In touch with nature

Growing up in the country, I have always loved the outdoors and have wanted my children to experience it and love it as much as I do. But when do we have time and where to go??
Well, starting this summer, I have made a more concerted effort to get them OUT in God's beautiful creation, and the more we do, the more we find places to go that are practically right out our front door!













For starters, we went across the street. There is a forest preserve there, but no trails. You have to drive a mile down the road to get to the trails. But after nearly three years of living here, I realized we didn't need trails, lol!

So we grabbed a baggie of grapes and went exploring! And, guess what? We found a deer trail that provided us with a nicely beaten path to go in deeper. How cool is that?











Did you ever notice how something could be right there all the time and you never even notice it until something changes your perception? Like when you are pregnant and you suddenly notice a bunch of other pregnant women? Well, once I started looking for nature areas, I found them all over the place! This pic of Joshua was by a lake, just a couple miles from here. Great woods to explore too. :)





Joshua and Dominique and their collection of monkey brains. :) They kept busy for quite a while gathering these up and making a pile....











Laughing....



















Pretty princess. This was a few days before her birthday. Notice the lack of earrings?


































I thought this would be a great idea for a fun shot of the kids, but Israel didn't think so! And Dominique was complaining about the sun in her eyes.... Joshua was happy with the arrangement, at least!



My friend Michelle did a family photo shoot of us last Saturday and I will post those pics soon too!