// WALK THIS WAY

well, well ... the time is a comin'.
little miss stella love is itching to go, go, go!
she's got the one hand walk down.
you have to hold the right hand, not the left. no balance on the left, hahaha!
just recently is she becoming gutsy enough to take a step or two on her own to get to me from where she's at. her excitement of the accomplishment is written all over her giddy/smiley face. i love it!
soon & very soon we will have a walker.
until then, i'll gladly keep her steady ... always! love her.

// PHOTOGRAPHY BY NOAH, age 5

one day last week, Noah wanted something to do because it was one of those stay at home & just hang out days.
i had just finished downloading some images & had my camera in hand.
i handed it over to him & said "here, go around the house & photograph things that mean a lot to you."
he looked at me with big eyes & said, "you're gonna let me hold that?!?"
quite honestly, he posed a very valid point, but I told him I trusted him.
so ... with a HUGE smile, the boy placed the camera strap around his neck & went to work.

if i'm being truthful, i had no expectations. i expected every image to be blurry and/or photos of super random things.
no. not the case ... AT ALL.
i was seriously so giddy when i loaded these images. they were amazing ... & perfect straight out of the camera.
about 60% of the images were ALL stella.
he said, "well, you said to take pictures of things that mean a lot to me."
OMG, my heart was about to pop - SO sweet.

why didn't i think of this project before?!?!
i absolutely loooved scrolling through the photographs of things that he deemed important to him.
and he is so incredibly proud of these photos - which, by the way, i barely tweaked [a little contrast difference on some & b/w to mix things up]. the light was so good, it just worked.


i loaded the images in the order in which he took them throughout the day.
he took only about 20 total ... & I was expecting to see like 200!
he really thought about each shot & only did it one time.
there were definitely some blurry ones, but most were great!
love that he wanted to capture stella's "bed head hair" after her nap ... he cracks himself up with that one. ;)

i hope you enjoy viewing his little world!
and i encourage YOU to hand over the camera to your kids one day.
i guarantee you will love what you get back.  
Noah does ask me often if he can take more photos because he's apparently thought of a lot more things that mean a lot to him. ;)

////////
taken by me that same day ...

these two have my whole heart.

here's one of those images you *wish* wasn't blurry because it's so perfect ...  this portrays their personalities to a tee. noah - all boy. stella - all girl. i love this shot, anyways.

here's the sweet, little photographer himself getting ready for bed ... he had a good day. love him. xo

// THE LITTLE THINGS

it's the little things that i love the most ...

the little dainty bows that clip to the wisps of her hair. how her first reaction is to slowly circle round the top of her head in search of that bow. all while her big brown eyes are deadlocked on me ... knowing i am going to say 'no, no, sister' ... she continues anyways.

the little nose. i have a baby nose obsession. the silhouette of her baby nose gets me every time. 

the little arm rolls that i know will soon fade. documenting them is a must, so i will post photos for days of the rolls. i don't want to let them go.

the little legs rolls are too much. my motherly instinct when changing a diaper is to bend down & bite them. so i do. giggles ensue always.

the little toes. oooooh, the toes! sticking out of the sandals - kills me. the way they curl up the moment they hit blades of grass. ugh, can't handle it.

the little shoes that are the size of my palm. how new & clean they still are. precious.

the little fingers. the way they hold on tight to my shoulder when i get a good morning hug. the way they ever so lightly pat my back for no reason at all. the way they reach out for me when she needs a bridge. the way she slowly pinches her food. the way she looks at them when slowly bending them up & down to say goodbye.

while these photos may look similar to you, i see a million & one things more behind each one. so .... i'll continue to document the little things that mean so much! xo

// SUMMER SIPS

i love summer.
i live in texas.
exactly.
it's HOT & there's nothing more refreshing then a delicious, chilled drink to sip on the porch while watching the littles splash in the water!
when i ran across Bobbi's mason jar tumbler on IG, i knew instantly I a] needed one & b] needed to get her featured on our My Everyday series!
i absolutely LOVE that she's a mom who's working hard to build her company from the ground up & she's doing a might fine job at it!
an extra little bonus, she loves Jesus ... which just makes it even more sweet.
her business, The Mason Bar Company, is one you should follow if you're on IG & also be sure to visit her lovely Etsy shop.
the tumbler is PERFECT for summer days.
every mom deserves a little treat, so go treat yourself to one!
thank you, Bobbi, for creating such a genius product!
xo

 

 

// HE IS COMING TO YOUR RESCUE

this morning, Noah & I were reading about the story of Adam & Eve in his bible ... this part stuck with me -

"before they left the garden, God whispered a promise to Adam & Eve: 'It will not always be so! I will come to rescue you! And when I do, I'm going to do battle against the snake. I'll get rid of the sin & the dark & the sadness you let in here. I'm coming back for YOU." 

that is an unbreaking, always & forever love! 

a true hero story ... He is coming to your rescue.

 *photo by lauren larsen

// INDEPENDENCE

my little lady love is growing ever so quickly.
the first month is complete in her ONE year & so much has changed in such little time.

the independence phase is slowly showing face. she has gained confidence in moving from place to place w/o letting out a little yelp for some assistance. 

the sleeping all through the night phase isn't quite fully happening but she is sleeping much better - praise the LORD.

we still nurse & she seems to not really be quite ready to stop. honestly, i thought from the beginning, lets just try to make it to one year. i really had no idea it would last this long & be so ... effortless. well, actually, the first few months were far from effortless, but i am so proud of myself for sticking that out. i can't really recall a time i've ever said i'm proud of myself for doing "x" but i sure will say that about this. :) i love being able to do that for her ... such a sweet time that I know will end sooner than later. there's just nothing more satisfying then knowing she is/has gained so much from it.

extremely THANKFUL to be this baby girls mama. nothing i ever touch in life, outside of motherhood, will ever compare to this. i constantly find myself thinking of what i can be doing less of, to do more of this - & to be able to do it well. i recently have cut some creative work out of my life because it was something i could live without & something [in my opinion] that wasn't making a difference for God's kingdom. i believe we can all make a difference [big or small] ... especially in the lives of our kids at home [& that's a huge one]. there's so much to sow into these little lives & RIGHT NOW is the time. so i'm spending my RIGHT NOW on them & enjoying every second of it.

// THE FARM MARKET

around this time of year, when we lived in Nashville, I'd spot Georgia peach trucks. have you ever tried one? delicious!

well, i had heard of a little place somewhat near where we live called Ham Orchard's yet had never had a chance to visit. well, Memorial Day was THE day to visit apparently!

the place was so packed the peaches sold out extremely fast. i was a little bummed, but then when i spotted the homemade pies [cherry, peach, apple, blackberry, etc] i pretty much forgot about the peach shortage.
this little gem of a place has so many delicious foods, from fresh vegetables & fruits, homemade peach ice cream, pickled anything, delish dressings, jams/preserves ... it's endless & it's ALL good.

we ended up taking home some blackberry walnut dressing, peach preserves, peach cobbler in a mason jar [i mean], red skin potatoes & Noah enjoyed some delicious homemade strawberry ice cream. i'm a sucker for small town little places like this & plan to go back in two weeks so Noah can go out in their fields & pick blackberries for us. oh & of course grab those peaches!

// MEMORIAL DAY

what a wonderful day spent with family.
i love my little warren clan ... they bring such JOY to my life.
praising God for the freedoms we have in this GREAT country - blessed beyond words.
today, we honor those who died winning & protecting our freedom & thankful to all who continue to do so!
xo

// PARK DAY

over the weekend, we decided to swing by downtown dallas & visit the, relatively new, klyde warren park.
it's my new favorite! a playground built right above the highway overpass ... it's pretty cool.
food trucks, live music, an entertaining kids play area ... just overall a GREAT place & we'll be back many many times. :)
bonus ... I found out the Dallas Museum of Art [located across the street] is now FREE. art classes too. i was thrilled to find that out ... can't wait!
wonderful, beautiful day ... love DALLAS!

// A NEW BEGINNING

Today marks a new chapter for little Noah.
He graduated Pre-K & is well on his way to KINDERGARTEN! How can this be?! I clearly remember his first day & then just like that it's his last.
He won the "Smarties" award for always coming up with creative ideas. Oh my gosh, my heart was so excited to hear that! I love the little creative soul that he is!
I hear so many times from parents w/ kids heading off to college, how quickly the time passes & to cherish these days. I get so sad when I hear that because I know it to be true. Although Noah is still so little, I can't believe he's now FIVE years old!
He knows so many things already & he's only been alive for five years! If you think about it five years is not long at alllll. I own shoes older than him.
But from infancy to this picture ... my oh my ... that went fast. And I know it will only continue to snowball from here.
I want to remember everything. I always think when he gives me a super tight hug that is so sweet how I want to remember that moment for the rest of my life.
I know I've said that SO many times since he's been born & I get a little teary eyed when I can't remember things I wanted to remember at those moments long ago.
However, I have the NOW.
And need to live in the NOW.
My little Noah is in a stage where he enjoys the cuddles, requests multiple hugs daily & says "I love you" at LEAST five times a day. I mean, that is PRICELESS & I am soaking up every single second of that.
Noah - I love you so much it's impossible to show you or say with words how deep that love is. You are such a gift & I am so so so so grateful to call you my son ... to be your mom.
xo