jaybird family pictures, 2018

Recently my amazing sister took new family pictures and I've just been bursting to share the sweetness!!!  I'm still blown away by the gifts these three people are in my life... and seeing us captured like this is so priceless.

autumn favorites (so far) ~ 2018

-  handmade hats on babies.  the warm, snugly is strong!

-  hot soups and baguettes.  i'll admit to buying two huge baguettes after trying a sample at costco.  i have no regrets.

-  perfectly falling leaves.  i snapped the above picture after this gorgeous leaf fell into haven's lap.  autumn loves me.

july favorites

full to overflowing

Nearly three weeks ago, our precious Haven Rose made her whirlwind arrival into our lives.  After a short but intense labor (less than two hours), our second daughter was placed in my arms.  Our hearts are bursting with love for this sweet new child as we learn her and bond.  All is going relatively smoothly so far as we adjust to being a family of four.  Rennie completely adores her little sister.  I will definitely be sharing more of this chapter of life soon, but things are quite a bit busier these days so blogging hasn't been a priority.  My recovery is going pretty smoothly so far (only a few tiny hiccups along the way).  Thank you all so much for praying throughout my pregnancy.  We definitely covet continued prayers as we raise our precious daughters.  <3  So, till I can find some time for a better life update, here are pictures to tide you all over!  :-D  Many blessings!

maternity pictures and six years married!

Recently, my lovely sister, Natalie, traipsed around a local park with us capturing beautiful family moments as we celebrate adding another sweet baby to our tribe.  So, get ready for a picture OVERLOAD (not joking), since I had a really hard time whittling down which ones to share.  :-)

thoughts from instagram

"A changing body is not a ruined body."

april blooms... maternity outfit post

april favorites

~  my daughter's windblown hair.  it smells like sunshine.

~ tiny children in rainboots.

~ warm breezes.  it doesn't entirely feel like spring yet, but maybe we're getting close?!

Baby HR Gender Reveal!

before and after the ultrasound!

One week ago, Andrew and I traveled through fog and rain to find out how our baby was doing and also to discover HR's gender!  Because our midwife lives two hours away and I also had a regular checkup along with a chiropractic appointment, it turned into an all-day affair.  What a fun time  for just the two of us to see and celebrate our new child!

instagram...

Once upon a time, a twenty year old bought this tunic a week after finding out she was pregnant with her first child. It was the dead of steaming hot summer, but she knew it would be perfect for the cold months when her bump would be very visible. One week later she gave up her baby to heaven.


About two years later she would have worn this top with her second pregnancy more often, but the timing just wasn't right seasonally. She welcomed her rainbow baby and prayed for at least one more child.


Two years later, she threw on this tunic for church, caught her reflection which showed the story of yet another life beginning and she cried. She cried because she will never not miss her first child. She cried because her two year old is perfectly, blissfully sleeping behind her. She cried for thankfulness as her hand instinctively touched her growing middle. She cried for the pain and beauty of her journey so far. She cried because God is gracious and answers prayer from the deepest corners of the heart.


<3

a bigger step

Where's the baby?

There it is!

Oh my friends.  In the last little-over-a-month since my last post, so much has happened!  Andrew and I met with a doctor (as I shared we would).  This was what we thought was our big "next step" towards growing our family.  Little did we know that as we set up tests and researched fertility drugs that a new life was already growing inside of me.  *tears!*  God has graciously given us the gift of our third child after ten months of trying to conceive (our only baby to be conceived within what is considered a "normal" range).

mamabird life {seventeen} and blog survey!

Mamabird life has been...

~ Little to no brain capacity for writing.  Hence my terrible lack of sharing here.  These pictures are from a family vacation we took a month ago.  Life hasn't slowed down since getting home.

~ Enjoying *some* cooler weather.  It was beautiful at our vacation spot in Wisconsin and the last couple weeks here in Indiana have been beautiful as well.  It's warming up a bit though... Go away, summer!

seventh blogiversary!

renniebird... two years!

This morning my body woke me up at 6:30. Normally I would have sank back into our mess of blankets and pillows for some more shut-eye, but instead I stayed awake for exactly seventeen minutes to watch my baby turn two. In that time she rolled over in her sleep to wrap her arm around me, smushed her face against my arm, smiled and giggled in her sleep, and was by far the sweetest and dearest child in the world. 
So many times in the years before her existence I laid awake at night wondering if I would ever be a mom. I shed so many tears during that time. I prayed so hard and doubted so much. Yet later this morning I was greeted by deep blue eyes and a smile that reaches every inch of her face as she woke to her second birthday. I am so thankful for the sweet child who calls me mommy. These two years have been a time of enormous growth for me as a person and I would never trade them for anything! Happy birthday, sweet Renniebird. And thank you God for this gift.

--- yesterday on Facebook

little house on the alley... loft

I can't possibly choose a favorite room in my house.  But if there is one in particular that makes a grin spread across my face, its our loft-style bedroom.  I love the original gabled ceilings, the big window, the cozy feel.  I chose the same airy cream paint from the living room for the walls, but included warmer colors for the decor to compliment the small, but so-very-sweet space.

mamabird life {sixteen}

Well, hello August.  We haven't seen each other in a while.  I wasn't expecting you so soon.  You bring much-awaited fun, including a week-long family vacation and my daughter's second birthday.  Hopefully you won't be too overly warm.

Goodbye June/July (because you two completely ran together and I can't keep up!).  We had a good run this year.  You had some hot days but made beautifully breezy and cool apologies on others.  You held beautiful moments.  You were full of good mamabird life.

Including:


Much time spent outside.  On swings, at parks, down slides, with strollers.  It's been wonderful.

Many stained toddler clothes.  Rennie's growing might have slowed down quite a bit, but she's still going through clothes like crazy!

little house on the alley... master bedroom

Yes... that is Rennie putting on her shoes behind the dresser.  Such is taking pictures with a toddler in the house.  <3

I love this little bedroom.  It is a somewhat small space, so I've kept the decor simple and really love how relaxed I feel spending time here!  We have a big, lovely window above our king size bed (yep, our king fit with some room to spare!), peaceful light gray walls, and our closet doors are mirrors so as to add extra light (hopefully pictures of them don't confuse anyone on where pieces of furniture are since, you know, mirrors make things backwards)! 

lazy days of summer

crazy old days... lake michigan adventure

My mother is an adventurer.  And she reeeeeeaaaally loves spur-of-the-moment excursions.  Hence a random trip on a Monday evening to the Indiana Dunes to watch the sun set over Lake Michigan.  <3  While my introverted, planned-out nature doesn't always keep up with her so well, I'm very thankful for these sweet times.  She definitely brings out the adventure in me.

Sometimes I can feel like a dandelion whose seeds have been blown to smithereens and left a plain, strange stem.  Not much to offer.  Nothing special.  But today my daughter picked several of them, dubbing them flowers like the rest, to present to loved ones.  How marvelous that it just takes eyes of love for something small and ugly to become valuable and beautiful.  Jesus loves me (and all of us) just that much.  He sees our hearts of sin and extends His grace.  He presents us before God, a treasure.  But He also takes it a step further by pulsing new life into us so we can grow and thrive and LIVE.  He makes an army from dry bones and beauty from dying weeds.

--- my instagram