week seven: anything is possible

These baby sprouts are from the little bit of indoor gardening we did on valentine's day. It is really suprising to me to see them this tall because I have carried this preconcieved idea that I have more of a black thumb than a green thumb and being plantless and vegetableless was my life sentence. I honestly did not expect our flowers to ever poke through the soil and here they are, waving their leafy arms at me!

Haley waters them everyday and it makes me so proud of her. Every morning she insists on feeding her fish and watering her flowers because "dey grow-wing mommy". Her sense of duty and responsibility makes me giggle and I cherish her nurturing side as a lot of times that image is disrupted by her dragging cameron across the floor yelling "dance camma! dance!"

Little triumphs like this have helped me to believe more in myself and my abilities. I am also grateful for the special little half hour Haley and I spend tending to our plant and animal friends. I hope she always finds a bit of pleasure in life's every day tasks.

How is it March already?

gratitude tuesday: week six

Reclaiming our bed, a place to call their own

Nick and I have always co-slept with our girls, i love being able to kiss their cheeks and play with their toes in the middle of the night. Four bodies in a double is really toasty and a great birth control method, but it also causes a lot of backaches and grumpy mornings. We finally have moved Haley into her own bedroom and are in the process of finding the perfect beds to match the perfect quilts I found while off on one of our thrifting adventures. We went to the children's museum at winston salem today and I wanted to take these sweet bunks home with me. This just may have been the extra push I needed to get started on the girls room, I wish I could replicate this room in it's entirety. If it's good enough for goldilocks and the three bears, it is a storybook dream for us!

gratitude tuesday: week five

A little late for Tuesday, but I couldn't help but hold out for this sweet little addition to our extended family.

Welcome to the world,
Gracen Ruth Conner

It was so great to finally meet you! I am sure you are going to be the best of friends with my girls. We can't wait for play dates, sleepovers, ball games, birthday parties, proms and a million other sweet memories with you :)

We love you so very much already ♥

gratitude tuesday : week four

Being snowed in and subsequent snow day baking!

Haley and I fixed the most glorious homemade icecream sandwiches this past weekend. With that said, I guess I am also thankful for vanilla icecream, sugar cookies, and little but willing sticky toddler fingers too :)

gratitude tuesday: week two

A place to call home...

What a tough week.

With the recent disaster in Haiti and the passing of Marcus Conner, I have found myself grateful for a multitude of things yet very stuck on what "week 2" of my gratitude project would be. I felt like I should have something big to commemorate the life of a wonderful man yet the subject of Haiti has also been heavy on my heart. I just knew that when I looked back on this week I would want to remember them both- they both brought so many feelings, so many tears, and an outstanding reminder of the love and compassion that people can show for a single family and for an entire country in a time of need, a time of disaster, and a time of loss.

So why the picture of our house?

At first I was thinking about how I complain about so many things when it comes to our little abode- how I want to repaint every room, how the floor never stays warm, how we only have one bathroom, how desperately we need a washing machine, the list goes on. But the truth is, I know I am so blessed to even have a house at all. I am blessed to have a roof over my head to keep me dry even though my feet are cold, I am blessed to have walls to hang up pictures of my family even if they aren't the color of my choice, and I am blessed to have a shower that spews out warm and clean water though most days I don't get to enjoy it. I am even blessed to have the mountains of clothes erupting in every hallway!

There are people in Haiti that have lost their homes and their loved ones and have nothing left but the clothes on their back. There are people who are starving, sick, and longing for a warm shower. I cannot begin to imagine how I would handle such losses, I have never been through such suffering first hand. I wish I could go to them. I wish I could do something more. I wish I had more to give.

My heart breaks for them.

And then I thought about Marcus and the first time I ever stepped foot into his home, the only time i've stepped into his home. The home he built with his own two hands. The home of a hardworking man. The home that I had heard stories about before I ever stepped foot in the place. The home where his four boys grew up. The home where his four boys returned when they recieved the worst news of their lives. A home where a wife would have to fall asleep without the man she adored next to her. A home filled with love. A home of simplicity and the basics, because really, what more do you need. A home that had visitors pouring in to mourn the loss of a great man, coach, father and husband. A home where silly made-up stories were told and awkward little monkeys were scattered about. A home filled with treasured picture albums and prized trophy plaques. A home beaming with the laughter of grandchildren week in and week out. A home that would always be a time capsule of one man's love, his life, and a million memories spent with him there. A home that would never really be the same.

My heart breaks yet again.

Marcus, I am grateful for your reminder of what a home really is. I love how much you rejoiced in the little and the much that you had. That should be every heart's desire <3

gratitude tuesday: week one

silence, a soft pillow, and security are the ingredients for a sweet sisterly slumber <3