to restaurants, and ice cream stands.

And we still have half of summer left.

{sigh}

I savor the softness of getting up early-ish (for me), tending to my flowers, and then enjoying breakfast and coffee on my covered porch. I love that my Little Miss S loves to get up early with me, so that we have together time, then quiet time to ourselves, only a screen door between us.

I love that my Older Than I Like Miss K is my night owl, and loves to come in and chat at the end of the day in my room. We tell stories, dream about the future, tease, and talk about girl stuff.

I'm telling you, life is golden.

I love that my children don't need constant entertaining or stimulation. They can easily play, read, dream, whatever. We savor the bliss of summer together. We are summer souls.

Now, I love my work, and have in some quiet moments even done some planning for the coming year. And we have certainly had times when we've all gotten on each other's last nerves. And I TRUELY love each season for what they each bring. But right now, I fully love the... fullness (forgive the redundancy please) of summer. Time. To think. To breathe. To laugh.

I am grateful that summer allows us to savor all the gifts we have.

Peace is where you grab it

I had the pleasure to sit on my deck after dinner, in the quiet of twilight. The peace of a fading ski, bird chatter, and the muffled laughter of the girls inside does my heart and soul good. Something about a moment to sit and absorb the world around me keeps me going and smiling while I'm at it.

Thank you for the gift of my little deck garden. My happy little blossoms that provide shelter from the craziness around me is such a peace-filled hobby. And one that connects me to my mother, my mother's mother, and her mother before her. Thank you for the gift of earth, of flower, and of appreciating time to take it all in.

5 21 11: finding rainbows

Finding Rainbows

This week I am reminded to find the rainbow on rainy days! When we are all so crazy, running around and trying to get lots done... when I hear bad and sad news from family, friends and students- that's when I found a magnificient rainbow reminding me to STOP and see the beauty and gifts I am so fortunate to have.

So today I'm thankful for finding an intense, brief double full arc rainbow that my daughters and I got to share together.

Thanks, God.

Sorry for the poor photo quality. I did a quick edit so I could post and run... :)

Day 114: I'm so lucky

Day 114: I'm so lucky...

Today is crazy. Following a fun and family filled, crazy holiday weekend away, the girls had to get up and get to school. I need to reassemble my house, find places for all the new things, get food, do laundry, and put away the new clothes we picked up last week before going out of town. Whew.



My little Miss S slowly got up, and gradually got ready. I threw on my sneakers next to her as she finished getting dressed at the top of the stairs, so that she can sit on the heat vent. When she was ready, she crawled in to my lap, gave me one of my favorite around the neck squeezes, and said, "I'm so lucky I have you."



Melt. My. Heart.



The conversation that flowed was brief and filled with "I love you more than..."'s. It was a perfect moment.

It's a great day to be Mom. Thanks God, for that. What a great shot in the arm on a day that is filled with drudgery. I am so grateful.



And thank you to Tara Whitney (amazing photographer, artist, Mom, you name it) for posting a heart warming moment on her blog, which spurred me to write down this golden nugget. It was such a quick flash, something that can fade from memory so quickly. I am grateful for the inspiration to write it down.

Day 66: Sunny side ice

Day 66: Ice and sun

Today I am thankful for the sun. We woke up this morning to snow, ice and huge puddles (flooding) everwhere around. As I went around town running errands, the grey sky gave way to a bright and cheery sun, making all the snow and ice postively glisten.

Today is my day off, so I have time. I stopped and played with my phone camera, I played with my "Hiptastic" app, and my Instagram app. I played with reflections, and laughed at myself in hat and giant goofy sunglasses... maybe I'll post that tomorrow. But it is amazing just how heartening the sun beaming down and lighting up the day is. I am thankful to have had the chance to play with the sun and it's glorious light for a little bit. Yay sun!

Day 64: cleaning up

Day 64: cleaning???

Yup. Cleaning.

Today I am grateful for picking up pieces, putting things where they belong, and doing some light dusting and sweeping. It feels good to have a clean floor to walk across, to feel like our home is open and welcome, ready to greet us and all our friends or fammily who may join us here. I am happy to have the kids clothes ready for them, and my kitchen ready for the next meal. I am thankful to have a place for our family, the art we create, the toys we play with and even more importantly, the space where we can live, love and be together. Having a few hours of picking up and doing light cleaning helps me to remember how blessed we are. So for today, I am thankful for cleaning.

Day 63: just because

Day 63: Just because...

I fell out of the habit. I didn't have a photo, so I put it off.

I'm back. I am grateful today for friends who notice the importance of taking care of each other. I'm grateful for the internet, and being able to easily find renewing, inspiring sites that help me reintention (made up word of the day) my day and purpose. I am grateful for the knowledge that being grateful makes me more grateful, which makes me more appreciative, which brings more of everything right into my path. "The car goes where the eyes go"- Racing in the Rain.

Today, I am grateful for the reminders the universe has sent to me to be grateful!