my favorites.

{this picture melts.my.heart.}

autumn in new england. love.

i.simply.swoon.over.these.faces.
i{heart}them.

fun day.

today i took my jake & henry on a date to the cranberry bogs that their cousin owns, while my sweet william had a little date of his own with his nana...

but the funnest part was hanging out with their sweet cousin, baby eric...

we.love.living.here.

my boys.

we are lovin' fall in new england.

important moments.

it's crazy how a moment. a.single.moment. can make such a difference in an entire day...
a moment like this...

can make other moments---difficult moments that are filled with little ones crying, screaming, yelling, fighting, struggling---all.disappear.completely.

i am most definitely a hands-on mommy.
i am most definitely a mommy that feels the importance of constantly filling my amazings with affirmations {you make my heart so happy. i am so happy to be your mommy. you are amazing. i am proud of you. you are smart...and the list goes on}
i am most definitely a mommy that can, at times, wish a day would just end.
i am most definitely a mommy that so deeply feels the importance & the absolute necessity of making an apology when i have failed.
and i am most definitely a mommy that needs to snuggle these little ones of mine...often...throughout the day.
there is something so incredibly healing about having the arms of your little one wrapped around your neck...it seems to make every.single.frustration that you may have felt during the day simply melt away...it seems to make everything ok with the world.

thankful for these moments.
they are treasured.

contentment.

sometimes for a stay-at-home mom, all we have is our imagination to take us places...
starbucks. a peaceful drive down the cape. a mountain lodge relaxing by the fireplace. a relaxing afternoon at the spa...

most often, my days look exactly the same---not much changes---having 3 babies so close in age is fairly limiting {for a season} nap schedules need to be kept, one may not be hungry when the other one is, plans may have been set {even a simple walk}, but a time-out or something else prevents it from happening...

monotony can be difficult.
self-sacrificing can be difficult.
putting our desires last can be difficult.
but that's exactly what being a mommy is---putting our wants/need second.
{some may disagree with me here and that's ok. this is just this mommy's rambling perspective}

i think it all comes down to contentment.
to being content---in exactly where you are for the time you are in it.

here's my truth---i LOVE being a mommy.
i was born to be a wife & a mom.
this is what gives me air to breathe.
this is what makes me feel an indescribable amount of joy.

but, here's my other truth---there are those moments when i am not fully content.
when i wish i could simply hop into my car & go where-ever the road wants to take me.
when i wish i could just sit & enjoy a hot cup of coffee in the exact moment i want it.
when i wish i could sleep for an entire night without being woken up by crying or screaming.
when i wish i could just browse through a magazine when the mood strikes.

but, here's the other truth---life.does.not.work.that.way.

some of my days can be difficult---crazy difficult---but, i am forever learning to be content...to be thankful for the season i am in...to embrace it.

when my boys are in school and i can go to starbucks whenever i want, when i can hop in the car and spend the afternoon shopping, when my days are flexible...i will be sad.
i will think back to these days and long for them.
i will sit back and remember how life use to be and i will wish i could go back in time.
THAT is when i will really have to learn to lesson of contentment. of truly being content.

here's to yet another life long journey---finding contentment---always.

stolen.

these boys have stolen my heart.