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.

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.