a peaceful weekend

my weekend felt like this picture: utterly relaxing.
we travelled to Iowa to visit my dear sister and her family.
Asher spent lots of time snuggling / wrestling on a bed full of  pillows with his five year old cousin, both of them giggling like crazy. They would pull the covers over their heads and watch the light shine through the fabric. asher would kick and flail his arms with joy and then Arthur would open them and say "boo!" which led to more giggling.
Arthur was so gentle with Asher, and kept telling him, "i just love you so much, Asher"
Asher is mesmerized by older kids and this time was so special for him.

my sister and i stayed up late drinking wine on her screened-in porch, with a perfect Iowa breeze, snuggled in cream knit blankets with christmas lights above us. Talking about our family, memories, God, motherhood, and life.

we had wonderful food cooked by my brother in law, had relay races and played kickball in the back yard with arthur and elliot (who is 1), went swinging at the park hearing their little voices say, "higher! faster!"
I remembered what its like to play so hard that you forget that its hot, or that there are bugs and all you want to do is run around goofily enough to see a one year old smile. i forgot what it was like to have an iphone, or check instagram (which is why i have no real pictures from my weekend and had to use this favorite old photo i nabbed from somewhere long ago).  i just got lost in the joy that comes from family.

so much pure joy!

i hope your weekend felt like this too.

love,
m