gratitude

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary today...just hung out at home, and in the afternoon went for a little walk.

This is the view up our road.

Part of me still can't believe I live so close to the ocean and the mountains.
And so far away from my hometown.

I grew up with a kind of unspoken rule, which was

you don't move too far from your family.

I can truly understand that in a way, being the mom

of three such little children :)

But I also knew I always wanted to live other places, too.

So (in part) here we are.

I guess I'm just in awe of it sometimes.

I've been trying to be actively grateful, lately.

It's done so much for me...opened my eyes a bit more :)

I think learning to be happy with the smallest things

can never be a bad idea.

It brought me to the point where becoming more grateful

has become something I don't think about, and just do.

And that's what kind of happened with today's walk.

I found myself marveling at how beautiful some things were...

Even things like Jakey playing with his jacket

as we walked down the beach :)

Just the fact that my sweet boy is a little clown,

a funny man, often with a laugh at the ready

(if he's in a good mood).

Addie helping Liam with his shoe.

(It's so cute how much he adores her!)

The sea.

I love how you can see the boys clamoring about

in the right hand corner, lol.

A beautiful purple flower.

A bit of dandelion or some similar plant

that Addie brought to me, insisting it was

a piece of fur some animal had lost.

It's fun to see how much the kids love the ocean.

At one point Nate went down closer to the beach,

while I stayed on the rocks with the kids.

He brought me back a barnacle as a little gift :)

Then Addie gave me a flower, so I made an impromptu vase.

Isn't it funny how the most ordinary thing can become special

because of the person(s) who gave them to you?

Here are some silhouette pictures of Addie and Jake.

I love how they look.

I just need to have Nate get one of Liam next time.

Is there anything you've been especially grateful for lately?