simply tuesday

"If it's true what Marion Roach Smith says, that small moments are where life is truly lived, then we have to count all the small moments, not just the pleasant ones. The day's also have small moments of rejection, humiliation, disappointment, regret, misunderstanding, heartache, and pain. These are our moments too. How we define "small moments" is crucial to seeing, embracing, and learning from our whole life, not just the pretty parts. These small moments can offer hints of a greater reality just like the lovely ones do. But in these, it can be harder to find." -Emily Freeman, Simply Tuesday

I don't know about you, but my day was certainly filled with an array of these not so lovely memorable moments. Beauty certainly was scattered throughout the day but there were also many small moments that I must stop and try to learn from. How do I need to grow? Where do our children need direction and grace today? How is God looking to use me today even amidst the no so pretty parts???

giant slip n slide

I hope this is how they remember their childhood; simple, yet so full. 

mud baths

more signs of summertime

her

We were home on Sunday afternoon, just the two of us. I was downstairs folding laundry when I heard music coming from the stairs. She always plays well independently but is never too far from me. I heard a sweet voice singing and I stopped what I was doing. I love her passion for life; how love and light just flow from her. I stood there song after song watching her from afar as she performed. So grateful for the reminder of how fleeting these moments are.

Made me think of these words I read recently. "The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you"

Oh, how thankful I am for the smiles she brings me.

the neighbor's sprinkler and pretty light

the shift

There always seems to be a subtle shift in our home with daylight savings time. Clothes are traded for bathing suits, lunches begin to take place at the pool, outdoor play continues until the sun sets in the evening hours, and daily baths seem to happen in the lake, pool, or hose.

I am so grateful for this slow and simple rhythm that continues into the summer days. It's such a special time of childhood; of motherhood. I wish I could bottle these memories somehow. This image does that for me in some crazy way. This scene I walk into throughout each day is a quiet reminder of all there is to be grateful for.

It isn't the "stuff" of life that makes my heart race; it is the everyday living. It is the everyday beauty.

the end of a fun day

duck hunting

she shines

messy braids underwater

homemade mudslide

52 Saturday Mornings | week 11 | spring soccer begins

This year I am taking part in a weekly collaborative photo project called 52 Saturday Mornings. You can see the entire group of images here.

simple fun

let's go fly a kite

library time

quiet morning

perfectly imperfect

Fridays, sunshine, and ....chickens

calm among chaos

No doubt, the days of motherhood can feel chaotic and messy at times. And then there are moments like this. The moments we can just be. 

This is one image of a collaborative project called Wherever I am With You, involving a group of mothers who make it a priority to get in the frame with our children each month.