Category Archives: henry et marie

reflections on 2019 + beyond

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This year exceeded my expectations in many ways, along with some curveballs along the way. While I haven’t had ample time to reflect on the past year, I spent the holidays going through images and revisiting favorite moments. Out of the many thousands of images I captured in 2019, this one is certainly a standout (we used it for our holiday card), and represents a source of pride. Giving our children the gift of travel and cultural experiences is priceless, and when I look back over any of our years, it’s those memories that stand out the most. Returning to France as a family was such a highlight (recap coming soon, yikes)! I don’t want to forget our other family travels, which were equally precious: we visited family in Charlotte, explored England for the first time, celebrated Henry + Marie’s 7th birthday in NYC (and found ourselves in the city a few more times), and had an incredible summer vacation in New Hampshire.

I had considered writing a decade in review, but whoa…that is too daunting of a task and overwhelming for me. My head is still spinning from the past ten years: I moved four times, started a blog, battled mysterious health issues, bought a house, became a mother of two at once, grew my business, lost a furry baby, sold a home, struggled financially, dealt with anxiety, depression, and marital issues, got political, brought a big idea to life, got diagnosed with cancer, homeschooled my children, cared for aging parents, celebrated ten years of marriage, turned 40, and welcomed a new furry baby. These years have been some of the most unforgettable, challenging, and exquisite of my life…it may take a lifetime to adequately reflect upon them. I wish you all a happy new decade and new year…here’s to a mindful and joyous 2020!

a beautiful day in brooklyn

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We decided it was time for another family adventure in Brooklyn, to include our new furry family member, Winni! I haven’t formally introduced her here, but you can see more on my Instagram highlights. The weather was gorgeous the day after my event, so we crossed the bridge over to Brooklyn and paid a visit to one of our favorite spots, Jane’s Carousel. It had been a while since we visited…take a look at the Steller story I created in 2015 – they were so little!! After a few turns on the carousel we walked along the waterfront, witnessed a proposal, visited our favorite playground, and had a few belly laughs over Winni trying to chase pigeons. She’s a great little traveler and we can’t wait for more family adventures!

harry + hermione

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We started reading Harry Potter together for homeschool earlier this year and the kids immediately identified with the characters…specifically Harry and Hermione (no surprise there). They actually share many traits with those two, so it seemed a perfect fit. As a special treat while abroad this summer, we surprised them with a stop at Platform 9 3/4 in London, where they each chose a wand! It was only natural that they went all in for Halloween, and of course we had to get our new furry baby in on the action. The cutest little furry Gryffindor pupil you ever did see! Our neighborhood bike path provided the perfect backdrop for our photoshoot before heading out to trick-or-treat. Cue the leaves!

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london with kids

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Our time in England was so special to share as a family, as it was a first for us all! I’m sharing our London recap first before sharing our countryside adventures. I had big plans for London – the essentials (changing of the guard, museums, historic monuments, etc.) as well as some extras, but was quickly humbled as I realized how long it took to navigate the enormous city. On the morning we attempted to see the changing of the guard, we ran late and instead ended up following their trail (IYKYN), unfortunately. Hopefully we can have that iconic experience next time! We ended up strolling through Hyde Park, and the kids really enjoyed getting up close and personal with the swans. Click to see more of our adventures…

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a fresh perspective

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We’re back home after our whirlwind adventures in England + France! I’m currently sorting through 1500+ photos and videos on both my Nikon and iPhone (gulp) and can’t wait to share more from our trip. While there were so many special moments, this one was especially poignant. I shared it on Instagram but I’m sharing it again here because I believe the message bears repeating. The kids and I spent most of our time exploring London solo, as we tagged along with my husband on a work trip. He would meet up with us after work or for lunch – whenever possible, of course…but navigating a new to me city with two young children was challenging to say the least. They’re not city kids – we live in a small town outside of Philadelphia. While we go into the city often and they’ve traveled quite a bit, they are still not accustomed to the pace and hustle of a big city. By the end of each day we were so thankful to retreat to our friends’ calm oasis in Shepherd’s Bush (more on that soon). There were quite a few times when the city wore me down and I felt like giving up.

Not long before I took this photo, Marie fell down the stairs of a double decker bus. It wasn’t our first ride, and it wasn’t her fault – the driver was not paying attention (it was during rush hour) and we were getting off at an uncommon stop for that time of day. We were all holding on, but we had barely been stopped for a minute or two when he started to move and the bus lurched forward, tossing Marie down the stairs behind me. She was screaming and seemed to be injured badly – my mama bear instincts kicked in big time, and I screamed at the driver. I’m thankful to the kind strangers who came to our aid, and after making sure she was ok, we all had a good cry on the street after exiting the bus. It was a traumatic event, and we almost gave up on the rest of our plans for the day…we decided to press on after calming down. We were exhausted by the time we reached Tower Bridge, and didn’t have the energy to wait in line for the perfect photo opp. We stepped aside to regroup and there it was…perfectly reflected and framed in the background. The kids were all smiles, despite the stressful day we’d had. That’s when I realized…the sights are exactly that–background to this beautiful life. What I really needed to focus on was right in front of me all day long. Sometimes all it takes is a fresh perspective.