A moment to rest so I thought I would post some pictures from last year that are dear to me. It was a wonderful season of life, a time when we were raising our little Katya and enjoying our time with her, I was finishing my dissertation in preparation for graduation, while carrying our sweet little Ana, who was already with us in all our little adventures.

 Apple Picking :) A new family tradition, just like it was for me when I was young.

A Country Girl At Heart

 An Apple A day...

  I don't thing there could be a more beautiful place after a visit from winter.

 

Night time chatter

One of my favorite times of day is when the little ones go to bed, not because of the peace and quite but because of the voice I hear in the stillness. As I lay beside Ana's bassinet on pacifier duty, it is quite and still in the room, with only the melodic and rhythmic sucking of a 3 month old baby, which warms my heart. At the same time, I hear the happy voice of a 2 year old talking away to herself in the other room, which without fail makes that same heart smile. The combination of the two sounds is like a beautiful symphony to a tired, yet contented mom.

Human Kindness

This is just a shout out for random acts of kindness. Today I was on the way home from running errands with Ana and Katya. Katya was going crazy on the subway. She was up, down, and all around, and lets be honest, at one point pulling my hair. I was finally about to lose it inside, and had her legs and arms restrained somehow to keep her still. All the while Ana was starting to cry (oh great). A woman came over just at that moment when I had her "contained"and said, "I'm a mom of one about her age. Can I help?" I told her we would be fine, I'd just hold her like that till we got home. Then she did the most amazing thing...she didn't leave but just got down to Katya's level and started chatting with her. She asked if she could show her pictures of her little boy and then later if she could sit down with her since she knows baby's don't like to sit in carriers (Ana was still fussy). She got off just one stop before us and left Katya contented and myself very grateful for human kindness in its most random but pure form. In our women's message last month it said first observe, then serve. I am so glad she did.

I love to see the excitement in a child's eyes as they hand you a stick with with delight, and almost pride. I also love their little smiles when you so gratefully receive it. They are worth a million and so much more.