warmth of the sun watching your kids smile, hearing them laugh, your
heart swells with love and pride. You’re overwhelmed by the beauty of
these little people’s souls as well as the awesome world around you. And
you know that this moment will never happen again.
They’ll be grown in
the blink of an eye, so you just soak it all in, every sound, every
smell, the whole moment. You wish you could wrap it up and hug it to
your chest! You glance at your partner and know he, too, is savoring
these sweet times that could be ripped away without notice. We had a lot
of those moments this year.
Other than my few freak out moments, see: I’m a failure.. and What am I doing?!,
this has been the most awesome year! No babies were born, no lotteries
won, but every moment was treasured more than ever before.
My
husband and I realized how very precious every moment of this year was
because it started out as the scariest time for our family, with him so
sick. Not knowing if he would get better, if we could keep our home,
continue to home school (more details on my post Appreciating the Great things…)…but, we were unbelievably blessed!
We took time to notice the little things, took advantage of every moment together, splurged a little too much, spoiled the kids a little too much, stayed a bit longer, worried less, and enjoyed more.
What a wonderful life we have! On that note, I wanted to share my favorite photos of the year. I tried to narrow it down to top 10, but it was so hard! Enjoy!
Every time I see it, it reminds me how I want my kids to continue to live and learn; outside the classroom, fascinated, living and doing, not just reading about it.
Monkey always hides, but hey, we’re all in one photo!
Dads make the best seat!
Our classroom. We live in such a beautiful place and my kids are so lucky to be able to learn out in it!
The world is still full of wonder! You just have to notice it.
The kind of smile that hurts your cheeks!
Precious
What a great idea for a post! My two absolute faves are the aquarium shot and the sticking out my tongue in the rain. I bet their grandparents love your blog.
Hello Leah,
Loved all your photos! The first one is just a fabulous reminder of our kids' great sense of imagination.
Definitely! I love that one! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 😉
Little reminders of how blessed we are. I really enjoy your blog.
Hugs from Grandma.
Just looking at these pics, I can't possibly feel sad! Love my family (you included!) 😉
This post really makes my heart smile – so much love in each and every frame!
Thank you! It's sad how much I took for granted before this year. We really did savor each moment and I hope I can keep that mindset! Do you get to see things through a child's eyes once in a while?
Love all the pictures! You have a beautiful family!
Thank you! It really helps to look back at these pics when I'm having bad days and remember how wonderful life is!
Loved this post, Leah! Such wonderful photos!
Thank you! Those little ones really help put life in perspective! I loved your last post! http://www.theaums.com/2012/12/19/checking-in/