Brian & Shanna

Spending a few days with your closest friend, from your earliest days, with all your children is something you dream about. That is exactly how our California vacation concluded. All five kids together for a few short days, playing together like they've always known each other, despite the miles in-between. With bribery, and resistance, we managed to send my family out for a 30-minute walk, for Fiona's newborn session.

Brian and Shanna and family.

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Jason & Sarah's Family

It's a fine-balance with social media these days. It engulfs in so many ways, as long as a phone or computer are part of our daily routine. Just as it feels all-encompassing, it also serves its purpose. A few years ago, I met Sarah through Instagram. She's a talented birth & family photographer in Fairbanks. A few weeks ago, I got to meet her in-person. It was wonderful spending the afternoon with her and her family, in-between hockey tournament games. Their warm, cozy home opened its arms to me, filled to the brim with childhood- the curiosity, the creative, the chaos, the calm. I left content, knowing that social media made this real-life connection happen. I also left with a pan of delicious chocolate brownies, allergy-friendly, something else we share and also discovered from social media.

Sarah and family.

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Awaiting Baby

It's like a kid waiting for Christmas, knowing your due date is just around the corner, knowing you're about to become a mom. Whether it's the first time, or the third time, that same excitement swirls around. Except you know when Santa will arrive. He won't pass you by for a few more days, or surprise you a few days early, which lends to that deep anticipation. Marking those days off the calendar, passing by "due date" you vibrantly wrote on the calendar. It's the first experience of this new world that awaits you- the unexpected your children bring, the excitement, the swirling of emotions, the beginning of new adventures.

Tyler & Carrie

In between seasons and throughout the year, life happens. Routines take place, the morning alarm, drop-off time, pick-up time, dinner, bedtime. These routines quickly become our every day, with little pieces mixed into it, to keep us moving forward; that cup of coffee before work or piece of chocolate in the afternoon, listening to the radio as you wash the dishes, or a podcast while folding laundry. There's times the routine becomes too routine and there's times when it feels very comfortable. It becomes dotted with the kids taking their firsts. Their first steps, their first words, their first days of school, their first basketball game, their first dance, their first date. Most the time it moves as quick as the tide. Other times, it feels as slow as molasses. "What's molasses?" my kids asked. As I pulled the jar down from the pantry, there it was reminding me, the firsts are there every day. 

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