Side by side

I was all set to do lots of posts last week and then I got sick.

Like couldn't get out of bed sick on Wednesday.

And then, the holidays...

My apologies.

It's sunny and crisp out, and my backyard looks like we didn't spend hours out there on Friday raking and cleaning up.  (Cheers to a tree that doesn't drop its leaves until super late in the year.)

But today, I want to come to this.

One of my new favorite photos.

There is so much love here.

It captures the love I have for this little girl.
And really, for all my kids.
In so much sorrow, she has been sunshine.
She is funny, kind, spunky, insistent, sweet.

I also feel like it captures, perfectly, the absolute contentment I find in mothering, the sheer joy that it brings me.

And I just recently realized that I have a photo similar to this with my other little gal when she was a baby, one that has been in several previous posts cuz it's a favorite.

I love looking at these, side by side, turning back time.

My, how it's flying.