i s l a j a n e

we've had our little isla jane for 12 whole days now + she is the sweetest heavenly perfection there is. 

I can't believe we are here again, another angel baby... how much life we've lived in only 3.5 short years... becoming parents, losing parents, house buying/building, THREE babies... it's been an incredible ride, full of both bitter + sweet, and I am just so thankful to be here again... motherhood. 

my cup is filled to the brim + over. I've said it before + I'll say it again, motherhood is where I've happily found my sweet spot, thank you Jesus.

these pictures are everythinggggg, thank you ashton for capturing so many of them!

T W O W E E K S

i took these the day we came home from the hospital, today she is two weeks old & already looks so different. why is it that the last few weeks of pregnancy carry onnnn and the first few weeks (& months and years for that matter) of their precious lives whoosh past you like a high speed train? time stand still.

isla jane is heaven on earth. sweetest + best prize baby ever, and I adore adore adore her with every bit of me. it's crazy to me how much I love her already + how God just stretches your heart out more for each child that you welcome. unexplainable, wonderful, and my favorite  thing. all the praise for a loving God right now, who's filled my cup again + over. 

another girl...

i remember praaaayyyying when i was pregnant with lucy, that she be just like abel. he was the best in every way + it's all i'd known + i loved it. why wouldn't i want an exact replica of his personality only in girl form?!

...well, she's not.

& MAN would i be missing out if she weren't exactly the way that SHE is. she is hysterical + hammy, and girly + sassy + sweet + soooo many things that only she embodies + our sweet guy does not (and vice versa).

aside from adoring abel + all that he was/is, i think i was concerned that i'd compare them negatively or that if she wasn't like him she might not be as wonderful (so ridiculous). like most of my worries, i was wrong. he and she are the two most incredible little humans i could have ever dreamt of, i love them individually + love to celebrate their differences... and now we are having another, another girl!

i can't wait for her to get here + to get to know her + love all of her unique qualities the same way i love my other two. i am so curious if she will look like any of us or have any of the same tendencies! God is so good + so much more creative than we are, He has got something so special for us in her, and i really am just bursting at the seams (in more ways than one haha) ready to hold her + love her + see her life unfold.

it's incredible to me that the three best things i've been a part of creating, have really not had much to do with me at all. thank you, thank you jesus.

34 (& a half) W E E K S

where has this pregnancy gone?!

I love you sweet girl, I can't wait to meet you + call you by name! your siblings are ecstatic for you + tell me everyday that they love you + want you to come out. we are ready for our world to be changed again + for tiny baby parts + all of lucys left over clothes + blankets to be lived in and loved on once more. 

the doctor told me to start counting your kicks, but that would have me constantly counting because you're always rolling around in there, and I adore it, you are so cute! do you look like your brother or sister? do you have hair? is it cottontop? will you be as funny as Lucy or as gentle as Abel? 5.5 more weeks left to wonder + dream of your spirit. God is SO good to us, He knows all of these answers + more. He's made you for us + we will raise you for Him. I love you so much, counting the days until you're in my arms!

*photo from about a week ago at 33.5 weeks* 

30 weeks, feelings + a reminder to myself

i will be 30 weeks into my third pregnancy this week... HOW IN THE WORLD. i am starting to be so curious as to what this little one will be like + look like. baby kicks neeeevvveerrrrr ever get old + i love them just as much this time around as i did my first + second. i adore her sweet name + am bursting at the seams to tell the world, but also love keeping it private for just our family... we decided it before we even knew she was a she + haven't shopped around even once. i am beginning to get the same anxiety i had before lucy came, not as intense + definitely not as often or focused on, but beginning to over think what life will be like + beginning to mourn our current season a little...

the sweetest window of time coming to an end, forever sealed in our memory, and speeding towards a new window of unknown territory. feelings on that HERE + HERE.

though i've read + been told it's a serious doozy, i'm not really feeling very nervous about being outnumbered or overwhelmed... i feel that way most days now haha, but it's the never wanting anyone to have to wait or feel like less than, the wanting to be everything for every single one of them all the time, that i know is an impossible task. when i think + think + overthink some more, i know that these are good lessons for kids to learn... sometimes we do have to wait in life, often times actually. it's good for them to know patience, and that others have needs that sometimes take priority over theirs, or even better- how to help in those type of situations. i believe my kids know how much i love them, and so i just pray that i can continue to show them in every way possible + that we enter into this new chapter with arms wide open, too many hugs + that i don't try and do it all, all the time...  hillary, don't try to do it all- all the time. don't compare yourself to others. learn when to let go of things + when to rest. soak in the tender moments + forgive yourself easily. you are not perfect, but you're doing a good job.

our time having only abel was sweet like none other + i truly didn't believe there was better out there, and then we had lucy. our hearts burst for her instantly + life felt right with her in it. together they are the dream team + daily, even amidst the chaos, i feel like i have the very best life ever. God knows the days ahead + i believe it will be good. come on july (or june if we are lucky ;)) we are ready for another sweet baby to love, for newborn smell + tiny clothes + wrinkly feet + bursting hearts.

a back dated love letter to a little one, and a 22 week bump

written february 8, 2016 + saved for publishing (pictured, 22 weeks)

little baby one in my tum,

i love you. i can't believe you are in there... mostly because you don't make yourself known with a whole lot of kicking yet, like i remember it to be. I know you'll make up for it as you grow though.

i wonder so much what you look like, and if you'll be a boy or a girl, and will you be like lucy or abel? or will you be completely new and different?

i hope life out here doesn't sound too chaotic, and i hope you're learning the voices of the people who love you the very most. me + daddy, lucy + abel, and all of our family too!

one thing that i do know, is how special you are. i know this because i've already had two very special kiddos, and i know that God has your wonderful life laid out oh so beautifully, just like theirs.

abel thinks you are a girl. he has decided that if you are in fact a girl, we will name you arrow (that's your cousin, and not what we will name you) and if you're a boy? st. bernard... also not what we will name you, (you're welcome)... but he's sweet for trying. you will LOVE your siblings. they already love you. lucy goes to sleep every night with her face up against my belly, and when she finishes her bottle, she turns to kiss you + drifts to sleep.

i can't wait to meet you little one.

salvaggione, party of five

thank you for all the love + kindness over our news! we are beyond thrilled for another little one to love, and another sweet GIRL! since having Lucy, i have prayed that she would experience a sisterhood like i have in my life, and what an answered prayer! abel is the very best big brother in the world, and they're blessed beyond measure to have him leading their crew. 

thank you Jesus for new life!