lessons from kyra and kylie

last friday i got to spend the day at longwood gardens with kesh and my 2 nieces, kyra and kylie. i brought my camera with me because my nieces are my favorite subjects to photograph and as i was looking through the photos i realized that they taught me several things that day.

be thankful.

kylie, who is 2, makes me smile every time we walk through the conservatory at longwood. she knows the value in stopping to smell the flowers. i'm not sure where she picked this up but she always does it. she sticks her cute little nose right in there and takes in a deep whiff of it's fragrance. it's the cutest thing.

i realize it's a lesson God has been trying to teach me over the last couple of weeks. gratitude. being thankful for the little things- the joys we tend to overlook, especially in the midst of our pain. i'm doing my best to remind myself daily to be thankful despite my circumstances. it's in those places of gratitude that i find hope.

laugh as much as possible.
this might seem like an obvious thing, but laughter really is good for the soul. children constantly remind me of this. there's a section at longwood called the children's water garden and it's full of fountains and waterfalls. this particular one is a "jumping fountain" and it always makes the girls laugh as they try to "catch" the water.

last night i found myself laughing several times with a friend of mine and it really did brighten my spirits. it might be a momentary distraction but it's a start to opening my heart to joy again and for that i am grateful.

it's ok to cry.

while in the water garden kylie slipped and bumped her head. she was fine, but it scared her a bit. her mom was there to pick her up and hold her while she cried. i think even as adults we need to be reminded that tears are ok. if it's part of your process then embrace it. it doesn't make you weak- it makes you vulnerable... something we can probably all learn to be better at. we all need those safe places where we can go and be 100% real and express where we're at without fear of shame or condemnation. i am so grateful for those in my life who have been that outlet for me.

here's a couple more of my favorite pictures from that day. this first one was taken 2 seconds before kylie sprayed me with water from that fountain. look at her face! you can just tell she's up to no good! haha! 

 

this one of kyra is probably one of my favorite shots of her ever... she's growing up so fast and has such a beautiful heart. i think this photo really captures that.

 

thank you girls for a fun day! and for teaching me so much... even at your young age. aunt susie loves you!

fighting the winter blues

last week i got to spend my day off with my lovely sister-in-law and my 2 adorable nieces. it was a cold, but sunny day and we decided to head off to longwood gardens where we could dream about springtime amongst all the beautiful flowers. after a long walk outside and an interaction with some wildlife we decided it was time to head into the conservatory where it was warm and flowers abounded (especially orchids). here's our furry friend we made who wasn't too sure what to make of my camera in his face.

 

once we walked into the conservatory we were immediately overwhelmed by the smell of flowers. it was AMAZING! within 30 seconds kesh and i were smiling and laughing and feeling uber excited about the promise of spring. we joked that we felt like we were on happy drugs. it was just that good. they have an orchid extravaganza going on right now and orchids were everywhere. the excitement wasn't lost on us- kyra & kylie felt it, too. they were twirling around and having a grand old time running around and breathing in all the yummy flower smells, too. 

we all know how easily the "winter blues" can set in and affect our attitude so i'm grateful for a day like that where you get to escape the snow and cold. thank you kesh for inviting me along on your fun adventure! if you're ever in southeastern, pa make sure longwood gardens is on your list of things to see.

happy wednesday everyone!

gardens and little girls

can i just say that i love being an aunt? i think i always knew how much i would love that role but i never realized how easily i would slip into it. granted, it's easy to love it when you have the 3 most adorable nieces known to mankind... but i digress.

on saturday my sisters and i decided to head to longwood gardens for the day. thankfully kesh has a members pass so it was free, too! kesh's 2 daughters, kyra and kylie, love going to longwood gardens and know all their favorite things to see and do there so they were happy to point everything out to me. at one point we had a stroller dilemna because both girls were tired but there was only 1 umbrella stroller. i told kyra she could take a ride on my back which thrilled her to no end. as we were bouncing along she said in a sweet way only kyra can, "i love you susie!" melts my heart! how does an almost-4-year-old know what to say exactly when you need to hear it? not too long into the ride kylie got a little jealous so i had to give her a turn (see photo) and then tears ensued from kyra. such is life with a 2 and 3 year old!

we really did have a great time enjoying the beautiful (but hot) weather and doing lots and lots of walking! it was the perfect way to spend a saturday! i feel so blessed to have 2 amazing sisters to spend time with and "fill my cup." and i'm equally as blessed to have 3 little rays of sunshine in my life to keep me on my toes and remind me just how precious life really is- especially when viewed through the eyes of child.

bundled up

i thought i'd enter the i heart faces contest this week just for fun. the theme is "bundled up" and i took this picture of my adorable niece kylie during one of the february blizzards. her snowsuit kept her hands trapped so she sat down and just started eating the snow. she is too cute!

the winter blues

i know i'm not the only one who suffers the winter blues. it always hits me bad this time of year. the time when the final snowstorms are trying to squeeze their way in. when the thought of spring is just taunting you and it feels like it will never arrive. it also always seems to be the time that you get sick, etc etc.

well in the last week we've been hit with several major snowstorms, dumping well over 3 feet of snow. that left me stuck in my house for days. needless to say, i was really looking forward to getting back to my office yesterday and then i woke up with the worst sinus headache ever. no amount of medicine helped. it was awful. and then today i wake up and i can hardly move! somehow during my sleep i messed up my back. so frustrating!

so here's hoping that i feel good tomorrow. i have so much work to get done.

i'll leave you with a couple photos of my nieces that i took when they were snowed in with us a week ago. love these girls.

miss kylie joy (19 months)


kyra jean (3 1/2)

hope the winter blues aren't hitting you! here's to wishing for spring!