Lately, we’ve fallen into a gentle rhythm.  Joseph, William, and I get up together; we play in the kitchen and make breakfast; we eat; we school; we walk; we play…and so our day goes…all of us together, moving at the same pace, encouraging one another through the steps of the day. 

A new part of our daily routine has been the addition of a daily nature walk.  Our winter weather seems to be on hold for now and so we’ve taken up nature walks as a way to enjoy this brief interlude.  Joseph grabs his bucket, William parks himself in his stroller, and I am happy to lead us as we go out to explore.  Some days we fill our bucket and other days we only find one or two items worthy enough to put in the bucket.  Joseph is thrilled with each of the treasures he finds (“Oh Mom!  What a good find!”) and William is content just to observe our beautiful world from his seat.  I love this rhythm we’ve found.  I know that it will pass quickly…(after all, everything with kids is just a phase)…the weather will change; one and/or both boys will lose interest in our treasure hunt; life will interrupt us and our rhythm will readjust…but for now, I just bask in this gentle pace we’ve found.   

Oh, what a good find!

Stopping to smell the flowers...literally!