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Wordless Wednesday
Rain coats aren’t just for rainy days. [update- she JUST now agreed to take off this coat, at 8pm. ha.] Linking up here and here
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Happy Birthday Payton!
Two years ago today I had the privilege of welcoming the most beautiful baby girl into the world. That 7 lbs and 20 1/4 inches of heaven got placed into my arms after more than 9 months o nurturing her in the womb. I didn’t think I could experience a deeper love than I did that day…but two years, some tears (from all 3 of us Norman’s), and countless smiles and laughs later and I can tell you that love is stronger than ever. I’m so proud of you, baby girl. You are so beautiful, smart and sassy! Your personality shines brighter than the sun. I am so thankful for…
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I’m Alive!
Hello blog0sphere! It has been for-ev-er. Ok, so its been like a month and a half, but in the blog world that is the equivalent of forever, isn’t it? One of the reasons I took a break from writing is because I didn’t feel like I had a good “niche.” I didn’t know what I really wanted out of this blog. Yes, it is like an online journal for all the world to see… and I can write whatever I want… but I have been reading so many blogs lately and seeing how they all seem to have a niche… something specific about the blog that makes people want to…
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Christmas Traditions
So I woke up this morning to a few little piles of snow flurries. I don’t know how I feel about that… Part of me wants to be excited because it can be a “festive” sort of thing, but then the other part of me is dreading the slush and horrible driving conditions. I am interested in seeing how Payton reacts to the blanket of white that will eventually cover the ground. It’s so fun seeing little kids experience things for the first time. While my parents were here for Thanksgiving we got to do a few fun holiday things. We went the day after thanksgiving to a tree farm…
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Fallish Things.
We have a few fall trends here in Normanland… One of them being a trip to Eckert’s Family Farm in Millstadt, IL. We have done it nearly every year since being married. It is such a fun place to do fall-ish things. Pumpkins, Bonfires, Hayrides. We were heading out there a few weeks ago (I know, late post…) and we ALWAYS seem to get lost… I’m not the best navigator. but besides that fact as we were getting off the highway on to some of the “back roads” I hear the worst sound…. toddler vomit. Like everywhere. It wasn’t like little baby I just spit up some milk, it was…
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lately.
Hello Strangers! I swear it feels like I am always thinking about new blog posts to start and then I sit down to start them and I get distracted by reading other peoples blogs…. lose myself in the black hole known as pinterest…. remember that I have a few chapters of school books to read…. hear the dryer go off and think I should fold clothes….. found myself lost in pinterest again…. get distracted watching Payton watch Cinderella…. remember I wanted to make coffee…. think I should put away the dishes…. well, I’m sure you get the idea (and yes that all just happened in the last 2 minutes). But…
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The Story of Us.
📝 Editor’s Note (2025):This is the part where love felt urgent.Where we told ourselves forever couldn’t waitbecause the ache of distance was too much to bear.But hidden in all that devotionwas a truth I couldn’t name yet:it wasn’t just love rushing us forward—it was pressure.He said, “We just need to elope or break up.”And I called it passion.But now, I can see it for what it was:a red flag waving in the windof something I didn’t know how to question.We didn’t get married because we were too in love to wait.We got married because we had to.Because he worked for a ministrythat wouldn’t let him live with a woman unless…
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The Story Of Us- Part 5
📝 Editor’s Note (2025):We weren’t technically engaged.But I had already bought the dress.That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?This post was written from a place of total certainty.I believed we were living out a love storyetched in divine timing and dreamy goodbyes.We had counted the miles and the months,rushed toward each other with breathless hope,and stood on beaches and in airportsscripting the rest of our lives with shaky hands and full hearts.And when he said forever,I believed him.We were young.We were in love.And I thought that was enough.He did become my husband.We made it to the altar.We made it through a few more airports.But eventually, he walked away.Again.This time,…
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Funny.
It’s funny how life changes. Not always “haha” kind of funny, but weird kind of funny. For example… the other day Chris and I were talking about getting a deep freezer and I instinctually said “If we did that we could share a pig with someone”…. When would I have ever said that before meeting Chris? Ok, so that one was haha kind of funny because I literally laughed out loud. There were a few spring/summers that Chris grew a few tomato plants and I was less than interested in attempting to help… but this year was different, I wanted my own vegetable garden. I wasn’t sure I could really do it…
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is it worth losing sleep over?
recently i’ve been feeling like there just isn’t enough time in the day. even when i stay focused on one activity of a time I find myself buried deep in a list of projects as the clock tick tocks away. one of the “non-negotiable’s” in my weekly routine is getting to the gym AT LEAST 3-5 times a week. I was really good at going right after I put Payton to bed, but lately I feel like I have so many things to “wrap up” at the end of the day, plus I cherish the time Chris and I have together in the evenings. Not to mention I’m usually exhausted…