Mother's Day 2017

This mother's day, I felt as though I had my feet in two worlds. One with my three darling girls, each who have shaped me as a mama in their own ways. And the other with our little one we buried two weeks ago tomorrow. She, too, has, and will continue to shape my life as a mama, and I am grateful for her life, however short. So, while I know today is about mothers, it is also about the four little people who have made me a mother. I truly hope I never take lightly the blessing each of them is.

To all of you who have beautifully wild babies at home, whose little ones you do not get to hold here on earth, or who are yearning for children, you are loved and thought of today.

Quotables #7

[A] "I want to see Karlie at the ski alley too!!"

[C] "I like Winnie the Pooh instead of the devil!"

 [C] "I'm going to turn on dark."

[C] "This smells like thunder."

[A] “You know that it’s real when they say ‘Once Upon a Time’."

[A]"Daddy, give it all you've got today. You're 29!"

[C] "No! My tummy isn't a heart! I don't have a heart!"

[D]"I'm sorry that your office becomes the sewer of the house, but does that make you a ninja turtle? Because that's really cool."

[A] "My feet aren't used to visitors!"

[C] (as we started to pray over our dinner) "In the name of the Hundred Acre Wood"

[C] "Knock Knock"
"Who's there?"
"Chicken!"
"Chicken who?"
"Chicken tastes like butter!"

Baby girl on the way: Care Package!

I have a dear friend who is bringing a beautiful baby girl into the world in a few months. Putting together a sweet little package for her was so happy! A few things are hand-me-downs (which she knew were coming), but lots of love was put into it.

From top left, spiraling in clockwise:

1. A few fun little maternity clothes.
2. Pride and Prejudice notecards
3. A sweet little notebook for whatever she may need.
4. A darling little outfit for her new baby girl
5. Cherubalm! This not only smells amazing (chrism-scented!), but works beautifully for diaper rashes and eczema.
6. A Little Unicorn swaddle. I love these for so many things, the obvious swaddling, a nursing cover (I don't otherwise use nursing covers, so I like having a lightweight blanket if my shirt is not as nursing friendly as I originally thought!)
7. The Breastfeeding Book. Some of you may recall that I pumped for the first year of my eldest's life. I am grateful I was able to do that for my preemie, but I hated it so much, so I was really, really hopeful that breastfeeding would work with my second babe. This book brought me so much peace! It is incredibly practical, with diagrams, explanations of most common issues, etc.
8. A super simple, soft pilot cap. I just love how sweet these look on little babes!
9. Babylegs. I like to keep a few of these around for baby gifts because they are so fun, and useful! I love them especially for the crawling stages (to protect those little knees) and potty training. They do make diaper changes super simple, as well!
10. A couple pairs of sweet shoes we had accumulated, but never gotten any use out of. I think one pair is pediped, but that's all I know on those.
11. "Count it All Joy" print. I love this so much, I'm ordering another for our gallery wall. My friend having the baby has always found so much joy in everything, it just called to me as being right for her.
12. A teddy... because every baby needs a cozy little teddy. I'm sure she will have plenty of sweet things to snuggle, but I felt like it completed the box.

Week Four | 2017

Oh, winter. Some days I have trouble seeing the beauty, and our days seem long, and I am bored with photographing the very same places in our very messy home, and I just shoot through anyway.

Week Three | 2017