Signs of Life

I took this picture this morning while drinking my coffee. If I wasn't on bed rest right now, I would probably call this a mess! But since I am, and this place is a little outdoor getaway with a comfy hammock chair, I'm going to call this "signs of life". It has that lived in look that my living room gets on those cold winter days when everyone sticks close to the wood stove. Right now the signs of life include skates a skate board and orange cones for an obstacle course, a laundry basket from a little diaper laundry that I folded earlier, a pencil and pieces of construction paper from a craft project Maddie was working on, a baby doll for Claire to love up on and tell "no no" (sometimes all at the same time), and the just outside the picture but ever present bug that is being watched/studied for today. Yes, this place, though a little messy, is definitely full of life and all it's lovely signs. Just the way I imagined it would be years ago, when Ben and I were just a couple of kids dreaming up what it would be like to have a family of our own. What I never imagined was the part where I'm sitting in the hammock watching, a little one squirming inside my belly, and not able to join in. No, I never imagined that part, but it's really a gift when I think about it. The chance to slow down and be taken care of (they really do such a good job!), the opportunity for everyone to see what it is mama really does all day (they see quickly when it doesn't get done), the chance for me to look at things in this light and change my attitude toward the little messes that happen with a house full of kids, learning to really cherish how fragile and miraculous new life really is, all of those things are really good for us as a family even though they may seem like hard things at times. It's always good for us to learn to lean on one another and work together for a common goal. :) What are the signs of life around you today? xo, Sam