Dance

Oh,
little girl,

move freely,

live wildly,

dance with abandon

even when no one else understands

except 

the One who created your beautiful spirit.

Settling

It's only been about six weeks now since we moved,

and because I married my husband,

we're already several projects in to making our house

our home.

One accomplishment being the son's room.

(My favorite part is his mustache blanket.)

Finished his so we can start on his brother's.

Who we're really excited to meet soon...

Noise

I sat around a patio table tonight with my best friends.

Just happened to be my hubs, the sisters and their clans. 

Our children shrieked.

And tumbled.

And teased.

And made all sorts of noise.

Their toddler feet slip-slapping the loudest.

And I tried to take a deeper breath

pause mid-blink and file it away.

The noise of the blessings of the present.

No matter what it is.

Without wishing ahead 

or longing for what's past.

Just admiring the now.

Cherishing it.

Soaking up the noise of the present,

the music of a life lived fully.

Preschool

Another milestone today.

One that this momma woke up extra early for,

reading and journaling just a few more prayers.

Carefully braiding 

and lacing up pink Converses a little tighter. 

Taking more than just a few pictures for the memory files.

Until the sincerest of serenade,

"C'mon guys! I want to go to Preschool!"

was loud enough and truly got us out the door.

Wondering if she'll even remember how she felt walking down her preschool hall,

checking it all out for the first time.

There's so many bigger firsts to come than this I know, 

but for tonight,

I'm freezing time

and proud of my girl.

Have your own milestone you want to capture for the memory files? Check here.

Birds

Our El has developed a new love, a new passion in life.

Bird watching.

She's quite sophisticated like that, you know.

And when her already favorite man in the world brought home bird seed, she was pretty much soaring on cloud nine.

She knew exactly what she was doing, 

calling for the birdies to come look at their food the whole time.

It was the watching and waiting for them that took a little more patience.

But was worth every minute of cuddle.

And, if you're reading this on Friday or Saturday, 

find us on Facebook by following the link found here for a special weekend photography special- 50% off a Sunday evening session!

Or email allisoncorrin@gmail.com for more information!

Friends

Well, the hubs decided to escape diaper duty for a night last week and get in more holes of golf with friends in 36 hours than interest me in...well...more than would ever interest me, ever really.

So, a special guys only trip resulting in a pretty nicely sunburned neck and forearms all around meant some special time with family not seen in far too long. 

And we did our own share of sunbathing.
On blankets instead of greens.

With motorcycle trikes instead of carts.

Nana's homemade V8 popsicles instead of clubs.

Playing instead of competing.

Aunt Mary's story time instead of scores.

And obviously
freshly renewed cousin friendships.

Because when they left, El quite concerned,

questioned, 

"But, mommy, where did Miss Mary and all my friends go?"



And, to those who might be concerned that my own diaper-changing-tallies might have exceeded
those accomplished by my hubs due to his absence,
No worries.
My children have made sure to even the score.

It's all good.

P.S. I continue to dually blog, keeping up with  my photography blog here...
Recently finished up a precious newborn session that made me just ache for own little nugget due in less than 10 weeks now! 

Moments

As mentioned before,

moments lately have been part of a new routine.

Breakfast together, make lunch for the hubs, morning workout, naptime, outside, quiet time,

 lunch, clean-up, books, play, quiet time, naptime,

momma's work time, clean-up, play, dinner prep, family time, and 

winding down to start it over again...

The moments I'm sure will adjust themselves as my days go on, fitting in things, leaving things out, some moments full with discipline, others with more giggles. 

But, as for now, we're just living the moments fully 

Blessed.

Starting this blog, the whole idea was to share moments, just glimpses of life with the Frenchs.

My photography is much the same way, your life captured by the Frenchs. Would love if you checked it out.

But here are our moments lately.

1. Swimming with Grams 2. Broccoli and hummus lunch 3. Noodle food fight with the boy 4. El's total swimming extent, nothing past sitting on the edge 5. My sweet niecie 6. Niecie and T in the car together, holding hands 7. Playtime in the backyard 8. A girl and her daddy 9. The hubs