Life around here.

We’ve had a full, rich week. A week where most nights, Zack and I snuck a kiss in the kitchen before switching evening shifts; we’re passing parental ships in the night. One night in particular, I didn’t even make it home before his lids fell shut. I walked into our bedroom and then promptly  turned off his bedside lamp before crawling into bed so my lids could fall shut, too. I feel tired, but I feel grateful, too.

This week, I started a new huddle with a group of women at our church. I painted my nails pink, making sure to paint my right hand pointer a darker shade of pink — just for fun. I bathed my little tribe of people at 5pm one evening, just to stay ahead of the game. The kids and I went for a late-morning drive one day, just so I could clear my mind. Another day, we went for a post-nap walk so I could clear my mind again. I really miss pulling the air into my lungs as I run, like I did in our Los Angeles neighborhood. I’m ready to be running again.

Way too often I tell the kids “no”, so this past week I made a strong conscious effort to just let them be kids. If they want to play tag down the hallway, great. If they insist on arguing with each other, my hope is they learn to work it out together. (If I always referee them, they won’t learn the same lesson.) If they want to pretend bake in the kitchen, creating interesting concoctions with saltine crackers and water and olive oil and dill weed and cinnamon, wonderful! The mess will take seconds to clean up, but they’ll soar on their happiness for the rest of the day.

I confess, I stayed up way too late a couple nights in a row reading. I’m thisclose to finishing The Glass Castle. I’m really excited to share my thoughts on the book in an upcoming post. Have you read it? The stacks of books sitting on my desk, and throughout our home, is bringing me a lot of joy right now. I know I mention this page often, but here’s a link to some of the books I’ve recently read, just in case you’re looking for something new :)

Right now, Marigold is still the slowest tribe member in our house, which makes her easy to photograph. Everyone else is constantly on the run ;) Although she’s getting faster, now that she’s crawling. And I think she has started waving? But no one really knows, this girl gets so excited seeing her brother and sister that her arms dance with emotion. It could be a wave, or it could be happiness. Either way, it’s so fun to watch.

“Document simple moments” is at the very top of my priority list, and these photos from our week capture that so perfectly. We love having so many different rooms to play in, quite the contrast from our Los Angeles apartment. We are in a small space with a simple living mindset, and life feels so good.

Two quotes I want to share before I wrap up my writing —

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” –Maya Angelou

“Creativity could be described as letting go of certainties.” –Gail Sheehy

And then this verse —

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.” –Psalm 62:5 (NLT)

Last week I was looking for encouragement on “soulful rest”, and that verse appeared. Isn’t it beautiful? So perfect.

Happy Friday, and may your weekend be exactly what you need it to be…