the view from here

writing notes to myself filled with the words i most need to here and hiding them in my journal so i will find them again just when i need them.

working hard on several project launches and giving myself permission to just experience it all as it unfolds.

celebrating the joy that is true collaboration.

dancing with ellie to donna summer on repeat.

sitting on the backporch and watching the rain rain rain come down down down.

anticipating next month's your story retreat and the goodness that awaits.

cleaning up after millie and ellie. a lot.

catching up on the last few weeks of project life (and still loving it).

delighting in the "helping" ellie has been doing lately as she takes one piece of laundry at a time from the laundry room to our bed or her chair in her bedroom.

feeling deep gratitude for our kind babysitter.

noticing the little ways jon is helping in the evenings.

trusting a little more with each breath.

glimpses

inspired by the delightful darrah parker and her class at wishBIG ecamp, i have taken my camera on a couple of excursions around our little home, searching for clues.

so often i apologize for the messiness of our house, and if you have visited us in the last four years, you have heard me say things like, "the next time you come it will be cleaner. just wait. really. next time." 

but these last few days, as i looked around, i found warmth and gratitude and places to tuck in for conversation and tea. i found colors that make me happy and my own reflected smile.

(artwork in this photo by jen lemen, madelyn mulvaney, and brian andreas)

i found evidence of a family with a little girl, and a mama who is working so hard each day. i found a wish in the form of a photograph that made me say, "i hope she will always know love like this." 

and today, as the sun peeked in on us through the windows, i began to notice that it is pretty beautiful around here even if it is a bit cluttered and dusty. beautiful and real and full of love. perhaps it is time to admit that it really is becoming the home i always wanted.

the (weekend) view from here