Letter to my girls.
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Luci Isabelle, 3.5 years // Norah Jewell, 2 months
"You’re mine to love
Come into these open arms
It took some time to wait it out
But I see it now, you’re worth all the dreaming."
~ Dave Barnes
Luci Belle and Norah,
I love saying that now - "my girls." Do I really get to be the mama of two beautiful, precious daughters? I look at each of you, so unique, so wonderfully made. Luci Belle, the top half of your face is your Daddy's, your bottom half is mine. Norah, you look more like your Daddy everyday, but I'll claim your wavy chocolate brown hair and little pointed chin.
Each day, I pray for you my girls, asking that the Lord would captivate your hearts at an early age, that you will grow to be best friends and share lots of laughter. Selfishly, I pray that your Daddy and I will be fortunate enough to live alongside you for a very long time, that we have years of fun and silliness together as a family - cross-country road trips, cooking together at home, creating, taking walks and hikes, living and loving together on this journey.
Luci Belle,
You first made me a mama. My biggest hope for you during this transition to a family of four is that you would still feel ever so loved and treasured. I feel so inadequate most days, like I'm not giving you enough attention. I pray that God would give me the patience and ability to love you the way you uniquely need right now - through one-on-one cuddle time, a listening ear, or a mommy-buddy to share ice cream with.
How did you get to be such a big girl? Wasn't I just cuddling your newborn body in this very room? I'm so proud of the girl you've become.
I see these photos and am moved by how perfectly they capture you - your smile, your passion. I know God has special plans to use that spirited soul of yours.
Norah,
Welcome to our family, sweet girl. You have such a peace and calmness about you that perfectly balances out our family. We waited so long for you and now I can't imagine life otherwise.
It's so fun to have a tiny baby again. Since you are probably my last, I find myself just sitting and staring at you and smelling your sweet smell for minutes on end. I don't want to miss a thing ~ like your gorgeous cock-eyed smile and pillowy cheeks. You don't cry much and sleep pretty much anywhere and love being carried in the Moby wrap or Boba.
I've always had ambitions to do work outside the home, and I've been able to accomplish that. But above all, what I always wanted was to be a mother. In many ways, it's the more difficult path and more challenging than I ever thought possible. But to see the face of God in each of you, to be challenged to be a better version of myself everyday, and to be given this immense gift and responsibility, is worth it a million times over.
Love you with all my heart,
Mommy
*All photos by Erin Fletcher.
A house full of color.
/If there's one thing I cannot do, it's white walls. To me, they're a blank canvas just begging for some kind of color. And little by little over the 7+ years we've lived in this home, we've splashed color here and there. As they say, a fresh coat of paint is the easiest and quickest way to totally transform a room.
Thanks to my husband, a neighbor, and some friends who are handy DIY'ers, we're currently re-painting the outside of our house and doing some renovations on the inside. Whenever we're thinking of adding a new color to our house, I first add it to our overall house color palette {below} to see how it flows. Now I'll probably stop adding new colors and just use one of the current colors to paint the bathrooms - the only rooms left to be painted!
There's dust on every square surface of our kitchen right now, but when it's all said and done, it's going to be an even brighter and more colorful place to cook with our family and friends. We ripped up the gross, broken tile and found a layer of vinyl flooring underneath. And under that, we found the original hardwoods! They're in pretty bad shape, and I've always wanted a painted wood floor, so....we painted the wood floors a nice, fresh green (Moss Print by Behr). For the kitchen walls, I'm thinking a very pale blue (perhaps Waterfall Mist by Behr), inspired by this kitchen and this one. All the cabinets and trim will be white (goodbye to the orange window trim for now). If you have another idea for the kitchen walls, let me know!
We'll also be painting the hallway a calming, neutral khaki (Comforting by Behr), and all the picture frames will be shades of white to make it like a photo gallery. We'll frame lots of photos of people we love and places we've been to tell the complete story of our journey. It seems we have about a bazillion photos so it's going to be quite daunting deciding which ones will be framed. To finish the hallway, perhaps we'll add a bright runner like this one from World Market.
Currently, the outside of the house is being painted a happy, peaceful combo of grey tones and yellow.
Main part of the house: light grey
Small accent trim: dark grey
Main trim: white
Doors: bright yellow
Can you think of a more welcoming color for a front door than "yellow rain coat"? Um, I think not. The house colors are all Benjamin Moore, but I had Home Depot match them to Behr paint.
I'll share the final results soon! Stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope the colorfulness has inspired you!
This moment.
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{this moment} - A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by SouleMama
I heart three-year-olds.
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I've decided that three-year-olds are some of the most imaginative beings on the planet. My daughter Luci Belle is constantly cracking us up with her fanciful stories and tales, and I love seeing her imagination take flight. Since her baby sister Norah arrived, it seems as if these stories have been taken to another level. Here are a few gems she's said lately...
She walks into the room holding a flower vase from the bathroom, emptied out of the flowers and filled with water.
Me: "What are you doing with that vase?"
LB: "Just drinking out of it. It's my wine glass."
~ ~ ~
Upon leaving for a walk, I notice change stuffed in her back pocket.
Me: "Why are you taking money with you to the park?"
LB: "I'm just taking it in case we see someone who is sick or doesn't have food to eat. Then I can get it for them."
~ ~ ~
LB: {very urgently} "I'm sorry Mommy, but I have to go to California to take care of my daughter, Claire. But don't worry, I'll only be there for 5 minutes."
In addition to her "daughter Claire" {who, interestingly, is five-years-old}, she says she has "another daughter, Olivia Jewell" who lives in California. The other day, we found out about yet another family member - "a talking cat named Carol."
~ ~ ~
It's funny how since Norah was born, Luci Belle now has her own made-up daughters onto whom she projects things, like if she has a potty accident. She says, "My daughter Claire sometimes has accidents..." and we get to have a conversation about how to kindly respond when that happens. I'm guessing all of this is just a normal, imaginative way to deal with the many changes in our lives and the challenges of being three. These days can be so exhausting, but I record them here to remind me of their beauty and wonder - I hope I never forget that my daughters' childhoods are happening right now. What a joy. What a responsibility.
And I've seriously gotta meet that talking cat.
This moment.
/
{this moment} - A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by SouleMama
Spring-ing.
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Things we're doing to savor Spring this year...
- Walks everyday with the stroller and Moby wrap
- Stopping to look up and see the blossoming trees
- Pausing to pick dandelions
- Eating sandwiches outside at the Farmstead
- Pretending we're queens, and the playground is our kingdom
- Driving with the windows down and our toes hanging out
- Family time on the back deck with iced green tea
- Giving our chipping home a facelift - repainting it a new fun color scheme - can't wait to share the end result!
Spring is like heaven here in Dallas, and we don't want to miss a thing. What are you doing to savor spring in your neck of the woods?
Faith of a child.
/That one time my 3 1/2-year-old asked me to write some words for her in a book she made, and she dictated it to me, and in one sentence she basically summed up the entire Bible...
"if you don't love someone, that's not kind to Jesus."
Yes, that's exactly right, Luci Belle.
I'm a humbled mama today, realizing once again how important my job is in shepherding my children. But in the midst of such a crucial and sometimes intimidating task, let me never stop seeing all the ways they teach ME.
