project 52:15

happy are they who take life day by day, complain very little, and are thankful for the little things in life. 

unknown.  

it must be pretty wonderful to be two.  ellie can't wait. 

project 52:11

things don't have to change the world to be important. 

steve jobs. 

project 52:8

since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. 

c.s. lewis.

sort of hard to imagine anyone ever hurting these two, but i'm sure the day will come all too soon.  i get upset when kids are mean at the playground these days.  but here's to fairy tales, and underdogs, and brave characters:  may they be more than just entertainment.   

project 52:9

some things take time. 

i will say that it took more time than i thought to adjust to being a family of four.  but now, i cannot imagine life any other way, and i'm so happy we were gifted with this adventure.  i hope these kids will be making silly faces at each other in 30 years.

project 52:7

life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.

i remember this day so well.  it was actually not very peaceful although this was a sweet moment.  charlie was in hawaii and ellie was in the stage where if she didn't get her first morning nap in then she screamed the rest of the day and didn't sleep until bedtime.  babies are strange.  BUT i remember that it was warm and march and we actually played a bit on the deck outside, avery threw the ball to dunlin for a long time, and avery and i ate chocolate chip cookies that my mom had mailed to us.  ellie spent a good amount of time in the moby wrap and i listened to free by zac brown band about a hundred times.  

project 52:10

we lose ourselves in the things we love.  we find ourselves there, too. 

-kristen.martz.

it's funny how people change over time i think.  i remember when i was pregnant with avery a lot of people were surprised because they told me they thought i would never have kids.  in fact, my mom was the only one who said that she knew that i would have them or at least want to.  i think for the longest time i thought of having kids as something that would happen in the far off future until one day i woke up and felt like i wanted them now.  anyway, even though i knew that i wanted to be a parent it wasn't really until avery was born that i wanted that above all other things.  charlie and i used to have these conversations about passion.  and he would say 'there's nothing you're really passionate about besides our family'.  and i think that's true.  i have interests outside of my family (although most aren't things i've found the time to dabble in lately) but my passion is being a mom.  this is only surprising to me because for the longest time i was adamant about being strong and independent and i saw those things as something that didn't really mesh with staying at home with my kids but rather building a career.  fortunately, i think i've found that you can be strong and independent and a good role model regardless of what your job title is.  i've also learned that independent does not mean selfish, although i think it can be hard to separate the two sometimes.  i sometimes will be folding laundry on the floor, surrounded by toys and ellie and avery and think, 'i am so lucky'.  some might say blessed but i think they're one in the same.  i never imagined that these things would be so satisfying to me but they are and i'm so thankful that i get to spend my days this way -- doing what i love with the people i love the most.   

project 52:6

 some things take time.

wow, i haven't been on this space much lately but that really means two things.  one, these kids keep me busy and two, charlie has been around a lot.  both great things.  anyway, i'm attempting to pull some of the pictures that i have of the two of them together from this year and this is an old one.  ellie was so tiny!  and it was winter!  so glad that she's sitting all on her own now and that summer finally did come to colorado.  also, avery is a great big sister.  

project 52:5

being a family means that you are part of something wonderful.  

it means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life.
no matter what.

i love when we have family come and visit.  my kids are so lucky to have these people in their lives. 

project 52: 4

let whatever you do today be enough.

today we read books, we built towers for our monkeys, we all napped, we played and imagined, we danced, we FaceTimed with the people we love, we ate cookies, we all rocked and read books tonight, we spilled cereal all over ourselves and ran around without clothes on, we showered and pretended the shampoo bottles were babies, we colored and stuck stickers everywhere, we hugged dogs and chased cats, we smiled at the baby a lot, we had macaroni and cheese for dinner, we sang songs, we hugged and kissed each other and said i love you for no reason, we learned to make a heart with our hands, and we practiced counting to five with our fingers.  today was a good day.

project 52: 3

you are always responsible for how you act, regardless of how you feel.  remember that.

we were all sick this week.  and therefore there was a lot of couch time, a lot of iPad time, and a lot of tissues, and vitamin c, and chicken soup, and naps, and green tea.  luckily ellie seemed to have escaped the flu that charlie and i had and whatever avery ended up with.  we had really nice weather on saturday and took a long walk just to get out of the house for a bit.  here's hoping that we'll all be feeling well this week.  

project 52: 2

when you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  

thomas jefferson

fairly appropriate quote for this week.  :)  this was my first week alone since charlie was traveling and it was no joke with two littles.  the evenings are still a tough time for us as ellie's still in that stage where she wants to be held all the time and not a lot can make her happy in those evening hours.  i found myself washing dinner dishes at 9:30 pm. when both kids were finally, finally asleep.  on the plus side avery is sleeping and napping like a champ and that has saved us all.  ellie actually does really well at night once she's asleep but doesn't want to give up the fight and actually go to sleep.  so although the evenings are hard at least we're getting a bit more sleep at night.  we were all very happy to see charlie when he came home.  avery is pretty cute when he gets home from being gone from any length of time but especially when she hasn't seen him in 4 days.  she asked him to bring her snow back from his trip and he brought her a snow globe with a bear which she's been carrying around the house and roaring at.  and ellie; i can't believe how big she's getting.  i feel less sad about her growing up than i did with avery.  maybe because i know it just gets better and better?  but i can't believe that she's almost 2 months old.  i love that kid to pieces even when she's a screaming mess.    

project 52: 1

Oh normal day, let me be aware of the treasure that you are.  Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart.  Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.  Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.  One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.  

 Mary Jean Tron