happy things.

i feel like i have much to write about and many pictures to sort through and share.

not to mention lots of things to do; like organize my house + figure things out for the fall.

.

for now i just want to share a few of the happy things in my life right now:

witnessing my baby discover two. i have never actually felt happy about either of my boys turning a year older, but i am genuinely so pleased and proud to watch asher become two :)

watching this brother relationship grow.

it's still rough waters over here between these two a lot of the time. but with all the change in our family and with asher getting just a little bit older, i have seen so much goodness + closeness between these two lately :)

i have to remind myself during the frustrating moments, that being able to see love unfold between my children is wonderful and worth it.

finishing up this session on my photography blog.

because i absolutely adore these portraits + because finally seeing the finished product of a photo shoot does an artist's soul good.

(photo from our trip to the smokey mountains before the move)
when asher sleeps in the car! with all the traveling + driving that we've done lately - you can only imagine how wonderful it is when this wild and spunky little boy is fast asleep in the backseat.
bliss.
 asher sleeping, roman playing quietly, starbucks in hand + the radio turned up: these have been some of the best moments in my life lately.
worst moment you ask? driving to find something on a craigslist ad, getting lost, asher screaming bloodly murder because he wants "out", roman screaming because asher is screaming... and basically many variations on that theme that have played themselves out in our car over the past month ;)

all the new beauty out here. mountains, wildflowers, rainbows, and big skies. i love being able to live right by the foothills of the mountains ;)

this husband of mine - who always works hard to make our lives cushy and comfortable.

i can always depend on him :)

i have known aaron for thirteen years now, and it's just plain crazy.
here's to many more years + many more adventures + many more happy things to have
and cherish together. :)
what are your happy things right now?

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.

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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.