a day on the river — raising rileys

Saturday we all loaded up in the car and drove up the canyon for a little fishing. I'm not into fishing (although I love me some fish!), but for Jeremiah, fly fishing is his thing. We brought a quilt for me to hang out on and Matthew's fly rod too, and the boys were just ecstatic to have a lesson from daddy! Watching them follow Jeremiah and try to imitate him in every way really is the sweetest thing to me. I always tell Jeremiah that they are little men in training. I can be off doing whatever thing, but they are both glued to whatever dad is doing.

Showing Abe what grows under rocks.  Everything in nature comes alive whenever my husband is around. — Showing Abe what grows under rocks. Everything in nature comes alive whenever my husband is around.

Lately Jeremiah and I have been realizing the importance of making time to do things that we each really love doing. Sure, there are always different "have-to's" and responsibilities, and I'm not saying to place the leisure things above the essential things, but life is so rich when we make a little time for some things that we do simply because we enjoy. And it is possible to carve out a little time even with many responsibilities and a life full of things to do. Watching Jeremiah teach Matthew and Abe something that he has been doing and loving since he was a young boy also made me think how wonderful it is to share and teach the things you love to the people you love.

I admit, as a mom and especially a mom who has taken upon the responsibility of homeschool, sometimes I have a hard time taking time for doing some of the things I love (truth is I love homeschool and being a mother and caring for my children, but I'm talking about some of the other things such as developing a new talent or creating something that brings me joy). Almost like it's being selfish. But in proper order and perspective, making a little time to create or develop a talent is actually very balancing to my life, and I think it's also good for my children to see me making space for personal growth and beauty. It was so cute, after fishing Matthew poked his head towards the front of the car between me and Jeremiah and said "I just fell in love with fishing today. I love fishing."

Always Abe's undies are showing!  I cannot seem to keep his britches up! — Always Abe's undies are showing! I cannot seem to keep his britches up!

To be honest I have SO MANY interests! And at different seasons one interest supersedes another. Right now a couple of things I want to do is sew more, and I'm also having some fun with my new camera recording the people and moments of my life that I love so much. After our sweet baby boy comes, I'd really love to take a modern dance class up at the university. I grew up dancing, and being an adult does not mean I've lost the desire to dance! (hopefully I still have some skill in that area--ha!)

As we drove home feeling very fulfilled (and yet very hungry for dinner), Jeremiah and I were dreaming and talking about the life we want to create that includes the richness of doing some of the things we love!