Mi Familia - Casa de Cauley

It is hard to repeat what someone has already said so well.  Please read Tracy's "Mama Mandy" blog to fully understand how special this session was to both of us.  Tracy captured these sweet moments of my family as a gift to me. Thank you, Tracy - priceless.  The best compliment I can give is that she truly captured "us!" When I look at the photos I feel like I look like I do on any normal day - not too done up, hair kinda frizzy, happy with my girls and where I am in my journey.  I love these photos and I hope you do as well. Be sure to think of Tracy if you live in the DFW area or are traveling there.  I have a feeling she will be hard to book within a few months!

Good Reads

Hey Friends,

Just thought I'd take a minute to share some great reads with you. From time to time I get free books in the mail with one simple request from the author and publisher: "If you like it please share." And so I shall.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I had it on the shelf for a year before reading it and I am sick about it. I read it during the last few days of my pregnancy, in the hospital and the first week of Josie's life.  The story follows the lives of three different women who are all related, literally, while the reader is taken on a mysterious journey through England while trying to uncover the truth. I was on the edge of my rocker near the end and looked forward to nursing so I could hold the baby and read. Yes, I managed to hold a nursing baby with one arm and steady a novel with the other. You will not be disappointed with this book and like me you will want to read her other works.

This one also collected dust before I cracked it open. Again I am ashamed. Set right here in my neck of the woods, the lively heroine with have you laughing and crying. Mothers will hold their daughters tighter and glance at neighbors with suspicion. I'm just saying. I was spitting venom near the end. I could feel it that much! Not so much about father, Samuel, as it is about daughter, Swan, who is reminiscent of sweet Scout Finch.  Read it.

Last one:  set in the Gilded Age, our protagonist seems annoying and flaky at first. However, her mother's plot to have her suitably wed over seas leads to unexpected trouble. By the end you will be rooting for our girl as she learns to use her own two fists. I was delighted by the growth of the lead girl.

I'm Loving This

I've been so busy loving life that I haven't stopped to blog.

My schedule goes something like this..

Get out of bed around 6am after nursing the baby in the wee hours. Get Harper ready for school, toss a sleepy Baylor and quiet Josie in the car and deliver Harper to school just as the bell rings.

Sometimes I take Baylor to school right after Harper, but sometimes, like today, I keep her home with me.

Then I return home, or go for a quick work out, relax on the couch with Josie, nurse her, then have lunch and nap on the couch with Josie on my chest taking deep breaths of sweet baby scent.  I may run a few errands before or after lunch and then I pick up Harper and return home. The big girls play in the creek while I nurse Josie on the porch and then prepare dinner. Josie usually cries as soon as I sit down to eat, typical, and then I bathe the girls and get them ready for bed. Throw in diapers, laundry, and a few chores and that sums it up.  To sum it up - bliss. I'm loving this and the thought of leaving my baby in a few days causes the water works to start up. I'm not ready. But, I have to. I'm a big girl and I can handle it, but I don't wanna!

Life is good. And swift. And I know I soaked up the sweetness of each of my girls as infants. But where did it go and why was I in such a rush for the next phase? Maybe it's because my journey has brought me to a new place. I know I am different than I was six years ago when I first held Harper in my arms.We all are; we all change. That is the only constant in life, right? Change.

Okay, heavy stuff aside, I have fallen in love with "The Tudors"  reruns on BBC, Smash, and Awake.  I recommend "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton along with "The Lucky One" by Sparks. Totally different but both are good reads. I'd like to borrow "One Night with the King" if anyone has it.

Happy Friday, friends!

coming soon - North Texas Christian Writer's Conference!! Can't wait!

Baylor turned three and Harper danced with Daddy