Back to the Mountains

Our first trip to Tennessee with Behr happened this past weekend (that is, it was his first trip on the outside with us and not inside me). He did great! Our little buddy loves the car and slept most of the way, and yes, we're counting our blessings for that. We stayed at my parents house as always and had a marvelous time. I was so excited to finally introduce our son to the Smokey Mountains and his grandparents home there. It holds such a precious place in our heart and I hope that he'll soon grow to love it as much as we do. 

I realize that most of these pictures are of our Behr cub with my family. I don't apologize for it though because I love going back through these images and getting to see how very much he his dearly loved by everyone. 

We shot a wedding while we were there. It was Behr's first day away from both of us, which was definitely not fun; we missed him all day! So you can imagine we were pretty happy when my parents surprised us at the reception to let us show him off. He kinda stole the show for a little bit ;) 

And we got to do a mini-photo shoot of our little family. My boys + my favorite mountains. This is the stuff of my dreams.

It had been too long since we'd been able to visit this sweet place and be with the ones we love there. The loud craziness of my family. The solace found in mom's lovingly planted flowers. The way the last sun rays warmed those blackening branches. And always the comfort of the blue mountain ranges framing all of it with their majestic quietness. It was needed and we're so thankful. 

'Tennesee, you've been good to me…..'

Learning, Adjusting & Loving

Early morning feedings. Washing more than just dishes in our sink  Multiple daytime naps. Juggling household chores + baby watching. Long evenings of trying to convince our little person that sleep is a good thing (we promise it is, buddy). Realizing that life hasn't stopped, just slowed down a bit and that it's all ok. 

Our lives have changed. 

I'm still a bit in shock that we're parents now; that this little person is ours to keep. Learning his needs and wants and personality has been quite the adventure. It's not always easy, but we've been given a holy gift in the form of Behr Owen and I'm humbled to be entrusted with him. 

Things are harder but more sweet than they were before. I'm somehow simultaneously aware of my ability for great love and great selfishness all at once. God is working here in our home and heart and that process can be quite messy at times. There have been tears and days of feeling defeated but Jesus is providing grace (and thankfully more sleep now). We're all still a bit shaky as we take these first steps as a family of three; it's all so new! But I can see that we're steadily moving forward and slowing figuring out what works for us. 

Obviously I don't have the same amount of free time on my hands that I did before. I don't have multiple hours to write and edit pictures for this blog or time to get the house to look just so. But what I do have time for is investing eternally in the life of my husband and son. It's something that I honestly (and to my shame) take for granted so much.  Forgive me, Jesus.  

Yesterday we went out to run some errands. Just an outing for the normal things, grocery shopping, grabbing some lunch, etc. I don't know exactly when it happened, maybe it was in the dairy aisle, maybe it was when I saw these pictures that Jonathan snapped of us before we left the house, but I began to feel this beautiful settling in my spirit. 

Things may be different, yes. Learning all this may feel like an awkward, clumsy experience at times, but this is my life now. The season of motherhood has begun and what a miraculously sacred gift it is. 

"And so we welcome this new season, whatever it may bring, because we must, because to press on as we have been doing hurts too much. Instead of fighting the changes and the transitions -- what if we leaned into them instead?"

-Emily Freeman

Beautifully Busy Weekend {part 3}

'Baby Rodgers 1st Shower'

The next event on the docket for that weekend was the baby shower! My family worked so hard to make this sweet day for us all under the direction of my sister Melissa. She consulted with my other sister, Beth (who is the master at party planning) and they, together with all my family, made this incredibly special day happen.  I mean, just look at how pretty everything was! I absolutely loved all of it. Especially that cake. Ohmygoodness, it was SO good. But the crab baguettes, white cream-cheese chili and iced coffee sure made for a spectacular menu all together. If you ever need to throw a killer party, just hire my siblings. Seriously.

All the pictures from this post were either taken by Jonathan or our very servant-hearted friend, Sarah.

 And, of course, we had to get some sister/mom-daughter pictures. These women are most precious to me in so many ways. And every one of them are uniquely beautiful, inside and out. What a privilege to call them family. 

We were honored by so many friends and family attending. You showed your support just by being there and blessed us in abundance with your gifts. Thank you again and again! Sarah captured some moments of us opening all of Pickle's sweet presents and Gracie made sure she was on hand to help us unwrap everything ;)

 I finally got the chance to sort through everything from the shower at home yesterday. The books, the adorable bath time paraphernalia, the gifts cards, the cute onesies and blankets…all of it…makes me excited for little Boy Rodgers to get here. He's so loved already. I can see that, not only in the gifts everyone gave, but in the support and encouragement we've received all along the way. We can't say it enough, and it doesn't seem adequate, but thank you to everyone (family + friends, all of you!) who have been and I know will continue to help us prepare for the arrival of our baby. 

We are humbled and grateful.