september in utah.

last night thunder rolled so loudly through our open window that it woke us all abruptly from our sleep. then a sound like a million tiny metal balls hitting the sidewalk began soon after, and a clean, crisp whiff breezed through the screen. bursts of light every five seconds made me wish i was witnessing nature's electrifying show, but instead franco and i, grinning in the dark, leapt out of our bed and cuddled up next to our 2 1/2 year old son clarke on his mat on the floor. for a good fifteen minutes clarke commented during his first real thunderstorm: "it's daaaark outside."  "whoa, did you see that? that was an orange light!" "boooooooom!" were some of his endearing descriptions. all the while in my mind, i was singing along with julie andrews, "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..."

+ real thunderstorms like i hadn't experienced in years.
+ morning walks around a nearby lake and observing the ducks.
+ the sound of children playing happily while catching up with life-long friends.
+ majestic "big piles of  dirt" (what clarke calls mountains) showing patches of yellow, orange, and red.
+ lengthy and animated conversations over empty plates after dinner with family.
+ waking up before the world and nursing everly and feeling like we're closer than we were when i carried
   her a mere few months before.
+ walking out of one of the most sacred buildings on earth hand in hand with my husband and eternal partner, franco, rejuvenated spiritually and a thousand times more thankful i have him by my side.
+ listening to the quiet breathing of my slumbering family while i stay up way past my bedtime to write this post.

these are a few of my favorite things.