“He is the cheese to my macaroni.
And, I know that people are supposed to fall in love before they reproduce, but… I guess normalcy isn’t really our style.”


From our family to yours, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Fall session teasers coming up tomorrow!

I’m not a patient person. Not in the slightest.
We have a boy and a girl already so I’d LOVE to wait until the birth to find out the gender of our child. Realistically I knew if we tried that then I’d end up running into a 3D ultrasound place, at like 36 weeks, because I couldn’t wait any longer. Yeah, I’m that neurotic. We still wanted to have that special moment of surprise though. So today, at our big ultrasound, we had the tech put the gender results in an envelope to keep it secret. Then we took the envelope to a party store and asked them to put the corresponding color of balloons in a box and seal it so we couldn’t see anything. Our dear friend, Chris, met our family at the park to capture the moment where we all found out, together, who the TLC (The Littlest Crafton) would be!
Feeling their new sibling kick me:

Prying open the box:

It’s a…

BOY!!!!!!



Baby is healthy and happy! We do have a little pregnancy issue where I need to be monitored with extra ultrasounds but who is complaining? More opportunities to see our little BOY! =)

Here’s hoping you all had a beautiful week! The gang and I just returned from roughing it in the wilderness (ummm, climate controlled cabin, that is) and enjoyed all Fall Creek Falls has to offer. No phone, computers, internet, 3G….nada…just beautiful scenery and some quality family time!
(Side note, please make sure to add us on Facebook for times when we will be out of the office or unavailable for contact.)


Vacation is made for morning meditation (and coffee) on the porch, afternoon naps and making Halloween cookies while dad jogs through the woods.


As if I didn’t have a hard enough time getting the kids to smile for a picture.

Almost two years ago, my husband received a little Christmas present.

At 5 pounds, full of fluff and energy, this present wiggled her way into the heart of even the toughest critic. Me. Don’t get me wrong, I adore animals and have had dogs my entire life but with trying for a new child and newly installed carpet…I was NOT a huge fan of this messy intruder. Sweet, sweet face but HIGH maintenance personality.

Fast forward a year and a half, I found myself on house arrest with a sickness that I felt I could not climb out from under. I couldn’t leave the house for long periods of time, I couldn’t run around with my kids, I couldn’t even walk into the kitchen without getting sick. Day in and day out, for about 10 weeks, I was bound to the couch and depressed. This little fox-dog took vigil at my side. When I was hugging the toilet, she army crawled her way across the floor to lay quietly next to me. She would bring me her favorite toy and lay it on my chest if I looked upset. She would perch on my stomach while I read the umpteenth book of the week, asking nothing from me except an occasional scratch or kind word.

Although I have always loved my pets, I have never truly appreciated the companionship of dogs and what a joy they bring to my world. Now that I’m slowly starting to function again, this little creature will surely be spoiled within an inch of her life.
Kisses to you, Summit. Your unconditional love was such a wonderful gift at a time where I needed it most.

Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!

The past 8 weeks I’ve been struggling with what the doctors diagnosed as Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). Imagine the worst case of food poisoning that you’ve ever had…now imagine that it lasts for 20 weeks straight, or possibly 40. I can’t say that this is a pleasant pregnancy, I hoped to avoid HG this time, but the outcome is worth all of the struggles. Randy (I should start calling him “The Saint” instead of TGR) has taken over control of our house, including care of our kids and care of me as well. My work has come to a complete standstill because I’ve only left the house a handful of times since July. This is a huge struggle for me because I love my job, clients and the socialization that comes with it. Thankfully, I’ve basically missed out on the hottest summer EVER and pray to be feeling more like myself come October. Fall is my favorite time of year, especially in Tennessee, and I’m so excited to enjoy it with *hopefully* a clear mind and a healthy body. With as sick and dehydrated as I am right now, THAT is what I’m looking forward to.
FALL!
I didn’t miss it!
Little blessings are everywhere.


I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday weekend! Much love from the couch at the Crafton house!

This weekend, I was trying to schnooker the bride’s sister into taking a picture with her husband. She hesitated and asked how many pictures I actually had with my husband. To which I giggled and said: “Ummmmm….a lot”
That poor man has been putting up with my, “wait wait wait, let’s take a picture” for years now. Originally, it started as a way to document our life for the kids to see when they were older. Now it’s evolved into trying to capture our love, our connection, our ridiculous personalities…regardless of what the kids think. We’ve had multiple professional sessions together but most of the time it’s just us and our trusty self portraits (or whenever we can schmooze a stranger or friend into snapping one for us). I don’t think you can ever really have too many pictures with your love.











Images from two different weddings coming soon! Look for them this week!

Diving in head first for this announcement and making the Family Friday a Family Thursday post!
We’ve been wanting another child for years now but have been met with challenges, sadness and eventually hope. A few months ago, we decided to take a break from the RE’s office and to try a more natural approach. Through a roundabout way, we found Rachel Davis (at the Green Hills Natural Health Clinic) and signed up for fertility massages and acupuncture. I felt more positive about this journey than I had with years of doctors and fertility clinics. Much to my surprise, two months later, there it was. The all illusive positive test. Staring at me. Anyone that has been through a loss or fertility problems knows how scary it can be to actually see a positive pregnancy test.
I didn’t believe it and took another one. Yep, still positive.
I had just dropped Randy at the airport (heading to NY for an overnight business trip) and it KILLED me not to call him the second I found out. I knew this would be our last child, rounding out the 3 kids that we wanted, so I wanted to surprise him with the news in a special way. I called our dear friends Chris & Adrienne and asked if one of them could meet me at the airport when R’s flight came in the next day. I wanted to catch his reaction as he stepped off the plane to the kids’ “welcome home” signs and my “Welcome home…and surprise!” sign with a picture of the test. Poor, sweet man just thought Chris was there to catch the moment of him coming back to Nashville.



Then I told R that I made a sign for him too…and flipped it over:

Finally understanding what was going on…



*swoon*

This past week we had a scare and thought that we would lose the baby. We were overwhelmed with sadness and nervous energy until we saw the beautiful heartbeat this morning on the ultrasound. Pure joy!!! It’s still early in this journey, so we appreciate your prayers for a healthy (and hopefully, from now on, uneventful) pregnancy!
(And, Chris, thank you again love. You have no idea how much these images mean to us.)

I’ve been slacking on the blog lately so I belatedly bring you the Family Friday Saturday post. This week has been wild for our family. One of those weeks where you drink in how blessed you are and look at your children with new, bright eyes. My husband came home from New York last night and seeing my babes fly at him, as he descended the escalator, was overwhelming. I am so lucky and I hope I never get used to that fact. And all this schmoopy babbling after I had my identity stolen and our account wiped out by some idiot buying electronics in California. Those things are so minor when there is so much out there left to discover, and stand in awe of. *blissfulsigh*

Honestly, I struggled when my son turned five. Not sure what it is about that age that screams “no more baby” but that’s the marker in my mind. Next week my baby girl will turn 5 and we’re throwing her big birthday bash tomorrow. Princesses, princesses everywhere. Think happy thoughts for me, so that I may avoid an emotional meltdown.

Happy birthday my sweet, vivacious, hilarious, ornery, wild little Gemini. You are such a joy and I will always be thankful for your place in my life. I’m so sad the baby days are behind you but I can’t wait to see the beautiful things that lie in your future. I love you to the moon and back.
“Tisses” and PINK SHOES to you!
Love Mom

Another Friday… Saturday Family post (next Friday I’ll be back home, without limited upload speed)! This time just a simple quote that one of my dear friends sent to me, about wonder, and a few images from the Kids Rock The Block Party at Rosemary Beach.

“Do you allow yourself to feel wonder about the amazing things the universe has to offer? Children do it with no problem. A cloud becomes a giraffe; a bug is diligently followed with incredible intensity; an ice cream cone is an exercise in sheer delight. Don’t allow life to take away those magical feelings because you’re too busy or stressed out. It’s what makes life worthwhile!” ~ Loretta LaRoche