pursuits of a five year old.

putting on his raincoat,
noticing that the flowers smell like candles, touching the soft white petals and feeling thankful that, "now we have our own garden!"
choosing some for mama,
placing them in a mason jar in the bathroom for all to enjoy.
.
just some of the daily pursuits of a five year old.

happy friday.

today is:

vacuuming with my little helper(who uses a grocery cart instead of a vacuum),

 actually getting homework done during asher's nap(yay!),

lemon kombucha,

milk + cheerios on the floor,

cleaning the bedroom (i hope),

finding staples in roman's shorts(why do thrift stores do that??)

wearing my favorite comfy sweater,

looking forward to cuddling my boys to sleep and finally getting to see aaron 

after an always good in ways but also tiring day!

what does your friday look like?

(photos from a photoshoot i did for Spearmint Baby a while back)

easter sunday.

just a quick post to share some photos of our little easter bunnies yesterday.

gosh, they looked so adorable in their matchy match neon shorts and soft cuddly shirts. 

these boys had such a wonderful day. fun days like these, when my children are preoccupied with all the excitement, and therefore forfeiting their usual grumpiness, give me a chance to look at them from afar and see how wonderful they truly are :) 

i loved watching little ash carrying the big wire basket of plastic eggs down the hall at my grandparents house with the most satisfied smile on his face, watching him count the eggs "one doo tee!" and lining his puppies up all in a row.

roman's pure happy laughter in the backseat while playing with my little sister olivia, and his hard core determination to find as many eggs as he could during the egg hunt at aunt paula's :)

gosh, nothing better.

hope you all had a wondeful Easter!

here's to keeping Jesus at the center of our days, every day.

for the details on their outfits and to see roman + asher on spearmint baby today, visit me here!

baby wearing.

(spring 2012)

(asher's first birthday)

i'm featured on she breathes deeply today talking about baby wearing!

wearing my babies has been such a sweet and special part of mothering for me. it was such a treat to be able to share a little bit of my experience with others and to look through some
of these old photos;)
as asher is growing more and more toddler each day, i don't get to wear him as often. but we still have our moments. asher snuggling against his mama, his warm baby body against my chest, wiggling around to get comfortable, tucking his hands inside the sling.
such special tender moments, that i will cherish always :)

(summer 2012)

twenty months.

oh this photo, the definition of our ash. 

twenty months, in the same little shirt that i made for roman when he was small.

i'll let the photos speak for themselves this time, but fear not - my heart is filled with just as much gushy mushy love for this boy as usual.

some previous monthly photos:

nineteen months

eighteen months

fifteen months

enough.

i wish i could be your perfect mommy. i wish i could let you climb the washer and run with a spoon in your mouth. i wish i didn't mind when you kick my neck to wake me up in the mornings. i wish you could color on the walls and i wish i could tip you upside down over and over and over for hours on end and treasure your joyful toothy giggle.

i wish i could be perfect for you. i wish that when you cry and whine at my feet and pull on my legs as i'm doing dishes, i wish that instead of feeling frustrated, i would always stop first and come down to you. because all you wanted anyway was to hug me slowly and softly in the afternoon light.

i wish i could be perfect, better, more. but all i am is me, YOUR mama.

and i hope that is enough.

my baby leggings post on spearmint baby this week :)

seven years.

 (march 17, 2006 on the way to our wedding reception)

i'm so proud of my husband.
i'm proud that as a teenager he showed me what it meant to love and to be loved. i'm proud that he furthered my heart's desire to live a Godly life and that he taught me how to pray out loud.

i'm proud that at 18, he worked at a bagel shop to save up for our future and bought me a pretty old fashioned engagement ring. i'm proud that he drove an hour to and from work to support me through a horribly difficult pregnancy that brought us to our first son roman. i'm proud that he remembered all the instructions from the lactation consultant when i was too extremely exhausted to hear or follow directions after roman’s birth. i'm proud that he has diligently worked at jobs he doesn't love to support our family. i'm proud that he fixed the birthing pool and encouraged and loved me through the childbirth of my dreams to bring us asher. i'm proud that he is a sensitive and compassionate husband to our boys. i'm proud that he has reached for dreams of a better future for us all and that he hasn't given up even though it’s been hard.

there are so many things that i love about aaron. i am teary and full thinking what God has given me. there are many things that are not perfect and not wonderful about my life. but aaron is such a blessing. to think that amidst every barrier in my life, God gave me what my heart wanted more than anything - to get married young, to be a mother, to love Jesus - it just blows me away. sometimes i feel so different than everyone around me, like i am doing things so alternatively and following such a different path, but aaron always gets me. he always has. maybe nothing i am saying makes any sense, but i have to get a little bit of it out anyway while it's on my mind.
seven years ago today i married my best friend. i love you aaron, thank you for loving me always, for your endless prayers and endless back rubs, for sharing all things simple and wonderful with me. forever and always ;)