A Purposeful Peek

Sweet Charlotte Ann, No doubt about it, you are incredibly sweet. You grin with your entire little body, and you talk like you have things to say far beyond your 3 months of life. You've recently entered a phase I like to call the "sweet spot" - you are so interested in the world around you, from your discovery of your tiny hands to your fixed gaze on Momma wherever she moves within the house.  You are so engaging and vibrant, and yet you love to snuggle. You are rolling over like a champ but not yet truly mobile, so it is easy to keep an eye on you.  Yes, this is definitely the sweet spot. But make no mistake, you are also adorably sassy! You never hesitate to let it be known when you would rather be rolling around on a blanket on the floor instead of being held. You can go from cooing and giggling to sticking that bottom lip out and whimpering in less than 2 seconds because you want a change of scenery.  You've mastered the art of arching your back and lou...

"On the night you were born, it was dark and stormy outside..." I love a good story, especially a birth story.  I love how no two stories are alike, and yet they somehow bind people together. Here is one of my favorite stories, a [long] story I never want to forget... Thursday, August 14th, our "due date" had come and gone.  JJ and I had never put too much hope in a certain date, as we knew most first time mothers deliver their babies closer to 41 weeks according to statistics. Nonetheless, we were ready. On Friday the 15th, I wrapped things up at work, cleaned off my desk, and told my coworkers goodbye...  I was optimistic that they wouldn't be seeing me on Monday. That evening, we went to Bricktown for date night... a date night we hoped would be our last before the baby arrived. We ate Italian nachos at Zio's (a friend swears these induced labor with both of her babies!) and went for an after-dinner stroll. A 3 mile walk, to be exact.   When Sat...

Love crosses oceans. It doesn't stay in it's own little corner of the world, minding it's own business...even when the world is in turmoil, and fear abounds in hearts everywhere. Today, the love of my life is on a plane home from Africa. He has spent the last week and a half in Mushayamunda Village, Zimbabwe with a team of servant-hearted, courageous people, who went to love and serve in the name of Jesus despite the current state of our world. Plane crashes. Ebola. ISIS. The list could go on and on, and the news reports do nothing to ease the minds of travelers.  In addition to the international threats, there are countless domestic reasons my husband could have stayed home.  A two month old baby and a wife left to be a temporary single parent. A recent move and the uncertainties of unemployment... But he went. Because over 50 years ago, love crossed an ocean. In 1958, a physician in Winston-Salem, NC uprooted his young family from the safety of suburban America a...

Today, Charlotte and I attended a baby shower and got to see three of my adorably pregnant friends! Through our conversations about pregnancy, labor, and newborns, I was struck by how beautiful this season is for each of us and how I already look forward to journeying through this cycle of life again someday.   Newborn babies bring fresh hope, inspiration, and beauty to life. You just can't help but smile when you look at them, and suddenly the world seems right... so here are some of my favorite smile-makers from Charlotte's newborn photo session when she was a wee 10 days old...  Photo credits: Holli @ HolliB Photography Motherhood is no joke; the nights are long, and some days are extremely hard. But when I look at these sweet pictures and realize how fleeting this season is, I want to savor every single second!  So, to my beautiful pregnant fr...

Charlotte Ann, You are TWO months old today! Just when we think you can't possibly get any cuter, you continue to fascinate us with your adorable developing personality. In the spirit of this Fall season, we've deemed you our "Little Pumpkin Spice" because your sweet personality definitely has some spice to it! (Not to mention, your hair is the color of all things fall :)   You tend to be very vocal, and you are already very opinionated about everything from how you want to be constantly moving to the way you want your left arm un-swaddled and positioned just so before you will fall asleep.  Speaking of sleep... we have finally turned a corner, hallelujah!  Around week 5, we moved you from sleeping in our room to sleeping in your own room, and you truly sleep better in your crib. You've gone from hour long crying sessions at night, fighting every urge to close your eyes, to now (most nights) being content to put yourself to sleep in your crib after bei...

My favorite color is October.  It's the color of seasons changing and new beginnings. It's the color of abundant life and celebration. It's the color of all things vibrant, warm, and cozy.   It's the color of pumpkin spice lattes, boots and scarves, state fairs, football, and family gatherings. It's the color of crisp, sunny days and cozy, cool evenings. I'm so glad I was born in October.  This month, I have been so loved and celebrated by the life-giving relationships of my family and friends.  These people have honored me in the most thoughtful ways as I enter into this new decade of life...  Birthday cake with girlfriends on a Sunday afternoon with the sound of our kids playing in the background. Pizza night with my parents over good conversation. Daddy-daughter brunch date and my first lesson in firearms at the gun range. Shopping date and girls' lunch with my Mom. Romantic Italian dinner with my favorite guy followed by a moonlit walk around...

Dear thirties, I've been told that you are the "new twenties"... that life in my thirties will continue to get sweeter and life experiences will be even richer... that my family, friendships, and career will bloom into their full potential and that I will have a new perspective on my priorities.  While I am ready to embrace this new season, I am cherishing this last week in my twenties. No offense to you, thirty, but my last decade is going to be pretty hard to beat... it's been filled with some of the most incredible adventures and personal growth that I can imagine. So, before I enter into a new decade this week, I want to reflect on some of the highlights of my twenties... Fell in love with... God's heart for the nations My husband Our first baby First learned how to... Live on my own Drive the speed limit Skydive Snowboard Sell a house Buy a house Completed... 9 moves (thanks, Mom and Dad!) Doctorate degree Pharmacy residency Pediatric spe...

It's becoming increasingly clear to me that I may very well learn more from my child than she will ever learn from me. I don't mean that she is some type of child prodigy and was born with infinite amounts of wisdom; rather, I am beginning to see how God is teaching me truths about Himself, about life, and about myself through the experience of raising this baby girl. Today is Sunday, a day of rest. And that's quite ironic, because Charlotte seems to want to do ANYTHING except rest. She has been fidgety, fussy, tearful, and wide-eyed. All. Day. Long.  In fact, right now, I am sitting in her nursery listening to her try to fight her way out of the swaddle, tossing and turning in her crib, and fighting sleep with every ounce of her being.  I've learned that if she is awake for more than 2 hours at a time, she becomes "over-tired" and nearly impossible to console. As her momma, I know that what she needs most right now is rest. The thing she needs most is the...

Charlottte Ann, Our sweet Charli-Girl, Cuddle Bug, Little Sunshine. HOW is it possible that you are one month old today?! Surely we were just bringing you home from the hospital, the longest drive home of our lives, and rocking you in your big white nursery chair for the first time to stare at your sweet face and soak in the fact that we are now officially parents ... Coming home from the hospital! You've come a long way from that very first night home, when I wondered how I would ever sleep again - partly because I wanted to stay awake and listen to your breathing, and partly because you refused to be further away than in my arms, alternating between constant eating and sleeping. You are now sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night, and while you still love to be held as you sleep, you also don't mind being placed in your swing or Pack -n- Play, both which are just steps away from our bed. You've spent some very long nights being soothed by your Momma, and you a...