Almost 35 weeks

here we are, on the other side of another year around the sun. 2012 delivered many gifts, changes, challenges and surprises. we started the year out nice and slow, living our familiar life in the high desert of santa fe and ended the year nestled in a little white house in the pacific northwest. in between, we worked, took classes, adventured relentlessly, reconnected with old friends and even made another babe. atalaya grew leaps and bounds. far more of a 'big girl' than a babe. we've watched her with thrill and amazement as she's experienced this world, and we've been humbled as she's pushed boundaries and made us question our sanity. and now here we are. another year offering it's blank slate, awaiting more stories to be written. i can only begin to dream of what 2013 will offer.  

i've been feeling undone with gratitude lately. for so many things, really. my family and our health to name a few at the tip top of the list. grateful for the twists and turns my life has taken, all leading to now. grateful to have a partner in this life that i absolutely could not imagine life without. someone who has encouraged me to think, dream and be. someone i feel i have already lived lifetimes with. and on and on we go. intimately intertwined. grateful atalaya chose us to be her parents. being her mama has given me the most glorious gift of all: knowing what real, ferocious love is. for that i am grateful. and now, in just a few short weeks, we will welcome another little one into our tribe. three to be four. our hearts will undoubtedly explode. if all goes according to plan, this little babe will enter the world just as atalaya did. at home. in the water. surrounded by family and massive amounts of unbridled love. oh my. 

(via Mary Catherine Hamelin Blog)