Wishing a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!  We’ll be enjoying time with family, eating yummy food, and playing card games!  I’m looking forward to a much needed break after a whirlwind of a fall season! And that means I have so much blogging to catch up on, from throughout the whole year, in fact!  To my wonderful clients, thank you for the great honor of capturing your beautiful lives and joyful moments!  To my “village” consisting of my amazing hubby, Reggie, my parents, family members, and dear friends who have helped with the boys and my crazy schedule…thank you, thank you, thank you!  I love you and truly appreciate you all so much!!!

Here is a sneak peek at our own family photos, taken by the lovely and talented Stefanie of SB Childs Photography!  She photographed our maternity session while we awaited Remington’s arrival, and it was such fun to have her document our family of 4 on a sunny autumn evening!  We have sooo many favorites!!!  What treasures you have given us!  Thank you, Stefanie!!! 

Dear Remington,

Five years ago, I became one of the luckiest moms in the world!  Little did I know then how much you would change my life!  You’ve blessed me and our family with your smiles and laughter, with your endless energy, with your creativity and excitement for everything around you.  It seems like yesterday that we celebrated your 1st birthday at Forest Park, and you screamed and squealed with joy and glee with friends running around you as you smashed your first cake.  With your love of animals, we surprised you by taking you to the zoo for the next few birthdays with feeding the giraffes being a highlight each time!  This year, we thought you may be on to us with going to the zoo…so we switched it up and surprised you with a road trip to Columbus, Ohio to see one of your favorite animal enthusiasts and educators, Coyote Peterson.  You were so excited!  On this your 5th birthday, we wish you a day (and weekend!) full of fun, time with family and friends, and love beyond measure!  We are so proud of you, especially for becoming such a great big brother for Emerson.  My heart melts when I see the two of you playing, hugging, running, and laughing the way that you two do!  You asked me once to tell about when you were born, and it was such a sweet moment for you and me, one that filled my heart with happiness to share with you.  We both cried happy tears as I described those first 24 hours in the hospital to you.   I won’t ever forget the story of the day you were born…each time I think of it, even now as I write this, it brings tears to my eyes…seeing you for the very first time and not being able to fathom how it would be to love someone so deeply.  Thank you for being my amazing, sweet, funny, incredible Baby Bear, my Pumpkin Pie, my little Remington James!  I love you so much, so much, so much…to the moon and back!  xoxoxo, Mommy

This year feels so different than any other.  I suppose I could list the reasons why, mostly to serve as a reminder to myself when I need to get back to how I feel right now.  You know those times, moments, and feelings you want to bottle up and keep forever?  Yes, I’m talking about one of those special feelings.  It’s like a delicate recipe of happiness, contentment, gratitude, joy, with a dash of resolve and resilience and grace.  In a nutshell, that’s how I feel as I type these words.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have it all figured out.  By “it” I mean life, and the balance of work and family, of being a mom and a wife, of feeling creative and needing to stay grounded.  I don’t have these things figured out in the least.  But in this moment, I am ok with that.  And the sum of these things is what I want to bottle up and store up on a shelf for the times when I need it most.

I’m a mother of two darling boys.  Today they have both made me laugh those deep, fulfilling laughs, be it with something Remington said or at the tantrum Emerson threw because he wanted his big brother’s sippy cup of water.  Oh, and when Emerson had a Cheerio stuck to his forehead for quite a while at breakfast this morning and had no idea it was there!  As Reggie said, that photo will be great first date material!  Sometimes they can bring me to tears.  In those sweet moments when they are quiet, snuggly, or when we lock eyes with each other while reading or playing.   Especially if I hear certain songs that remind me of bittersweet times as they grow.  Don’t get me started on the A Thousand Years song!

Sometimes I have to really let it soak in that I am lucky enough to a Mom to my two sweet babes.  And there’s no way I could do it without my husband, Reggie.  We make quite a team!  And I owe a million thanks to my parents for all of their help and support over the years!  Which leads me to the whole point of this post… Mom, thank you for sharing your unconditional love with me and my family, in all that you do for us, I could never begin to describe how blessed I am!  Love you bunches!  Thank you also for sharing these amazing peonies with us – passed down over generations from our family!  What a special reminder these lovely blooms are!  And blooming in perfect time for Mother’s Day! xoxo

To all Moms, Grandmas, and all who share their motherly love, from here and afar, in heaven and in our hearts…Happy Mother’s Day to you!

Wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays!  Thank you to my wonderful clients for making 2016 such an amazing and fun year!  It has been an honor to serve you, and I’m looking forward to the New Year!  I’m excited to take a much needed short break to spend time with family and friends over the holidays!  Our little guys are ready for Christmas – Remington has been patiently counting down the days!  They’ll be visiting Santa this evening!  Who knew you could make an online appointment with Mr. Claus?!  He’s a very busy guy, so it makes sense!  Here’s hoping it goes smoothly!  On Remington’s wish list this year is a guitar, ice skates, a polar bear on ice skates, skiis, and a skateboard and/or snowboard!  Emerson hasn’t really said what he’d like from Santa…however, Remington said that he wanted Legos! Ha!  Here’s a peek at our our family photos.  We had a gorgeous fall evening at the always beautiful Mustard Seed Gardens!