Thursday, April 29, 2010

....beauty and its many forms.....

.....When God gave us trees and flowers and fresh spring blooms, He also gave us beauty in those things....and its been that gift that awes me anytime I see something unforgettable....it's been amazing to see how beautiful Central Park is since I have had the time to explore it.....it's one of my most favorite places to go in the city.....It's close enough for us to walk, yet far enough that I plan for the trip......

......and I often wonder how all of the years prior to children I never made it a priority to go to the park.....I suppose because after working a 60 hour work week, Saturdays and Sundays were for getting the chores done, taking time to get the home in order, squeeze in some fun and then start to ramp up for the week ahead on Sunday afternoons....

....so one of the blessings I have in my "new life" as a stay at home Mom is the appreciation of the beauty we are offered... to teach my children to explore, love and savor all that we have in our backyard......and they are quickly learning to love Central Park as much as I do......




......and I think I get a little nostaligic in April.....as April is the month that marks 2 years since I left my career to stay at home....and although I would never change my decision, there are times I miss aspects of my old life....and I am quickly snapped out of it when I get a smile, an unexpected kiss or a laugh.....or watching the girls sleep at night when I am either reflecting on a long day or a day that was full of excitement and celebration.....

......and then I think of the opportunuity I have to teach my children so many of the things that my career taught me.....12 years of life lessons.....12 years that now seems a different lifetime ago....
.....but so many things I want my girls to know.....


.....do everything with passion and enthusiasm....

....you will inspire others which gives you the opportunity to make an impression that could change them forever.....


.....expand your perspective.....

....seek to understand.....it will give you compassion and a different outlook.....

 

....don't ever settle....

....strive to excel....strive to make changes that will make you better.....you will never know your capabilities until your forced to reach deep within....and you can always reach higher than you think you can.....


.....Relationships are everything....

.....good relationships build winning teams, nurturing families, life long friendships....
.....love your neighbor....


.....learn from your mistakes....


.....learn to say you are sorry....


......and know that every conflict, disagreement, and failure hurts; but they always lead to a better place in the end....

.....a clean slate, a new beginning, forgiveness.....a new opportunity....


.....dream BIG.....

.....not only does it make the journey more fun, but more rewarding.....


......find the small things that are significant....

.....make them meaningful and use them to change the inconsequential bigger things......


.....family always comes first....

.....at the end of the day, it's our families that we want to protect, support, and nurture....

......so on my nostaligic, April days when I reflect on my old life....I look around me and am so content to combine my past with my present....and this new phase of my life has only just begun....our girls are so young, our family still 14 months into being a little foursome....hills and valleys are ahead of us, but just as the beauty of Central Park in April is unforgettable, so are these days....

....and that's beautiful too....

Photography by Sara Blackburn