Ariana in Time Out

There are only three more days left until moving day, and we still have so much left to do. I feel like somehow our stuff is multiplying in secret, thus preventing us from having it all packed yet. Sigh. It will get done though; I keep reminding myself of that. :)

Today I grabbed this shot as Ariana took a moment to relax and review her "to do" list. I could not help but laugh out loud as I saw her sitting on Emily's little chair oblivous to me grabbing a couple of pictures. Yeah, I am confident that she will like this one. ;)

Anna makes a new friend named Diego

Despite horrible allergies and a yucky headache this morning, this afternoon ended on a very sweet note. We had the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of a very speical young woman named Maritza today and have some incredibly yummy food in the process. ;) We also got the opportunity to meet some new friends, as did Anna.

Anna met a little boy named Diego, and they really hit it off. They were SO adorable to watch and very sweet. I really enjoyed capturing this image of them giving each other hugs. :) Beautiful—the world needs more hugs, I think. When do we lose this? The ability to get excited over meeting new people and show them that they matter is one of the many reasons I adore children.

Greg on Date Night

Before we got married, many awesome couples gave us what we have learned is very sound advice: "Remember to never get too busy to take time to connect. Have fun and enjoy each other no matter how busy life gets." Having a regular date night has been one of the ways we do that. By regular, I don't mean it happens to be on the same night every week or even that we always do the same thing, but that it happens at least a few times a month. Just Greg and I. Sometimes we are so tired just sipping on a drink and relaxing sounds like a prime slice of heaven. Other nights, we are more adventureous.

Tonight was a simple dinner and movie sort of date, but boy was it so nice! It is hard to believe that in just a month I will have been married to this man for 9 years. Some days, it feels like 80 years; other days, it seems like just yesterday. Either way, I would do it all over again in an instant.

Thanks, honey, for a wonderful date night. You truly are my better half. :)

My Encourager

Today was catch up day, a day where I devoted every single moment I could to catching up on some business stuff that I needed to finish. Anna was my little encourager throughout the day, periodically coming in to give me hugs and kisses and giggle. :) Words cannot express how very grateful I am for her and the gift she is to me.

Tonight, like every night, Anna and I played "chase and tickle." I chase her, catch her, and tickle her—complicated, I know! But she loves it. Who am I kidding? We both love it. Tonight I wanted to make sure I gave her extra attention since I had been busy all day today. She didn't disappoint; her giggles and kisses were so precious, and the great part is that I actually managed to capture her through photography this time. Usually, she sees me grab the camera and stops, but tonight she was perfectly content with me playing with her while I shot a few images too. Yay! I may have looked ridiculous, but that is just fine with me.

Mommy loves you, Anna. Thank you for all of your wonderful encouragement today.

Ariana Reading Austen

For the last couple of months I have had the pleasure of introducing my daughter to the wonderful world of Jane Austen. I so truly enjoy the escape that a wonderful, well written novel provides. And few writers have ever so eloquently and profoundly captured the truth of girlhood better then Jane Austen.

Tonight, as I listened to Ariana read Pride and Prejudice out loud, I realised how very sweet these moments with her have become. The joy of opening up a hidden and unknown world that reading brings to my daughter, mixed with watching her grow and develop skills she at one time could not even imagine having, is so completely rewarding. It is beautiful, a simply beautiful life moment.

While I may, at times, be tempted to hide from my life, I do enjoy it and continue to be so very grateful for it.