Autumn Moments

  These photos are little moments from around my home. Moments that have made my heart glad through the last few months. This is what makes life worth it all. There is so much confusion, pressure, and stress, and it can all get so overwhelming. These moments help it all.


My dad made my sister this pie for her birthday. It was so delicious and there is just something special about a pie! Their smiles are so full of life.

                                                             Cousin love. It's beautiful.

                     The moment you open a gift you are pretty happy about receiving.

                                                  Aunty made her a surprise special cake!

                                   Spending time with daddy outside is often pretty great.

                           These little nuggets were growing up so quickly and just so adorable.

                                         November light out my living room window.

                                             I was in awe of their color palette.

                                                        A November walk in beauty.

                                Strawberry blonde hair for just a while before it turned brown.

                                           Her talents are many. Her smile is sweet.

                                                   A friend to hang out with.

                                                       ~Singing happy birthday to you ~

                                    Their last nurse together before they go to their new home.

Reminders to me that there is much celebration and joy in my home even in the imperfection and strain of it all.

Holding A New Baby

  How our bodies curve inwards and our senses are drawn in a different way when we are with a baby. We often snuggle them close ~ holding them to our hearts. It is purely beautiful. As children get older does their need to be held and snuggled close recede?  I don't think it does. Maybe there is a need to stifle that wish and try to fulfill it with other things because of how life changes, but always we long to be held close and to feel safe. These photos are of some lovely precious souls snuggling our new baby close ~ sharing parts of their soul with her and blessing her with kindness.

Trying To Know

I can hear the call of the geese as they journey to a warmer shore
Sunshine warming my hair through the window
Glowing in the light
Winter's chill seeps through the old window too
And the painting on the wall in my view is a dream picture that I hold close
Tiny sighs beside me signals the smallest one's asleep
And a strumming guitar in the distance makes my heart glad
A bubbling kettle, warm sips of tea
The cascading water of the shower
A December cough from the living room
My heart, my family, my home
All here, All safe
The chaos, interwoven with grace
The heartache, interwoven with love
The act of holding on,
Each moment, day and year
Trying to know,
Today do I hold them closer
Or let them go a little farther
Pictures all around me of the past
As we make all the memories
To fill  hearts enough
That later
They will always long to come home

FIVE Children

   A few weeks back I decided to try to get all my children ready and take some family photos. They had no warning and we got ready in a very short time. This is the result (and getting some of them in the clothes they were in, as simple as they were, was a battle and a half). I also decided to try some with kittens just to make it that much harder on myself. With much raising of voice and possibly less years left to live my life ~ I have these to share.

   These were some of the first ones. The kittens were not behaving and my five year old was really loving trying out many facial expressions.

                                                 She had the patience of a saint.

                 Her hair looks so strawberry blonde here and even now her hair is much browner.

                            He loves this sweater from his Oma. It is such a treasure.

He has never loved taking pictures and this one shot was brought about by MUCH effort on his mother's part (aka me). Just putting on a button up shirt was sheer torture really.

                                                                    She is just so cute.

                                                           I have three daughters. Wow!

Notice there is one child missing. He was NOT loving the leaf  throwing. Also notice how the baby is unfazed by it all.

                   You can see the unimpressed face and the unfazed baby clearly here.

    All my five year old's faces are so adorable and there is a little grin from baby here.

  We take the kittens inside after this shot. They were just too much. I also think the baby looks like a line backer here.

                        This is one of my favorite shots. They love their little sister so much.

                                        And that is Autumn 2019 family photos!

The Kittens Leave The Nest

Our season of being the owners of six kittens has drawn to a close (insert sigh of relief here). Kittens change every day and very quickly. By the time all our kittens went to their new homes I was worn out with asking my son to keep up with the litter changing, and all their boundless energy (always indoors) and all the rest of it. However the experience was really lovely and I am so thankful that we had it. We are also now the owner of two cats ~ my children convinced me to keep one. She is very sweet and we are loving her.

                        This is Finn. He had the most glorious blue eyes and was very playful and cuddly.

This was the episode of how many kittens could sleep on a chair. They all five of them fit.

This white one is Snowball. He was the first born and ended up with orange ears and orange rings on his tail. He was the shy stand off one.

                                                                           Snowball

                                                   All the siblings snuggling one last time

                                         
                                         This is little Wolverine now named Gimly

This is Willow. She got to go to the same home as her brother Finn. She was our long haired cat and so soft and sweet. She was also very snuggly.

This is our kitten Fern. She is inquisitive, brave, and cuddly on her terms. She is fun to have around.

   The preciousness of kittens. We would find them cuddled up in the most unlikely places. We had a hole in the back of our couch and one day there were a few of them cuddled up in it. The way they played and just raced around brought us a lot of joy. They insisted on climbing your legs and snuggling with you if you were in the same room as them. They loved each other and their mama and it was hard to see them go. My dream is to one day own property and if we do we might have another litter of kittens or two. Until then this one was enough to last me a while.