finding beauty // little big moments

"All the wealth in the world cannot be compared with the happiness of living together happily united."

-Blessed Margaret d’Youville

A few weeks back we had the pleasure of witnessing two of our loved ones become happily united. The weekend was full and good.

Love and smiles abounded. Hugs and embraces, everywhere. Sunshine and breezes, beautiful. Friends and family, by the crowds.

As much as exhaustion and fatigue set in all too quickly for this preggo mcpreggoson the presence of family and the joy in this beloved couple kept me going going going.

What also kept me going going going were the little big moments that filled the weekend with so much love and goodness and beauty. I snapped photos here and there of family moments - big and small - all that filled my heart.

These little sweet memories are what the present moment is filled with. Life. Looks. Light. Love. Hugs. Being held. Sharing stories. Sharing meals. Sharing. Coffee. Comfort. Kindness. Blankets. Mornings. Snuggles. Sleeping. Rushing. Time. Togetherness. Getting dressed. Preparing. Loving. Embracing. Seeing. Knowing. Laughing. and More.

Through it all our family made so many lovely memories before, during, and after this beautiful event and these are some of my favorites!

Smiles, Joy, and Snuggles.

Dancing. Exploring, and Fun.

Loving, Exciting, and a soon to be Aunt.

Uncles, Play, and the Little Things.

Snails, Bouncing balls, and Happy Hands.

Grandparents, Kickball, and Sunshine.

All the Joy, Authenticity, and Togetherness.

Time, Breezes, and Moments.

Storytelling over breakfasts, Porch Chats, and Coffee.

Blankets, Smiles, and all the Magic.

Sillies, Family, Moments they'll Never Forget.

Relationships, Friendships, Forever Forming.

I'm telling you. The little things. They make life lovely.

The landscape He provides us is rich and beautiful, always. The goodness that is waiting to be found and held is so incredible! And, the Truth that reigns in the love that is had by so many created in Goodness and Love can't help but radiate a Peace and Joy that surpasses all understanding.

Linking-up with PHFR, Theme Thursday for Sunflares (late submission! Promise I'll catch up soon!), and 7QT (Because I'm sharing 7++++ photos of some quick-love!).

the present moment // picnics, bowling, and some funk

lately // I lay in bed, take in some snuggles, and slowly mosey my way to the kitchen to feed my little guys. Windows get opened on my way to the kitchen. There's a path. I take it daily. Sometimes my oldest helps with the let's-let-some-light-in path and sometimes I get the pleasure. Both make me happy.

One foot in front of the other.

Toaster waffles. Juice. Eggs with some Louisiana hot sauce and avocado for mama. Bacon on days where time is our friend. We sit. We eat. They're silly and I soak it up.

There's grace in each step.

I know there is. Because even though I feel a slowness in my soul, there is a Presence that briskly helps us find our rhythm. We fall into it. As often as we can because there's a good peace there. The one you want to swim in. 

We leave the breakfast nook. They turn to play (on good days this involves minimal fighting and lots of cooperative togetherness). I heart the latter but see the fruit in the former.

I call them to the table. We do school. Slowly and sweetly. Often with little resistance. They're at that age. Everything new is exciting and time together is good time.

One foot in front of the other.

Play clothes and toys for outdoor time follow quickly and naturally. 

These days have been cool. They've been filled with sunshine and sweet temperatures. Breezes and falling leaves. A welcome change here in Texas. We each soak it up as much as possible because it truly helps us experience Him. Whether we are cognizant of it all or not. 

They play. I watch. I read. I check my Insta-feed or read an article. Off they go, running and exploring. Off they go, bickering and fussing. It just depends on the day.

One foot in front of the other.

Hands are washed. Lunch is served. Prayers are said and tummies are filled. Onto reading time before naps.

Favorites are read. Eyes are heavy. They make their last scramble and off they go. 

One foot in front of the other.

Any given day that we are home, this little rhythm of ours can be found. Sometimes in this exact order and sometimes not. Some days there is just a need to mix it up. But lately there's been a heaviness in me that I've felt before.

But on I go - one foot in front of the other.

This mama has been feeling pretty weary. Life is catching up. I'm trying to stand still but it just keeps on spinning on. All day. Every day. Spinning. Spinning. Spinning. 

I try to quiet my little soul and more often than not fail miserably. It's a sweet place that I stay away from longer than I care for. The little place where I know I can find Him. In that stillness of mind, heart, and soul. In His Words or in His Presence. That little place. 

I know in time, things will calm. I know they will because they always do. Maybe not entirely, which is okay. But calm always comes. 

Till that time, I'll try to be present to my place of weariness. Of struggle. Because it's always in this place, as time keeps spinning on, that I can look back and see how far I've come. See how much I've grown. See how much I've learned. It's always in these times that He somehow meets me, whether I know it or not. Whether I actively seek Him or not. It's always here.

One foot in front of the other.

“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” 

― Francis of Assisi

today // We threw in a picnic to change things up a bit. We've stayed indoors today to make sure our youngest is feeling better after having some tummy troubles last night.

Also, since this is taken from different angles, I'll share it with Micaela over at California to Korea. She's hosting Theme Thursday's now and this week's theme is same photo, different angle.

in the kitchen // A super amazing neighbor shared a meal with us yesterday. I couldn't be more thankful! I ended up adding some crockpot shredded chicken to her Curry Chili and we all agreed it was absolutely delicious!

Today, we'll be eating turkey burgers with some fixings (avocado, pickles, tomatoes, etc), sweet potato fries, a salad, and maybe the little chili we have leftover will get poured onto our burgers for fun.

looking forward to // All Saint's day! I know the boys are so excited about it this year. They both want to be St. George and we found some fun stuff for them to enjoy. 

At first all my heart wanted to do was sew all the things, but time and energy just have not been on my side! I still have yet to make these boys their much wanted blankets! Si Dios quiere, with time and energy, the fun will happen.

precious p update // this sweet little one is becoming quite the little soccer player. I mean...Ow! But, I'll take it. I love the reminder of the sweet little life within. 

Also, what's made my heart absolutely swell today is Precious P had his/her first round of hiccups. There's something about the hiccups that I just adore. I've felt hiccups twice today and made sure to stop everything and just enjoy my little one developing his/her lungs.

For the most part, all complications have passed. New little things have popped up here or there, but all seem manageable come our cesarean, which is better than anything being immediate or urgent. We'll be meeting with the fetal specialist on Friday and I suspect the follow-up will be good. 

praying // Feels like not enough but there are certain intentions that are always on my heart. I see so much going on in the world  and around me that I'm always quick to say a Hail Mary or Glory be, depending on what I see.

Little aspirations escape my breath all throughout the day. 

Family often comes to my heart - near and far. Friends and their intentions. The bigger and littler things that happen on the daily. 

And for grace. Always grace. For His Peace. For His Strength. For His Good and Holy Will.

Last, the Litany of Humility just isn't said in full enough. I really want it to become part of my daily morning routine. I know my days would look differently. So we'll chalk this one up to my I'm-working-on-it department.

captured // My little guys having their first bowl! A dear friend had us join their family to celebrate their son's birthday. The boys were absolutely thrilled even if they sported their deer-in-headlight faces for the first 15 minutes.

favorite scripture from today's readings //

"Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

Ephesians 2: 19-22

thankful for //  All who have been journeying along this little life of mine, with me. Thankful for this very beautiful Mystical Body of Christ that is always reminding me of His good and perfect Love and showing me His lovely and kind Face.

all in all // We're good. Moving forward and onward, slowly but surely. Life has caught up to me, but I know there is some goodness amidst this funk. Especially on days like today. On days like today, there really is such evidence of His Grace and Goodness sharing with us a little light that gives such a warmth, I know all will be well.

Thankful 2014

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! 

There are so many things that have filled my heart this year. So so so many things!

Thanksgiving always encourages me to reflect on my past year. To think about all the blessings. The goodness. The joys and sorrows. The easy and the hard. This year, the one constant other than the good Lord who provides all, is my husband. Thoughts of him filled me. Thoughts of how he's always there. Good and bad. Supporting. He's been there.

He's amazing and loving and good and funny and silly and sexy and best friend and all kinds of wonderful. I'm so very grateful for him this year (and every year really, but this year he is in the forefront.).

He makes me laugh and smile. He hugs me tight and listens. His strong arms, gentle hands, and bearded face are my favorites.

 He encourages and constantly compliments my food. ;)

He still knows how to make my heart skip a beat after all these years (even though we've been married for almost 5 years, this man has been making my heart silly flutter for more than 10 years. Not in a row, but altogether. See, we have a story. A beautiful and messy one. One that is ours. I really need to get around to writing our story!

 And, because of him, our love, God's goodness, we now have this little sweet, whom I'm crazy thankful for.

 And this beautiful boy whom I am also insanely thankful for.

God is good. His Will, even during the tough times, has been amazing. We've had our highs and our lows, but I could not have imagined a more beautiful adventure. Even if I tried.

Thankful. So very thankful. And, humbled by how much love God shares with me in such an amazing and beautifully tangible way. So very humbled.

Linking up with Cari for Theme Thursday. The theme is thankful. Linking-up with Aimee because our love is my Beauty Find. And last, I'm linking-up with Dearest Love and A Mama Collective for Coffee Date, because these are the kinds of chats I heart. Chats of love, and story, and thanksgiving for it all. :)

finding beauty // mr. happy mcsmiley and mr. grouchy mcogre

We had a snow dusting this past Monday. I am not prepared  for this. Not at all. As sweet and pretty the cold white dust is, it's just a little message about the winter that is to come.

Theme Thursday: Prepare

See, I'm in Texas. Like I said, I grew up in South Texas where there are two seasons: hot and hotter. Since living in North Texas I have experienced snow every year as well as ice storms (I did not know these even existed before moving here!). Winter has become more real to me since moving to Dallas even though I spent two good years in Washington, DC for graduate school. There was something about knowing that my time there was temporary. But, here and now in Texas, this is our home and it gets cold!

I will say one thing, these Texas Autumn sunshine-y skies are gorgeous. I am always amazed by them. The trees, the vastness, the sunshine, all of it is so pretty.

Beauty Find Friday: Autumn Sunshine

Now that I've shared about my winter fears, moving onto what we did on our snow-dust day. We finally got around to carving the little pumpkins we brought home from our visit to the pumpkin farm!

Even though these recent days have been tough, there was so much grace on Monday. So much grace.

We had a good day. And, as a friend recently said, Everything is grace. You're so right, Jenny. Everything truly is grace and by that alone has there been peace and rhythm to our days this week.

My little monkeys were funny about cleaning out the pumpkins. They both requested spoons to avoid sticking their hands in.

I obliged.

And this one was pretty happy about it.

We had a good time, a good day, and both boys were pretty happy about this new experience even though we couldn't go outside and haven't been able to till today! Thankfully the weather has been amazing today! Thank you, Texas!

I gave pumpkin seeds a try but they were a major fail. As yummy as they smelled they did not come out crispy, crunchy, and seasoned. Instead they were still slightly moist, even after an hour and I feel like the seasoning didn't take.

Ah, well! Do any of you have a tried and true recipe for yummy roasted pumpkin seeds? I'm all ears! I love snacking on them when they're good!

Finally, after all the to-do's were almost done, I asked the boys what kind of face they wanted on their pumpkins. We don't have carving tools so I made do with an apple corer and a knife.

These pumpkins are hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing after they requested their faces. Immediately Bigfoot, my Mr. Happy McSmiley asked for a Happy face! Onto the little man in the house and he shook his head at happy face. I continued to ask my little ogre what face he wanted and the next thing you know, he shared his own little grouchy face. His older brother then yelled He wants a grouchy face! Grouchy face it was for my little Mr. Grouchy McOgre-man

Prayer request for all in the North dealing with that crazy snow weather. It really is so scary and many are stuck in their homes. How has the weather been in your area?

Linking-up with the amazing women over at Like Mother, Like Daughter, Theme Thursday over at fun Clan-Donaldson, and Finding Beauty with the incredibly talented Aimee. 

{PHFR} Punkin Farm Fun

~Capturing contentment in everyday life~

According to my oldest, we went to a punkin farm this past weekend. We've never gone before, but I'm glad we did because fun times were definitely had! It's the end of the season but this little farm was a great time for both the boys and us.

The boys were so happy! Once we got in to see the animals and how ready they were to snack on the feed that was given to us to share, their little faces lit up and their little feet just wanted to go, go, go.

Just not too close. The funny thing about Linus is that he took off the moment we got there. Straight to the animals he went. When it came time to feeding them the little man got a little hesitant. It was cute and pretty funny.

There was this tractor train ride that the boys, upon seeing it, became thrilled!

However, as soon as Bigfoot realized that the tractor train was going to make it's round of the farm and we weren't necessarily going to be in sight, he kept waving at us to come follow with this little worried look.

Meanwhile, Linus was just eating it up. The tractor left and Linus did not look back.

Funny little man below kept sticking his little tongue out for whatever reason. You'll see more of that little bit of him in other photos taken.

Linus loved being able to carry his very own pumpkin. I think he was really proud that he could lift the weight and waddle around.

There was a hay maze that was pretty fun.

I love this photo of these little brothers. These shared moments and memories are the bricks that lay the foundation for their brotherhood. I'm loving watching them make these memories. I'm loving watching them love each other. Seeking each other. Playing and experiencing life with each other. That has been such a gift for this young mama.

Harry Potter made an appearance while in the maze.

I absolutely love the capture of GeekMan and Linus below. I love the sun, the sky, the hay, and the two of them, together. Linus wanted to be held while in the maze. By daddy. That in itself is all kind of pretty!

The boys enjoyed searching for their punkins. They ran around for awhile, but kept passing over them as if they weren't up to their punkin standards! I wondered if they would ever pick one!

Sure enough, they did. Punkins were picked to take home. Bigfoot's tongue made another appearance and, he too, was so proud to carry his own little pumpkin. He started talking about his amazing strength and the weight of the pumpkin.

Lately, it's been so funny how Linus goes up to his big brother and starts mumbling jibber-jabber. He tries so hard to engage Bigfoot in real conversation and his big brother definitely responds every. single. time.

What Eli?
Eh.
Tell me?
Ehhhh.
The pumpkins? Oh yes. There are so many! 
(nods head)
What's that Eli? What are you saying to me?

And, on they go...

These next two photos are so telling of their personalities.

First, we have Mr. Smiley-pants-snuggly-bug-sweetie-face.

And, next we have Mr. Grouchy-pants-make-you-laugh-personality-for-daysss.

There was this beautiful little chapel on the farm.

And, a board story along the trail of the hay-ride that ended with a farmer getting stuck in a bale of hay.

The boys thought it was funny.

Linus, by the end of our stay here, managed to stick his hands into poo, picked up and dropped to the point of almost breaking an assortment of random pumpkins, and could not stop picking up every other little thing under the sun that was on the ground (hence, the poo).

Mischief managed thanks to the wagon.

Pumpkins were picked and hauled.

Last picture of our little pumpkin farm trip was taken on a frantic-whim while both children were scrambling and Dada was ready to pack up. Obviously.

But, this next photo... I want to remember. It really was a beautiful day. The farm had so much to offer! Food, farm animals, pumpkins galore, hayrides, sights, tractor train, and memories.

The best part about these little family to-do's are all the real and beautiful moments that happen under the sun. A Dada and his boys making memories while mama just soaked up as many smiles, giggles, hugs, and love that she could.

We had a good day. Thankful for this pumpkin farm that really wasn't too far from our little home.

Did y'all make it out to a pumpkin farm or patch this year?

Linking-up with the wonderful women of Like Mother, Like Daughter for Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real and with Cari over at Clan Donaldson for Theme Thursday. Today's theme is brick.