Wordless Wednesday::A Morning Walk With Emma

This Morning

Late this morning we headed out on a walk to pick up the car from the mechanic. Dave had dropped it off yesterday, and since it was going to be a nice day today we said we'd happily walk to pick it up whenever it was ready. As we were working on lessons this morning we got the call that the car was all set. We finished up what we were doing and set out on our adventure. The sky was blue, the colors on the trees were amazing and there were many, many treasures found along the way. We had a wonderful time walking and talking and seeing things that we don't normally get to see when we drive by. It was a glorious day for a walk, and while it's crazy how much the car cost to fix the memories that were made during that walk are truly priceless. xo

8:30am

The girls joined me on my morning walk today and rather than taking the typical picture of them holding hands while we were walking I thought it would be fun to snap one of our shadows. This one was by far our favorite. Seeing our three shadows together made me wish that Dave had been with us on our walk too. Oh, how great it would be to have all four of our shadows in this picture!  It also made me remember another post I shared about shadows a few years ago (it's wild to look back and see how little they were in that post)! There really is something magical about shadows, isn't there? xo

A Walk With Grace

This morning Grace joined me on my morning walk. It's rare that she's up early enough to come with me, so when she wandered into our room earlier than normal this morning I figured that this was the time to invite her along. She has wanted to come with me since the time that Emma came but I hate to wake her up. She was thrilled to be invited along and quickly got dressed. We headed out into the chilly morning air and headed to our destination. We walked hand-in-hand, with Grace chatting and noticing all sorts of wonderful things. 

"Mama, why are there roses still blooming? Isn't it too cold for them?" 

"Mama, look at all these Halloween decorations! I love the ghosts and the pumpkins and those chickens!" 

"Oh Mama, look, I get to see the sun rise!" 

We crunched through leaves, chatted about Halloween and wondered what happens with non-Monarch butterflies during the cold winter months. Rosy cheeked and happy we returned to our car. "I had so much fun, Mama, thanks for inviting me along!" "Me too, sweet girl! We will surely do this again soon!" And off we went, back to our sweet little family in our sweet old farmhouse for a yummy breakfast of eggs and toast and to plan the rest of our day.

On My Morning Walk

Every morning I head out for a walk. I have been doing this for just about a year now and in that time it has become a completely essential part of my day. During my walks I spend time thinking about all sorts of things. Everything from what we have going on that day to the events taking place in our world to what we're having for dinner are contemplated during my walks. I use that time to reflect on our family (our family being the four of us that share this space together daily, as well as the rest of our of family who is not here with us all the time but that is always on my mind) and all that's going on. I think about the things that we totally rock at as well as the things that we may need to pay more attention to. This is my time, and I savor every step, every thought, every minute that I'm walking. I take in the sights, the sounds, the goings on of the town that we call home. It was in my morning walk taking that I began to see the beauty of this town, a place that I have struggled with for many moons. Having grown up in a beautiful, small town in Connecticut living in this town (which is, technically, a city) has had me feeling like a fish out of water for a good long while now. If truth be known, it's a much bigger place than I'd like to be living and raising my babies in. Regardless, seeing this town by foot has made me truly appreciate it and feel much more connected to it. These walks have been such a blessing in more ways than I can count. 

Most mornings when I head out Emma is awake. She is, after all, the first tiny human up each day. Each day begins with her snuggling in bed with David and I. Slowly, as her Papa and I wake up we roll out of bed. First David, then me. Each day as I get ready she asks: "Mama, can I come with you on your walk?" Usually I reply with a "Oh, Em, I'll be back soon. I walk so fast, sweet girl." and she generally seems OK with that. So yesterday when she asked I surprised her by saying "yes". She quickly got ready and off we went. We walked hand and hand, this adorable walking companion of mine and I, and as we walked we talked about all sorts of things. She got to see our town as it was just starting to get going. Main Street was pretty much a ghost town and the few people that passed by us smiled and said "good morning". Those "good mornings" always make me smile and feel so welcome though there seemed to be an extra sweetness to them yesterday as she and I walked together. We chatted about how much fun we were having and made a plan that we would take a walk in the snow together, just Emma and I, on the first snowy day. As we were coming to the end of our walk we passed by the local Catholic school. Emma got to see the kids heading off to school and it was then that she held my hand a little tighter and said: "I am never going to leave you, Mama." I have always known how much our girls love this sweet life of ours but there was something about that moment that just made it all the more clear for me. It was then that I also realized how much having that time together- just Emma and I- meant to her. I'll surely bring her along on my walk again. And I will do the same with Grace too. What a special way to start the day and what a wonderful way to connect each of these sweet girls that I get to be mama too. I'm looking forward to our next walk already.