Sarah and Noah

Einstein's bagels complete with shmear. Mocha lights with caramel drizzle hand-crafted by green-aproned baristas. But the common denominator every time? Comfy, oftentimes cushy chairs. Because when I hung out with Sarah, I wanted to take it all in and I never wanted to miss a thing.
I first met Sarah when she was in 8th grade. And she's one of those precious, sometimes reserved, thoughtful, hilarious, deep, cares about others with everything that's in her kind of people. She oozes sweetness and hilarity on a regular basis. And over the following years I had my life sprinkled with Einstein's and Starbucks dates where I got the extreme privilege of listening to her process life around her. And I loved it.
Even though we'd like to press pause, life keeps going. And she graduated. And we changed churches. But one night I checked my facebook and saw in my inbox a little message from my sweet Sarah. I opened it up and instantly knew it was one of the bravest emails I'd ever read. Though the email was beautiful and risky, there were two words that would go on to dramatically change her life: "I'm pregnant."
I read those words and I just desperately wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her in one of the biggest bear hugs of her life. I couldn't imagine what she was going through. I mean, I was TERRIFIED when I found out I was pregnant with Hannah, but I was married and a little older. But my precious Sarah, was dealing with this alone. And in the context of church - and if we Christians can be honest for a minute - I think we can admit that we don't have the best track record with handling this kind of situation. I just wanted to hold her for a minute and let her know we'd be here. We'd walk through this with her. Heck - if she needed a place to live even - we're here.
Turns out, a lot of people made me really proud to be a Christian. Sarah decided she really wanted to keep this precious baby, even though she knew a lot of thing were going to change. And some of the ladies at our former church put together one of the BEST baby showers I've seen. People bent over backwards to make sure this baby was welcomed into this world with everything he needed. And there was no guilt and no shame - at this moment, there was only support and encouragement. (And birthing stories...)
A few months later, Noah entered the world. A day after he was born I held him in my arms. (with a little Jayden brewing in my belly...) He was perfect and all kinds of precious. I looked at my precious Sarah - sure she had messed up, but because of how she wrestled through it all with God, she could see the extreme miracle she held in her arms.
How she did motherhood at 19 is amazing to me. I know it's been hard, and beautiful. And probably everything else in between. And as a matter of fact, you can read her thoughts and processings here... www.hurricanesarah89.blogspot.com It's almost as good as in person with a cup of coffee or a bagel.
Today I want to share some pictures of that beautiful boy that Sarah let me take! I think you'll be as smitten as I was. And as blessed. He loves his mommy and she loves him. And it's awe-inspiring. And please join me in saying happy birthday to Sarah today. Sarah, you are a precious lady and I am so glad that you AND Noah were born. I'm so proud of you.










There's so many others to choose from, but there's a start!

Katie and family

I knew he made her swoon. Yes, full-on legitimate, I really can use that word - swoon. She was smitten - from the way he loved God to the way he loved his kids. And I got to watch as the tall coffee had to switch to a venti because of great late night phone conversations. He loved her. But how could you not love Katie? The fiery red-headed, hilarious, bend-over-backwards to help someone, single-handedly outfitted my first child, hardworking, GORGEOUS, dedicated, Jesus-loving, rock awesome colorist/stylist... To know her IS to love her. Watching God bring them and their amazing kids together was so beautiful. And a few months after they were married - a little Addison was on her way.
How do you describe this family? Hilarious, exciting, loving, crazy awesome and the like.
Thank you so much for letting me use you as models! Michael, I love the way you love your kids and our beautiful Katie. Grace, thanks for all the ideas as we took pictures! Caleb - I'm now going to have to research the Nintendo DSi thanks to you. Alexis - I loved the chance to hang out with you. Addison - I've got a potential boyfriend for you down the road because girl, you are all things sweet and cute. And Katie - thanks for letting me join your family. And for making work even better over the past 4 years as you've followed God and shared your life (and your sweet hair-cutting skills) with me. You rock.

And Katie - these aren't necessarily the best photos - but these were the ones that I picked while eating dinner and feeding Jayden his food at the same time. (Definitely now have chicken noodle mush on my floor) So, I'll try to post more later, but at least this is a taste!
And the rest of the world - this family rocked this photoshoot. When we got to our location we were informed they were closing in 30 minutes. We got out and rocked out some fast and furious photos, so be impressed that they made this happen. they're incredible.

Chad and Kristen

There are times in our lives where words epically fail us. There's no possible way that a few letters strung together can capture with accuracy the awe, wonder and excitement that is bouncing off the walls of your heart. And that's where I'm at in this moment. A few weeks ago I got news that made me bust out in the happy dance, complete with arms flailing, high-pitched squeals and the like. I found out that my brother-in-law, Chad and his AMAZING girlfriend Kristen were engaged. You may not be able to fully comprehend how great this is. I tear up just thinking about the how wonderful it is that this lady who is such an overwhelming heap of loveliness in our lives is now OFFICIALLY going to be my sister-in-law. That's like Baskin Robbins without calories good. I'm so ridiculously thrilled I could pee my pants. For the time being, we'll just let Jayden do that.
I asked them if they wouldn't mind being models for me as I learn to work with adults who can sit still as opposed to the constantly moving children I chase on a daily basis. For some reason, they graciously agreed. These pictures don't do that beauty of their relationship justice, but it's a start. And there's so many more. I didn't even get all of my favorites... But here's a few.
Thank you Chad and Kristen for being a part of our lives. You guys ooze amazingness.
And just to let anyone else know - I have the BEST sister-in-laws EVER. Hands down. I'm a lucky lady. The men in my life married soooooooo well