Life's A Dance

The other day I was casually scrolling through Instagram - something I am trying to curtail as I inevitably end up spending waaaay too much time there - when I saw a post that simply said: "There is a movement of mothers, back into the home." And it intrigued me. You see, almost 2 years ago now, I felt this tugging to home . To be present at home. To create a space that not only feels safe to my family but is an encouragement to others when they visit. To use this season of motherhood in the HOME as a blessing to my family AND BEYOND. **To be clear I am still learning what this looks like.** I had no idea where to start but the silver lining that I see in 2020 is that it intentionally slowed us all down. I'm not negating the hard, because it was definitely a painful time, but I am thankful that there was a slowed pace for all. It definitely allowed me to rethink where I was in my motherhood and life. I had this idea of what motherhood should be. What it was supposed to b...

It's hard for me to rest. Like, really hard. My mind is constantly going, going, going and I'm always looking to start - and not always finish - a new project. I'm good at planning and organizing my thoughts. I live for the moments I can just sit with my thoughts and get them onto paper. Seriously, it's my happy place. I'm not good at living in the moment. But I'm working on it. Because I've come to realize that no matter what my giftings may be and how they could be "monetized" or better those around me, I have the most wonderful gift that I get to live with and experience life with each and every day, the gifts that I prayed and wept over for many, many years. And I don't want to take that for granted. I'm not sure where this blogging may take me - and it's my sincere prayer that I stick with it - but what I do know is that I hope that it directs others to simply "be" with those they love. Nothing fancy, no Instagram-worthy ...

They say time flies when you are having fun. Well, I guess we've been having TONS of fun, because today marks T-E-N Y-E-A-R-S of being married to my best friend and I can't believe how fast they have been. I took a little trip down memory lane this morning and wanted to share my treasures with you all. Happy Anniversary Karlito! Here's to many more! xoxo -C I loved my dress so much. It was the first one I tried on - it was love at first sight. We were surrounded by our very best friends on our special day. Each one of them means so much to us.  Goodness, look how young we all were! We did it!!!!! I love these candid shots of Karl!    This one is probably one of my most fave shots ever. What a special moment during the Daddy-Daughter dance. These pictures mean so much to me as both of our grandmother's have passed on. They were both such special ladies!   Little Madelynn!!!...

It’s hard to believe that it has been 9 days since our little guys have entered the world. These past days have been fast and furious while at the same time drawn out, at times. I knew that caring for newborns could be exhausting and time consuming but little did I realize. Seriously. We’ve started to settle nicely at the house and have a semi-routine down. Karl goes back to work here in a few days and I know that I’m going to miss his companionship during the day as well as all the things he gets done while I’m tending to the boys or, let’s face it, resting. I have been wanting to share our delivery story and have now found the time to do it justice. As I reflect on our delivery, I can’t help but smile and thank the Lord above that everything has been in His timing, in His will, perfect and whole. He truly did have a plan all along and I am ever so grateful that he chose to bless us with these two beautiful boys. I went into my appointment on Wednesday the 5 th (36 weeks...

Why do we call it that? The Waiting GAME Games are supposed to be full of fun and fellowship. They are enjoyable and something that we look forward to, especially with the right company. Waiting is not something we look forward to. In fact it makes us anxious and can drive us crazy. It is typically not a joyous time. At least that has been my experience.  I know with the Lord's help that even in the most deplorable times of wait one can find joy, but, being real for a sec - I haven't been there. Everyone is waiting for something - graduation, spouse, job, children, winning the lottery . . . We all have our own waiting game. Throughout my life there have been many yearnings that I had to wait for and each season had it's ups and downs. We are all waiting. The season I want to share about has been one of the hardest for myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I hope that by sharing it that others will be able to find joy in their waiting and/or fin...

I realized that I haven't yet posted our recent fertility happenings since the beginning of the summer. I've gotten a lot of questions and realize that I need to get this information out there. OK, so back in May we met up with our NEW, AMAZING, WONDERFUL OBGYN and was so comforted by her. I have felt so much guilt with this whole fertility thing - I could have done more, I should have changed doctors sooner, etc. She has been so wonderfully encouraging and supportive. Anyway, in May we talked about some of the things I've been experiencing and she mentioned that I probably had PCOS and Endometriosis. Got my blood work done and sure enough I appear to have PCOS - I'll get more to that later. She also discussed having a surgery done to see if I have endometriosis since they discovered my mom had it when she had her hysterectomy last year. I was very uncomfortable with the idea of a voluntary procedure so we scheduled for it, fully intending to cancel it. We didn...