My baby!

It was a chilly, windy, VERY sunny day here in Denver. Beautiful, beautiful sky. We had a photo shoot for Frankie's first birthday, my dear friend Shannon took the pictures. One of the outfits is the same one Maggie wore for her first birthday photo shoot. And man, do they look alike!!! Enjoy!

new adventure

so lately, i have been thinking alot about callings and passions and what i want to spend my time doing. in an ideal world, it would be nice to have a nice counseling practice two days a week. i would counsel marriages and women struggling with being a mom of little ones and their identify being absorbed by their kiddos (sound familiar?). but this isnt an ideal world and the cost of making that dream happen just seemed too much. cost in time away from the kids, cost in childcare, cost in getting licensed.
so i made the decision that it just isnt the season for that. mojo and i will counsel plenty of marriages as we continue in ministry and that makes me happy. but for now, that interest will be laid to rest.

so i was left with "do i want to do anything outside of the house?" and the resounding voice was YES! i actually do better with a schedule and something to occupy my thoughts. my house is cleaner, i am not stuck on pinterest spending money in my head, and the kids are happier too.

i did an inventory of my passions. sounds lame, i know. but whatever, it had been a while since i actually thought about what i liked to do, what i was drawn too, what i liked to talk about and read about. and the answer was BIRTH. babies. mamas and natural living.
so i've become a DOULA!
i'm currently working on my certification and am ready to attend births anytime. i'm so excited to support women in this venture. to educate and nurture during the time of major life transition. i really see it as an arm of counseling. in the scheme of things, labor is a tiny fragment of time in a women's journey in motherhood. but its an intense, intense time and stays with you for your life. i've read interviews of women in their 80's that still can tell you their birth stories-sometimes fully. that experience imprints you in a deep, deep way. sometimes so positively, sometimes painfully.
i'm excited to venture into this with them!
if you know of any expectant mamas that need a doula, let me know!