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Stephanie Howell

reading, organizing, shopping, momming too close to the sun. Home is wherever the Army sends us.

Goodness Gracious.

For real. How hard can this blogging thing BE?  I did it for almost TEN years for Pete’s sake ! It was second nature. I could blog in my sleep. I composed posts in my head, on my phone, in various notebooks. They FLEW out of my fingers and onto the screen. I blogged like it was nobody’s business.

What’s changed? What took the place of blogging?

A 14 lb. something has taken the place of blogging. A very hairy something. The cutest something I’ve ever seen. EVER.

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But I don’t mind. I am so very in love with this little girl. She’s smiley and drool-y and an absolute love. She’s bewitched us and we adore her and I don’t know what I did before there was Cora Jane.

And life is a bit…nuts…right now. We could be moving to Belgium or to DC. It could be spring – like in a matter of weeks-  or summer. We don’t know and it’s exhausting. But I know it will turn out for the best. Better than I ever could have imagined. It always does. I don’t pray for Belgium OR DC. I pray for what is best for our family. I have faith that all will be okay. Again, it always is. He always has a purpose and a plan for us. A hope and a future.

So here I sit. Baby hair tickling my nose and spit up on my shoulder. Hair in a bun, yoga pants yet again. Enjoying this unexpected season in my life. Trying not to worry or fret.

I’m right where I need to be.

 

 

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And She’s Eight.

Sadie // via Stephanie Howell
She’s so many things.

She’s stubborn, proud, fierce, strong, defiant. She’s argumentative, headstrong, and witty.

She always has the perfect comeback at the perfect time and her sense of humor has always been well beyond her years.

She is funny. Really, truly funny.

She doesn’t laugh her real laugh very often. But when she does…oh man is it ever rewarding. If you get her to laugh that laugh you know you’ve earned it.

She fights HARD to get attention. And she doesn’t care if it’s the good kind of attention or the bad kind.

She just yearns to be heard, to be acknowledged.

She knows exactly which buttons to push and doesn’t hesitate to push them. She loves harder, fiercer, and truer than anyone else in this family.

She is tenderhearted inside of a tough shell.

 

Sadie // via Stephanie Howell

She’s athletic, smart, strong, and competitive.

She still likes to hold my hand and is known to climb in our bed in the middle of the night.

She loves sparkles and nail polish and animal prints and lip gloss.

She is skinned knees in a pink tutu.

She’s spunky and quirky and don’t you ever try to tell her not to do things her way.

She makes my heart hurt and soar in equal measure.

She will make the best damn woman to walk this planet. She won’t take crap from anyone and she will stand up for what she believe. God HELP the boy that messes with her. She will be FIERCE.

Getting her there will be the hard part. I pray daily for strength, kindness, patience, and for a level head and level heart when it comes to my girl.

She will rule the world one day. Whether it’s jumping out of airplanes, becoming the next Tina Fey, or sitting in the Oval Office… I don’t know. But I’m telling you. This kid will move mountains.

Sadie, today you are 8. I want you to know that I love you, believe in you, and think that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. I love your strength, tenacity, and fearlessness. I envy those things in you. I know you’ll never have a wishbone where your backbone ought to be. I know that sometimes I lose my patience too easily with you, and I’m sorry for that. I’m learning and growing with you. Happy birthday, precious girl. Eight is going to be great.

Mommy

 

|| photos by Megan Vining Photography

I’m Here!

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I’m here… buried under this creative mess somewhere.

I got the new blog up and running (ish…) but I forgot to find the time to write posts. HA!

I have so many ideas and lists for what I want to say here, but it’s taking me some time to get my blogging groove back on.

See you tomorrow- it’s Sadie’s birthday and I’ll have a post up about what she is like at 8. EIGHT!!! Jesus take the wheel.

 

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Planner Madness

Planners // via Stephanie Howell

I’ve had a paper planner as long as I can remember. I used them obsessively as a student and that obsession has continued into my adult life.

I keep hearing people say “this new planner craze”. Um, nope. There’s always been a planner frenzy in my life. But now I can openly let my freak flag fly because other people are admitting they are planner freaks too! WHOOP!

Digital calendars do NOT work for me. I’ve always been a write it down on paper type of gal. I will always love paper planners. If I could find a way to parlay helping people find their planner peace into a career, I’d do it.

So all of that said…I’m working on a big ole planner post for the blog.

Here are some of the questions I’ve gotten.

  1. What in the world do you do with all of those planners?
  2. What size planner do you use?
  3. What brands are your favorite?
  4. How do you organize your planners?
  5. What are your favorite embellishments?

I plan on addressing all of these questions, but I wanted to open the comments up to you and ask what YOU would like to know.

So I’m asking for your feedback. Let me know what you’d like to see in a blog post about planners? Would you like a video too?

Be specific, and remember…NO question is silly. Seriously.
I hope you all have a beautiful Monday. I’m working on responding to all of your comments as well as a Rome recap!

 

NOTE: I will always respond to your comments, though it might take some time. I don’t know if WordPress notifies you when I respond? So make sure to always check back!!

 

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Savor.

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Today I wanted to talk a little bit about my word for 2016.

Some years I pick a word, sometimes I don’t. I don’t do a lot with the word during the year. By that I mean…I don’t really blog about it. Or talk about it, or scrapbook about it.

I just try to be mindful of it. And sometimes I completely forget what my word is. But I love Ali’s concept and think it’s a wonderful way to live. This year I didn’t want to pick a word if it wasn’t meaningful. As I watched my friends share their choices on Instagram, I decided I wouldn’t participate this year.

And then, out of nowhere, I couldn’t stop thinking about life lately. And how crazy it is. And how I feel like I’m in survival mode and how sometimes I feel like I’m running on a treadmill that’s just

going

too

fast.

And I can’t catch up no matter how fast I run.

I don’t like that.

I don’t like not experiencing the moment, not living in it.  The best way I can explain it is this:

 

savor // via stephaniehowell.com

Do any of you understand what I’m saying? I can’t feel it because I’m trying to get through it.

And I want to change that.

I want to embrace this crazy, messy, overwhelming, beautiful life. I want to remember how Cora smiles at me. I want to remember the feeling of Cate holding one of my hands and Lucy holding the other. I want to remember the feeling when Jimmy walks in the door after a long long day at work. I want to remember the way Italy looks, smells, feels, and tastes. I don’t ever want to forget Sadie’s spunk and Harper’s transition from little girl to tween.

I want to savor all of it.

 

savor

And just like that, I realized that I had a word for 2016. I want to savor my life. I want to savor each day, not get through each day.

I’m starting small.

When I get stressed over silly things that don’t matter, I remind myself to breathe. When Cate and Lucy ask me to read them a book, I say yes. When I’m doing laundry and Harper says she wants to talk, I stop and we talk. And I really look at her.

Here’s to a year of mindfulness- a year of paying attention and a year of enjoying the ride.
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