beauty

these two guys and their bond send me straight to the moon.

they understand each other. they've been through much of the same things. and there are little things that they know that only they can know, without having to say a word...like how matt will never replace max's dad and would never try. how max doesn't ever have to choose. that there's room.

it's a forever blessing...a sweet reminder that life is meant for loving deeply...for being open to experience love in all sorts of new ways. for making room.

cloud gazing

our busiest week is almost over. little max spent his last summer week away with his pops and tonight he will be home with us...my oh my do i miss those cheeks!
tomorrow we leave for one last summer hurrah...a family trip to the ocean...before school begins. i'm packing along some paper and paints for the beach...i've always wanted to hide out in the sand and paint the waves. i'm beside myself for this last bit of quiet time with my boys...but i shake my fists at shark week! why oh why did we watch every night when we were planning on visiting the ocean?

i hope everyone's thursday has been a happy one! the weather here in ohio smells like fall when the wind blows. it is good...oh so good...for the soul. 

and hey! hey!

the winner of the shabby apple feather necklace is.....

congratulations, leila!

email me (katiespencilbox@gmail.com) with your information!

glory days

we toasted to summer yesterday with a picnic and baseball game at an abandoned park.

it was so alone and quiet that it felt like we were the only 3 on the planet for a few hours...that we had staked a claim on this little piece of summer for our own...rusty old baseball field and all.

i packed along matt's favorite salad (spring mix lettuce, goat cheese, pine nuts, dried cranberries, fresh red peppers, and champagne vinaigrette dressing) and grocery store cream puffs and lemon cake. the perfect summer lunch!

(and can i tell you there is something pretty thrilling than buying the pastries from behind the glass at the grocery store! or maybe not..haha...but i guess it's always been something i thought would be just the most when i was little...and it was!)

max dressed himself in the funniest baseball uniform of pleated black dress pants stuffed into tube socks and dirty old sneakers. 

it was pretty good.

i fall for that little guy every single time.

add matt, new summer, a park of our own, and cream puffs and i'm done in.

the luckiest

i hope all of you had a wonderful father's day with the guys in your life.

ours has been the fullest and happiest yet.

and i can't help but sit here and think about my max today and the uncertainty of our lives 2 year ago. 

i look at where we're at, where he's at, and it's enough to bring me to my knees. 

he's the luckiest boy in town. 

what could have been a detriment has become his ace up the sleeve.

he is surrounded by a constant flow of love and guidance from two very different men.

but to him, they are both dad.

(p.s. i'm still working on writing about my divorce. i've been writing every week since that april post and delete every bit of it every time. i've come to the conclusion that there is no perfect way of speaking painful truths...that i might have to just go off the cuff. thank you for your patience. xoxo)