Wordless Wednesday: Face First Snow Angels

Wordless Wednesday: 8 Months Old!

The Greatest Man I Know

I was reading in my journal last night about when Doug and I started dating. We were so in love, and I trusted completely in the fact that he would be able to make me happy for the rest of my life. Although it's funny to look back and realize how little we really knew each other, I was absolutely right about that fact. He has never stopped making me laugh, filling me with joy, or being the man of my dreams.

I thought he would be a wonderful father, but little did I know then how much our children would idolize him and try to spend as much time with him as they possibly could, even as they entered the teenage years. I thought he would be a good example to me and my children, but little did I know how often I would turn to him for guidance and direction with questions and decisions I faced and trust completely that the answers he gave me were right. I thought that he would always love me and help me feel good about myself, but little did I know that after 5 kids, and 17+ years of marriage, he would still make me feel like there was no other woman who could ever hold a candle to me in his eyes. I thought I knew the happiness I would have if I married him, but I never could have imagined the joy it has been to be married to my best friend and the greatest man I know. I trust that in another 17 years I will look back on today and realize that I had no idea how good it could really get.  

My Candy Store

There is something about a library that stirs my soul. I love to wander down the aisles and just soak up the atmosphere, especially when I don't have something specific that I am looking for. I love going to the library. I always have.

In July I got to spend a week in New York with my husband. It was my first time. He was there on business, so each day I would wander the streets of Manhattan reveling in the sights, sounds, and the culture in that vast city. I saw many amazing things, but one of my favorite experiences was the morning I spent browsing the New York Public Library. O.k., so it's not your average public library. It is everything I ever dreamed a library could be. 

It is historic, 

it is beautiful,

it is full of books.

After wandering the building, I sat down in this room with a book, and just relished the moment.   

It was a fabulous morning.

Today I went to the library to pick up H. Man who had been there with a friend. I was in a hurry to get somewhere, but once I walked through the doors, I couldn't help lingering over a few displays of new and seasonal books they had, and then of course I had to take a quick look at what books they had on sale today. As we left and I remembered what a hurry I was in, I had to try to define what exactly this hold is that the library has on me. Then it dawned on me. It's the possibilities. There are thousands of books on the shelves there, just waiting to be read. Waiting to change my life. You never know when you pick up a book, where you will end up when you put it down. The possibilities in a library are endless. It's magical, and it keeps calling me back for more. I wonder where I'll end up next.

"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book."  ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden 

Back to Nature

We missed out on Nature Study last year because I suffered so much from morning sickness, and generally feeling lousy during my pregnancy. I was determined that we would add it back into our studies this year, but I have yet to do it until today. It was a gorgeous fall day, and I wanted to get out and enjoy it with the kids before all the colors and leaves were gone. We went to my favorite nearby place to do nature study, a local river trail, and it didn't disappoint. There is something about the flow of a river and the vegetation that grows near it, that is soothing to the soul.

When we arrived, we were greeted by this little guy, which caused quite a bit of excitement for the kids. 

We decided to go down by the water to skip rocks 

and enjoy the view.

Little C. had fun collecting rocks and leaves

and posing for pictures.

There was so much beauty to capture.

I just wish my camera battery would have been charged. Instead I had to make do with the camera on my phone. At least I had something.

We stopped to play at a park on the trail,

and then headed home for more fun in the sun on this beautiful Fall day.

Don't you just love Autumn?