By Natalie
Walking into the airport after 9 beautiful days in Puerto Rico was nothing short of heartbreaking. This was so much more than a vacation, it was a homecoming.
Brandon and I had hoped this trip would happen at least 5 years ago, but for one reason and then another it never worked out. As I approached 30 I recognized that something in me longed to connect more with my heritage. I wanted to see where my family and ancestors were from, to experience Puerto Rico for myself. (more…)
By Natalie
Something rolled out from the clothes that I was folding. I turned to find a letter X bead lying on the floor. It stared back at me beaming. I knelt down to pick up this little treasure. This little bead rolling out of my laundry.. it took me straight to yesterday morning when Felicity and I were making necklaces together with a kit she got for her birthday. She loads up letters and shapes onto the string in no particular order. Brandon and I wear them around the house. Sometimes Bingley even has one around his neck. The bead. These small reminders that I’m a mother. The candy cane jammies that I folded and set on the washing machine. The dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. The unicorn water cup that never seems to make it back to the table. The toys that are pushed to the edge of the playroom so that she and her daddy can play Saratops which is basically a very silly dinosaur head fight on all fours. The toy horse that she’s always looking for that I found in a basket. The pink towel that was draped over the banister upstairs. I tidy up, put the letter X bead back in the kit, fold her towel and set it back on her towel rack. Motherhood. (more…)
By Natalie
This has been a wild year. At the beginning of March I started my shop Lux Sensory with a love for children and a passion for creating. Brandon and I have always believed that we were born to create. He’s always said that creating brings us closer to our creator. Building things, forming things, making things, putting something out into the world that had not existed before is at the core of our being. I love to create all sorts of things. I’m a seasonal knitter, occasional embroiderer, Christmastime sugar scrub maker and all around as my bio states lover of all things crafty. (more…)
By Natalie
Happy December 1st! You didn’t think I’d end today without an advent calendar post did you? Last year’s advent calendar was such a hit, I decided to do it all again! I love the look of the advent calendar this year with the live garland and lights dressing it up! Plus the sock snowmen and pom tree that we made last year. (more…)
By Natalie
Felicity started preschool three mornings a week. She’s eager to learn and we can tell that time away from us is so essential for her growth. When her preschool was looking for extra teachers I decided to apply. I thought that keeping busy while she was away would be a good thing. But after a few days I wasn’t completely at peace with it. When I talked to a friend about it I realized that I was in a sense of denial over the fact that my little girl didn’t need me those mornings and I thought that I’d be cradling another little baby by the time she went to preschool. I needed to feel needed. For the past 7 years there have been kiddos in my care that needed me. My friend encouraged me to be still and find where God was leading me during this time before I forced myself into something that I wasn’t prepared for. (more…)
By Natalie
Brandon and I drove down the streets of NoDa, pulling in to Benny’s pizza. We ordered one giant slice of pepperoni pizza for each of us on a disproportionately small paper plate. Pam and Nate walked in behind us. We greeted, we laughed, we sat and ate together during a summer that feels like it was a lifetime ago. When we finished our pizzas Brandon and Nate drove over to Abari to play arcade games. Pam and I went back to their place in first ward to knit together and watch a show we’d binge every Wednesday night. For about a solid year we’d do this same routine, every Wednesday night. After landing in Charlotte 2 years prior we’d finally found our community and had made solid friends that we were doing life with. Our time together was golden and it felt like it’d last forever. In the midst of weekly routines like this one you never think about when it’s going to end, until one day it inevitably does and you long for it in a grievous way that you long for times that you know you can never get back. (more…)
By Natalie
Dear womb,
I suppose you’re not completely hopeless for you have carried a child once. Though I don’t know that you had much say in the matter, knowing Felicity’s wild spirit, she was making it to this earth one way or another. The little egg that could we sometimes call her. But I think our adventures together may have ended with Felicity. For a time after she was born I felt a great ache in you. I wanted you filled back up. I begged you to cooperate. I wept over my tiny little infant Felicity and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because somewhere deep down I felt that she would be my only newborn. I watched in envy as my friend’s bellies swelled. Their wombs cooperating with them quite nicely. When they wanted babies, they got babies. When I wanted babies I got blood draws, medication, mood swings, anger and sorrow. You dear womb, you’re a stubborn one. You don’t like to be bothered or poked or prodded and to be honest I didn’t either. (more…)
By Natalie
Brandon and I can officially say we’ve been married for a decade on Saturday! We grew up together, built a life, went through some hard stuff, good stuff, grew a family and we continue to grow together and be blessed by our marriage daily. We celebrated a month early and went to Mt. Jackson VA for a cozy cabin retreat. For the first time ever we both separated from our dear girl for 3 restful nights! She had a blast with her Nana and Grandpa. We’re so grateful that we had this opportunity to sneak away and give the Poes some quality Felicity time. Her cousins came over after her nap each day to play. I know that she cherished that time together because the next couple weeks after we got home, when I lay her down for her nap she’d say, “Aunt Ashley, Mason and Everett coming?” (more…)
By Natalie
I love when friends ask what Lici’s favorite books are. I’ve grown fond of dozens of books over the years, so today I’m sharing a list I’ve broken up into four different categories! Favorite picture books of all time. These are our constants. The books that Lici often picks up and memorizes. Books that teach lessons. I’m not only hoping to raise a reader by surrounding Lici with books. I’m also hoping to teach her about the world and teach her how to be kind, share, be courageous, be a good friend, to be conscious of caring for our earth and dozens of other lessons that can be learned through reading. Books to sing to your child. Perfect for those soothing nighttime lullabies. Books to diversify your bookshelf. My all time favorite genre of fiction is Asian literature. I find it so captivating and find alot of cultural similarities to my own Hispanic culture. I want Lici to read books about children in different cultures, partly to instill a love for travel in her and partly for her to see that we’re all the same inside though we may look different or eat different. I’ve learned a few things myself through searching for more diverse books and we both find it so exciting to read about and try new things that maybe someone in our story does.
By Natalie
I’m giddy to share this exciting news! Many of you dear readers already know about this new venture. On February 28th I opened an Etsy shop! It’s been a dream of mine for years! I have so many hobbies and such a love for multiple crafts, that I was never quite able to hone in on one. Last year when I was discussing this dream with Brandon he said, “Why don’t you put together sensory bins?” The only trouble I had with his question was, why didn’t I think of it first!? As you may have seen here, and here, I love putting sensory bins together for Felicity. Once during a playdate, a friend’s kiddo asked, “Where is that box with all of the Easter eggs and stuff?” I was surprised that he remembered Felicity’s Easter sensory bin. It was mid summer and I had since put it away. (more…)