overdue.

our library books are overdue. as is that one movie from the movie store that i keep forgetting to take back. it seems i'm conducting a sort of theme for life these days. i feel a bit overdue in many regards. e-mails, phone calls, shower taking, and the general bits and pieces of life that seem to be hanging up to dry for a while. mostly, it can be chalked up to celebration. we have been doing lots of that these days. june usually knocks the wind out of me with celebration. and this month, it just keeps on comin'! all that to say. i am quite overdue (nearly two weeks, to be exact) in honoring my boy's 5th birthday in this space. 5 years old? really? why, yes! and he wears it proud.

we had a couple of events in celebration of such a beautiful achievement. one on his actual birthday with his home school group, spending time doing something he loves more than most things...swimming! it was a really fun party and he was showered with love and celebration...just as a 5 year old should be. up next was a weekend camping trip to the woods for a family celebration... to romp, explore, observe and get good and dirty with mama earth. this is where asher feels most comfortable, i am convinced. right smack dab in the middle of nature...literally soaking her up in every pore of his body. several family members were able to join us and escape the heat of the valley for a day or two...and it was such a treat for this little boy to be surrounded by that endless circle of support. he is loved. truly and deeply.

opportunities are endless when it comes to what you can do with trees as far as you can see, a river of water running right alongside your camp site, bugs and birds all around, and a spirit as big as asher's. he amazed me the moment he was placed on my chest after birthing him. he brought out this primal courage in me that i had never yet experienced or embraced. and there he was, this tiny little human, staring up at me with a soul much bigger than the room we were in. and it has been that way ever since. there isn't a single person who has changed me the way that this person has. there isn't a day that goes by where i am not reminded of how beautiful and brilliant he really is. there is not a moment in time where i don't understand how very blessed i am to be touched by his life. five years old... and already he is changing the world.

and this mama got a few sweet escapes where she could rest in the breast of the earth with that very knowledge...and give thanks for the life around and within.

for a few more eye goodies of our trip~ check here!