national women's day.

I'm not always the best advocate for women, but I do believe we are incredible beings. I can only pray I am doing my best to empower the future woman inside of this one. she is kind, strong, brave, and has a good good heart; my shining, compassionate lady of honor. a gracious gift. and a force to be reckoned with. (;

a candle doesn't lose its flame when it lights another candle. so here's to the women.

love..

mommy and me ballet.

(sorry for the poor quality of these photos. I need to get our camera out and take a few)

we started a mommy and me ballet class a few weeks ago. Norah loves it and asks to go to dance class randomly during the week. I have always said I wouldn't force it on her, but I will admit, the dancer in me is pretty excited she likes it. honestly, I don't think she'll stick with it forever. and halfway through the class last week, she came up to me with a little whine in her voice asking, "play hockey now?" yeah. Chad was very happy about that one. she's still asking to go to class so we're not quite done yet!

though I really should find some kind of track and field for two year olds because she would own that. I quickly found out that Norah is the two year old who - while everyone else is taking instruction in a circle - is running crazy around outside the circle and checking herself out in the mirror. when she is supposed to tiptoe a teddy bear to me and back to her teacher, she somehow gets away with leaving the bear with me and going back for another. yes, we were hoarding the bears. she is quite the character there, but I'm enjoying seeing her personality shine, as overwhelming as all of her energy can be for me sometimes. 

love..

for Joe.

we are sad to be so far away today, but it is such a comfort to hear about that big room so full just for him and to read words like "beyond description" and "irreplaceable" written all over social media. he would love that.

I've been thinking about the time we stayed with him in Tennessee a couple of years ago. he had moved to the half way point where we would usually stop on our way to and from Michigan. he was so excited we took him up on the offer to stay there (he even posted to Facebook when we arrived) and had gone to the store to get some food for us. it was a short stay, mostly just to sleep, so we watched a couple of epsiodes of The Office with him and reminisced and went to bed. I remember he made sure to have cookies for me (of which he had already opened, ha) and ice cream in his freezer because he wasn't sure what I would want to eat since I was pregnant. heart of gold, that guy.

this is a really old photo from one of the times I did his hair. we always had fun at the salon, ha. we'll miss you, Joe. ❤️

if you feel led, consider donating to help cover his funeral expenses and please continue to pray for this amazing family. you can donate here: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/y60eoy/donate

love..

happy Mardi Gras.

I just have to gush about this photo for a second. because that face while she's playing with her 'dada' makes for one joy filled mama.

also, have to mention how weird it is that yesterday felt like Monday because of Mardi Gras. things I never knew I'd get used to. it's bigger than Christmas here and even though we don't participate that much it's still just in the air. but it worked to our advantage because we had Chad home for a week.

I can't ignore the fact that his job seems glamorous. it can be. that quickly fades. it is not family friendly. a majority of the people he works with are single; there's not much room for other things after work. the hours are kind of outrageous and he's usually exhausted. some shows we just push through in survival mode. but when he has a few weeks off in between, I am so grateful. he gets to be part of our day to day. regular jobs would only allow him weekends and holidays and I love that we get to have some extra time with him once and a while. kind of makes up for the long working days when Norah might not see him at all. it's obviously not ideal for toddlers that thrive on consistency but I'm thankful for what we have. now I'm going to just stare at this photo some more.

love..