This next mommy you’ll see is my friend Lauren…and my slave-driving personal trainer!  I mean she was almost 9 months pregnant while pushing me around in the gym the last time I saw her.  And now she’s given birth to this beautiful baby boy!

Lauren is such a blessing & an encourager to me while trying to help me reach my health goals that I felt honored to return the favor in taking photos of her dear, growing family.  Her new son was born just a few days after Thanksgiving and just a few days after she & her family moved to a bigger house.  Talk about great timing!  Her dad was telling me the family had Thanksgiving, moved Lauren’s family to the new house, & then she had her son a few days later!

Thank you, Lauren, for all your encouragement.  You are making a lovely momma of two!  You & James will be great with them both!

Many of you may have read about my sister, Maggie, in a previous post.  Well, she finally had her baby, Leah Beth, yesterday at 11:16am.  We are glad she’s finally arrived, but she isn’t completely healthy just yet.  Leah was born quite quickly and has some fluid in her lungs that she needs to get rid of in order to breathe completely on her own.  She is currently in the NICU at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore, and is being given oxygen to help her breathe.  This situation is completely dejavu for me and my family because about 16 months ago we were in almost the exact same situation with our youngest daughter, Brooke.  She was born with a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and was in the NICU for one month and then in another hospital to learn to feed for an additional month.  At the time of her hospitalization I wondered what God had to teach me through all of this.  He taught me a lot, but now, especially that my baby sister is going through a similar situation, I’m glad I am able to offer her support in this unsettling time.  So, if you’ve been trying to get a hold of me, or waiting for me to return your e-mails, I have been slightly preoccupied with my newest niece.  Enjoy a few pictures of Leah…


If you are interested, you can keep up on updates about Leah on my family blog by clicking here.