happy things.

life has been very stressful for me lately. 

which makes me sad because in and of itself, selling most of our belongings, packing up the suv and moving out west with my family are totally things that i have hoped and dreamed of. i always long for adventure. and this is a good chance for change and for new. a good chance to dust off bad habits and replenish my soul,
our souls.

so although all of this change and new and the work that needs to be done to get there seems understandably stressful on the surface, i just didn't expect to feel this way.

.

but alas this is how it is with life. i can't always, or ever, expect things to go as i wish them to. 

it's just the natural ebb and flow of life. sometimes things feel like too much, but at the same time as i am trying to bury my head under the covers, there are so many other people dealing with their own "too much" as well.

.

having said that, today is a good day for many reasons.

i took the chance to spend time in the yard with my eager little explorer - ash. he soaked in the attention and slowly and carfully focused on all of his favorite things - checking for the bird in the bird's nest, holding my hand and saying, "go on a walk", searching for and then chasing the birds, hiding behind a tree and peeking out at me, asking me to pick him up and hold him over and over again.
calmed by his sweet meaningful baby rituals, i laid down in the grass and clover and my little blonde wonder laid down on top and sunk his little head into my chest.

and as i held onto his little body, i looked up into the trees and the little piece of sky that is still home for now, and i breathed in a good long breath of peace.

i haven't taken the chance to breathe like that in too, too long.

.

it felt so good.

life is good. 

and i want to share a little bit of the good from my life lately:

a boy who always stops to smell the flowers, whether they be the pink roses sticking out from the fence on our walk or the fake flowers on display outside the dollar store.

constantly finding a trail of mischief, and we always know it will lead to ash.

a new little basketball star in the family. and those little leather bear shoes with stripes socks and a onesie? i'm holding onto those baby things as tightly as i can for now:)

summer finally peeking out to say hello.
photographing other people. oh how i dread the editing process, but the basking in the results part is always so worth it.
and these boys. enough said.