Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches - A Book Review

This past June, I had the privilege of photographing a wedding with my sister-in-law, Amanda, up in Maine. Or New Hampshire. I can never remember which state we were in...but I digress.

This trip meant that I would be childless for 4 whole days! Including the 8 hour car ride up north! I grabbed a couple of books that I had been planning on reading for months, and guess what? I read every single page of all three books.

This was my favorite. I don't recall who gave the book to me, or why, but WOW - couldn't have read it at a better time in my life. I keep alternating between thinking that I ought to pass the book along to another mama and then thinking that maybe I should keep it around to re-read when I am needing encouragement.

The way that Rachel Jankovic writes makes it so easy to relate to her whether you have one little one, or four, the reality of cheerios being dumped all over the living room (true story, happened last week) is something that I think any mom can identify with.

She really encourages a 'go with the flow' attitude. You can't control every single element in your home because - hello, they are KIDS! BUT, at the same time, it doesn't have to be total chaos. They are human beings and you can teach them!

In the book (early on, actually - page 12!) she says, "I didn't write this book because mothering little ones is easy for me. I wrote it because it isn't. I know that this is a hard job, because I am right here in the middle of it. I know that you need encouragement every day, because I do too."

I seriously want to send her some fuzzy socks and a chocolate bar for writing this book. 

Maine: A Photo Post

We did so many fun things on our recent trip to Maine, but because life keeps barreling on, I don't have the adequate amount of time that I would like to recount all of the silly stories from the trip. So, you get a post full o' photos. Not even taken by me, I might add - photo credit goes to my sister-in-law Katelyn and/or Aunt Debbie.

My Little Fashionista

Yes, we're feeding the deer.

"Molly, want to feed the baby goat?" "No." :)

Getting brave....

That's still a NO on the goats, Mom!

Little Lovey (Don't be fooled, there was a royal tantrum at the zoo)

About to eat our first Maine Lobstah!

The Chattanooga Adventure

As long as I can remember, my parents have never shied away from road trips just because there was a baby in the family. Probably because for the majority of my childhood, there was always a baby! 

So, when my sister in law was asked by one of my dearest friends to photograph her upcoming wedding in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I jumped at the chance to go along.

Last week at this time, we were driving through Somewhere, Virginia listening to one of the 12 (yes, 12) mix CDs that we acquired for this journey and munching on Sundried Tomato Basil Wheat Thins. <-- Check those out, because trust me when I say that they are the bomb diggity.

The trip was beautiful and enjoyable, and Molly did great! She was sooooo done by the end of the ride there, but still, we never had major meltdowns for more than a few minutes and she definitely brightened the day for many a rough-lookin' traveler by waving and grinning out the windows everywhere we stopped!

The wedding was lovely (and fun!), with the most hilarious bridal party I've been around to date. FOUR random singing/dance parties, all pre-ceremony. And Waves made a beautiful and laid back bride, despite the torrential downpour right as it was time to start taking pictures outside. 

Besides the wedding, we also got to visit with some other treasured "old" friends - Morgan, Josiah, Johanna, Jimmy, and Owen.

The ride back, however, was not quite as pleasant. :-( There was a good bit of traffic (Labor Day - we had expected that), rain almost the entire way, and about an hour and a half from home....our car died. Just up and died! I mean, fair enough, the poor dear had about 203,000 miles on it - but, really? Right now? I know God is trying to teach me something in this, I just haven't figured out what yet. 

Thankfully, we had friends in the area who took us in for the night, and my grandfather came to get us the next day after the auto repair shop owner let us know that our wonderful Buick had breathed its' last breath.

So, here we are. Looking for a vehicle to get us from point A to point B, and bumming rides in the meantime.