all day long

all day long i hear,
"mom, where's dad?"
"he's at work"
"why?"
"he's making money to provide for us"
"why?"
"so we can have food and clothes, and do fun things"
"why?"
"because he loves us"
"why?"
"because he wants to take care of us"
"why?"
"do you want to be taken care of?"

 or

"mom, where's bompa (grandpa)?"
"he's at work"
"why?"
"he gets to help people at the hospital enjoy food"
"why?"
"do you like food?"


or

"mom, where's beepee (phoebe)?"
"she's at her house"
"why?"
"because that's where she lives"
"why?"
"ransom, katie, conrad and morris live there too"
"why?"
"do you want to see phoebe some time?"
"yup" (as he runs to the door thinking we are going there now...)

i love this phase of questions and watching his mind work. i just love watching his face as he figures things out. i love him.
-ash

little by little

i've decided that i need a little more in my life than just being content with how i live now. now, i'm not talking about the obvious blessings i have (family, religion, country etc). i mean, i find time passes, and i would like to make things, do cool things with my family, bake things, remember things, teach my kids things, but i don't. i don't even keep track of those things. i am so unbalanced...so unbalanced.
i've decided to take little steps, because i can see myself being overzelous. i have been on pinterest a few times, and i love to see the cool things that friends of mine "pin", and the greatest thing...is that i have actually done some of the things i have pinned, and i feel great. i feel better about me and about my life. i'm learning little by little that it's okay to do small things to make me happy, to make me feel more complete.
-ash

like mother, like son

one of my favorite memories growing up, was playing in the dirt with cars...well, actually, just playing in the dirt made my day. my sisters and i would spend hours creating the roads and driveways for our cars. i promised myself then, that my kids would be able to play in the dirt as much as they would want. we had a lot of great times in the planters, and i can't wait for my kids to play and make their own memories too. give jack a shovel and a car, and he is a happy boy!
-ash