stones of inspiration

tradition is important to me as a mom.

my children count on and look forward to certain things from year to year.

one of those things is jennie lake in the grand teton nation park.

it was formed by melting glaciers over 60,000 years ago.

each year our family hikes around the lake 

and up to "hidden falls"... an amazing 80 ft. high waterfall.

then we take the shuttle boat back to the other side of the lake 

and eat ice cream.

simple, but oh so important on the agenda.

this year i couldn.t make the hike, 

so this little munchkin volunteered to stay with me.

this is miss micah gabrielle.

my art buddy.   my actress.  my free spirit.

we decided to find some nice boulders next to the lake to sit on

then we got out our art journals and drew what we could see.

it was hard when "this" was our view.

we started talking about the beauty that was around us 

how we wished we could share it with everyone we knew.

share how it made us feel.

then i had an idea.  we gathered several small stones...

and "wrote" our sentiments.  little encouragements for others.

...then we headed for the nearest trail.

and surreptitiously stationed our "messages" for others to find along their way.

on rocks

on fallen logs

on bridges

in unused homes {hopefully}

on crispy branches

right in the heart of the path

tucked in wooden coves

on blankets of evergreen

on hewn down timber

from our hands we delivered our little nuggets of inspiration

and 

a new tradition was born.

what would you encourage others to

 do.  feel.  take notice of.   be.

if you created your own stones of influence?

-cultivate the art of inspiring others-