*With Gratitude*

grat-i-tude: n. the state of being thankful.

I'm finding how much joy that comes from the simple act of being grateful.  When I slow down and look at my days with gratitude, I find there is so, so much to be thankful for...

Sweet brotherly moments...

A round of Applegrams and with my big boy...

My new uniform this season-Chaco's and cotton maxi skirts. (What's not to love about an article of clothing that has an elastic waistband and still manages to be stylish?)

Finding evidence of budding engineers as I wander through the house...

 Hot tea and dark chocolate (Lindt Dark Chocolate with Toasted Coconut? Yes please! So good I've been eating far, far too much of the stuff!  *See aforementioned elastic waistband.)

 Wandering through the yard, taking in all that's blooming...

Seasonal goodness...

This used feed bin that came from Grandpa and Grandma's farm and enjoying watching the way it becomes a jungle gym/stage/pirate ship/bus and more with these two at the helm...

Summer nights and S'mores...

...and ice cream...

A happy weeder...is that an oxymoron?

The view out my kitchen window...

These three precious boys who hold my heart...

Making colorful discoveries with my little scientists...

These snapshots into my days-they remind me of how very, very many blessings I have to count.

2 Months Today!

Job Well Done

Last week I kept I'm finding myself worrying too much about what wasn't getting done...the laundry, the dishes, planting the garden, returning that phone call, writing in Jasper's baby book.  Really the list could go on forever.  And strangely, pondering over everything that had yet to occur somehow didn't help with the getting done of any of it.  In fact, all that thinking on what needed to be accomplished; all it did was take away from the precious things that I was doing.  Very precious things like nursing this sweet babe, reading stories to my big boys, admiring block towers and the like.

That's why I decided that instead of making lists of what needed to be done, I'm so much better off making lists of what I'm doing/done instead. Because there is so much very, very good stuff that is getting done around here all day long.  And recognizing it and appreciating more is just what I need to be doing. 

With that in mind, here's what I've been doing....

* Taking the time to notice and cherish each of Jasper's tiny yawns, back arching stretches, sweet little sighs, and intent gazes all the while wondering how a month has already passed!

*Observing and wondering and swelling with pride at the all the ways these big boys of mine adore and care for their baby brother.

*Noticing new skills and an inherent need to use them.  (Emmett has a new found love of "scissoring."  As in, "I can scissor it, Mama!").

**Feeling ever so grateful for the growing need and ability to help out...

*Deciding that this is a very good substitute for a pony...for now anyways...

**Admiring all the clever (and adorable!) set ups and inventions that I spy throughout our home each day...

(A "rocket blaster". Of course you knew that.)

(A binkie holder for his little brother.)

**Hanging up the puppet show curtain again and watching the inventive, hilarious shows...

**Playing with cameras and photography.  (These boys have far more confidence with their camera than their mama!)

**Thinking that this guy of mine is has some kind of super human powers that enable him to do all he does and all the while keep everyone laughing and happy (or sleeping, in this case.) 

**Remembering that a serious case of the sillies can fix just about anything.