Beatrice sandwich! And some of the very best pizza we have ever eaten behind us 🍕@pizzeriabianco
These two are obsessed with “Fancy Like” and mostly obsessed with watching @walkerhayes dance to Fancy Like with his family 😎😎 It’s currently their top pick for the bedtime song🎶 and here’s a snippet of what went down last night! #fancylike
“Mama— take a picture of this face…” he says. And I’m grabbing my camera and trying to contain my laughter as I think to myself, “I’m just the absolute luckiest to know this kid.” 💛 Everyone needs a mister Conrad in their life.
When you convince (bribe?) the entire family to take a family photo with the real camera 📸 ps- spot the camera remote😂
Sometimes I raise my voice. Sometimes I beg. Sometimes I make ultimatums. Sometimes I hate bedtime to the freaking goodnight moon and back.
But then they’ll grab my chin and cheeks and lean in close to tell me they love me. And they’ll thank Heavenly Father for “no witches and no robbers” during their bedtime prayers. And insist on giving each other 17 silly hugs before the lights go out because “I’m gonna miss her so much when I sleep.”
I’ll take the 48 minutes of squatting between their beds for back scratches and the unexpected trip to the potty 12 minutes after the last potty trip if it means they keep this bond forever. Witnessing their complete love and sisterhood changes me. Even when I say I hate bedtime with my three-year-olds, I’m such a sucker for this stage of life with them.
A few photos from life lately over here - enjoying family time and life in Arizona. Thanks for being here while I’ve kind of been away for a little while… haven’t been doing well physically (some health issues) but that doesn’t mean I haven’t stopped taking one too many photos☺️
The game of “Who Can Stand on Mama’s Back and Wiggle Their Feet Around Without Falling Off!” …which is really just code for “mama would like a back massage” but they think it’s crazy fun and my back knots are screaming happy so everyone wins. #momhacks
One wall and pipe at a time, the home renovation is coming together. 💛 #renovation #homedecor #wallpaper (wallpaper is @riflepaperco🌸)
Just over here holding all my (not-so-little) babies close and stepping away from pretty much everything else. Trying to cuss less and write more. Often feel on the cusp of big breakthroughs I want from my life (yay!) while simultaneously giving too much power to my anxiety (ugh). Clinging to my evening prayers and favorite yoga class and busting out the Christmas music a season early. My footing might be terribly wobbly at the moment and who wants to hear the girl on the verge of nervous tears dish out any kind of life advice, but for anyone else in a similar rut (I’m so sorry) – might I suggest the biggest serving of strawberry shortcake as a remedy. Plus standing outside during a warm rain (Arizona, you healer with a perfectly timed monsoon season, how’d you know?)… and maybe put the phone down more. Or whatever version of these three things might float your boat. I’m sure chocolate soufflé with a dose of sunshine instead of shortcake and rain could also do the trick. The phone one I’m sticking by though. Sending you lots of love.
Bringing our summer along with us forever by way of new freckles scattered across most of our faces! ✨ …you can see B’s first sprinkle of itty bitty dots across her little nose and cheeks in the 2nd pic and even with all the lathering of sunscreen and my blessed daily nagging about sun hats, I’m nothing but proud in this moment!🥳 #summer #motherhood #magic
We are slowly making our way back to Arizona this week (my kids school year begins August 2nd😱) and we’ve never been more out of routine (definitely missing black out curtains right about now) BUT we’ve clocked in so many striking sunsets and got to hold and hug so many loved ones, it’s been everything.
I meant to share earlier this week that Amazon is running a promo on my book right now through the end of the month (until 7/31)— use the code 3YELLOW for $3 off your book purchase!
If you’ve been considering purchasing, it’d mean so much to have you do so! Thank you for supporting me and my book and I hope you find it worth your while and time.
For those of you who have already purchased and read— if there was a takeaway or something that resonated with you as you read, would you consider sharing in the comments below for new potential readers to see?
Thank you again for your support! This has been such a vulnerable and thrilling and challenging and exciting and scary endeavor and I’ve really appreciated the support. 💛
Just trying to keep up with these three on the mountain and ignore how sore my butt is from my saddle😅
On a boat! With a lot of laughs! And a few tears. Plus a whole lotta sunscreen and a couple of epic tube flips 🚤
Our summer adventures are getting a little jumbled when it comes to me sharing anything in chronological order (a part of my brain is freaking out right now but another part of my brain is feeling a little bit more free.) Sparklers are our family’s happy place so we continued our 4th of July celebrating tonight with a few on the deck. Of all the summer activities so far, a box of sparklers a few days post holiday was Samson’s favorite. He hugged me so tightly at bedtime as he told me for maybe the 18th time how much fun he had tonight. Somehow I forget anything else I loved this summer… his enthusiasm for an evening of sparklers brought sparklers to the top of my favorite summer activities list, too. 🧨
The BEST time learning all about bees 🐝 with the bee expert herself @mckayjo in Salt Lake City. We haven’t stopped talking about all the impressive things those hard working bees do each day and somehow honey has made its way into more of our meals this week 😋 Thank you for having us, @mckayjo!
While the house was still dark and everyone was still sleeping, my oldest kiddos snuck into the kitchen and whipped up a plate of pancakes for mother’s day. They brought the surprise into my bed where I was snuggled between my baby girls who’d found their way to mama’s bed in the early hours of the morning and as my five babies and I sat in a circle on my bed around a pile of pancakes drenched in syrup, I felt so loved....
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I had an evening full of goosebumps and teary eyes reading through so many beautiful emails this past week filled with your own heartfelt stories as many of you have worked to build your families in response to my last post. Thank you for taking the time to share them with me. I wish I could re-share all of them here....
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Two weeks ago today, I literally held my breath as I opened my phone, knowing a few of my most difficult and vulnerable experiences were officially out in the world with the publication of my book on April 6th. My biggest nerves centered around the topic of sharing publicly for the very first time some of my experiences with infertility in my early twenties as well as with secondary infertility years later. ...
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As a mother, what makes you happy?
If you were to ask me this question… well, shoot! Like, how much time do you have?! ;)
Obviously there’s the basic things– dirty clothes IN the hamper, tiny helpers IN the kitchen, kind words and affection shared between my littles and quick apologies voiced within our family unit when appropriate....
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Quite possibly one of my favorite experiences ever took place a few months ago in a recording studio in downtown Phoenix when my nine-year-old daughter Eleanor (though she’s ten now!), interviewed me all about my book, A Coat of Yellow Paint! When I first asked Eleanor if she might want to do something like this, she cut me off as before I even finished asking with an emphatic, “YES!...
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