this moment {charlie brown with friends}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

this moment {a tutu anywhere}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

this moment

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

this moment {sunshine and sunglasses}

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in this moment. 

In Amanda's words: "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please link to your moment too -- I love to see what you are savoring this week!

Wishing you a glorious weekend!

this moment {brand new helmet}

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly ritual of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

A single picture with no words.  Beautifully simple.  Extraordinarily lovely.

 

I love to see your moments too, so leave a link in the comments!

Wishing you a special weekend, full of all goodness!

this moment {first pedicure}

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly ritual of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

A single picture with no words.  Beautifully simple.  Extraordinarily lovely.

I love to see your moments too, so leave a link in the comments!

Wishing you a lovely, loving weekend!

gardening

This summer I have a gardening apprentice.  Not that I am such a great gardener that I actually should be apprenticing anyone.  It is just that I have a wee bit more experience than Lovey does, so I guess that makes her the apprentice.

While I futz around pulling weeds, dead-heading plants, doing a bit of watering.  She is usually pretty close by.  Sometimes with a bucket, sometimes with a watering can.  Sometimes pulling on anything growing and green, definitely her version of weeding and dead-heading.

Then there are times when she simply takes the responsibility for a very special gardening task of her own creation:  the dirt relocation program.

See, she takes fistfuls of dirt from one of my potted plants.

And sprinkles the dirt on top of another plant, on the other side of the house.

Thus, dirt relocation.

Important work, that one does.

this moment

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly ritual of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

A single picture with no words.  Beautifully simple.  Extraordinarily lovely.

{Photo taken by Nonnie}

I love to see your moments too, so leave a link in the comments!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, full of fresh air and happiness!

Baby Sister

It isn't often that I get to spend an entire day with just one of my kiddos. 

When all of the kids are about there is an energy that pulses and pitches and moves from room to room as they run and play and chase through the house.

When there is just one child at home, there is a quiet.  Not a silence, rather a quieting that comes when a child is simply self, not part of a sibling set.

It tends to take me a bit to acclimate to that quiet.  My mind and body is usually tuned to a level of accepting noise and commotion and movement.  Even when all in the house are sleeping, I remain alert to the call of "Mommy" or the cry of a restless child.

So my day spent with Lovey was quiet.  And calm.  And quite ordinary, though our sharing it together seems extraordinary to me now.

We looked at ants.

We fed the dog.

We arranged flowers.

We folded laundry (okay, I folded the laundry, she unfolded the laundry.)

We spent time in the windy outdoors.

We ran a couple errands.

We laughed.

And through it all we chatted together in ways we haven't before.  I got to direct all of my questions and ideas to her alone.  She didn't have to share the conversation with her big brothers.  She contributed a lot of "uh-huh"ing and head nodding, and confidently said words, even if she was the only one who knew exactly what those words were.

She seemed older somehow.  Maybe because there was no bigger kids around to be, well, bigger than her.

And I loved every wide-eyed "uh-huh," every ant discovered, every piece of unfolded laundry.

And I love her.  Being her bigger, quieting self.

 

this moment

It is nice to be back!

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly ritual of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

Beautifully simple.  Extraordinarily lovely.

I love to see your moments too, so leave a link in the comments!

Wishing you a wonderfully festive weekend!
Claudine

this moment

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly ritual of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

Beautifully simple.  Extraordinarily lovely.

I love to see your moments too, so leave a link in the comments!

Wishing you a snuggly-up restful weekend! 
Claudine

this moment

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly tradition of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

Simple. Lovely. Extraordinary.

You can also visit me here at 40 words where I share an image and text in honor of my turning 40 this year.

Feel free to leave a comment and link to your moment!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Claudine

this moment

Joining SouleMama, and many others, in this weekly tradition of pausing to savor a moment from the week.

Simple. Ordinary. Extraordinary.

(By the way, this is her third haircut!  She was a pro, sitting so still and grown up.  Sigh.)

You can also visit me here at 40 words where I share an image and text in honor of my turning 40 this year.

Feel free to leave a comment and link to your moment!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Claudine

pilgrimage

This weekend had the serious makings of a pilgrimage.

Planning. Check.

Traveling.  Check.

Excitement.  Double check.

Near spiritual experience.  Sort of.  The transformation is really yet to come.

And the mecca to which we went, the homeland of all home furnishings.

Honey and I and Baby Sister had a date day at IKEA.

For some time now, well over a year, I've been scheming some changes for our house.  We live in a cozy home.  A home that we didn't imagine having a baby in, let alone three growing children in.

Thankfully, our house has changed and grown as we have needed it to.  And luckily I've been able to be a bit creative with space.  So for many months I've been thinking up some needed changes to the kids' room and dining room and family room.  As basically any small house-house project goes you can't do anything without it domino affecting many other areas.

So this grand scheme of mine, well it was set into motion this weekend by our terrifically fun trip to IKEA.

 

I can't remember ever having so much fun shopping for hours on end.

The time together was the real deal of the day and the free lunch, well that was simply the icing!

We found some perfect things we had been planning for, and a few unexpected surprises!  Including a second trip because everything wouldn't fit in the mini-van in one trip.  We don't live anywhere close to IKEA, thus the traveling part of the pilgrimage.  Ahem.

You are welcome.  Very very welcome.

this moment

A Friday ritual in which I join Soulemama, and many others, in sharing a single photo.

In her words: "A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Feel free to leave a link to your moment in the comments!

Wishing you a playful weekend!

this moment

A Friday ritual in which I join Soulemama, and many others, in sharing a single photo.

In her words: "A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Please share a link to your moment in the comments for others to find and enjoy.

Wishing you a weekend of joyful anticipation!

this moment

A Friday ritual in which I join Soulemama, and many others, in sharing a single photo.

In her words: "A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

I have more images from this day in the snow in a post here.

Share your moments from the week by leaving a link in the comments.

Wishing you a warm, snugly, weekend full of wonder!

winter wonder

There are times as a grown up that a fully formed memory of being a kid comes upon you.

In the briefest of breaths the layers of years and maturing get stripped away and for a suspended moment childhood that was once fresh and familiar becomes you again.

The feeling of legs being unsteady on a good swath of snow.  Either from the stiff boots or the well-padded snow pants, or both.

The cold flakes making their way, always, between the cuff of your coat and the cuff of your mittens.

The chill tingling your nose and cheeks.

The sunny snow so bright you have to squint to see.

Then as your own childhood fades back into its time, your present breath is taken away at the stunning beauty of your own child.