Some Baby Inspiration...

No, I'm not pregnant, nor am I sure I'm even near that point in life. 
But a lot of my friends are.
So  I felt like finding some inspiration.
I like the idea of something cute, but not something SO pepto bismal pink (although I could paint a room pink, I'm not saying I'm against it) or bright blue...
I like the trees popping up in a lot of nurseries.
I like family touches.

I found this at Tiny Decor, where there is a lot of modern nurseries. I love this.

http://www.creative-baby-nursery-rooms.com/whimsical-tree-nursery-idea.html

 

 Gotta love a good tutorial. Plus, my absolute favorite background color. Great for a boy or girl...

One of my favorite blogs to read is The Joyeful Journey. She is SUPER creative and super focused on the Lord. I love that. It's hard to find both...I mean, she calls her baby the womb baby...Love her.

Okay, and this is probably the most unique. I LOVE ASHLEY ANN. I mean...every DIY she does is on my list to do.  How does she come up with it all?! I couldn't agree with Ohdeeoh understand me so well? Read..
If you know anyone who wants to make me an amy butler quilt, will you let me know :) She is lucky enough to have a mom who makes them... I love how this room looks so girly, but also not too bubblegum.  Currently, sweet hubby is painting my office a light bright color...and working on a pallet bed...so that we have a nice hangout room. Basically her nursery is a reading room with a crib in it. I like it.  I want the reading room now...the nursery might be a lot farther off.

Happy Birthday Dr.Seuss!! I am so thankful that there was such a silly, awesome guy to give us such fun reading material.  I am past Dr.Seuss, but... I was so hooked on a book that I read it the whole time I was blow drying my hair, while I was getting my coffee at starbucks, as I ate my oatmeal and then even at stoplights on my way to work. Put the book down lady!   :) 

Nursery progress...kind of :)

Recent life has included trying to stay cool in the extreme heat and attending very humbling and sweet baby showers. I have LOVED these baby showers, and I have been overwhelmed by my kind friends and their sweet gifts and thoughtful words. I love that people acknowledge Briar in the midst of the JOY of Finn. I haven't forgotten him, and it means so much when my friends don't either. So thanks for that, friends!!

The nursery is coming along. My friend Karlissa...who is the BEST...made me curtains for the nursery that look kind of like this.


We found these on pintrest...from this website...
We saw on another blog how someone had painted their curtains. So we tried that.  And it failed.
So she surprised me at the shower by bringing me these.  I felt so loved.  What a SWEET gift.  Especially because I know she wanted to keep them for herself.

I also bought this dresser from her...

Which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and it will match my crib skirt very well. I wanted to do mostly muted...grays and blacks and whites...with some pops of color.
The main 'pops will be turquoise and yellow.  I 'pinned' this to my pintrest and my friend Jamie (who is so COOL) saw it and then MADE IT!


This came from here.

My last shower had lots of mustaches....and bowties...can't wait to share it with you.

For now...this is a glimpse into my nursery.  It's not nearly done. I better hurry up!

I am 32 weeks and went to see the midwives today...and he is head down...yay :)  Sweet, sweet guy....I will get as big as I need to get if it means you are healthy.  I am working hard to stay healthy...but the occasional ice cream (okay, daily..) is a part of life lately...

We are SO EXCITED to meet you!   But we will go to lots of movies for the next eight weeks...because people say that it stops once the babies come...

HAPPY TUESDAY to YOU!!

Little man feet...

One of my favorite parts of Briar were his feet.
They were huge for his little size.
He was adorable.  the photo of his feet are still on my desktop of my macbook.

The feet together on the canvas.  The set you see on the wall is the top set, Briar's feet.

sweet feet.  Brandon and I always thought Briar's feet were huge.  Then we did Finn's footprints, and we put them under Briar's.  The vision for the canvas in that room is to have all three boys' footprints on there (Briar, Finn and Eli).  Finn's look HUGE, thus making sweet Briar's look so small.  I am not quite sure how that makes me feel.  I liked feeling like his feet were big, because it made him seem real and substantial.  Obviously he is real...was real...but as Finn is VERY real and PRESENT every day, it makes me miss Briar that much more and wish he were here every day.

Enjoying the moments with Finn helps me to realize all that I am missing or missed with Briar.
But every time I look back on that day with Briar, I am thankful.  I recently had a girl reach out to me who was dealing with a diagnosis of anencephaly.  It is not a journey I would wish on anyone, so it is tough for me to hear that someone else is dealing with it, but it is also really neat that the Lord has given me the opportunity to encourage others.  The journey is tough, so I am happy to support people that are dealing with the loss of their sweet baby.

The moments with Finn are special because he is special.  Time with him is not diminished just because I miss Briar, but there are the moments that I think back and wish that we got more time.  I put this print in the nursery to remind me that I can CHOOSE to be happy, even in those moments that I miss my little man.  "Today I WILL (indicating I will choose to be) be happier than a bird with a french fry"...now I don't know if birds love french fries...but there is something that makes me happy about this print.  A little random, just like me...and just random enough to make you smile...

 I got hats like this for Briar, and so I wanted to get them for Finn. I got bigger ones for Finn, but they didn't fit him.  :) So they are still cute to hang, but he didn't really get to wear them.
Look at this sweet vest.  Finn wore this home from the hospital.  I can't believe how much bigger he is ALREADY!


I realize that this post is ALL OVER THE PLACE.  But remember what I wrote yesterday?  That is just my mind...so you'll have to be okay with it. :)

PS.  have you ever decorated your nursery, and wondered why you haven't spent more time decorating the rest of your house? I love spending time in the nursery, which makes me feel like I should have beens pending more time decorating other rooms in my house.  Hmm..

Starting to think about the nursery

You all are all smart.
Can you help me with some decorating...

Here is the wall color I'm using in the nursery. My AWESOME friends Noelle and Rebecca came to paint while Brandon had a crazy week in the field. I love them!

This is it. It might not look awesome, but it is.
All the trim is white.
It looks nice.
The crib is white.

I am going to look at friend's dresser. It is turquoise. It is not going to match my crib skirt, I feel sure of it. I picked this turquoise and didn't realize quite how dark it would be.  Rebecca's mom {big momma} is making it.

I still love it, but I don't know how light i can blend...will that go with a lighter turquoise? My plan is to accent with yellows and turquoise...and just a little bit of red. Trying to accent with pops of color.

I want the curtains to be yellow. I am going to {attempt} to make them. It is between these two..


Actually, do you see the side of my blog? I would love it if I could find fabric like that to accent with! I found these on fabric.com for about $8 a yard. I wish I could find cheaper, but using a coupon there, I think it is about as cheap as I can get. Do you have an opinion on the fabrics? Any thoughts? Even if you don't know me, I'll take your opinions...

Okay, and then there is this guy. I just love him...so he needed to be included in this post somehow.

We have been going to childbirth class. It is interesting and definitely teaching me a lot about staying healthy now to stay low risk. I was already doing most of it. One thing I can't do? A squat that makes me butt TOUCH THE GROUND with my feet pLANTED flat. I have bad knees....three surgeries...but can anyone do that? i'm just wondering...ifyou can, don't make me feel bad and tell me... But for the record, I couldn't even do it when I was in my best shape NOT PREGNANT!

Happy Wednesday to you!

28 weeks and a premie..

Wow. I can't believe I am 28 weeks. I remember when I was 28 weeks with Briar. I had so much fluid. The kicks and movements felt different that time around. Briar moved more, because he had a swimming pool to move around in. :) I feel like I look just as big this time...(two pregnancies in a row will do that to you..) but I donn't have nearly as much fluid.  Tonight I had a sad moment, just thinking of Briar.  Thinking of how I could barely remember his face.  How his nose went up into the top of his forehead.  It's hard to remember.  It makes me feel like a bad mom.  He's my son. I should know.  But our time together was SO SHORT.  Much too short.  But to think of him now...in heaven...how can I feel sad for him? The only person who I can feel sad for is me :) That I missed out on his life on earth.  But I surely can't feel sad for him.  He is with our Father in heaven. No better place, in my opinion.

Finn moves quite a bit too, but in a different way. I hear more pushing out (almost like a bruise) on the top of my skin.  I love being pregnant, and I feel so lucky that my pregnancy is super easy.  I am still working out every day, and really enjoying it!  A guy at the gym told me that my baby will come out working out.  Well, obviously not doing squats down to the ground... :)
Teresa Cotey, I laughed and laughed about your comments about living in a country where you were forced to squat to use the bathroom.....this is so true...most people that come from overseas have no problem with this kind of squat.  It was a NECESSITY, not a choice.
Not me. :)

My belly looks lumpy at the top. He is just moving all around. I often feel like he is on one side or the other. A lot of people mention it when they see my belly. He is on one side or the other. So goofy. I forgot to remind Brandon that the little focus dot needed to be on my eyes...not on the chalkboard. So enjoy the chalkboard focused photos :)

Just recently, I think I told you that my friend Priscilla delivered a healthy baby after enduring several losses. I was so enthused to meet him that we did a quick photo shoot the day I saw him at home in his new nursery.  Sweet Samuel.
One of the best purchases I have made recently at my local thrift store was the vintage scale that I got for $8. How awesome is that? So,so sweet.












Oh. My. Goodness. I saw him today and he is now three weeks old. He was two weeks old here. SO HANDSOME!!!! I love him!!  He was just a sweet, 5 lb. premie.  Excuse me for missing the ounces here...but he was just a little, handsome snugly man.

Thank you for your opinions on the nursery fabric.  Keep it coming.  I need help.  I have been trying to go see a dresser my friend has for about two weeks now.  Just ridiculous how crazy my life seems. How? I am not working?! It makes me wonder if I will be LESS productive while staying at home.  When I have to work I manage my time very efficiently, because I have to.  When I am not working, sometimes my ADD self gets to roam.

I did decide on a name for my photography.  It is based on what I often say.  I tell people all the time, "Hello, friend".  I feel like it is a cheery way to greet someone.  I call my students friends. I call adults friends.  Unless they dont' seem kind, then they do not get this title.  I suppose, as I name my photography, my hope is that anyone I take photos of will be doing this so that I can invest in their lives.  So I can capture a moment in their lives, a season.  Every change in our lives is marked at a moment in time, but it will not stay this way for long.  As I photograph life, I really love capturing moments.  And my hope is that by the end of a photo shoot, that they can call me a friend.  If not, I dont want to take photos of you...it is important to me that I can connect with every person and/or family that I take photos of.  It makes it much easier to show personality in photos.
You will see some tweaking on this logo.
But this is the draft one that I am putting on my print releases now.




I am not taking any new shoots at the moment, but if you are interested in future shoots, I can take your name so that when my schedule opens up, I can let you know! :)

Turning Decorations to DECOR..

It started out like this..in a heap on my floor after the celebration..

I won't lie. I am a stealer.  Rebecca stole the idea from Ashley Ann to begin with.  And now I am stealing baby sister's nursery idea for my fun hangout room/possible future nursery.  I will tell you that I think it is so fun.  It makes me smile to walk in this room.

Little Man Shower

The amazing KATE WHITMORE took these photos of Finn's shower. I LOVE them.
I love my friends.
Some of you did not get invites. It is because I am spacey.  Not because I don't love you. PLEASE hear me when I say that. Pregnancy brain is NO JOKE.  It is a real occurence.
It was a very fun celebration. This was about a month ago.
But I am just getting things together to go on the blog.
Wow, efficient, huh?

I am not sure why my photos have these huge spaces in between them. Don't mind them, just enjoy looking at my "Little Man's" shower. Sweet Finn, I cannot wait to meet you. I need to go buy some red rasberry tea and evening primrose oil. Some natural labor "inducers" since we are getting to that point where I would be excited if he came. I was SIX WEEKS early when my mom had me....so three weeks early (full term...37 weeks...) would be no problem! :)

I have been praying for a very UNEVENTFUL labor. Right now he is head down, but laying the wrong direction so I might end up with some pretty exciting back labor. So I am praying he will turn. But if not, I am just excited that the day is coming where I will meet him. The nursery will be DONE as soon as I get my other set of curtains. Pretty exciting.
My friends threw me the coolest shower I have ever been to...just being honest :)  I hope you have a wonderful TUESDAY!

Out of the Spin Cycle...Poems and rambles..

Seems like the Lord is speaking to me lately, since I just started Jen Hatmaker's devotional and the prologue is this poem.  Clearly I can relax and just remember that I'm not alone in my thoughts...that we should all just take it easy and pursue God.  She is a fun person to read.  Does that even make sense? I enjoy reading her writing, because she writes to authentically. I value that.

Before I let you read that...we can talk about a couple things.

I just made these.

and these.

I had these Medjool dates and a hankering for something yummy, but I don't want sugar. So...boom.

Dates can work magic people.  

Dates and Coconut Oil.

Ugly but awesome.

Aren't some of the best of us? 

Oh, give it a rest, just kidding.

We closed on our old house today. 

Official end of a chapter of our lives.

I went over and took some pictures the other day of the boys, sitting in front of the house.

It's hard to get two year olds to sit still. I digress, this topic for another post.

With my NEW (old) camera.

Remember, (oh, wait, you don't remember because I didn't blog at all in December...) that my camera got stolen out of my car while I was running? Well, I just got insurance to give me more money to buy a new one.

Then, I bought from online vendors because Columbus, GA doesn't have good places to buy nice cameras.  So, alas, (9weeks later) I finally  have a new camera.

But it's the same as my old one.

So, not that thrilling.

And it didn't come with a cute ruffled camera strap.

Alright. Life is pretty sweet. Sitting on the front porch of my rental house. Enjoying a nice Georgia March day (the only month you can sit outside without freezing or burning alive...).  Life is good.

I hope you have a fabulous day. Especially after you read this.

A (Fairly Lame) Ode to Mothers

An ode to the marvelous woman called "Mother"

Though not one of us is exactly like another.

From the second we're born to the minute we die

Our preferences are as limitless as stars in the sky.

We might have been perfectly gracious before

But childbirth entered us in the Mommy War.

Rather than letting everyone else be

We criticize parenting that isn't exactly like . . . me.

So once and for all let me put this to rest

None of us owns the title of "best."

Natural childbirth does not make you a hippy 

Epidurals are not just for women who want to feel trippy.

In a bathtub with a doula or in a hospital bed

We all got a baby with limbs and a head.

Nursing is great if nothing goes wrong

But some nipples turn inward and refuse to play along.

This is a choice for each mom - it's her route

So it's just A + B and everyone else can C their way out.

Schedules and timers do not make you cruel

Feeding on demand does not make you a fool.

In the nursery with a monitor or in the family bed

Every chick gets to pick where her baby lays his head.

If I see one more mom roll her eyes at "organic . . . "

"Partially hydrogenated" throws some of us into panic.

But neither judge Sonic burgers and fries

Some of us just want to enjoy food before we die.

Preschool, home school, public, or Montessori

Listen, my friends, and I'll tell you a story:

Two moms differed on favorite school trends

Their kids turned out pretty much the same. The end.

If a girl gets the title of "mom" accidentally

The worst thing we can do is treat her judgmentally.

How about some love, some help, some advice?

She needs our love and we shouldn't think twice.

Discipline through various methods will prevail

Look, we're all just trying to keep our kids out of jail.

These things are just preferences, not right or wrong

What matters more is teaching our kids to get along -

To love and to share, to speak gently and kind,

To obey so that mom won't go out of her mind.

Showing them Jesus is our common ground

Teaching them how he can always be found.

He's present in public school and Waldorf (so trendy)

He's over at Whole Food but also at Wendy's.

Jesus never cared about these sorts of things

It's our hearts that he wants and the worship we bring.

It's time for us moms to declare a truce

Regardless if we buy Capri Sun or 100 percent juice.

My way is not your way, and your way isn't mine

But both of our kids will turn out just fine.

Rather than judging and looking down our noses

Let's enjoy the common ground motherhood poses.

As believers, we all love the same good Lord

We all have children who tell us "I'm bored."

We all need more sleep that these tiny five hours

Most of us struggle to find time for a shower.

We haven't been to the bathroom alone in an age

Our mothers have all told us, "Relax, this is just a stage."

We all love our babies so much we could die

We'd take a bullet for each one without batting an eye.

Though we are different , we're in the same tribe

Motherhood requires a similar vibe-

Love and affection, sacrifice and grace

Laugher, which keeps the whole mechanism in place.

Though different, by the grace of God, I suspect:

ALL our children will rise up and call us collect.