“Ali, you’re going to have a little brother just like Peppa Pig!”
Phone Photo Friday
01/09/2015
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Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday, Family, Family: Adoption, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: cell phone photography, Phone Photo Friday | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Gender Reveal Surprise Christmas Baby Shower
01/08/2015That’s lot of words, huh? We had a Christmas baby-gender-reveal surprise baby shower. It was an unforgettable blessing organized by my friend Steph with a part of our foster mom support community from across the country. I had passed Steph the sealed envelope from the ultrasound tech because she offered to give us something more special than a piece of paper to open on Christmas day. (And she’s one of the most creative people I know!) She rallied the troops behind my back and they sent gifts to Steph to wrap and organize into a really unique gender reveal surprise for us. I am still so overwhelmed with gratitude that they would bless our family like this. Most of these women I’ve never even met in person, although we connect daily through social media to encourage, pray for, commiserate with and entertain each other.
The first present to open was this ornament that Steph made. It will be such a special keepsake on our Christmas tree every year.
(Please excuse my Christmas-morning-no-makeup-pajamas family.)
The first baby boy outfit we opened…
Ali got some special gifts, too.
These little knee pads made me swoon.
A teething necklace in one of my favorite colors.
A fellow chicken mama sent this one!
At some point while I was opening gifts and Jason was documenting it, Ali started taking photos with my DSLR.
These are her photos…
I am so thankful! What an amazing surprise for Christmas day, to find out we’re having a son and to be showered with so many thoughtful and adorable gifts for him.
Leave a Comment » | Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Foster Parenting, Family: Froggie/Isaiah, Family: Jason, Family: Me, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: baby boy, baby froggie, baby shower, Christmas, foster care, foster parenting, gender reveal, surprise baby shower | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Chicken Chores
01/07/2015Sunny S.U., Meringue, Custard, Poach, Frittata and Omlet are still doing well. They haven’t slowed down their laying too much, thanks to Nashville’s mild winters. Some days we still get 6 eggs but 4 or 5 is more common. They’ve been getting smart about escaping their enclosure (or dumb, depending on how you look at it and where they end up afterward), and are now spending most of their time in the coop and run until we can patch up some gaps under the fence, clip some wings and/or build a taller partition fence. (Anyone have any experience clipping chicken wing feathers?!) On Christmas day I gave them a little feast of cabbage, cucumbers and spinach.
My chicken chores are made more cheerful this winter thanks to the new boots Jason bought me for Christmas. My old rain boots were so worn out they were hardly repelling water. I love these new bright red ones. Might as well make a statement while you’re tromping around in chicken $&@#, right?
Leave a Comment » | Family, Family: Chickens | Tagged: backyard chickens, chickens, chores, hens, urban farming | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
A Coming Home Outfit for Baby Boy
01/06/2015
In my excited anticipation of Baby Boy’s arrival in April I decided to start putting together an outfit for him to wear home from the hospital. I bought some black-and-white striped ribbon and sewed it onto a white onesie with faint blue stars to look like suspenders. I paired it with gray paints, no-scratch mittens and a hat that I made last summer for Firefly. I also made the bow tie for Firefly for a photo shoot. The onesie and little blue socks are the only pieces I didn’t make. Nothing inspires me to sew more than a new baby! Next up is a baby blanket.
6 Comments | Art, Art: crafts, Art: fashion, Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah | Tagged: baby boy, baby froggie, crafts, fashion for kids, froggie, sewing | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
24 Week Froggie Update
01/05/2015
Last week I crossed the 24-week mark with my pregnancy. Baby Froggie, or BB (for Baby Boy) as I’ve been calling him lately, is busy! He’s moving around so much now. It’s absolutely fascinating and endearing. I love interacting with him. I love to talk to him, speak blessings over him, rub my hand across my growing belly and feeling him move around in response. I just love him so much already! I dealt with a bout of severe back pain for about 2 weeks but I’m happy to say it has resolved now after lots of prayer, chair adjustments, special pillows and (I assume) my back muscles finally catching up after the rapid growth of my front side. All-in-all I’m still feeling great and loving being pregnant. The biggest news since my last update, of course, is that we’re expecting a boy. Jason, Ali and I found out together on Christmas day with a really special reveal. (I’ll post more about that soon.) I’m thrilled to know the little one growing inside my body is a son. Don’t bother asking about names; we’re not telling. 😉 We have a list and a strong top choice but we won’t decide for sure until he is born. Ali thinks his name should be donut so if you ask you might get an answer of Duncan Donut! (Not on the list.)
3 Comments | Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah, Family: Me | Tagged: baby, expecting, froggie, pregnancy, pregnant | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Happy New Year!
01/02/2015
I love New Years. Out with the old, in with the new. Christmas is packed up and stored away. I’m looking forward to so much in 2015, but most of all I’m excited for the birth of our son in April and settling in as a forever family of four. We don’t have a strict plan for the future of foster parenting and I know we’re not done forever, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we take most of 2015 off as we go through some significant transitions. I’m praying and believing for some big things this year and I’m excited to see what God is going to do.
Here’s a great song for the new year called “This Year” by JJ Heller:
The verse I’m praying for this year is Isaiah 43:18-19:
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
And the word I’m praying over this year is leap.
1 Comment | Art, Art: music, Faith, Family | Tagged: 2015, fresh start, happy new year, new years | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Phone Photo Friday
12/26/2014
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Posted by mahlbrandt
I Think of Mary in Bethlehem
12/24/2014
“The Last Christmas”
I feel your heart beating
Inside my own skin
And I think of Mary
In Bethlehem
That night in a stable
Our saviour was born
Yes, we have so much
To be thankful for
On the last Christmas
The last Christmas
The last Christmas
Without you
They’re choosing the colours
Preparing your room
For one day; Mid[spring]
The advent of you
Together we wait for
A heavenly gift
Is winter a wonder?
Enchanted that this is
The last Christmas
The last Christmas
The last Christmas
Without you
See the stars shining for above
Hear the singing
Praise to the Giver of Life and Love
Maker of Beautiful things
I feel your heart beating
Inside my own skin
And I think of Mary
In Bethlehem
When darkness was shattered
The dawn of God’s grace
And the journey’d begun
To the first Easter day
On this last Christmas
The last Christmas
The last Christmas
The very last Christmas
The last Christmas
The last Christmas
The last Christmas
Without you
(Sixpence None the Richer)
PS. Tomorrow we get a very special Christmas gift — we will find out if we’re welcoming a baby girl or a baby boy into our arms in April.
1 Comment | Art, Art: music, Faith, Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah, Family: Me | Tagged: advent, Christmas, expectant, Jesus, mary, pregnancy, pregnant | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Christmastime is Here
12/23/2014The tree has been trimmed. The lights have been strung. The cookies have been baked…and many of them eaten. Christmas is my favorite thing about winter. The warm glowing lights. The crackling wood in the fireplace. The cozy clutter of decorations. The family time. The advent…the waiting…the anticipation. (Increased this year by the gift of discovering our baby’s gender on Christmas Day.) The dressing up in red, knit and boots. Celebrating the birth of Jesus and all that it meant when God came to walk the earth in human form. (Increased this year by the kicking baby in my belly reminding me often of Mary, young and scared, carrying the most important baby in the world.) The excitement of a small child over every element of the holiday season.
1 Comment | Art, Art: Cooking, Art: crafts, Art: interior design | Tagged: Christmas, cookies, decor, decorations, design, home | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Meet the Mama
12/22/2014
I was interviewed in a little getting-to-know-you post over on Dropping Anchors blog last week. Check it out if you’d like to know more about me, why I’m a foster mom and what my experience has been like for the past 3.5 years.
2 Comments | Family, Family: Foster Parenting, Family: Me | Tagged: dropping anchors, foster care, foster parenting, interview, martina, me, meet the mama | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
myMCMlife.com 