This Moment

Playing along with Amanda today... in her words: 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Spring Is...

Spring is eating breakfast in natural morning light
with windows open to the breeze.

Spring is spending all morning outside, shedding layers as the sun rises and the air warms up.

Spring is mud- sloshy, thick, boot-consuming mud- everywhere.

Spring is new blossoms, and the hope they represent.

Spring is noticing that all things come in due time, then living it.

Spring is bounty, if you know where to look.

Spring is breaking bread and sharing, laughing, and loving.

Today marked the Vernal equinox, and we spent our day of balance in relative harmony, seeking out all the goodness that can be found underneath the strengthening sun, rooted in the warming soil, and growing all around us.

Spring is here.

11/52

A portrait of my kids every week for 52 weeks

Audrey, a self-declared Ladybug Friend, with one of many beloved backyard beetles

Henry, trying to make himself small enough to fit in the space between me 

and the armrest of one of the pieces of back porch furniture

Both outside as much as possible in these early spring days

Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...enjoying this amazing spring weather, and saying for the hundredth time that if it weren't for March, no one would live in Texas.
...noticing the symptoms of Spring Fever in us all, and smiling at the different expressions of it.
...sipping fresh coffee with relief, thanks to Nanny, who saved the day with a spare coffeemaker after our trusty over-9-year-old Braun went out... without notice... at 6am... before gracing us with one last pot (I improvised, but pouring boiling water into the lifeless shell of your most important morning machine was not a long-term solution, for sure).
...noticing the steady increase of variety and volume in the morning bird calls just before sunrise... and owing part of that observation to the fact that we've been able to have the windows open 24 hours a day for at least the past week or so.
...reveling in the very minimal 'kidpiles' to be picked up around the house at the end of the day, thanks to the irresistible call of outside play.
...learning more and more about wild edibles in our area- so far, I've found wild carrot, the trusty dandelion, and new-to-me wild broccoli! Who knew?
...feeling like a giddy kid every morning as I run out to the garden to see what new sprouts are pushing through the soil! So far, we have: onions, greens, beets, red radishes, prolific parsley (even spilling out into the yard), zucchini, marigolds, zinnias, and green beans. Also, the first flowers on our pea vines!
...loving my sweet girl's obsession with the ladybugs that have appeared on almost every weed in the backyard, and her declaration that she's a "Ladybug Friend," which is why the red-and-black beetles allow her to catch them.

Has Spring Fever reached you yet?

Happy Monday!

This Moment

Playing along with Amanda today... in her words: 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Evolution

I used to joke- when I was childless and working as a social worker popping in and out of various school campuses- that I would have kids simply for the kid art.

We'd all laugh... but deep down, some part of me wasn't kidding.

Now, don't get me wrong, that is not why we chose to be parents. It's a big perk, though, and I'm over the moon for the budding artist among us. She has a classic case of Do-The-Opposite-Of-What-You-Think-Anyone-Wants-You-To-Do-itis, so I have completely refrained from guiding her toward crayons and paper. This is something she has been pulled to all on her own, and finding little scraps of paper here and there with the evolution of smiling people, flowers, a sun (first sun ever!), and random letters (some spelling "Henry" or "Audrey") has been a joy in my heart.

I can't wait to see what else she'll come up with.

10/52

 

A portrait of my kids every week for 52 weeks

Audrey, my independent one, close yet far enough away to be herself

Henry, my Mama's boy, snuggled up before bath time