Grass stained knees

kindred spirit

Look what I found my boy doing this morning.

He took it upon himself to empty the front steps of their contents, sweep and then hose them clean.

When I walked through the living room and saw this scene out the front door, I came right out to see what was going on. Guess where I found him??...in the front garden bed pulling weeds. Love that guy.

Of course I thanked him for his hard work and he looked up at me with a smile but wordlessly continued on with the weeding, clearly he wasn't looking for praise from me, he was just happy in his work I guess.

As I walked away it struck me that he is SO My Boy.

In an instant I was flooded with memories, as a child spending free afternoons in all sorts of similar pursuits, weeding the brick walkway in our yard, raking leaves out from under trees, weeding gardens, chopping overgrown hedges, scrubbing kitchens, straightening up living spaces...the list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, I definitely had my share of playtime, but for whatever reason there was something really fulfilling to me, even as a young child, to spend my time being productive in a way that would be helpful to my family. It gave me a great sense of purpose.  

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see my little man enjoy a bit of good, hard work. Of course, it's great to have a small helper, but more than that, I think it is fantastic that he is filled with that intrinsic motivation. Having the drive to accomplish things, to be busy with your hands, to be in pursuit of a finished product, is in my opinion one of the secrets to living a happy life. It builds self esteem, it fosters confidence, it gives one a sense of purpose. For me, it is what propels me through my days. Sometimes it's the simple completion of the most mundane tasks of maintaining our home, other times it is the joy of seeing a creative vision become a reality, a garden dug, something sewn, built or baked. 

When one finds joy in these sorts of things I believe the lines between work and play begin to blur.

Certainly life is full of lots of "work", if my children are able to grow up in the knowledge that it can also bring joy and fulfillment, well then, what could be better than that?? 

spring happiness

Just popping in to share some things that are making me happy, most especially the spring sunshine that is creeping in everywhere. It has been taking my breath away in the mornings as it shines through the new leafed trees in the forest out our kitchen window.

It has been stopping me in my tracks as it streams through the front windows in the late evening.  It feels like a warm springtime hug and I am loving it.

I'm also loving the fact that in the last few days I have managed to carve out enough spare minutes to bake fresh bread AND spend some quality time with my sewing machine. It feels like we are slowly coming out of "new baby survival mode" back into the land of productivity!  Nice. Then I learned this morning that Amanda and I have spent the last few days working on the very same project. How funny is that? It's fast and easy and really satisfying. I'll share our stash in a day or two. 

One thing not making me happy is the probable broken toe I am nursing this morning after tripping down the front steps yesterday afternoon while chasing a runaway boy who shall remain nameless. Jon thinks I should go to the doctor but I am too embarrassed. You see I was just there 3 weeks ago having my other foot x-rayed after tripping down a different flight of stairs, for a different reason. Turns out that was just a sprain. A bad sprain that hasn't quite healed and probably contributed to yesterday's accident. I guess as long as the foot isn't fractured, taping up these toes is about all they would do for me anyway.
Right?

The great outdoors...

The arrival of warm weather means many things, but one of the most important around here is that it brings the opportunity to spend as much free time as possible outdoors.

Thankfully the Easter bunny left new butterfly nets this year, however it's a bit early for butterflies. Rather than have them collect dust while we wait for their arrival, it only seemed natural for the boys to tote them down to the pond.

I know it felt great to be back in the sunshine and mud, knee-deep in water, hunting for minnows.

Not much else brings me greater peace than to see my guys in this element, lost in their quest for nature. As my mother-in-law pointed out, I think I was always meant to be the mother of boys. I don't even know what we would do with a girl.

Well, maybe sew some yummy dresses!

Loving...

The smell of those little heads

Those soft little clenched up fists

The giant smile that lights up their faces when a familiar voice comes into the room

The way they have found their hands, and secretly loving the fact that Oliver seems to enjoy sucking his thumb

The 9 hours of sleep they are allowing me at night

The way their heads nuzzle up under my chin while they drift off to sleep

The fact that each perfect little bundle is completely content to be held without end, and realizing how quickly this will pass

These photos, a moment frozen forever, two tiny brothers and their mama. Thanks, George.

Hunting

We had beautiful weather on Saturday for the best egg hunt around these parts. Unlike last year, this time everyone stayed dry. It was a huge turn-out. Ms. Kim stuffed and hid 1500 plastic eggs all by herself and what must have taken hours was undone in about 5 minutes tops. The children scurried round the field in the luscious green grass, so tall that it was up to most of their waists. It made an excellent cover which allowed the most patient hunters to find a surprising number even after most of the crowd had long given up.

Afterward the big brothers decided to sit a spell on the front porch of the store and take inventory of their loot while the adults went inside to shop.

By the time we reappeared to collect them they had nearly polished off every last bit of chocolate in their baskets.

I'm guessing freshly harvested chocolate treats are about as delicious as a sun warmed tomato plucked right from the vine. Everything tastes better in the sun and fresh air, right?

Our adventure culminated with some excellent antique tractor driving in the warm breeze.

I'd say it was about as perfect a morning as one could wish for when you are 6 and 3, or 34 for that matter!