Reconnecting

Sorry about the blogging hiatus.  I guess I have a lot of catching up to do! My blogging absence has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t have anything to say (because we all know that isn’t true), and everything to do with the fact that I cannot create any more time in my day. I’ve tried. I even stayed up until 1:00am a few nights ago catching up on work. I use the term “catching up” loosely because by 1:00am it really is 93% switching back and forth between Facebook and Spotify and 7% actually catching up on work. Still, the mere fact that I stayed up to 1:00am is work in my book and I gave myself an “A” for productivity that day followed up by an “F” the following day for “Failure to remove thy rump from thy couch”. Consequently, two days went by and one day’s worth of work got done.

I missed this blog. I missed it mainly because I use my blogging time as a chance to reminisce on all the past week’s events or the very small moments that defined the exact purpose to my day or my week. Sometimes writing each blog post serves as inspiration to how I want to dive into the next few days and sometimes it makes me think about the little things that have passed by my way without a second glance. It’s a bit surreal how fast these past few weeks have flown by. I often wake up with the shocking reality of “Holy Smokes I am having another baby!!!” and as of last week, that thought turned into “Holy Smokes I am having a boy baby!”A baby boy? How am I going to raise a baby boy? When I received the news tears were cried, smiles were irreplaceable and yet the next day that happiness quickly turned to fear and nervousness. It’s been two and a half years of sweet little dresses, hair bows, rocking baby dolls to sleep, tea parties, gab sessions (yes, they happen already) and the sensitive, wise, and sweet heart of my little blonde hair blue eyed girl. What am I going to do with trucks, fearless climbing, and who knows what else? I’ve heard it all. Boys are fun. Boys are cuddly. But I just want to cry out “Addisyn is fun and Addisyn is cuddly and Addisyn needs a baby sister!”

Yesterday I lay in bed and just prayed for our family. We have a few other things going on, all potentially good, but our future is a bit unknown right now. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time. So yesterday in a long, heart-felt, and exhaustive prayer I reached out to the only person I knew could take away the anxiety…my King. And, as if in perfect response, my pastor spoke of how Jesus Christ is THE light. That He dispenses any and all darkness and He illuminates the path that we are to be on so we can see His way for us. The sermon’s parallel to my life wasn’t instant; rather it unfolded casually the past 24 hours, but upon sitting down to write this blog post, it became very clear. God blessed me with a boy because I have the heart, mind, attention and love capabilities to give to my little Kellan. God has trusted Steve and me to raise him to know Christ, to be a leader among his peers, and eventually a leader among his family. Knowing this information is making meeting Kellan even more exciting to me now and has helped me realize what a gift it is to have a boy. And Addisyn? She was made to be a big sister. Just this morning she lifted my shirt, got real close to my belly and said “Hi Kelwan, Addy big sister, I lub you”. She understands her role as a big sister already and I just know that all of this was in His perfect plan for our family.

With Love,

Stacy

Addisyn and I have been finding fun things to do this summer. We discovered a great indoor inflatable play center a few miles from our house that we plan to visit a few more times this summer. She loves it!

This is her "say cheese" face!

I love how she is looking the big guy straight in the face when he isn't paying attention to the line moving

future mountain climber!

*peek-a-boo, I see you!

She has her momma's b-balls skills! 

We have made a special trip to Virginia to celebrate grandma and grandpas 40th anniversary. Congrats mom and dad! I love this super cute pic of you two! 

Yummy! root beer floats. Just what the baby ordered.

When my family gets together, there is almost always a game going on. It could be something fun like Kan Jam.

or something more competitive like water balloon tossing...

And we don't brag at ALL. Guess who won the water balloon toss? *Chest Bump*

Why hello love!

We have come to grips with the 90 degree weather and make great use out of our sprinkler.

Love these girls!

And we celebrated with great friends for the 4th!  I swear Demetri actually loves Addisyn, he just doesn't look like it in this photo.

laying on dads tummy to watch her first ever fireworks display.

Today we had a tea party with other friends while we waited for the drizzling to stop. 

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to check me out on Instagram and share your photos with me by hitting #onemoreforlove. 


XOXO! 

I Heart Faces Challenge | Enjoying Life

I have followed this website "I Heart Faces" for over a year now and I have never submitted any pics. I decided that this month would be the month to get started. As it turns out, one of my favorite bloggers and authors, Kelle Hampton, is judging this week so I couldn't pass this challenge up. The photo challenge for July is "Enjoying Life".  I took this one of my baby girl and her friend today. Love it!

For more "Enjoying Life" photos and some great photog tips check out iheartfaces.com

With Love,

Stacy Hart

Mom to Mom | Disconnected

Stay- at- home- mom.

A title I wear proudly and a job that requires no explanation. Or justification for that matter.   I choose it for my life because there is really no other way. It’s a gift, a dream, a blessing and as with any job there are great rewards if I try my best. The trouble I have with stay-at-home-momming is balance.  I struggle to keep the scales even between being physically and mentally present for Addisyn and not concerning myself all day long with the deadlines I have weighing over me for photography. It’s hard. And while the iPhone, Facebook, Instagram, and emails loom over me on most days, I often have one day that snaps me back to reality for a good while. Yesterday was one of those days. 

Steve and I have similar ideas on how we want to raise our children and I think we can even mutually sense when things are feeling off. With our busy lives and goal oriented attitudes it’s easy to get caught up in the details that fall about ten lines below “family” on the list of things we should cherish. It’s hard not to be so distracted with how connected we can be socially to our jobs and our pastimes.  With one click of a button on my phone, I can check my email, post a status on Facebook, or upload a pic on Instagram. I don’t even have to be near a computer to show Addisyn that she isn’t the most important thing to me or that the phone glued to my side gets more attention than she does. Now, I know this isn’t true in my heart, but the reality is that she doesn’t know. She thinks I need it with me at all times and often grabs it off my nightstand and hands it to me before we head downstairs. I’m totally guilty of not being mentally there for Addisyn on most days. And so I struggle with balance. The truth of the matter is that I know I am a darn good mom. I teach her very important values throughout the day, communicate with her often, and make sure she knows she is loved. But, I want to make sure I don’t stop there. I don’t want to settle for being good at the areas I know I am good at and justify my not-so-presentness with everything I am doing right.  With any job, there is reward for doing even better.  It may not come now and it may not come tomorrow, but one day I will see it in Addisyn’s character. Steve and I noticed that we were becoming disconnected from our roles as mommy and daddy as well as husband and wife. And yesterday, the pain, guilt, and emptiness climaxed. Something had to be done as we both felt convicted to make a change. Last night we instituted family “unplugged” time from 5:00pm-8:00pm every night and it was nothing short of amazing and freeing. Here is what we discovered:

1.)   If we put our phones upstairs, we aren’t bound to respond to every chime, vibration, or beep.
2.)   Facebook and emails will still be there at 8:00pm after Addisyn goes to sleep.
3.)   Cooking dinner is much more fun when we do it as a family.
4.)   Addisyn laughs and talks more with us.
5.)   Steve and I connect more without distractions.
6.)   And all together we are super happy that we are together and in tuned to each other.

Even though I haven’t set the scales exactly even, especially during the day, my heart is telling me that I am taking the weight off of the correct side. I’m determined to be crafty, creative, and most importantly…present, for my baby girl.

*ah! this is sad, but I have been trying to catch up in work that this week that I have rarely picked up the camera. But a blog post is not a blog post without a pic or two :-)

 *our other kids - Boo and Pisces

Random Thoughts

Morning drives to gain inspiration: Suffice is to say that my Mondays are no longer a slow start to the week. Nope, Addisyn and I prefer a good full speed, gears into overdrive, jump- into- Monday- head- first- approach these days. Addisyn is out of Prewee school which means little time to myself to get things done. And although I work much faster when it’s just me, I have been finding ways to make room for a co-pilot... like little stops at the coffee shop (my old Monday blogging nook) before heading out for a casual drive to gain inspiration. 

Anniversary: Steve and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary this past week by going house hunting and then out to dinner – ALONE! We haven’t been on a date in hmmmm let’s see, well, ummm…yeah, it’s been that long! It was fabulous. While Steve and I have accomplished a lot, fought some, adjusted to change many a time, prayed countless prayers together, cried tears of joy often, and are raising the most beautiful sweet little girl together, one thing has never changed – we can talk each other’s socks off. Still. This makes my little heart so super full of love because whenever I get some good ole’ quality time with quality conversation from Steve, it makes me feel like we can conquer the world. Here’s to gabbing it up for another 50 plus years love!

Side note, Steve and I aren’t moving any time soon. We wanted to get a good idea on how much money we need to save to get our dream home. Slow and steady. Blah! It seems so far away!! Here is what we know: our home will be somewhere in Delaware and I can almost guarantee it will have a white picket fence. Because that sounds just perfect to me.

taken with VSCO cam on my iPhone. I know, we look great after working out :-)

Instagram: I just love this app. I pretty much always think about taking at least one pic while I am out just to post on IG. The thing is, I just don’t want to settle for a snapshot. I really want to get more creative and stretch my iPhone and this cool app to the max. I also want to see the pics you have taken that just scream LOVE LOVE LOVE! So I have decided to start a hash tag called #onemoreforlove. If you have Instagram follow me @stacy_hart and if you take a pic of someone you love or someone showing love, hashtag #onemoreforlove. I would love to start featuring pics that you have taken right here on this blog. So excited!

This is Addisyn's natural smile. I can only catch it once and a while on camera. 

This is what happens when I say, "Addisyn look at the camera and smile for momma"

This is her saying "Cheese"

With Love,

Stacy