life, lately.

note: i'm just going to jump in here like i haven't been missing from this blog for months and months with pretty much no explanation. okay? thanks.

life has been busy, in so many good ways, but still--it's so busy.

the kids are huge and wonderful and so smart. for those of you who don't know, we started kindergarten at home this fall. AND IT IS GOING SO WELL. i was pretty much a nervous mess of a wreck leading into it, afraid i would fail in every way. but so far, the little man is loving it and flying through. he is starting to love to learn, and he even read his first little book this week.

guys, i'm a homeschooling mom. how did that even happen?

we have been adjusting slowing to more routine and schedule. and by we, i mean us girls. c loves and thrives on schedule and predictability. and i am certain that just being his mom will continue to shape me into someone better, hopefully with more structure.

too much time has passed to just photo dump essentially a year's worth of photos into one post, so let's just start fresh, with a few highlights of our fall. we are anxiously awaiting the holidays, and i think it will be the best one yet now that the kids are getting in on the excitement with me.

i foresee lots of christmas music, movies and even more twinkling lights joining us in our days pretty soon. and sadly, even more excuse to watch frozen. but, that's just part of being a mother in the twenty-fifteen, i guess.

till next time (soon).

love.

11.21.13

“It was November--the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and, as she said, let that great sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul.” 

― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

there is something about the crisp air and quickly approaching holidays and the promise of twinkling lights that allows you to breathe deep, exhaling the weight of so many things. 

the past few days, i've found myself in a struggle between being overwhelmed with stress and being overcome with thankfulness.

but i want this season of thankfulness to win.
and breed a life of thankfulness in this weary heart of mine.

and with these two, i have more than enough reason to be well on my way.

love.

on readjusting (yes, again).

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” 

― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

things have been just a bit silent around here as we readjust to life once again.

nothing much has changed or anything, but i feel like it's something that needs to happen in our little house from time to time.

just a little step back to figure out where we are with everything, and how to live our days out well.

the kids are growing and changing and becoming more and more of their own little people by the day. we're praying over and considering what might be best for us in the ways of business ventures and collaboration in the search for that creative-work-life balance.
we're researching serious diet changes and the implications it will have (or not have) on our family and budget.

but really, we're just trying to live and breathe and push into each other. freshly aware of the quickness of the days and the short-lived moments of this life.

because i need to remember more often that this life is fresh, full of changes and failing and learning and growing.

it's been refreshing for me to start to realize and embrace the fact that i need these seasons of reorienting to pepper the rest of my days on a regular basis. to brainstorm and evaluate how our lives should look, how to best serve those around me, and how to love them all well.

as always, i am always open to suggestions. life as a mother of two little ones has thus far not often ceased to bring new challenges.
but these days, i'm starting to expect it, and become more expectant for the growth that follows.
and for the grace to get there.

love.

welcome, fall.

“Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn--that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness--that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.” 

― Jane Austen, Persuasion

fall is finally here, and i love it.

also? it is really hard to take a three-year-old boy's picture. 

without him pulling up his pant legs when he says cheese?

he never sits still.

and i adore him.

love.

lately (in photos).

this kid loves olives. that is a face of joy.

new haircut, new pjs, new pose.

27 weeks.

Today we're gearing up for Thanksgiving, and trying to ease a case of the sniffles for a certain little boy.

What are your Thanksgiving plans? We're spending the day with family (and then more family on Friday evening). Hurray for the holidays (and for lots of good food)! 

love.

the last few weeks.

Life has been busy.

I feel like I've been starting out a lot of posts with a similar opening, but it's the truth. Time has been flying through my grasp and, in the midst of it all, we've been sick, sick and sick.

But I can't complain. Today we are all healthy, and I've felt myself slowly getting the hang of things again. There should be an emphasis on slowly, but there is grace and I have been much aware of it. It is such an encouragement to see growth in the midst of my weakness. 

So things are getting a bit back to [our new] normal.

Coen seems to have grown up so much recently. He's finally started talking more, and has a pretty huge personality. He brings so much joy to our days.

dancing to one of his favorite bands, Thrice.

really dancing to Thrice.

he has a new love for hats. and it's adorable.

The other week Nick and I were able to attend a marriage seminar on a Saturday morning and then had a date running errands. It wasn't fancy, but it was just what we needed.

I'm a lucky girl.

As for Baby Girl, she's growing. And so am I. A lot.

21 weeks & and my ever-faithful furry companion.

23 weeks. 

I'm starting to feeling big already. But she's an active, healthy little thing and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

So, here we are. Busy and tired, but blessed. And in the midst of it all, I've realized how I love this little family of mine.

My heart is so full because of them.

love.