those perfect moments

those moments that your heart just stops beating because you know, moments like this are rare and indeed-perfect.

 

 sleepy eyes and rosy cheeks.

 an afternoon walk on a fall day with orange and yellow leaves that crinkle under feet

beautiful blue eyes that capture my heart forever

laughter

and love

 and trying new things

 climbing

 running

 and the sun captured in the sky at the perfect spot for a perfect day

these moments wrap around my heart

 the smiles and laughter

 pure goodness

 oh how i love them.

 

and moments such as these.

fridays are for

watching the construction trucks do their job across the street!

fridays are for fun. the weekend is upon us and it is always a happy friday.
now that we are driving to morgan hill 2x a week in the morning (for OT) and i'm driving to gilroy 2x a week in the evening (for work) ((making that about 5 hours of drive time; yuck!)) i relish friday. because that is our home day. i do all the house 'chores' on thursday and so friday i'm able to just 'simply be' home with the boys and not trying to pack snacks for an all morning adventure, or put on makeup and nice clothes on for work. i lounge in my yoga pants all day on friday. there's no long or fast runs on friday, there instead are morning walks around the neighborhood, playing outside in the backyard before lunch, there are naps in the afternoon and an entire day spent; just the boys and i. and so i relish our fridays all the more. it is my day of the week that i don't have to worry about work or ot and i can simply relax and enjoy just 'being home with my boys' . caleb and i baked cookies this morning. just the two of us while lucas napped. i wasn't worried about making sure his ot exercises were done' i knew we'd get through them eventually today. i wasn't worried about where we had to go next. the house was warm and cozy while the fogged rolled on outside. fall air was crisp around us. i relish these mornings all the more because they are so fleeting. i see that now as we adjust to driving and more time away from home. new routines are good, but i cherish our old ones too. i cherish these days home with the boys. sometimes my heart aches with the whispered knowing that they'll be grown and gone all too soon. their baby rolls and baby scent fill my air up with longing for time to go slow so that i can inhale their sweet scent for as long as possible.

we're excited for a restful weekend of family time.



and if you are feeling like you need a little friday inspiration? watch this video. it is amazing! my friend marisa really inspires me with how she approaches art with her daughters. it is all open ended . i always am always inspired after reading her blog and i found this video through one of her readers. so i thought i'd share. i love how we as parents have the magic to open up these beautiful experiences for our children. we provide the 'environment' and then we can simply step back and watch as they do their thing :) for the boys they are usually most interested in the backyard (exploring and collecting different objects they find, pretend play (caleb) and mud digging, puddle splashing (lucas). music (dancing and creating sounds with different instruments), building with blocks and baking (caleb) oh how caleb loves baking! there are so many things learned in these simple activities. and i am always fascinated and enjoy the simple act of sitting still and quietly as the boys play while i watch them learn and engage in their world!. i'd love to create more open art experiences for them in the future.

 what inspires you and your children?

happy, happy first fall friday! :) i can just smell my pumpkin spice candle burning, an apple pie that hubby wants to bake this weekend, the pumpkin picking hunt that will begin soon, and every fun fall thing we'll be doing this season! and that's why i love having a fall birthday boy! we get to celebrate his birthday just as the leaves begin to fall beautiful red, orange, and yellows on our front lawn :) i love the change of season. i embrace the newness and all the activities that come with each season. it couldn't be more perfect as we enter into this new 'life' season for our family with change and 'newness'. change is good. it is hard and it challenges. but it is so good for the soul. not saying i don't put up my fair share of missing 'old seasons' but i embrace 'the new' too. slow to warm up sometimes but give me time...i go in with everything i've got.

a season of strengths

i read somewhere and of course, i've heard it plenty of times.... focus not on their struggles but on their strengths. this is a season of change. of new routines being formed, new friendships budding. 'blooming' where we are planted. we're finding strength in the struggles. hope and courage are roaring.

helping little brother get out of his car seat

 i'm focusing on his strengths. his big brother love and protection that he shelters lucas with everyday in so many different ways. his silliness and sweetness all bottled up in a perfect way.

daddy's message to caleb in the morning (melt.my.heart.)

 and i'm so grateful that their daddy is beside me, sheltering us with his strength. there is just something so special about that 'father' bond that i see blossoming and growing. the days daddy leaves for work before  caleb wakes up are hard on caleb and hard on me. caleb takes up to an hour or more to get out of his funk and so i'm learning ways to help his body 'wake up' like doing massages and joint compressions and brushing. i'm learning so many great things and i'm so grateful for his OT. she's a very special person and caleb is growing in her tender care, she's an answer to our whispered prayers.

 i'm grateful for these two. their personalities and temperaments that bring out the best in one another. when one needs to be picked up...the other is there to do the lifting. lucas is my peaceful blessing. he is the calm force in our home, just like his daddy. the ying to our yangs. a beautiful blend.

  the ebb and flow of the tide brings us new things and new ways to help my sweet boy. and lucas is right there alonside his big brother. clapping a cheer for caleb when he tries something new. laughing and smiling as he watches his brother. lucas, crawling his way out on the floor next to caleb, forcing caleb out of his shell to join him.

this is a new season for us. we're finding strength in our struggle and the stretching feels good; even if it hurts sometimes.

beach day

sunday was a beach day. the air was perfectly crisp and 'beachy' i could feel my lungs relaxing with the freshness of the day. the boys were happy playing in the sand (daddy included) and i got to dig my toes deep in the warm sand with a good book.

i made a beach video since i'm all out of blog storage and can't upload my pictures. so this means...pay a monthly fee or start a new blog...leaning toward the new blog. (which means it'll mostly be the same exact thing just a new blog address with fresh storage space). i'm still pretty sad about this!

when i sit down and i look at these pictures of the boys, they fill my heart up. they don't show our struggles. they show a lot of love. love between them and love between us. people don't get to see the struggle on a blog or in pictures. we look from the outside window into peoples' lives. we don't always see their pain and sorrow. joy and happiness is much easier to see behind a camera lens and we only see what we perceive. you never know how you'll be a source of comfort to another. kindness spreads only goodness. and so i bottle up each act of kindness bestowed on me and then i try and pass on a little too. i'm so grateful for our family and for friends who pick us up when we've fallen down. honestly, it feels like we're tripping a lot these days...stumbling around trying to find our way. and i'm glad we have sweet souls who gift us with 'flashlights' to light the way, warm hands and soothing words that carry us along through the dark. They are angels on earth.