Mutual adoration

Skywatching

Meghan and I were just enjoying some snuggles in bed when a low rumble of thunder rolled across the morning sky, announcing the dawn of another moist gray day. I am simply loving this weather. Skywatching has become a favorite pastime of mine; I believe that, in recent weeks, I've taken more photographs of clouds than of my children. :)

A few of my favorites:

Last night

I wanted to camp out in the backyard but another massive storm moved in just as Darren was arriving home which should have come as no surprise but which was disappointing nonetheless, but only for a moment, because instead of pitching a tent and inflating numerous air mattresses we instead set up camp chairs on the porch and huddled together and watched the rain blow and hail stones bounce across the lawn and it was just as much fun, if not more so. Nothing says "togetherness" quite like cuddling excitedly frightened children while waiting for a thunderous storm to subside; even better when those said small children still delight in climbing right up into your lap to surround themselves in a protective embrace.

We roasted hot dogs over the fire pit on our porch and ate companionably around the picnic table, munching chips and sipping root beer and admiring the multitude of lovely blues painting the brilliant twilight sky. Later, Darren roasted marshmallows and my children and I indulged in the exquisiteness of deliciously warm, sticky s'mores.

After kicking a soccer ball around the yard for a while and watching with captivation the numerous Sphinx moths flitting about the butterfly bush, we were on our way back into the house when a stunning array of light caught my eye. Glorious rays of fast fading sunlight had broken through the tops of the clouds, dazzling the sky in a show not to be missed by my children. "Wow, look at how beautiful the sky is!" I said to them.

With upturned faces they gasped with astonishment and, full of childish wonder, Caitlyn asked so sweetly, reverently: "Mommy, are we seeing Heaven?"

I do believe we were.

Fun, fun, fun!

Okay, seriously. My children and I are having way too much fun creating our own stop motion animations! I made the mistake of couldn't resist showing Dylan the amazing movies that Sherri's delightfully imaginative children shared on her blog, and the seed of an idea was not only planted but firmly rooted in Dylan's mind! But really, this is so much fun. We just posted our first "production" over at Dylan's blog. Definitely a must see...too cute! Thanks, Sherri!

ETA: Okay, here's another one! Caitlyn calls this one "Ring Around the Rosie"! Fun!

Heehee! If you count the title, I said the word "fun" six times in this post. Because trust me, it just is. :)

Finished.

Darren and I are well pleased to (finally) have his book on it's way to the publisher, but still, I have to say—I rather miss this sight in the evenings:

And now that I have no good excuse to not be blogging, I seem to have lost all interest in doing so. Ironic, isn't it?

Name that baby!

I was just downloading (or is it uploading?) some pictures from my camera and was struck by the familiarity of one in particular. There was just a certain something about a picture of Kristen that I took earlier this afternoon that made me instantly think of an older picture of Meghan. I brought out the photo album for comparison and found the resemblances to be almost uncanny! Startlingly similar, don't you think? That's Meghan on the left, at the same age Kristen is now. How fast they grow!