We have been waiting all year for autumn to arrive, and with it, our new baby boy. Thankfully, this pregnancy was pretty good to me, but the last few weeks are always a bit of a roller coaster, and we were sure looking forward to cooler temperatures, and a new baby to get all cozy with as we settled into a simple holiday season of just being together. Here, we found ourselves waiting patiently for our newest bundle of joy to arrive...and enjoying the golden light and warm hues that autumn paints the earth with all around...
1. admiring the miracle within
2. a visit to sweet berry farm
3. an orange sea of pumpkins, each waiting to be picked
4. and her favorite of all is a tiny, white "baby" pumpkin
5. cutting colorful, fresh zinnias: a favorite autumn tradition
6. we found autumn in the hill country, after all
7. hudson jude is finally here!
8. our little super heros, ready to go trick-or-treating
9. showing our tiny babe the beauty of autumn all around
10. cupcakes to celebrate hudson's one-week birthday
11. aspen is a natural - she adores her baby brother
12. all snuggled up and cozy
13. fresh air and swings on a beautiful afternoon
14. best brothers
15. skipping rocks on a sunday afternoon at mckinney falls
16. autumn's glory made it's way down south (it just takes a little longer to get here than in the north)
17. black friday hike at doeskin ranch
18. enjoying the weather, finally cooling off a bit
19. amazing that another year has gone by, this girl is getting so big - and so beautiful
20. we are so very thankful for the gift that autumn brought us, our precious new son
This year, we did something with our little crew that we have yet to do - go pick out and chop down our own Christmas tree. The first few years we were married, we had a hand-me-down artificial tree that did the job just fine. When we moved to Austin, we donated it, and started getting "real" fresh cut trees. But this year, was the first time we actually went out and took our sweet time wandering the fields, in search of the perfect tree for our home and family. I have wonderfully fond memories of going to pick out a tree as a child. My grandparents would take us up into the snowy mountains of the Pacific Northwest, and we'd make a whole day of it! We would hike around in the snow finding the perfect tree, usually laden with beautiful white powder. We'd shake it off, and grandpa would saw it down, shouting in a loud, joyful voice "timberrrr!" And then, we'd go sledding down those old logging roads, buried in snow. We'd fall deep into the fluffy white and make snow angels. And then, we'd warm up with hot chocolate from an old thermos, and roast hot dogs over the portable little camp stove. Ah, the best. What I wouldn't give to re-live a day like that!
Of course, the event looks a lot different when you live in Texas. You wear shorts. And sunglasses. And short sleeved t-shirts - and hope you don't get too sweaty. We went to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm - about a 30 minute drive from Austin. It's a family run, really cute little farm. The farm has a little train you can ride, and huuuge hay bales the kids can climb like a mountain and jump from. But I think my kids' favorite part was watching as they shook the loose needles off our tree in a special machine, and then sent it through to get netted. A very different experience from my childhood - not nearly as remote or rustic, and perhaps not even as magical in the way we are led to think of all things Christmas. BUT. It is their childhood, and it is not my duty to compare - it is my duty to CREATE the magic, to make it memorable, to make our own little set of traditions. Maybe, just maybe, one day they will look back and think about those hay bales, and how we hiked and hiked to find the right tree. How Daddy let them help saw it down, and how we all yelled "timberrrr!" I hope they remember and appreciate how we simply spent time together, enjoying each others company. I hope their childhood is filled with little moments worth remembering...and I hope most of all that they remember how much we love them. And always will. That they remember the feeling of being loved, more than the event itself. And with that, we found our tree. And it was perfect :)
Today marks four weeks since our sweet Hudson was born. It also marks four weeks since I have been the mother to four darling children. This is my dream come true! My arms and heart are simply over flowing with babies and my love for them couldn't be any bigger. I realized this morning that I had yet to take a single picture of all four of my babies together, and so I decided to give it a go - and surprisingly, though it started off rather loud, it got quiet and we had a small window where all were calm, and I was able to magically capture this most beautiful moment in time. An image for each child, and one of them all together. I couldn't ask for more! I will cherish these images for always, I know that. I keep looking at the sweet faces of my children and wondering, how it is that I've been so blessed? I am ever so humbled and grateful for the chance I have to be their mother, the one, along with their wonderful father, who has been entrusted to help give them life, and to guide, teach, walk beside, and love them throughout their earthly journey - and beyond. I surely have my short comings and the ups and downs of motherhood are so very real - yet I thank my lucky stars multiple times each day for this gift. It is what I was born to do, and what I have dreamed of for my whole life. If there is one thing I want my children to know, it's that they are loved. Oh, so very very loved. My four little loves - oh how I love you!
Today, we celebrate one whole month since this sweet little fella joined our family. He has stolen our hearts in the most delightful way. There is always magic in the air with a new baby in the family, and we are soaking up and savoring our sweet boy and these moments he is so fresh from heaven.
Tomorrow Hudson will be one month old. I haven't put him in his crib at all yet (he sleeps with us at night, in his moses basket for naps...or just snuggled up with me at all times ;) Today, I was putting some laundry away in the boys' room and I thought, perhaps, I'd set him in his crib asleep for once, since I did make the effort to put together a sweet little welcoming space for him. It's a work in progress, of course - with little people constantly growing and changing, I feel like our home is a constant work in progress. You'd think with him being our fourth baby, I'd just give up and save myself the time, energy, and money in creating a space when I know oh so well he'll end up sleeping with us for at least the first year. But that nesting instinct is pretty strong - and it gave me something to do, right? So, here is the boys' shared space. Pretty simple. A bed, a crib, a teepee, and a couple of baskets. I made the teepee and the mobile - I have made a mobile for each of my babies, it's one of my favorite little traditions in preparing to meet them. Sawyer had a lot of input on this room - we painted it white and then he wanted to put splashes of color around, and forest animals. My favorite splurge was Hudson's crib sheet, and Sawyer's sheets, as well. Anyway, it's a simple space, that will surely transform and change a bit over time. If I'm being honest, I mostly just wanted an excuse to take some pictures of my sweet almost one-month old baby boy. He is such a gift to us all.
Jacob took the three older kids to church services this morning, so I had a couple of hours of pure peace and quiet with my new little son. It's been a whole week since he came into our lives. Isn't it amazing how you can know someone for such a short amount of time, yet love them so fiercely? Also, to have known them for only a few days, yet feel as if you've known them forever? That, somehow, they've forever been a part of you? That's how it has been with each of my children, as they've joined our family earth side. I wonder frequently what the journey must be like for them - to be in heaven, waiting for their turn to come, and then in utero - as their bodies form and their spirit unites with their body to create a new human soul. How must it be? Seemingly, the next minute, here they are so fresh in our arms. And though I feel like I've waited a lifetime to meet each of them, it's as though I've known them all along. Perhaps I did. Just perhaps, our family is simply reuniting on this earth, for this time. And it is my hope that after this life, we will also be reunited, together, forever, a special family unit in a much grander scheme of life, creation, and growth. When my faith at times waivers, I cling to that promise, hope, and greatest desire, of an eternal family that is mine to love and cherish forever more. My sweet sweet baby boy is one week new to the world we live in, but he has been and will forever be in my heart. Oh, how I love him so! What a wonderful blessing is a new baby.
