finding beauty, confidence, and rest in motherhood
Anticipating … a quiet day ahead of me! Jemma is on a mini vacation with her Daddy and grandparents and Max and I are at home chillaxing. Yep, chillaxing :) That’s code for watching Pretty Little Liars, blogging, and napping. Buying … Christmas gifts! I finally decided on a play kitchen for Jemma – my […]
I would say shame on me for taking so long to share about Jemma’s actual birthday … but no, these outtakes from her two year old pictures explain it all. As I’m sure you can imagine, life is wild and busy with this little firecracker by my side. She’s an absolute gem Jem! After breakfast […]
For years my sister Katie planned to become a veterinarian. As a child she executed her plan by joining 4-H, reading about dog anatomy, and collecting as many stuffed dogs as she could. In her little girl mind I think she wanted to decorate her office with a swarm of furry dogs! Recently we found […]
The last two months have been quite the adventure. Daily I find myself thinking up little pep talks to encourage myself through the day … You can do this, Gretchen. You can. Really You know, some people have twins … that would be much harder. Take some deep breathes, nap time is in less than […]
Our party preparation began Friday night when Jemma’s Italian grandparents arrived. Jemma’s love for meatballs and Italian heritage inspired our meal and Boo Daddy was just the grandpa to make it all come together. He started by rolling over 100 meatballs while the famous spaghetti sauce simmered on the stove. Dominic jumped in with his […]
My baby sister and I last lived together when she was 12 and I was 18. That all changed this summer when she was home from college and Dominic, Jemma, and I moved into my parent’s home during our house building adventure. Hannah climbed the stairs for my tired pregnant self countless times and acted […]
Yesterday we celebrated Jemma’s 2nd birthday! Words cannot quite express how blessed I feel to have such a happy, healthy girl as part of our family. Jem has grown so much in the last year and I’m immensely proud of who she is and who she is becoming. Daily, I praise the Lord for giving […]
Welcome to the September edition of Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival: Exploring and Learning. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival hosted by The Positive Parenting Connection and Authentic Parenting. This month our participants are writing about this exploring and learning! Please read to the end to find a list […]
My sweet girl, Do you see that picture? Those glimmering eyes, cheeky grin, and wild hair, oh my! I love ever speckle of you! We visited the market last week and you had so much fun pointing out animals, trying your first snow cone, and filling your skirt’s pockets with rocks. Not to mention the […]
… at the theme for Jemma’s 2nd birthday party! Can you believe Miss Jemma is turning 2 in just a few weeks? For a long time I thought we’d plan a TWO-ti Fruitti birthday party for her second birthday, but we swapped ideas for a few reasons. 1) Fruit isn’t locally in season in October […]
Cooking … this amazing recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I mean, does she not cook anything amazing? I saw her whip this up on last week’s episode and couldn’t wait to pick me up some leeks and white wine. It turned out fabulous! My mom said it is one of her new favorite pastas […]