Friendships

I'm in a particularly thankful season watching the littles grow in their friendships,

holding hands, performing songs, tickling tummies,

together.

We did it with fourteen littles and their mommas the other day,

and nearly kept track of all of them,

just one was stuck in a bathroom for an undetermined amount of time,
one ending the playdate only half-dressed,

and one good solid head bonk.

The next morning we held the second of what I hope to be a series of preschool playdates.

Another teacher-turned-momma and I

just like to play school really.

So we read books and make lists,

color and paint,

while our littles

 soak it up.

A Lot

It's been awhile since we've gathered,

a lot of busyness,

naps, schedules, work, trips, laundry,

life,

a lot seems to get in the way.

So a day like yesterday was sweet to us

a day to celebrate

one of us

but really celebrating

all of us,

just being together

all of us.

Logistics are a little trickier,

and at one point, 

we realized 

just about every one 

was holding at least one.

We are pretty much out numbered 

by a lot of babies.

And it's a lot of fun,

a full blessing.

So with blue skies

and acquired bandaids

we spent the afternoon hugging a lot, 

eating a lot,

 walking a lot,

and fishing a lot.

With a lot more sunscreen next time.

We're a peculiar family sometimes,

as all families probably are.

We have our quirks, we don't really have many traditions,

we laugh a lot, we cry a lot, 

we text a lot, we tease a lot,

we like to be together a lot.

This all, however, is not to be confused with perfection.

Just like all of us, we have a lot of disfunction.

We have some of us who run our calendars tightly,

some of us who hate to be pinned down.

We have the jokesters and the goofy dancers,

and then the thinkers, the sentimentals.

We've had our fair share of hurt and misunderstanding,

and the three of us girls still get a little tense about the borrowing terms for certain items from our closets.

But, ultimately, grace and forgiveness ushers in the loyalty of blood,

the blessing, the gift of family prevails,

in spite of, because of the beautiful chaos the lot of us bring.

And sometimes it's good when it's been awhile since the lot of us has gathered,

because it reminds me of the sweetness of the simplicity of simply togetherness. 

Made

I've recounted these words before

and yet

my simple soul needs repetition

to fully ingest, digest these truths.

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

I've known this verse, rehearsed this verse, believed this verse for years, 

but,

just recently realized the fullness of this beautiful, reassuring truth. 

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

It's not just the length of our limbs, shape of our sides, curves and creases of flesh,

it's all so much deeper, so much more miraculous.

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

The intricacies of my heart,

the crevices of my soul, 

the quirks of me. 

The talents, the interests, 

that which softens my heart,

that which brings me joy,

it's a part of me,

it's how I'm made.

Created in His image,

fashioned to His delight,

made to bring Him glory

living fully as me

 as who he's made me to be.

Favorites

For those in the bloggin' world,

we all have our ways of keepin' up with our favorites...

(Some of my most favorite babies above.)

and as some might practice, it's easiest to keep all the favorite blogs in one place,

but as some might know, Google Reader is going away. 

So if you haven't signed up for BlogLovin yet, check it out! It will import all of the blogs you follow and read regularly 

(And if WE are some of your favorites,

make sure to "connect" with us first but clicking the "connect" icon to the right)

That's all. 

And while we're sharing favorites,

wanted to share a few favorites from a few photography sessions as of late...

Hope your weekend is full of favorites.