Looking up

Hand me a camera and I'll want to point it up straight away. Endeavouring to capture the wonder I see in the sky when I stop to just be each day. It's more than wonder I see though. Maybe because I'm an optimist.... 

The vastness, that expanse - it reminds me that I'm part of something bigger. It reminds me that there are endless possibilities and opportunities out there. That tomorrow is a chance to start again. And that beauty presents in every single day.

It reminds me to stop and not just look up but look around and step outside and really see. And it's then that I always find myself giving thanks.

xx

{Life has been beautifully busy these past couple weeks. And in taking time to look up and look around, I've got a little overwhelmed in a good way by what can be and by what is. I think this week will see a little more sky gazing with my two little girls in tow and a little more giving thanks as I wait on clarity. Elisa x} 

Is there something in your day that reminds you to give thanks? What are you most grateful for today?

{Joining the 52 Weeks of Grateful at Kylie's x} 

Settling on surrender

Nine months living here in our new house and only last weekend did I explore the bushland reserve at the end of our street. Despite walking together often, for some reason I just hadn't ventured that far. Miss three had been exploring there a few times before though with her Dad, and so she happily led the way to "the forest".

And although homes are still close by, there was a coolness and a calm that came with being surrounded by trees, bush and scrub and walking with mud, twigs and stones underfoot.

I kept looking through the tree branches at the sky peeking through. Sometimes a clouded white, other times the brightest blue tainted with spots of stormy grey. It was as though the sky wasn't sure how it was feeling. And neither was I actually. A part of me just wanted to rest and be left alone, a part of felt a little run-down, and another part of me wanted to be busy and move ahead and on to the next thing on my to-do list. I was feeling exhausted, disorganised and a tad overwhelmed.

But I settled on surrendering to the moment, heading outdoors and letting miss three lead our way. I decided not to check the time as we went or to think about what needed to be done or where we soon needed to be.

We walked in circles, backtracked and then ran paces ahead. Looking to the sky together, we wondered about where the drifting clouds were headed. We paused to listen to the birds singing, to collect twigs and look for the brightest shades of green and new life in the bush.

In letting my little one set the pace, I found myself slowing down, letting go and surrendering to the moment, and embracing her curiosity. In those moments of just us, nature and that winter sky, my head stopped spinning. And I saw her and me and us together much clearer than before.

xx

Do you like to walk in nature? Does it bring you clarity? And do you {like me} find you sometimes need a reminder to surrender, let go and just be?

Little moments {that are big to my heart}

Little things are making me happy this week. It's always the little things, isn't it? Or maybe the little things are the big things. I say they're little because mostly they're just fleeting moments or thoughts, or just one minute of my whole day and sometimes everyday ordinary experiences... but to my heart, they feel big. And in my mind, I try to lock away that feeling and hold onto moments and memories in the hope they may forever feel new.

... A trip to the park with just the little girl. Her strength and determination to climb the ladder, and her excitement at going down the big slide on her own. Those big eyes shining even brighter and bigger, her cherub face bursting into that one-dimple smile.

... Stopping in my tracks to look down {when always I look up}. Feeling grounded, connected and happy with my place right now, right here in this world.

... Cloud watching in the morning, and spotting that same funny vertical cloud hours later in the afternoon. Being reminded that sometimes things change quickly before you get a chance to fully appreciate them. Giving thanks for opportunities and experiences that get to be witnessed, enjoyed and experienced a second time, and sometimes again and again.

... Miss three and I looking at ourselves cheek-to-cheek in the mirror. Laughing together. Holding hands. Brushing each other's hair. Consciously stepping back for a moment to really see her, to really listen and take her in.

... A shift in my mindset allowing new possibilities to enter my world. Then accepting new opportunities, and giving thanks.

... And after a day of tantrums came these words from miss three: "You're the goodest, bestest beautiful mummy I've ever heard."

xx

What little moments feel big to your heart right now?

 

On calm days and chaotic ones too

I drove home through pouring rain today, with the car heater blasting warm air past my face to the two babies snoozing in the backseats, and I got thinking about what was happening in this moment I was living.

That very one moment. That exact time {on a dreary rainy Friday morning}. In that exact space {the car}.

And I realised it’s never just one moment, but stringed together moments of captured emotions, words said and thought, sights and sounds that are recalled...  

There was the winter-style day consuming the sky and filling it with dark sullen clouds. The constant sound of rain pounding the windscreen and wind whooshing past. {And as I let myself see the cold that was outside, I began to feel grateful for the warmth inside}. 

And then I glanced from the road to the beach: a blend of grey-green sea water and crashing waves rushing at the shore. And black birds skimming the white tips of the waves, hovering there before flying higher then dipping down as the next wave approached, as if it was some game. {And I felt grateful to live near the beach, and to witness the ways of the water on clear blue-sky days and dark cloudy ones too}. 

Around the corner from home, I got thinking about walking through the door knowing my husband would be there, and we’d have time to sit down for coffee, just the two of us. {And when we did, I felt grateful for him, and grateful for time together without interruptions – I wish I hadn’t got up so fast.} 

Finally at home, I looked at the two blissful sleeping babies in the car and I whispered I love yous I knew they wouldn’t hear. As I cradled their sleeping bodies and placed them into bed, I soaked up their warmth and baby scents. {And I felt an immense gratitude for the two little people I love so much}. 

And it was in those moments that I realised gratitude surrounds me on calm days and chaotic ones too.

Elisa xx

{Linking with loads more gratitude over at Kidspot’s 52 Weeks of Grateful}

What are you grateful for this week? 

Captivated by what could be

So I'm a little cloud obsessed of late. Sky obsessed actually.

It started a month or so ago. I was hanging out the washing and noticed the full moon staring back at me. Begging me to make a wish {or three}.

And since then I've been mesmerised by sun rays on gloomy days, the moon in the night sky, blue bursts of the day peering through cloudy masses, dark cloudy clumps and pretty white and blue scattered skies...

I've been looking up, looking ahead, making wishes and introducing this part of our amazing world to my girls.

And I've been lying barefoot on the grass outside, feeling the earth, noticing the sky and meandering through the space in between.

But yesterday, as I photographed the sky I recalled a dream from years ago. One of those little things that pop into your head when you least expect...

I remember the dream clearly because I had gone away for the weekend and was feeling lost, overwhelmed and searching for answers - and in this dream all those feelings were chasing me. I was running up a hill... my heart pounding, my face flushed and my hands grasping the air in front of me praying someone or something would pull me through.

When I reached the hill top, my view was blocked by clouds, white dust and fog. I looked behind me but I could no longer see where I'd come from. I could feel it though - a prickly fear and anxiety blowing through the air.

In my dream, the clouds were blurring my ability to see ahead but when I closed my eyes I saw a sense of opportunity, and lightness there. I tiptoed gently off the hill stepping onto a cloud. And there I was floating, the sky around me blue and bright, promising opportunity, offering hope, giving me a chance to start again. It was refreshing and I felt like I was floating in a dream of what could be for such a long long time...

And perhaps it was just one of those silly dreams? Or I have a really good imagination? Or could it be a sign that change was on it's way? Maybe all three. Read into it what you like. But either way, when I see fleeting blue peeking out beyond the clouds, I'm forever thinking of a new day, a new opportunity, that we're on the eve of something new. And it leaves me a little mesmerised, a little filled with hope, a little excited for what could be... 

Elisa xx

{images by me - prettied up by Instagram. Follow me via @withgraceandeve}

Are you captivated by clouds? And do you like to photograph the sky?