morning.



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happy daddy day!

Happy Day Navy Father's Day Card
Shutterfly custom Valentines Day and Mother's Day cards.
View the entire collection of cards.

dear Logan (16 weeks)


my little love,

You have taught me so many lessons during your time in this world. I will forever be grateful to you for teaching me what I needed to learn the most... patience. You have taught me to take life one minute at a time, and fully enjoy the journey that we are on. You have taught me that although I know life will get better and more exciting, it can't get much better than this. I am a better nurse and a better wife because of you. I look into your eyes and I know this is what I've been waiting for. All of the challenges, tears, smiles, and joys in life have brought me to you. When I find myself worrying about what tomorrow or next year will bring, your face lights up with a smile and I know that nothing matters more than living in this moment. The worst day with you is better than any day I ever thought possible in this life. We are the best of friends, and I hope that never changes between us. You light up my life, sweet boy. I owe you the world, and I promise to spend every minute of my life trying to give it to you. I've never known love like this. My heart grows more and more each moment that I spend with you.

love,
Mama

today.

today I am:


  • Anticipating picking up our jogging stroller tomorrow morning! I've been running for a few weeks (months?) now and surviving with our current stroller, but anxiously awaiting the day I had a true jogging stroller so I could quite worrying about bouncing Logan's poor little head around. Tomorrow is the day!

  • Wishing we could move back home! I just can't get over the intense need to live close to our families so that they can watch Logan grow and change everyday. I feel like they've already missed so much in the last 4 months.

  • Dreaming about all of the projects on my to do list. I began Logan's nursery transformation today, and there are so many things I want to make for his new airplane (and car, and train) room. I also have plans to make more cloth wipes, burp cloths, and paci clips, and get my etsy shop up and running. Oh, and I have about a hundred diy projects I want to do around the house. The list never gets any smaller!

  • Hoping I have an easy breezy 2 nights at work this week. My last shift reminded me of just how rough it gets as a floor nurse. I've had it too easy since I've been back.

  • Missing my friends. Since having Logan I've come to realize just how hard it is to maintain friendships with those that aren't married and don't have kids... such different lifestyles. I've also found it incredibly hard to make plans with friends that do have kids because life is so busy! Something's got to change though because I refuse to be stuck in this house all summer without a life. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! It's going to be HOT. 


truth.

Now that Mother's Day is almost over, can I be completely honest? It kinda sucked. I still mean everything I wrote in my other post, and I really am blessed with this miracle I've been given, but it just wasn't the best of days.

It started off wonderfully. Logan napped on my chest while I snagged an extra hour of sleep this morning. And the card and flowers from my husband really were wonderful. But then the day went downhill.

Nick works on Sundays, so he was gone by 1pm and won't return home until 11pm. I was quickly faced with the reality that Mother's Day doesn't always equal a relaxing spa day, but is often just like any other day with interrupted showers and never ending laundry. And it wasn't one of Logan's best days. He's teething now, which meant a lot of crying, only napping for 30 min, needing to be constantly held, and nursing every. single. hour. It was exhausting. But it still wasn't terrible. I can think of a lot of things worse than extra snuggle time with my precious little man.

What really ruined the day was being 7 hrs away from my mom. I can't even remember the last time I saw her on Mother's Day. Instead of having lunch with her and spending time together, I was all alone. My friends were busy with their moms, and Nick was at work. Even my mother-in-law and everyone else you should spend the day with were all back in NC.

So although I appreciate the sentiment of the day and the reminder to be thankful for all the joys of motherhood, I'm ready for this day to end. Maybe next year I'll find myself at a Mother's Day brunch, or having an afternoon pedicure, or maybe even just a long, peaceful shower. I better not still be sitting here alone in Tennessee. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

52 weeks of Logan: week 14

The reason I celebrate.



Mother's Day will never be the same.

via instagr.am

my first Mother's Day

One year ago today, I was relaxing in a lounge chair with a beer in my hand, the sun beating down on my arms, and the Thunderbirds flying over my head. We were at the air show in Smyrna, enjoying the day as a distraction from Mother's Day and our infertility struggles. I was armed with a positive spirit, a new camera lens, and a supportive husband at my side. It was nothing short of a perfect day.

Little did I know, that was actually my first Mother's Day. I likely conceived Logan less than a week before according to my due date. I had absolutely no symptoms, and at this point didn't believe we would ever have children naturally without medical intervention. But I wonder now if that little fertilized egg didn't have something to do with my positive attitude that day, and the lack of crying my eyes out on Mother's Day for the first time in 3 years (I'm sure the sun, beer, and planes helped too).

I would have never imagined that a year later I would be waking up to a bouquet of flowers, a beautifully written card from my husband, and my entire heart made into the most precious little miracle in my arms. It is more that I ever thought it could be. I've wanted children for as long as I can remember, but I really had no idea the way it would transform me and the way I look at the world. I could have never predicted the overwhelming love I have for that little boy, and the admiration I would have for my husband as his father. I never knew life could be so perfect and so full of happiness and love. It is absolutely magical.

My heart is heavy for those still waiting for their little miracles. Some have struggled for so much longer than I did, and I can't imagine continuing to face the world with such a brave face on such a heart-wrenching day. I've also been thinking a lot about all of the single parents in this world, and the lack of appreciation they likely feel on this day. I am truly blessed for all that I have, and I'm reminded more today to be thankful for what life has given me.

The last 3 months have also taught me just how little I understood about the sacrifices my own mother made for her family, and the love she has for us. I can appreciate all she has done so much more now. She is compassionate, self-sacrificing, and supportive. There has never been a day I questioned her love for me. She has always been there for every tear and every celebration. I share every detail of my life with her, and she still answers my phone calls every day. She's given up everything for me and my sister, and now my nieces. I will never be able to thank her enough. She is truly amazing.

I wish my Granny was still here, so that she could spend one more day knowing how much she is loved and appreciated. I can't imagine what it must be like for my mom or her siblings on this day. She was an incredible woman, and I only wish we could have had more time to get to know one another and become closer than we ever were.

To all of the mothers, single parents, grandmothers, and anyone else that has loved a child with all of their heart, Happy Mother's Day. Motherhood is the single most wonderful gift I have ever received in life. I'm never been more proud or grateful for all that I have.

52 weeks of Logan: week 13


dear Logan (14 weeks)

My precious angel,

Time is flying by. I had to look at a calendar and count the weeks to write this post, and I nearly cried while thinking of how fast and how amazing the last 14 weeks of my life have been. I can't see you or think of you without smiling. I love your father with all of my heart, but you are the one that taught me true happiness. You taught me to slow down and enjoy the little things in life, rather than always wishing for the future and what is to come. You taught me that I don't always have to be perfect, as long as I do everything passionately with my whole heart. I've never been more proud of anything I've done in my life. I look at you and I know we were made for each other. And the fact that one day you might love me the way that I love you melts my heart.

Spending each day with you is the most fun I've ever had. We play and laugh, and share a language that only you and I know. Your smile lights up the room and everything else in the world is forgotten. Every little thing you do amazes me and makes me proud, and I hope you know that I will always be your biggest cheerleader. Nothing compares to the way you look at me, or the feeling I get when you smile at the sound of my voice or when I first enter the room. I vowed to always love your father and keep him first in my life, but you're a really really close second. When I'm with you there's no where else in the world I'd rather be. You are the one and only thing that matters. 

You are absolutely incredible. I hope you never stop smiling and exploring the world with the fearless and innocent presence that you have. I hope you always feel the special connection that we share, and I wouldn't mind if you continue to save your best smiles and laughs for me. I promise no one will ever love them more.

love always,
Mama