My sweet cousin Savannah came to visit! She’s the one who introduced me to Shauna Niequist (I’m forever in her debt for that!) and I hadn’t seen her since my wedding. I loved catching up. She reminds me of a beautiful wood nymph and embodies a gentle, quiet spirit.
In light of my new normal, I’ve been asking myself this question on a regular basis:
Based on my past experience, my present circumstances, and my future hopes and dreams, what is the WISE thing to do?
Lucy’s Narnia – A delightful website and blog devoted to raising readers.
My family has our own lexicon full of unique, often made up, words and phrases that we use regularly. In addition to our language oddities, we major on the nicknames. We’ve started early with James. I especially like his rapper names: J. Fuzzle (J. Fussle when he’s being ornery) and Jimmy G. Are we the only ones who call our children weird things?
Living vicariously through Apartment Therapy. I’m obsessed with organization, so I particularly liked the post about choosing what paper items to toss and which ones to file.
Loved these ideas for living a great life on less money.
Have you ever searched for a scripture on Pinterest? It’s a treasure trove of beautiful printables and encouraging articles. Here’s an awesome chalkboard print of one of my life verses.
Tim weighs in on our life since James arrived – two months ago!
Really loving Erica Layne’s blog Let Why Lead.
Another great Coke commercial (and reminder to engage in the here and now):
Life without auto tune: I found this beyond funny, probably because this is what I would sound like…
Linking up with Leigh!
Emily C Gardner 
Hi Emily! Thank you so much for the shout-out! I really love your blog as well. In reference to your new normal, I’m so impressed that you came to that conclusion just a handful of weeks into motherhood. (I think it may have taken me years! haha) It’s so true that while you do eventually come out of the (beautiful, tumultuous) newborn flog and find that you’ve hit your stride, it will forever be a different stride than the one you walked before. You have a beautiful week!
I loved this from your post The One-Dimensional Mom:
“But when I think about my old self, the woman who wasn’t a mother yet, I realize she isn’t the woman I really want my children to know. I’ll always remember her fondly, and someday when my kids are grown, I may develop a better connection with her again.
But now, the woman I really want my children to know is right here with them.”
That has helped me be more okay with my new normal!
That question from Andy Stanley is so timely for me. I’m going to write it down so I can keep it fresh in my mind. My family has a few nicknames for me but my closest friends have dozens of nicknames for me! I must be really nickname-able.
Andy elaborates on that question in the sermon I linked to – it’s worth a listen.