a season of peace.

 {this picture cracks me up}

in ben's morning good-bye kiss, 

caleb's excited and happy chatter before school,

leah's bed head and adorable lisp,

laying so close to june that i can smell her baby breath and count her eyelashes.

i don't know if this is a calm after what felt like a year-long storm,

or it's a calm before another one on its way,

or just that life inside of our house is busy enough

piano lessons, homework, play dates, doctor's appointments, church callings, picking up & dropping off,

with ben gone during the week days before the sun is up, 

and not arriving home until well after the kids are asleep

and we're both so tired we talk for about 15 minutes and then it's our own bedtime

whatever it is,

i'm grateful that the external chaos surrounding our family has calmed,

that i have a baby who sleeps through the night,

and we have such good friends and family who have seen us through a rough time,

to lift us up when our burdens have felt too heavy to bare alone

these moments,

with a good man,

and a happy boy,

and an adorable toddler,

and a sweet and calm baby

these are the things that i want to linger for a while.

even if they don't, and things change

and start to get rocky again,

i am glad i'm writing about it so that i can look back

and remember.