Sunday Smiles::Down The Path

After a week without our daily walk/ride it was lovely to get back to it this afternoon. The butterfly wings (and riding with no feet) was just an added bonus!

Wordless Wednesday::Into The Woods

On Mother's Day

A long awaited for rocking chair. 

The sweetest cards ever. 

Some gorgeous pink tulips. 

And our usual Sunday afternoon bike ride/walk made for the most perfect of days. 

I am so eternally grateful to get to be the mama of these two sweet souls. It was a long road to becoming a mother and I will forever be thankful to David for always believing we'd be parents, and to our team of doctors and nurses for all they did to make this dream a reality too.

And to all those for which Mother's Day is a hard day I leave you with these poignant words:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child- we celebrate with you. 

To those who lost a child this year- we mourn with you. 

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains- we appreciate you. 

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away- we mourn with you. 

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears and disappointment- we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things.We don't mean to make this harder than it is. 

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms- we need you. 

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children- we celebrate you. 

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children- we sit with you. 

To those who lost their mothers this year- we grieve with you. 

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother- we acknowledge your experience. 

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood- we are better for having you in our midst. 

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children- we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be. 

To those who step-parent- we walk with you on these complex paths. 

To whose who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren- yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you. 

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year- we grieve and rejoice with you. 

To those who placed children up for adoption- we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart. 

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising- we anticipate with you. 

This Mother's Day we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you. 

-Amy from My Messy Middle

For all those celebrating today I hope that this was the loveliest of days and that you got to spend it with those you hold most dear. xoxoxo

Our Super Busy Weekend

This was one of those weekends that had way too much going on. It's not often that we pack quite this much in and I think it's safe to say that it will be a long time before we over schedule ourselves like this again. Don't get me wrong, we had lots of fun but are we ever dragging today because of it!

The lovely view in Gloucester on Saturday. 

Making fairy crowns for the May Day festival. 

Fairy Grace. 

Fairy Emma. 

Simply magical. 

While we were up in Gloucester Dave was busy working on this section of the yard. For those that have not been to our house it was full of vines and dead trees. It took him six hours to tackle this job (and I so wish we had a before picture so the difference would be easily seen). Needless to say, he was one tired guy that night!

After we arrived home from the festival, and Dave got all cleaned up, we headed to a church gathering. It was a lovely evening full of good food and good conversation! And I took not one picture.

Which brings us to Sunday. Here is what UCC kids do while the votes are being counted from the special meeting being held to decide if we would become an Open and Affirming church. It was voted in (yay!) and a celebration (complete with rainbow cake) was had afterward. The joy was overflowing!

Doesn't every garden need a lovely peacock to keep watch? The girls have been dreaming about this peacock (and visiting her each time we were at Target) for weeks now. I was thrilled we were able to bring her home yesterday. Of course, it didn't hurt that she was on sale!

"Mama!  Look!  The lilacs are more bloomed!" -Grace

"I wish to be Daddy's daughter and Mama's daughter and Grace's sister and for two pieces of chocolate cake!"

"I wish for chickens and for Daddy to build them a coop!"

And just like that we were off on yet another bike ride/walk. It was a lovely way to end such a busy weekend. The peace of the trail and watching people smile each time they passed these two sweet girls in their matching dresses was just what was needed before we launched into what is just as busy a week as we had weekend. Have a great week, friends! 

Afternoon

Our afternoons seem to have developed a nice rhythm to them. After lunch and quiet time we have been heading out for a bike ride (for the girls) and a walk (for me).  It is delightful and the perfect way to kick off the second half of our day.  

Once we get home there is usually more time spent outside. We can't get enough of this glorious weather! Oftentimes the girls play outside while I get some chores done inside. Ah, the joys of having older littles! Today, having nothing that needed tending to inside the house I headed outside to read while the girls played. I ordered caterpillars today (hence the butterfly books we took out from the library). I can't wait for them to arrive. The girls (who have no idea I ordered them) will surely be over the moon!

This book arrived in the mail last week. I am so glad that it's part of our family library. It's just so us!

Emma, having noticed me reading, ran in to get the books on horses she took out from the library today."Mama, let's say it together!" (her way of saying let's read). So, of course we did. Much reading was done on the lawn this afternoon.  

Grace then joined us. This kid knows enough about butterflies that she could write her own book on the subject, She is going to be so excited when the caterpillars get here! Have I mentioned how much I love surprising the girls?!

And then it was back to the swing set (as always). Such a simple, classic swing set and yet so many wonderful adventures are had on it for hours each day!

From there there was the watering of gardens. Filling of bird baths. Running. Playing. Digging in the dirt. Singing. Jumping. And finally they came in. Tired, hungry and oh so dirty! The sign of another fabulous afternoon in this oh, so incredible life we are blessed to live!