Whoa

Wow, it has been a minute.  While I love having a blog and writing in it, there are definitely seasons where writing doesn't even cross my mind most days.  And I'm more than okay with that.  My days are filled with taking care of a home and little people, and some days I'm lucky if I get to wash my face.  If anything, I looked at how long it had been since blogging and I felt a sense of peace that maybe I have held true to my new year thoughts post and focused on each present moment, on each task at hand, and not fretted as much about projects I'm not getting to...

Here are just a few of my favorite moments from the first half of the year!

January, playing out in our one decent snow we had...

February.

Sisterhood...

March (Madness).

I've loved watching moments unfold where Allie offers to take care of Jovie, whether she "reads" her a book, plays peek-a-boo with her to make her happy when she's crying, or shares a snack.  Little by little, their friendship is blossoming.

 April - Easter.  What a beautiful day it was!  Fun fact... The dress Jovie wore was what Allie wore two years ago on Easter when I was pregnant with Jovie and totally unaware.  So much blessing in this one little photo...

May - Our first beach trip as a family of four.  Pictured here are some of our good moments.

Not pictured: Jovie choking on a seashell, Allie having a total screaming meltdown for eight minutes after getting sand in her mouth and everyone staring at us, Allie waking up at 5 a.m. every day, Jovie pooping in our condo tub, people gawking at our mayhem in restaurants, and many other meltdowns.  We're hoping we made enough good memories to outweigh the more challenging ones.  In the meantime, Luke and I decided we will be taking beach trips alone for the next three years (at least).

 I sure do love this family of mine, though, meltdowns and all.  I treasure their hearts and all the things that make them them.  I feel lucky I get to do life with them.

At the end of May/beginning of June the girls and I spent two whole weeks with my family in Central Ky while Luke was working a lot.  It was absolute bliss! Pictured above are the girls with my dad.  We spent so much time with family and friends and went out and did tons of fun things with my mom.  I truly cherished this trip and I know the girls loved every moment.

Summer bliss...

This one is definitely in the running for my favorite picture to have ever been taken.  I mean, that popsicle chin drip, ya'll!  And how Allie is looking at Jovie...  My heart!!!

A little about the girls right now...

Jovie (18 mos):  happy, full of life, fearless, stubborn, book-lover, sweet tooth, snuggler, affectionate, entertainer, hilarious.

Allie (3.5 yrs):  smart, funny, rebellious, spitfire, sweet, creative, song writer, independent yet always wants someone with her, blossoming in making friends, water and sunshine lover, helper.

Staying at home with them is by far the hardest thing I've ever done, but I look at those precious faces and am reminded how beautiful they make my life.

July - A lil' getaway with my handsome hubs!  He got us tickets to see Hugh Jackman's show in Atlanta and gahhh, it was amazing!  We loved every second and hung on his every word and dance move.  As great as it was, I think I enjoyed sleeping in the next morning in our AirBnB and then eating a late, leisurely breakfast just as much!  It was a much needed excursion with my guy.

Oh yeah, and this pic reminded me, as trivial as it is, I got my hair chopped.  Two reasons... I wanted a change annnd my long hair just wasn't working anymore.  I wasn't styling it much and it was getting kinda ratty.  It was thinned out from layering it so many times.  While I have never totally liked the few short haircuts I've had in the past, I was more confident about this one because I requested it to be all one length (other than it being slightly angled like a true bob/lob).  In the past it has always still had layers in it, sometimes choppy, which just made it difficult to style.  This cut is so easy to style and I have been loving it!

So that's a quick recap so far.  As far as the remainder of the year, some exciting things are on the horizon for the Woodward clan.  But more on that to come...


Much love to you!