this christmas.

we maybe barely pulled christmas off, in the midst of life being full and busy, but we did it.

and the kids had a blast.

i didn't get many photos this year, but are a few (sometimes blurry) moments from our christmas:







we hope you all had a very merry christmas, too!

this last year has been one full of its own difficulty, lots of transition, and so much grace.
as we reflect on the goodness of God that we have seen and felt this year, we are so excited to welcome in the new year, and we are sending our love and warmest wishes to each of you!

love.

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.

oh, hey 2015.

happy new year! (give or take a week.)

i've missed this blog. but my absence has ended up being a good thing, i think, and i feel refreshed and excited for this new year.

life has been flying by, and small people are growing up. we're getting more settled into our new(ish) home and the space has been even more beneficial than i had imagined it would be. we survived the busy holidays and so far have stayed pretty healthy--a fact that i am not taking for granted, as health still seems like more of a novelty around here than a given.

this new season has brought strange and different challenges, in areas that i didn't expect. but we are learning and growing and settling into this new rhythm of life we've found ourselves in. some of us more gracefully than others, and i admit that probably doesn't include me.

but despite the (new, normal) hardships of life, we have been able to experience grace in large amounts, and in many ways. and really, because of that, life has been sweet.

isn't it always, though? 

love.

photo credit: misi photo.

scenes from the (independence day) weekend.

this weekend was made of new memories. the weather was glorious and we were spoiled with having nick home for three whole days. i feel like, in a lot of ways, it was a glimpse of the start of a whole new season for us. a season of (relatively) good health and sweet littles and love and life and joy. we explored downtown, ate good food, laughed with good friends, stayed up late, and thoroughly enjoyed each other. god is so kind.

for now, here are just a few (very high-quality if i might add) photos from our first family fireworks.

the kids had a blast. we love this city.

till next time (and that will be soon, i promise).

love.

around here, lately.

we celebrated our sweet boy who turned four with a chick-fil-a lunch date and a few small celebrations with friends and family. it was pretty low-key this year since life has been so buys, but it was filled with cars and planes and one very happy boy.

this boy of ours. he is so tall and filled to the brim with life. he can barely express all the emotion that  spill out of him at times and is so compassionate and sincere it makes us so proud. we are so thankful for him.

we've also been able to steal away for a few pool days and the kids love it. we all do.

also? this girl's got style all her own. ♥

love.

scenes from the (memorial day) weekend.

our weekend was filled with a nasty virus, missed events, a semi-traumatic haircut, and an overtime-working husband. but even still, we managed to have some pretty great times together. times that were pleasant and rich and just so, so good.

seriously, living life with these nuggets keeps getting better.

love.

norah turns one.

on saturday, we had a little celebration for the birthday girl.

this little girl is so precious to us.

love.

(a special thanks to misi photo for capturing our sweet girl's special day!)