Grateful

I'm grateful for new found quiet spots where books and cuddling are all that matter.

I'm grateful to the blur of joy that Stella spreads everywhere she goes.

(And the fact that a tutu skirt is always a good idea in her mind.)

I'm grateful for the fact that Phoebe knows what she wants and how to get it.

I'm grateful that Vinnie teaches our kids so much about love and empathy and that, for now, he's doing well (and is out of that humiliating cone).

I'm grateful that every morning before school, Stella and Phoebe end up painting for about forty minutes, giving me a chance to collect myself, clean up the morning mess and give us all a calm, centered and creative start to the day.

I'm grateful that Stella is such a genuinely loving big sister who naturally guides and protects Phoebe with such ease and compassion.

I'm grateful to live in a place where teaching children about nature, animals and Mama Earth is so darn easy.

I'm grateful for brave new steps that just a few months ago seemed daunting and impossible.

I'm grateful for this ebullient girl who told me the other day that "Love is a good thing in this world."

Amen, Stella. Amen.