Five On Friday: When Words Won't Suffice . . .

An emotionally heavy week followed by . . . another emotionally heavy week. 

A friend of mine, one of my online Mama friends that I've never met but have known for close to a decade, has had a terrible year. A cancer diagnosis, treatment and remission and the loss of her mother during it all from the same awful disease. And then last weekend, the truly unbearable: the loss of her beloved toddler in a terrible accident.

While watching community rally to take care of costs and practical needs while showering her family with love has been the slightest bit comforting, the pain remains overwhelmingly devastating.

Nothing feels right for this week's list. Just as I had trouble finding any hope to share for my  speech at last week's Peace Vigil, I again feel at a loss for words.

So instead I turn to pictures. Five favorites from this summer to impart some love, magic, comfort, peace and hope (I hope).

1. Love found by these two little girls through their shared appreciation of running around while live music was playing.

2. Magic found in these amazing trails and waterfalls not far from our home (but we only just discovered!)

3. Comfort found on the lap of a favorite uncle when the fireworks are amazing but the noise is a little scary.

4. Peace found in solitude with nature.

5. Hope found in a seedling that nobody planted and probably doesn't have enough soil there to last but is insisting on growing there anyway.