While fancy brunches and dinners are nice, sometimes it can be more intentional to spend holiday afternoons simply basking in the afternoon sipping tea and watching the children chase bunnies. Perhaps trading your post-church service formal luncheon plans on Sunday for instead really celebrating the rest and grace of the day may be a more meaningful approach for you and your family.

We love Faith's beautiful memories her childhood and how those values are instilled in her nieces. Here is what she had to share with us regarding these simple and sweet moments. 

"My sisters and I grew up on 80 acres about 10 miles outside of a small northern Michigan town. It was small town life with our bigger than life adventures. Blackberry and raspberry picking, searching for bird nests, building forts on all four corners of our parent’s homestead, catching frogs in our brand new barbie shoes, biking up and down our dirt road, and carving out a dirt path through the years to our neighbors a half mile away. It was a simple life with larger than life lessons.

As I watch my nieces growing up now experiencing a childhood that very much parallels that of mine and my sisters, it has been like watching our childhood all over again. This summer I was able to spend a couple of weeks with my nieces and I will always cherish this time. Running through fields chasing loose bunnies, helping them feed their ducks + chickens, and building fairy forts with pine cones and needles - these are what dreams are made of. Through taking care of their pets and farm animals they have learned so much about life - not just the discipline that it requires but also the value of life and knowing that several animals are depending on you for their sustenance. They teach us to love with a love that is so intense at such a young age. They are family members and something to be cherished. 

Running through the field chasing their bunnies, building fairy forts, climbing the big oak tree on the back edge of the homestead my nieces are learning the feel of the earth, the greatness of their imagination and the strength they have as little girls and I believe we all could use a dose of the simple life to reset our hearts to what is truly important in life."

Artistic Credits: Photographs by Faith of Winsome and Wright Film Scans by The Find Lab