tonight, we put up our christmas tree and i have to admit, I'm sad to feel fall pass by so quickly (sorry, no christmas pictures yet, I'm just not ready) !!! i am pretty sure that time is flying by and I'm having trouble figuring out how to slow things down a bit. my dear husband has been on a new job for three whole weeks now and i snapped a few photos for old time sake. it was his first saturday OFF in a VERY LONG time and we spent it doing "normal things" with BIG gratitude.

the gratitude that I've felt since that first saturday OFF is most certainly a result of a change in perspective. he has had saturdays off on jobs in the past and i had no clue how much i took them for granted until they were taken away. i know that may sound bratty. i am aware that there are plenty of people that have to work long hours and through the weekends etc. but, its just not something that i want for my family. and, to have our weekends back again is pure GOLD in life right now.

my perspective changes when i think of them... i often say to myself. what would i say to him/her if they were in our shoes... experiencing the same challenges that life has thrown our way.... I've been thinking this way a TON lately.

i want them to know that purpose is where the prize is and that perspective and progress mean so much during challenging times. this is random, i know. but, so key. troubles don't last forever. just keep moving forward, just keep walking, one day at a time.

everything we did that saturday was so basic and i loved it! my dear husband washed the cars and the lady baby tagged along.

she is getting so big so quickly and i don't have another baby to buffer the sadness of all my babies growing so very quickly. it sucks.

there is a tree right outside of our front yard, that turns the most beautiful shades of fall and sheds all its leaves within a week. every year i get pictures of my babies jumping, laughing and playing underneath that beautiful tree!

every year this beautiful tree lets go of its gorgeous leaves with certainty that next year will bring new beauty. i want to do the same. i want to give out the best of me, all my love, all my gifts... with certainty that these beautiful parts of me will never dry up and always produce new and better each and every year.

as hard as it is to watch them grow so quickly, i have to adjust my perspective, they are were my purpose lies and it is in them that i find my prize.