sweet confidence

When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.

She is full of confidence and oh does she have a lot of fun. A lot of spontaneous fun as she has an amazing spirit.

Miss M, I hope you never lose that fearless spirit, fill your life with wonderful fun, remain as confident in yourself as you are now, keep the sweet twinkle in your eye, and know that you are truly an amazing girl.

preserving memories the digital way

In addition to the traditional layouts I created at my scrapbook crop last weekend, I also made some digital layouts. It was a nice change of pace for me! I used some templates that I purchased and some of my own templates.

preserving memories

I am so fortunate to have been able to spend an entire weekend doing something that I love - scrapbooking. I was able to get away and concentrate on preserving the memories of my family's life. I love recording the details of our who/what/where/when/why-i-adore-these-moments. It is re-engerizing, centering, and quite therapeutic for me.

Best of all, my children LOVE the pages I create. :)

Here is a sampling of what I created (it was quite a productive weekend - in addition to spending time with friends, I preserved over 25 memories/scrapbook pages!).

little breather

“There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.”
- Washington Irving

No matter the age, nature shows her power to calm and restore the heart, mind, and soul. Spending time outdoors in the pure and pristine countryside awakens the senses while simultaneously relaxing the body. The effect is magical and medicinal in both the young and the not so young.

I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to experience these cherished moments with my children and help them develop a great appreciation for our world. It is my, and their, little breather in this sometimes chaotic life we live.

may blooms

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.
- Irish Blessings

I love this time of year when the garden is blossoming and new blooms delight the senses each day. Years of tending to the garden shows the rewards right when the soul most needs it.

a sunny day + a little girl

= pure childhood bliss

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. ~Nadine Stair

my new mantra

Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.
- Isak Dinesen

so.many.things.that.one.goes.worrying.about.are.of.no.importance.whatsoever.

no.importance.whatsoever.

whatsoever.

The worrying and fretting is wasted energy and not the way I am going to choose to spend my energy anymore. I'm going to remember that there is a greater plan for me, one that I'm not yet aware of, but one that I trust will be just right for me and my family. I'm going to embrace the richness of life, the beauty in all that surrounds me, and the positive joy of my world.

I'm going to think of this sweet peaceful face, thank the Lord that I'm blessed with him in my life, and embrace living in the moment, with no worries, just as this 3 year old does.

be still my heart

Expect to have hope rekindled.
Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.
The dry seasons in life do not last.
The spring rains will come again.
- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Ski Season 2012: The Highlights

I think mother nature is playing a very early and drawn out April fools joke on us. She started last September when she gave us a hurricane in the northeast and then dumped 15" of snow on us in October. There were virtually no major snow storms this past winter and temps were incredibly mild. Now she is blessing (?) us with 80 degree temperatures in March! I should be packing up my car for another ski weekend in Vermont, but instead I am sitting outside in the sunshine in summer attire while working on my photos from our earlier ski trips this year. Looking through the images, I am reminded at how much my family and I love our trips to Vermont and how awesome my kids really are.

The snow season wasn't the best - it started late and has now sadly ended early - but it still was a lot of fun and full of wonderful memories. Little A thoroughly enjoyed his snow camps and getting up on skis. Miss M conquered her fear of the black diamond trails and sailed down 3 different ones, each time giggling the whole way and proclaiming "I LOVE BUMPS!!!". J learned to snowboard and even started to try out some tricks and N continued to have fun and perfect his parallel turns. I nixed the tree skiing much to his (and Miss M's) chagrin as I am so not a fan of that, but they learned to deal with it (sort of). :) They all are really improving, love our trips up north, and continue to enjoy our family ski adventures. All-in-all, the 2012 ski season was full of highlights, and here's to hoping that there are many, many more in the 2012-2013 season!

Spring Flower Therapy

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. (Thank You)
- Marcel Proust

Everyone else can suck it.

Ok, so that isn't quite in the spirit of the zenful quote of Proust, but some days it is just they way it feels. And this attitude is fitting when faced with some of the rather nasty attitudes that seem to emerge from people these days. I don't tolerate bitchiness well and recently I've been face to face with more of these snarky attitudes than I care to encounter. Instead of dwelling on it and letting it get the best of me, I am going to make it a point to redirect and focus on the blessings and wonderful people who bring kindness and acceptance into the world.

A little visualization on some lovely blooming spring flowers {given to me by my hubby, who regularly brings me flowers - see...blessings! grateful!} certainly helps with the redirecting goal.

Although, so does saying "suck it". :)

Scrappy time

A few fun pages from my online class at BPS. It is being taught by May Flaum and she has a great style and is full of awesome ideas! I've only been able to get through the first 2 weeks of lessons (and we are now supposed to be in week 7 - oops!), but I am looking forward to carving out some time soon to try out many of her techniques.

her smile

...makes me smile

Trying Something New

I have a huge love of crafting and memory keeping. I spend a good deal of time scrapbooking and recording my family's memories and love the entire process. One area that I would love to explore more is the art journing process as I love all of the mixed media tools and influences. But it makes a huge mess, especially when the kids are around! So when I learned that Jessica Sprague was offering a digital art journaling class, I jumped at the chance to sign up!

It certainly has a learning curve for me, but it is such fun playing around in photoshop and discovering all of the immensely cool things I can do! Here are a few of my first creations...I can totally see me doing much more of this!













It was a blast to learn so much and try something new!

My Favorites of 2011

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

I try my best to capture my family's life on camera. I want to record the moments, our memories, our nutty life.

Essentially, I want to freeze time.

There is so much going on around us and the busyness of our daily responsibilities can get in the way of seeing the beauty transpiring right before me. It is easy to get caught up in the craziness and then fail to appreciate the little bits of life that make it so wonderfully precious.

As I look back on the past year, these are some of the moments I want to treasure. The bits and pieces that I hold so close to my heart. The details that make this life so fulfilling and just right. The reasons why God gave me the best possible family I could ever have been gifted with.


Oh my goodness. This was such a moment - one to get the heart pumping and blood pressure rising. I think I skied next to her with my fingers crossed and prayers being sent to God. My little girl - only 5 - was tree skiing, jumping little snow hills - and LOVING it!!! I, on the other hand, was not. But she was so enjoying it and I gotta love her energy and thrill for adventure.


This was a great moment. Miss M was actively looking for things to read and would ponder the meaning of everything she read. Reading was really clicking for her at this time and she was discovering how much was opening up to her by being able to read - and understand - the words around her.


Ah, in the midst of all the excitement and intense stimulation,this was a moment of pure calm and contentment. Just a snap shot of my kids, but such a wonderful happy memory of childhood innocence and joy, and family togetherness.


A thoroughly happy place and happy time - a simple lunch stop on a family camping trip - in one of the most gorgeous places on the east coast.


He warms my heart and this sweet memory makes me so happy. Little A didn't like the water. At all. The waves frightened him. But he really wanted his watering can filled with water so that he could then empty it out in an instant. So he would sit, waiting oh so patiently near the water's edge, for the waves to slowly cascade into the watering can. Over and over and over. Who says a toddler isn't patient? Stubborn and determined, definitely!


Melts. My. Heart.


A little boy + a little yellow dump truck + a glorious day on the beach = Bliss.


This is J. Year after year, beach after beach, he is never with out his bucket, collecting shells and exploring the shore. All with a smile on his cheerful face.


Oh my word. How can you not love a content smile like this?


Like I said, he does everything with a smile on his face. So easy to please, so eager to enjoy all that life offers, J has the best chipper, positive outlook on life.


This is N. Pure N. He whistles all the time. ALL THE TIME! It can drive you batty for sure. But it lets me know that he is living in the moment. That he is relaxed. That he is happy. And that is all that matters.


This, for me, is beauty.


My ultimate peace. What an amazing spot.


I love nature, and this reminds me that beauty is all around us.


Driving around, just to explore our world, leads to spectacular opportunities to just stop and enjoy moment.


I love gardening. The process, the hope, the anticipation, and definitely the outcome.


This is what it is all about. Family. Love. Life. Living and loving the life I've been given and oh so blessed with.

Thank you God.