be together

And here we have my children playing together on my bed one morning after I had just finished folding and putting away the laundry. Just a moment of our day-to-day life captured as I was contemplating whether or not we should sand and re-stain the eaves outside our house or perhaps paint them for a similar look to this. I wasn't totally engrossed in this moment watching my children interact, it was just a snapshot, but sometimes seemingly unexceptional photos can end up speaking to your heart. 

We spent the morning doing nothing in particular besides being together which I thought was quite lovely, so during nap time I posted this picture to Instagram (find me @stacyhartsew) to document my thoughts - 

"My favorite mornings are the ones when we stay home and don't do a whole lot other than be together."

And then I thought about it some more. And then I mulled over it all during nap time and while I was falling asleep that night, and suddenly this ordinary snapshot was absolutely beautiful to me. More than just documenting how we spent a lovely low-key morning together, but capturing life exactly how I want to live it.

Simple and uncluttered, being present with my loved ones, keeping up with the inevitable household chores with a happy attitude and a grateful heart. Watching my children play, answering their many questions, listening to them sing or cry, and kissing their bumps and bruises. Reading books, making and cleaning up creative messes, teaching love and forgiveness, and preparing nourishing food to eat - all the simple small things we did that morning could be rolled up into one big beautiful life.

Our mornings are not always this lovely, and my mind set about household chores is not always grateful, and sometimes we need our space from each other, but man, that life is there ready to be lived.