My Everyday Featuring ... Alli Shillito

[#1] Share with us a snippet of your story.
Hi! My name is Alli, I live in Ohio with my sweet little family. I grew up only about ten minutes from where we live now. I met my husband, Bryant, right after high school, we fell quickly & after some adventures we found ourselves expecting a baby. Before we knew it we were 6 years in, two houses & three daughters later. Here we are. Our oldest daughter, Madeleine (Maddie) is 5, Josephine (Josie) is 4 & our baby Violet Ann is 21 months. I pinch myself everyday when I wake up to my family. I always knew that I wanted three daughters. I am a part time photographer, always inspired by my girls the most. I shoot anything from babies, families, and weddings. I am big on smiling, I love to make people laugh. I love the escape my pretty little IG squares bring me.. when I should be doing the laundry that is piling up or after a long day of babies screaming, you can find my scrolling through my own feed looking through those magic moments in my feed.

[#2] What is your favorite part of the day with your little one[s]?
A great thing I think about having three daughters is the unique specialness each one brings to my life.. I have individual favorite moments with each of them during the day. Since Maddie is in kindergarden and gone at school most of the day-- my favorite part of the day with her would have to be at 3:00pm sharp when I am picking her up, everyday with a huge smile on her face, I'm always greeted with a big, running hug-- it still brings tears to my eyes. I love the alone time my middle & youngest girls get together too.. my favorite time of day with Josie is when she is home playing with Violet. Josie is my little "mommy" of the three-- it is so amazing to see how gentle and compassionate she already is to her baby sister.. she truly has the purest, biggest heart! & my favorite time of the day with Violet is when I am nursing her down to nap. Most of the time we can close the door and escape to some peace & stillness for a few moments together. She is a spitfire so I really try to take in those quiet moments with her.. keeping her my baby as long as I can :)

[#3] Name Three Instagram MOMS who inspire you.
Three instagram moms that inspire me .. this is a hard one because I am so inspired by every IG mom I follow. I'm going to pick moms that have daughter(s) like myself..  I am always inspired by these moms, the beautiful smiles they have & their warm hearts you can feel through their images. @nicklepickle /  @jenotchy /  @golden_applesauce

[#4] What challenges have you faced in balancing motherhood and your passion for creativity? 
I am still learning every day what it means and takes to balance motherhood & my passion. I definitely have those days where I am feeling overwhelmed, guilty, thinking that I should just drop it all to focus on my children, but then I am reminded how very much I love & need this outlet for myself. I hope that one day my daughters can be inspired by my creativity & hard work. I have big dreams of having it all figured out one day, until then you will find me pulling all nighters to edit pictures because I spent a few great days with my kids & did no work at all.

[#5] What is a family tradition that you love sharing with your kids?
Family is so important to us. One thing that I loved so much about my husband was the fact that his family is so amazing & close. We lost my father in law before my daughters were born, but remembering him & having him be a part of our girls lives is very important to us. The traditions & stories we have to honor & celebrate his life are ones close to my heart. My father in law was very involved in giving back to his community & I hope that my daughters will carry on that "tradition" & legacy of his proudly.

[#6] If you could give us a peek inside your home - what image would you share and why?
I love our little home! We moved here last year shortly after our third little one was born. We are slowly but surely putting our own finishing touches around the house.. having three kids has been keeping us busy. :) We seem to find ourselves mostly in the same room together.. lately our best family time has been spent at the dinner table. From homework right after school to intentional meals all together. I'm not going to lie, sitting down together every night is something still new to us, as the girls were younger we would just focus on feeding them, and then ourselves when they went to bed. Now that we are all on same schedules and better routines these family dinners together come much easier.. and with non stop chit chat about anything and everything that is running through their minds.

[#7] Share a photo you wouldn't typically post on Instagram but depicts real life happenings.
A picture I wouldn't typically share.. I usually find myself posting all kinds of different moments in my feed.. I may not be posting big piles of laundry, a sink full of dishes, bickering with my husband about the laundry & dishes.. its all there, like most of you. I like to keep my feed positive and full of light moments for myself to escape to when all of those other things are piling up. I do save a lot of those fleeting moments for myself & don't even post them.. thats right, for how much I feel like I do post-- there are so many that I don't! just going through my phone I found this one, I took it a couple weeks ago while I was working on my computer and then all of sudden my babies were all on my lap, I had to take a picture with them :) 

Be sure and follow @alliroses on Instagram! You can also keep up with the series by following @kelliandvanessa or #myeverydaymoms

My Everyday Featuring ... Latisha Carlson

[#1] Share with us a snippet of your story.
My story… Who I am today is only by God’s grace! My life is far from flawless. I am loved and misunderstand a lot.. sometimes more misunderstood. I am learning more and more that my identity has to be found in Jesus and Him alone, or that silly thing of “people pleasing" creeps in and I get caught up in everyone else's opinions and even my own of who I am… and in the end all that doesn’t even matter! Only JESUS matters. I fall on my face a lot but Jesus keeps showing me His kindness and He sometimes carries me and others He picks me up and dust me off.. I can keep going forward knowing He will finish the work He started. So through my weaknesses, I grow and by His grace I don’t remain the same! 

Rewind 10 years ago… there Matt and I stood. Friends had set us up and all Matt could do is drink water and stare. (I later found out that I was the pretties girl he had ever seen). We both tried avoiding that time, but all to say we have been married for 9 years. Yup, we met, I broke it off three times, got engaged and married all with in a yr! I see that Jesus used that time and the relationship between us to save me from a really ugly time. It was a rough start for sure, but gosh I don’t know where I would be if Jesus didn't have me marry this rad dude! Now I am wife to a man that lives this life in ways like no other. Seriously, he lives life in a way that changes people around him. He finds good in all things. I let emotion lead me, while He is there allowing Jesus to lead. I get really uptight when the house is a mess, while He is laying on the floor laughing with the kids, I frown when all I need to do is smile… I am learning more and more that I don’t live life to the fullest! But, Jesus is teaching me and using Matt to show me to “lighten up”!! Okay, but don’t get me wrong! I do laugh! I have learned to put the cleaning aside and lay on the floor.. its just harder for me then for him, it comes out more naturally! Something that I love and even hate at times… cause it just seems so easy to him. But all to say, being Matt’s wife is something that is a gift. I laugh more. He is always being funny or at least he thinks so.. haha.. no he really is funny! 

My home is something I love. My husband has finally embraced my craze over always changing our home. I sell and buy. I take old and make new. I rearrange often. I love home design! I love helping others design there homes. This last year I was able to help three friends change there whole house and I loved how excited they were. Mid Century steals my heart! I drool over it! I am inspired by it! So if I am not photographing or playing with the kids during the day, I am moving things around. I am posting on Instagram things to sell so I can buy “new “… meaning old mid century pieces! People tell me one day I need to have my house thrift store! 

Matt and I are a husband/wife wedding photography team! I started this business almost 5 yrs ago and now we have become a team. We love telling couples stories through our cameras. We are excited to keep at it. 

My journey to momma hood started out hard. My husband and I faced 3 miscarriages and one molar pregnancy before finding out we were going to have twins! That journey of loosing my babies was hard but Jesus was so good through that season. I went through a whirlwind of emotions for sure. When finding out we were going to be have twins, my heart was flooded with joy and excitement!! People always ask if I was shocked or if I was scared to have twins, and after my journey of loosing three, I had nothing but thankfulness and excitement for my twins!

Fast forward three years and I was delivering my baby boy, Greyson! Awe I am in love with this little guy! He turns two in April!  

The month of December was a journey! To our surprise my husband and I found out that we were going to have another baby! WOW. Shocked we were and then shortly after we had began to get really really excited, I then miscarried! So all in a month, the whirlwind of emotions was a bit nuts, as you could imagine. I personally really got excited. Momma instinct was kicking in and I was ready to for another sweet child, but then it happened, I miscarried yet again! It’s been confusing. Tears have been shed but we are good. For some reason Jesus gave and once again took away and I am once again thankful that my heart is trusting His choice for us in this. He wants the best for my family and I. So now we trust and look forward to the day we meet our four kids in Heaven!

Jesus gives and takes away… so many people struggle with “why would a good God take away”.. but by God’s grace that question never sunk deep in my heart. He knows what is best for me and my family. He knows what I need and when I need it. He knows my heart. So he took four but gave another three. I am thankful for each one, and I look forward to meet the four I have never even felt move in my tummy. 

[#2] What is your favorite part of the day with your little one[s]?

Goodness my day is filled with laughter, big imaginations, Greyson trying to do things his big sisters are doing.. but when our day winds down, the kids jump in bed we have so many sweet times. Lots of tickling. Sweet prayers from my four years old girls. Sometimes I wonder if they are grasping who jesus is and why we talk so much about Him.. and when I hear them pray, my heart is humbled, my heart is encouraged. The prayers that are spoken from the twins teaches me to be more forgiving, more loving, and more intentional to teach them well… and Grey loves snuggles and kisses. During the day he climbs on my lap, grabs my face and makes boy noises and then in between gives me so many sweet kisses and hugs. Awe my heart melts! I love my kids. My world is so much sweeter with them!

[#3] Name Three Instagram MOMS who inspire you.

@jennielusko, @alainaguido, @saratrammel are three moms who popped in my head right away. They may be miles away from me. But Jennie leads a life full intention and boldness and I am so beyond encouraged by her, I don’t think she knows how much I admire who Jesus has created her to be. Alaina has been a friend of mine for 15 yrs and oh my, she is such a sweet friend who loves Jesus so much that causes others to want to love Jesus deeper. Sara, well she is just lovely. She brings so much joy into peoples lives. When we lived close, we spent much of our time laughing. She is faithful and creative. These three I love so much.

@katielivelyphoto She reminds me to laugh more. She loves Jesus so much. I find her constantly taking the time to play and enjoy her son and worry less about cleaning and errands, its good for me to have someone who helps me to remember to be more intentional with my kids!!

@tamararomero she is creative and constantly loving and teaching her two girls. She lives intentionally. She serves her family faithfully, always seeking the best for them.

@stacygarcia loves well. She sacrifices to serve her family faithfully. She brings much joy into peoples lives. I am thankful for her friendship. She understands what it looks like to endure suffering and still trust Jesus. I am encouraged by her faithfulness to Jesus.

@danihampton, @asctofriday, and @jodimockabee, @bluebirdkisses are all moms who just inspire me with there love for there family and there creativity! I don’t know them but I am sure inspired and encouraged by them! 

[#4] What challenges have you faced in balancing motherhood and your passion for creativity?

Gosh, I love my kids and I love photographing people… but I also have to edit my images to send out to my couples and clients, so I think by God’s grace I have found a balance. I know that I come home after sessions and all I wanna do is stick them on the computer and get to editing, but I try to keep my editing during nap times and I try to spread my sessions out so that I am still home laughing and caring to the needs of my kids. Wedding season is a little crazy but I just have to be intentional to stop my work and play, laugh, tickle, read the Bible, listen to my kids hearts, teach them how to love each other better. Stop saying “just a minute”, but rather stop what I am doing to listen to them. I have learned that I need to be intentional in whatever I am doing cause if you aren’t, you are not fulfilled and either are the people around you… your husband and kids! Jesus is intentional and I am called to be like Him, so by HIs grace I am intentional which brings Him more glory! But don’t get me wrong, I have days that cleaning or editing or my selfishness steals moments that I could have loved better… whether my kids, my husband or others. I am a work in progress! 

[#5] What is a family tradition that you love sharing with your kids?

This has been something my husband and I have been talking about. We are working to have traditions that are best for us. We decided that Christmas Eve, we would be generous to others. We want to teach our kids that being generous is important, its dying to self, and there is much joy in serving and giving to others. So thats one we started for the Christmas season. To be honest we have been doing a lot of talking and not enough action.. so we are making changes to bring in “Carlson Traditions”!! The goal is having tent and pizza night on Tuesdays. Snuggles at bedtime has been a daily tradition that I believe my kids will cherish always. So if you think of us, pray for us! Pray we begin traditions! We want to be more adventurous as family too!

[#6] If you could give us a peek inside your home - what image would you share and why?

Oh gosh… so many. Grey holding my face as he says “broom broom” and kisses me… and with this season, the snot is rubbed on me.. but those sweet kisses are worth it, snot and all. Or maybe the girls running to daddy when the front doors opens.. their arms open wide and yelling “DADDY”S HOME”.. with Greyson “da da”…
Or bath time.. I swear by kids would live in the bath if they could. Or morning snuggles, when we all pile up in mom and dads bed.

[#7] Share a photo you wouldn't typically post on Instagram but depicts real life happenings.

Be sure and follow @latishacarlson on Instagram! You can also keep up with the series by following @kelliandvanessa or #myeverydaymoms

My Everyday Featuring ... Bethany Douglass

[#1] Share with us a snippet of your story. 
I’ve recently been reading Madeleine L’Engle’s Circle of Quiet wherein she defines humility as “throwing oneself away in complete concentration on something or someone else.” Perhaps this is the best statement to sum up the process of motherhood for me, the regular putting aside of self to concentrate on people and matters beyond me right now. Sometimes this outward concentration has been easy, intuitive even, while other times it requires me to be more intentional in action and attitude. Like every parent, I am reminded of the brevity of these years. I remember: they are a gift. And this lesson, this snippet of my story, I never stop learning. Life is a gift. 

Like so many people’s stories, my own cycles through themes of tremendous loss, pain, doubt, and fear. They are a part of my humanity. However, there is a greater theme in my life, one that overshadows the latter, a theme of immeasurable love, of grace, and redemption. Motherhood has been a part of that journey, a place where I’ve learned to release fears, to persevere through doubts, to recognize my own shortcomings and need, to give grace. A place where I’ve received love for no other reason except being. This too is a part of my redemption, my understanding of love.

[#2] What is your favorite part of the day with your little one[s]?
This has evolved through the years. When my children were younger and I wasn’t sleeping through the night, they often would wake before me and my husband in the mornings. They would slip into our beds and snuggle with us. This is the way we would wake up as a family, with regular snuggle mornings. I will always treasure those moments. Now, as they’ve grown older, it’s harder for all six of us to snuggle in any one place together without ending up with an unwanted limb in the face or gut. But we still have read-a-loud time, although this also has evolved. Sometimes it happens in the day around the table and sometimes squished together on the couch or bed. I still cherish a quiet activity together--possibly because quiet activity is rare in our house.

[#3] Name Three Instagram MOMS who inspire you.

Only three! This may be the hardest question since there are so many! Several of the inspiring mothers I’ve met through IG have already been featured here, and since this is about community and inspiration through the app, I’ll share moms I’ve met through IG who haven’t yet been mentioned (that I know of):

@ponymaude: I love the creative yet authentic way she captures the everyday-ness of her family. As a fellow home-educator, I value how education/learning infuses her home (and travel) life, reminding me how much learning happens outside of books. 

@crannyandme: Living in the PNW, I am of course smitten with the scenery of Sarah Kate’s images. But I really adore her heart for her family and nature and Jesus. 

@graybenko: Gray’s images are stunning, but I especially love that they remind me as a parent to laugh, not to take life too seriously. I always need that reminder.

@jesszwo: I love the creative and loving spirit shared through Jess's pictures. I'm always encouraged by her (and her husband's) ability to balance her own work and homeschool their four children.

[#4] What challenges have you faced in balancing motherhood and your passion for creativity?

Having young children naturally restrains the amount of “free time” I have for personal projects and writing. But there’s also something about those sharp parameters that cultivate creativity, like the cook with limited ingredients. It’s easy for me to romanticize/idealize all of the wonderful work I could create with my time if I had more of it (which again directs me back to question 1), but the reality is: that is not my reality. We have made choices for our family (namely having four children and homeschooling) that precludes me right now from an abundance of personal time and projects. I know this won’t always be the case. So my battle is to be present and enjoy now, to recognize my limitations and work within them, to always give thanks.

[#5] What is a family tradition that you love sharing with your kids?

The family meal. With young children, our mealtime is hardly every quiet or clean or reverential in any manner. But this loudness and messiness is a part of our life right now. The family meal (usually our dinners or weekend breakfasts) is a time for us to share a communal experience, to eat quality food together, to reflect and share part of our day together, to give thanks together.

[#6] If you could give us a peek inside your home - what image would you share and why?

This picture says so much about our home: dress up and PJs, rich learning alongside graffiti art, organized chaos, littles wanting to be bigs, everyday nothings that might just mean everything.

[#7] Share a photo you wouldn't typically post on Instagram but depicts real life happenings.

Be sure and follow @cloisteredaway on Instagram! You can also keep up with the series by following @kelliandvanessa or #myeverydaymoms