Story of Now

I mean, every mother is a working mother but I am referring to the work away from my baby. I returned to work last Wednesday night. I had anticipated the day for 12 weeks. Preparing. Wondering. And in the last week, crying. I knew she would be fine; my husband, mom and mother-in-law surely could care for her. I had feelings of sadness because I knew I might not see the first time she met certain milestones. I knew I would miss her terribly. I didn't, however, expect it to feel completely unnatural. I thought to myself "mothers are not meant to be away from their children for such long periods of time." The toughest part was realizing a whole day went by and i didn't get to play or snuggle. I survived and took comfort in knowing that she was creating deep bonds with her dad and grandparents. Now, my time with her is even more special!

I first photographed these twin boys when they were twelve, and now they are seniors. Time really flies. These two are very different and yet they both have huge hearts. Their momma raised them to be such fine young gentlemen. I have no doubt that they will be successful at whatever they do!! Live. Love. Laugh. Embrace.

For a few weeks now, Liberty will look at the ceiling and smile when I am changing her, or so I thought. I realized yesterday that she is actually looking at the butterflies behind her. When I realized it, it made me cry because of this post from last July when I was trying to get pregnant after having a miscarriage. The hope that I felt when that butterfly landed on me last summer carried me through and now I have a beautiful reminder everyday!

It seems that since I have become a mother, everyday tasks are no longer boring. When I am doing laundry, I will say "Okay, here is a t-shirt and we fold it in half and then in half again and we put it in the pile." "Okay, here are daddy's jeans and they hang right here...oh and here is another pair...boy, daddy has alot of jeans." " And this shirt hangs right here and that shirt goes there." All in a sing- song voice. And she actually enjoys it. Maybe she'll never think laundry is boring! I will hope for that!

All of my greeting cards come as framed photos. So you are getting an actual picture printed on photographic paper! Greeting cards measure 5x7 and come with matching envelopes.

This afternoon, Liberty and I laid on our backs in one of my favorite spots in the yard. The weather was perfect....warm and breezy. Our view was beautiful. All the leaves were glimmering and fluttering! I am pretty sure she thought it was magical. She was kicking and moving her arms all around. I think she barely even knew I was there. But I am so glad I was. It was perfect!

Through your eyes the whole world is new. Shadows and light. Colors and shapes. An array of sounds. It is so fun to see the world through your eyes and rediscover how beautiful the simple things in life are. I am so blessed!

My sweet girl is 5 weeks already. It really is amazing how much she has changed since she was born. She has started making more sounds....oooh's and ahh's. It is so fun! I put her in her crib and on the wall there are bright colored circles and she'll just look at them and talk. She loves to be on her changing table. She loves to be held up over the shoulder. She loves listening to baby bach in her bouncy seat. She is very curious, always looking around with eyebrows raised! First smile to be caught on camera! Just completely melts my heart!

A story unfolds itself according to God's plan. My plan and God's plan were different when it came to the birth of June bug, which to our delight was a girl we proudly named Liberty. The one thing that God and I both planned for was a healthy baby. When she arrived I was so relieved and happy that she was beautiful and healthy and at that moment that is all that mattered! She arrived safely!!! She's a girl!!! I am so lucky to be her momma! I am so blessed to have the wonderful support of my husband! My life has been forever changed for the better. She is 3 weeks now and has grown so much already. It truly is amazing to watch her change before my eyes. I am so in love! We are blessed!!!!!

39 weeks My little june bug- We are almost there! It could be any day now that you arrive. I will do my best to wait patiently. I get so excited sometimes. I just cannot wait to hold you and kiss you and see what you look like and see if you are a boy or a girl and smell you and snuggle you and tell you sweet things! Daddy and I started watching a documentary tonight about baby development in the first year of life...so interesting! We are ever amazed by this journey and it has barely even started! Hold on tight, your going to be on the outside soon.

I feel so fortunate to be able to capture the spirit of children. From their playfulness, to their seriousness, to their tender little hearts. A childs beauty never ceases!

36 weeks Dear little June bug- We are almost there! We finally got your room painted and daddy started putting together your crib that we got from auntie Heather. We also put together your stroller and practiced folding and unfolding it. Daddy was being so funny (you'll realize he is like that a lot!)You continue to move and shake and amaze us every day. I find myself being so excited I could almost burst at times! Me and daddy got maternity pictures done around the land here last week...yay, pictures of the two of us! You are our little (BIG) blessing. Just a few short weeks and you will be in our arms.

I hope to be as good of a mom as my mother has been to me. I hope my child knows that they can come to me with anything and that I will be there for them no matter what. I hope that I can teach values through simple lessons and modeling. I hope that I am generous and patient with them always. I hope to give them the freedom to play without constraint so they can discover their dreams. And I hope that my arms and shoulders are as comfortable as my moms too. Thanks Mom!!

This little boy turned 3 at the end of March and we have been waiting for a nice day to get pictures outside. The day he turned 3, his little sister turne 6 months! SO, finally last Wednesday they came for picture. I just love these two...they happen to belong to my dear friend Emily. He is such a big boy now...we were playing between trees! Just look at those eyes and those cheeks!! Seriously adorable! Emily bought this bench at a garage sale last year...score. So sweet! It looks like he is telling her a secret! I edited this one a little different; I like the old time feel! While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.

Our bodies will separate and you will rely on me to listen to your cues for what you need. Baby, I will do my best to give you what you need and be attentive to your cues. I will hold you and love you and give you all that I am!

Share love. Spread love. Be love!

Well, I must say that I love crafting and having a baby on the way has me exploring new crafts. I search for cute baby items and bookmark them. I am not someone who takes a tutorial or recipe or much of anything and follows it exactly. I am always making tweeks; sometimes it turns out and sometimes my way might be the long way. It is just the way my brain works I guess! This is a baby soft block, tutorial found here . If you didn't know already, I am in love with owls . I found this material at SR Harris Fabric Outlet , where all regular priced fabric is 50% off....love that! This block is so soft and squishy and is about 5 inches tall. Then I found a cute tutorial for a stuffed owl , and I just had to try it. As I said before I don't really follow the directions, so you can see how different mine looks...kinda cute but I think hers is cuter. I think littl June Bug will like it anyhow! I have also been wanting to decorate some wooden blocks. I ordered some 2 inch pine cubes fr...

I want to make some baby items! I have already made a couple of receiving blankets and a baby soft block . These items are next: wooden baby blocks - so many possibilities! stuffed owl - goes along with my owl obsession! Plus, I have some owl material that one of my friends wrapped a gift with, and I will have to come up with a project for that. Do you have any crafty ideas? Please share!

32 weeks Dear little June Bug- Everyday we talk to you and interact with you. We talk about how excited we are to meet you, hold you, kiss you, snuggle you, play with you... We talk about how our lives are going to change and what we need to do to prepare ourselves. We've been taking birthing classes and preparing for your arrival. It will be the beginning of your life outside of the womb. The bonding that you and I and daddy have had will only be made stronger! Everyone has their guesses about whether you are a boy or a girl, but only God knows for sure. This whole experience is just amazing. One of the things I look forward to most is seeing Matt be a daddy. I hold this image of him interacting with you and it just melts my heart. I am so excited to show you all the beautiful things in the world and also to learn things from you that I do not know. We love you.

Yesterday, my friends threw me a baby shower. It was so much fun and everyone was so generous. We are so blessed and feel so loved!! Cannot wait to meet our little june bug! I look forward to seeing the baby in all the cute outfits and playing and snuggling! I just imagine how incredible it is going to be the first time I hold my sweet little june bug and Matt is right next to me adoring... ahhhhh, just a beautiful feeling!