-
A mother heart
I first heard the phrase “a mother heart” on a friend’s blog, and later heard it used in this talk. The idea stuck with me. I’ve thanked God for my mother heart at times and prayed for it at others. I’ve been listening to Jim Gaffigan’s “Dad is Fat” over the past month. While in many…
-
My Mommy Marathon in the Olympic National Forest
There are just a few weeks of summer left, I’ve been working on a few different projects that have required me to look back through this summer’s pictures. It’s been a beautiful reminder of what a full and delightful one it’s been. It started off in the Olympic National Forest with my brother Devin and…
-
Chiara: 4 months old
I told myself before having Chiara that I wouldn’t judge myself too much until my baby was 4 months old. I knew from my postnatal experiences with Scotland and Anders that it took about that long to start feeling “normal” again- less hormonal/sleep deprived/crazed. I’d say the pattern held true this time too. While I…
-
A name and a blessing for Chiara
In our church there is a tradition of giving new babies a name and blessing in front of the congregation. Similar to how Christ was presented at the temple, but without the animal sacrifice. It’s a lovely tradition and one all look forward to, the family of the child and the congregation. Traditionally, the babies are dressed in…
-
Pam's visit/ Mother's Day/ Chiara's one month
I’m so distraught. I stayed up late one night writing a thoughtful and thorough post to cover these three topics. I thought I published it, but something must have happened. A week later I noticed that it never published, and all the written content had been deleted. 🙁 So here’s a quick retry. My wonderful mother-in-law came…
-
Looking like a scrub
Today, I found myself at the Richmond Beach Strawberry Festival in an old college tee shirt with paint all over it, dirty yoga pants, wearing Tom’s flip flops. My hair had been haphazardly pulled up at some point during the morning- clearly without the use of a mirror, and my face bore no makeup. A…
-
Chiara Jade Foutz: a birth story
Birth is a sacred time. I believe it should be hallowed, reverenced, prepared for. As I alluded to in this post, I spent the weeks leading up to Chiara’s birth preparing emotionally and spiritually. I wasn’t surprised when my due date came and went, and had a feeling that she would be born on Tuesday.…
-
Toys, toys, toys
How many toys do kids need for ultimate intellectual stimulation and creative development? How much stimulation do children get from a wider range of toys? We have two types of toys, high quality toys that we spend good money on, and random toys that I pick up at Goodwill. Usually the latter are of good…
-
Scotland's 5th Birthday party
Scotland has his first friend party this year. He invited eight of his friends. After much discussion we settled on a building theme. We built a huge fort downstairs, and then set out the marble track, duplos, and legos for the kids to build with. We made marshmallow catapults and saw who could shoot them into…
-
Scotland- Age 5
Scotland turned five on Monday. It was a much anticipated birthday and he’s thrilled to finally have joined the bulk of his friends at this magical age. We had a simple family celebration on Monday with his dinner request of balsamic glazed salmon and mashed potatoes, grape juice, fruit salad, and chocolate chip cookies. We opened presents:…