halloween was an incredible amount of fun this year.

my little fireman + ariel (the human ariel, not the mermaid, she would want you to know) raced ahead to each new house.  miss belle had to be carried for a large portion of the excursion because, well, ball gowns just aren’t designed to be worn on the streets.

they loved have a little ballerina + bitty bear along, very much enjoying the shared experience.

and surprisingly…so far, their loot (three LARGE  bowls full) has stayed fairly un-ransacked.

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happy birthday to my babies…

 

my three little peaches.

i cannot believe that you are four already.  from the tiniest of birth weights to the biggest of personalities, i cannot believe how far you have come in those four years.  it is such a short time in the grand scheme of things and yet all that you have accomplished already with your amazing lives continues to push me to be better + to do more.  each + every day, i stare at your beautiful faces in wonder + awe, so thankful + so blessed.

i love you james, ella + cameron.  more than there are stars in the sky.

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i rediscovered these beautiful words via becky earl’s blog today.

and i just love them too much not to share them here with you…

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging and less tugging.

~Diane Loomans

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My three year old triplets are always asking to use my camera.   We have had supervised ‘lessons’ in how to properly hold it, how to frame an image, how to take the picture…but I am always directing their vision in order to protect my camera.

But last night, I realized that I am not allowing them to truly create when I do that and so I threw caution to the wind + let them run around freely taking pictures of their big sister’s birthday celebration.  And I LOVE the results.  L.O.V.E.  It is something I am definitely going to be doing more often…handing over the point and shoot, seeing what they come up with.

By request, I am sharing them here.  And I have no idea who took which picture, though I really wish that I did.

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making things happen | atlanta, georgia 1.22.11

the day after

as i headed out of the hotel room, for the first time in my life i did not feel as if i were leaving something behind. i closed the door, said goodbye to the room and walked out feeling free as a bird. i didn’t grab the room key or the door hanger or a napkin to take with me as a reminder of what i learned. i just left. knowing, and confident in that knowing, that everything i had was within me and not rooted in some object.

i had breakfast and for the first time in years i didn’t feel torn between the healthy option and the not so healthy option. i felt the same hunger, but i only ate enough to satiate it. not more. i held my head high as i walked through the lobby. i greeted everyone with big smiles. i engaged with strangers.

inside the airport, i looked people in the eye. i didn’t avert my gaze like i typically would. and i felt completely calm in doing so. i went to the ticketing booth and as i checked in for my flight, the computer asked me to choose my seat. i picked one in between two people rather than in an empty row. on purpose. simply because that is what felt right.

as i headed to my gate, i made a conscious decision to walk…because my gut told me to ignore the tram that was boarding as i passed it. the walk was longer than i anticipated. but perfectly so.

and as i walked, emotion welled up inside of me. spilling out as tears every few minutes.

i traveled through long dark hallways, which were punctuated with shorter, brighter hallways. and at the end of my journey, i hopped onto an abnormally tall escalator. and as i ascended into a light, airy terminal, i was struck with the revelation that the journey was an exact metaphor for my life up to this very point.

i spent most of my years in a foggy, confused place. dark days that were spotted with clarity + God’s light. but those bright spots didn’t last for long.  and i wanted that clarity. i wanted God’s light to fill me, to fill my life. and so i climbed. for so many years i climbed, bit by bit dragging myself out of that muck. and at the top of that impossibly tall mountain i found myself at making things happen.

or rather, i believe that making things happen found me at the top of that mountain.

and she picked me up + righted my perspective, she dusted me off + prepared me to fly. and then with a sudden push, she sent me in the direction of my gate so that i could take flight.

as i walked through the hallways and up that escalator, i thought through all of the metaphors. i had conversations in my head about the power of it all. and as i stepped off of the escalator, i suddenly stopped short. i walked over to a random bench in a gate that was not mine and i sat down. and i wrote. i took those thoughts swimming around in my head and i put them in my journal.  because i felt compelled to do it.

it felt strange to listen to my own voice, to trust in something greater than myself. but it also felt powerful.

i started off on new footing the day after making things happen. and the journey i am taking is one i want to share here. it is a journey of following my own voice. of walking down the path that God has laid before me, without question. of having faith. of believing in myself. of trusting myself. of moving forward. of walking the walk.  step by step.

and taking on each task bird by bird.

(thank you anne lamott for coining that phrase…and thank you shannon for sharing it with me)

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Just had to share with you a little peek from my daughter’s Homecoming this year.  I cannot believe that I have a daughter in high school…and yet, it’s true.  Craziness!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I know I am slightly (okay, very much) biased, but how beautiful is my baby sister?

She just graduated from Butler, is off exploring her dreams…and I couldn’t be more proud of her.

 

 

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This, is my baby girl. I know, I know, she looks nothing of the baby she once was. At fourteen, I wouldn’t expect her to. And yet my mind still sees her as that chubby little baby or curious kindergartner at least half of the time when I look at her. And even if she looks all grown up now, even when she is all grown up…I will always think of her as my baby girl.

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