i love the way she sits with her legs crossed....i love the scuffs on her toes...i love that thanks to frozen she now loves blue...i love these yellow shoes and i'm sad to see them go.

 

i love the way her pigtails are never straight...i love the way she likes to use a hiking stick because her brother does...i love the way she likes to lead...and the way she always looks back to make sure i'm not too far behind.

i love the way she plays with her "friends"...i love the way she speaks gently to them and gives them each a kiss...i love the way she tucks them in...i love the way she makes sure there's room for all of them...even if it's on the floor.

i love that he chose the old school roller skates with the bright orange wheels and worn-in leather over the sleek black inlines...i love that he set a goal..."if we make it around three times, that'll be real good"....i love that he asked how i got so good at skating even though it took us about an hour to reach his goal...i love that he made me remember all those laps around the basement my sister and i did as kids...i love that he thought i would win the parents race even though the only ones racing were the dads...i love that i knew he was right.

i love that he loves to hike...i love that we can do this without leaving our neighborhood...i love that he confidently chooses a direction...i love to follow him...i love the way he runs down hills, even if it scares me too...i love how he stops to pick up acorns for his little sister and checks to see that his mom isn't too far behind.

hearts and hands...hands and hearts...the kinds of things i can not leave behind...the kinds of things i feel compelled to save...i love that these were made by hand...i love not knowing the intention...i love that some have been carved in wood and wax and others molded from clay...i love that some are outstretched and others clenched tight...i love that they were tucked away and saved...i love that they may have just been forgotten...i love their story even if it hasn't been told...i love their mystery...i love that they could someday find a place in my art...i love that maybe they never will.

i love it when she cradles her little cup so carefully to take a sip, then spills it all over herself as she proudly holds it up to show us how much she has left...i love the way she sits in her little school desk to do art...the woman we bought it from has tears in her eyes as we took it away...she used it as a child and never had any grandkids to share it with...we reassured her it would be loved...i love that it is....i love the scribbles and circles she draws on the chalkboard and that they each represent something to her...i love that this little vest i made last winter is still fitting her...from a thrifted cashmere sweater...i love that i actually put it to use instead of just putting it away.

flowers picked from the farm..in the peak of the summer we are allowed eighty (sometimes more) stems as part of our csa share...i love watching my son choose and cut the "perfect" ones....i love walking back to the car with a huge bucket full of flowers...i love that the baby's reaction to those "perfect" flowers is to squish them up in her little hands...i love getting them home and trimming the stems while the cat meows like crazy trying to get some for herself...i love seeing my otherwise never used vintage containers come to life...

sometimes...when a week has been particularly long and a bit trying...it is good to think of things that bring a little smile...like coconut cookies from here...

i love the way the light enters the dining room in the evening...
i love the curves of the table and of the chairs...
i love the way the house looks from this angle...no mess, no clutter...
i love the apple print on her shirt...
i love the way she stands on her tippy toes...i love her most of all.