i heart faces challenge {a touch of whimsy}

It's been a really tough week. 

Two break-ins at our house--my lap top stolen... just a bunch of fixing that needs to be done now.. .but worst of all... the robbers have taken away my sense of security. 

One thing that keeps me going is photography and watching the children in my life play to their hearts' content. 

We live a very privileged life.  We are so very blessed.

The photo above is of my niece and daughter playing on Memorial Day this year.  

Children have an amazing ability to live life to the fullest--as I've written before.... but the children who can actually do that are SO VERY LUCKY to be able to do that.  Not all children on this planet have the luxury to play and explore...my child is so very lucky.. and I am so grateful I can parent her with this luxury. 

Check out other Challenge Entries at www.iheartfaces.com! 

Dance Like Nobody's Watching....

Miss Aurelia loves to sing and dance.  Yesterday on a walk, she found a nice, large, flat rock to use as her stage.   She truly "danced as if no one was watching her" in the middle of a very public place... 

Kids are so wise.  Aurelia teaches me so much about what life is about every single day.  

Life is too short..to worry...to get mad... to dwell on the past....to be anxious about the future....

She teaches me the importance of living life fully in the present...all of this is much easier to type/write about than to live out... so I guess I'll just have to practice....  :)

Beauty in the Middle of a City...

Lately, I've been complaining about living in MN.  The long winters...the short springs....the summers full of construction EVERYWHERE...

So I decided today I needed to refocus...to be thankful I don't live somewhere like Pakistan with suicide bombers... or somewhere else with out all of the comforts of our home here in Saint Paul.

We truly are blessed.

I am sometimes so surprised at the beauty around us here in Saint Paul.  We live so close to Como Zoo and Conservatory.. and we hadn't visited the Japanese Garden yet this year so that is what we did today....

So beautiful... a great place to just be at peace with life...complete serenity....

This sign made me giggle... just thinking about life...

Busy Busy Busy

I cannot believe I haven't blogged in a whole month!

It's been very busy around our house lately.  The end of the semester passed, I earned a B+ in my class--considering all that we had going on, I am at peace with that grade.  My younger brother got married, and work is as busy as ever for the both of us. 

We had a great memorial day weekend--very relaxing. Jon was able to catch up with highschool friends on a golf trip, and Arie and I went to the farmer's market in downtown Saint Paul to purchase flower plants for our front yard.  We also decided on starting a veggie garden in the back.  We're finally starting to work on making our house a home.  It's very exciting. 
   
Aurelia went through a phase of being absolutely fascinated by earth worms... she loved picking them up, squeezing them, and putting them back to "night night" in the dirt.  She's also more and more verbal these days... her little conversations are so cute!

I finally finished those curtains for Arie's big girl room... and am in the process of making items for the Handmade MN Summer Market in July!  Check out my new "re-branded" business site!  http://www.clarahaycraftdesigns.com/.

Arie had fun playing with her cousins...Ammie who is a year older and Mila Boo who is a year younger.  She loves her "sisters" very much, and she plays so well with both of them. 

Here are a few photos from the last month:

MN Arboretum!

stop and smell the flowers, mom!

feel the grass...

the fountain is so cool... why are you over THERE?

i like to dance and sing no matter where i am!

tulips!

this doesn't really smell that great, mom!

Wow, Time Flies....

I can't believe how fast time has gone by since Aurelia was born....she was so tiny, so helpless... and now, she's looking and acting more and more grown up.  I picked her up from daycare yesterday and saw such a difference in her.  She seems taller and her "Arie-Speak" is sounding more and more like regular old English.  She knows what she wants (she always has) but now she knows how to demand it.  She loves her princesses and dresses and tutus and her singing and dancing and playing.  I know I will not have time to write for Mother's day... so I decided to post photos of Arie from birth until now.... Diane, our daycare provider and Arie's "second mom" sends home the same poem with Arie's hand print every year--her hand has grown a little since last year ;)  It just really made me think about how much I need to take in the little moments I have with her now... I just never know when it will be the last time I get to hear her babbles, see her sheer determination with puzzles, or hear her loud, lovely, singing....what a joy she's been. 

Infant and Newborn Arie....

These just capture her personality...two of my faves!

pretty lady...

my sweet doll

so grown up...Easter 2011

i heart faces challenge {soft and sweet}

I just love this photo of my God-daughter, Mila.  It's blurry, but so soft and so sweet.  I've been playing around more with my "M" mode skills and this is one photo I fell in love with while playing around....