.....spring has sprung.....

.....when I hear the phrase spring has sprung, I say it aloud in my head with a lot of emphasis on the sprung part.....I vividly remember my Mom trying to teach me the pecking order of the four seasons as a little girl and when she would say summer falls and winter springs, she would throw her arms above her head and do a little one legged leap across the kitchen as if to emulate a plant that was growing out of the winter snow......conversely, she would also do a full body wilt at the fall part; just as if she was a bright orange leaf about to make its introduction to all of the other leaves piled like mountains......sheer glory for all of the lucky kids in the north and midwestern parts of our country who enjoy the thrill of a new fall day......see, we Floridians needed all kinds of metaphors and visuals to learn the order of the seasons because most of the time it was plain old hot and it was hard to understand why it wasn't always summer......

.....I don't need to teach my children with such dramatic metaphors, although I like to find other ways to emulate the full body explanations because quite honestly, they're funny and every kid likes a funny Momma.....but when the seasons change, we simply head outdoors and whallaaa......

.....spring has certainly sprung....

.....and the special times when we embark on a first new day of the season; the ones in which we really feel it, opposed to the calendar telling us that yes, it is spring, I also like to say the word yes as often as I can.......because being a yes Momma is also a fun Momma and sometimes all rules, worries and concerns about planning and schedules need to go out the window.....

....can we go to the Central Park for lunch?.......yes........can we run wild and scream at the top of our lungs?......yes.......can we ditch our shoes and do it all barefoot?......sure, yes!.......can we skip lunch and graze on snacks all day?......yes.......can we have another bag of pirates booty?.......yes.......

.....and a day with so many yes's and so little rules always equals a euphoric, cheeks hurt from smiling, belly aches from laughing, blissful kind of day......remember those?.....

....I have loved having the change of seasons in NYC......it has been one of the things that Stefan and I discuss with excitement that our children will have the seasonal changes as memories when they are grown......Florida certainly didn't have them and Texas is also a stretch......granted, we had other wonderful things that were seared in our memories from growing up in those states, but a definite, dramatic shift in seasons is still new to us......

.....and spring bears so much beauty and newness......it's the time of new life and dare I say, it might be my favorite?......I mine as well because on our first summer day, I will also tell you summer is my favorite......it's like I tell each one of my babes......they are all my favorites.......and so I will tell the same to all four of our seasons......

......but newness in our spring season also shifts the lenses of how I view my life......I also begin to see my children differently.....I notice newness about them too......how they are growing, a new curl in their hair, a new dimple forming, a new word that they like to use to explain something......

.....the sisters are truly best friends.......they love and fight with passion......but the love days outweigh the fighting days......

.....and I am inhaling all of it because I know this is my last spring in the city......I stop to take pictures of trees and flowers and grass......I allow myself to be late heading somewhere because I have to stop to enjoy something in the neighborhood that I have never noticed so fully before.....

....and the newness has been thrilling for all of us.....

.....we've got a celebration around the corner of a little one who has brought us a multitude of joyful moments......more to come on the first year of having a son, but here is a sneak peek of his cake smash photos taken a few days ago......

.....it won't be long until Brody is also living life to the fullest with an army of friends who make life that much sweeter.....

....although he is off to a good start.....

......and our Daddy is home after two weeks of travel, so we have catching up to do.....he always holds true to a promise and comes to the girls' room as soon as he gets home......even if it's way past their bedtime.....

......and he would head to Brody's room too, but knows that Momma would throw a fit......I wish I could say that Brody is a good, sound sleeper......but with all the joy he has given us, who needs sleep?....

.....or organized cabinets?....

.....or clean kitchen floors?.....

......enjoying the fact spring has sprung in our home in so many ways......

....and hoping yours is too.....

....constant joy.....

.....we had some good adventure this past weekend.....a spontaneous day trip with friends to the petting zoo on Friday had us exploring Manhattan for 8 hours.....happy hour rolled around on Friday late afternoon and I was so spent I couldn't even talk when Stefan came home from work.....it was the good kind of tired when my bones hurt from the pushing, lifting, strapping, squatting and the scooping a Momma does when she and 4 children run free in Manhattan......pretty sure I woke up for my first night feeding with Brody in a puddle of drool......

.....I recovered and we jaunted out to CT for an overnight stay, had some outdoor fun, made s'mores for the first time and came home to a rooftop ice cream party with friends moving out of the city.......I had a lot of pictures to sort through when the weekend came to a close.....and it's usually during this time of browsing that I am inspired with thoughts that I want to capture on this blog.....when I flip through the pictures the emotion and reflection inspire me to string my words together......usually it happens very easily for me, as writing has always been a passion of mine.....other times, I am at a loss for words, thoughts or ideas.....but this particular set of pictures only brought one thing to the forefront of my mind.....all I could think of as I studied each photograph that was taken was, wow.... my children are so incredibly happy......

....and that got me thinking about happiness.....

....I hear so many Mommas say that they want their children to be happy.....I read articles about how to encourage happiness in your child.....there are books galore on how to have a happy home......and who doesn't want that for their babes?.....we all want the best for our children......we want to hear them laugh, shield them from pain, see their vibrance as they embrace new experiences....

.....but I also know there will be times when their unhappiness is incurable....there will be situations that even as their Momma, I will not be able to console them from pain or suffering......

                                                   feeding the goats is going great....they even lick the bowl!......

                                                                                    ugh oh.....he licked it a little too hard........

                                                                                 and now the bowl is gone.....

                            Momma, the llama spit all over my cheek and hand......mean old llama!........

.....so when I flipped through the pictures admiring the smiles and silliness of their adventures, I had a secondary thought......is happiness what I really want for my children?......I sorted through more pictures....analyzing their faces, remembering what was going on in the background during the moment the shutter clicked.....trying to comprehend their excitement, their wonder, their zeal at the tiniest things.....

                                                   hold your penny in the air, toss it in the fountain and make a wish.....

                                wish granted!......ice cream.....

....and I moved into deeper thought about the pursuit of happiness......there are many people on this earth that think happiness will be achieved if they acquire something they don't have right now......but no matter how much they gain along their journey, many of them are still so empty in their quest for what they think will bring them happiness.....

....and although my children are too young to grasp this concept, it's not too early for me to mold their mindset.....I can encourage them to be joyful, rather than happy......because a joyful person is one that makes a choice to find contentment in all aspects of life, no matter if their happiness barometer is high or low.....eventually, the trips to the zoo and the playgrounds in our neighborhood will become boring.....the zeal and excitement will grow dull in the repetition of events that are no longer new anymore.....but if they can find joy in the ordinary things, then happiness, in it's ebb and flow, will be a byproduct.....

.....with a joyful heart, they can relish in the happy times that are triggered by their surroundings.....and when happiness fades, as it is always temporary; they will still experience the peacefulness that results in making the conscious choice to be joyful.....

.....so if they can acquire the knowledge of differentiating happiness versus joy in their young wonder, they will be better equipped for many of the curveballs and uphill treks that are certainly in store for their great big lives ahead.....because life will certainly hold bigger challenges for them than tolerating the same zoo or park.....it will become more complicated than the colorful world they live right now..... 

....and it's the realization of the responsibility I have to mold my children that fuels me.....they encourage me to live my life more joyfully because no matter what I teach them, it will mean nothing unless I live by example....

.....so by the time I had selected the pictures I wanted to share on this blog post and had thought through the emotions that surfaced as I stared at their picturesque faces, I had answered my initial question.....I don't want happiness for my children......it recedes as we chase it......it's an emotion that adjusts.....joy, however, is constant; not temporary......joy is steadfast and full of hope.....and that is what I want for my children......