The beautiful story of baby Isla’s arrival was featured in The White Wren Volume 3 in print – and today we are sharing some additional photos for your enjoyment! This sweet family took some time to share their story with us, and lessons they learned through the last year as a family.
This feature was published in The White Wren Volume 3 – pick up your print copy here!
What’s your favorite family pastime?
Going on road trips to enjoy time with each other, but also our larger family units in Maine and Wisconsin. It’s not easy living so far away, so it’s been fun to have a rotating “home base” for summers and the important holidays. The pandemic hit us very hard in this regard, because we knew we had to stay home for everybody’s safety (especially for mama and our little Isla). We’re both very excited for the first time Isla can experience Grammy’s colorful home on Maine’s rocky coast, and can crawl through the pristine grass of Abuela and Abuelo’s yard in Green Bay. Car rides are very soothing, enjoyable experiences for Isla so far, and we’re hoping that she will feel that way after hour 15 and beyond!
Any lessons you learned as a family through the last year?
This past year, we’ve definitely learned the importance of staying connected and spending genuine “time” with each other, even if that time needs to be spent over FaceTime or Zoom. It was difficult to not be able to experience our pregnancy as an ideal, archetypal “couple holding hands at the doctor’s office” way. While it was difficult going to appointments alone, FaceTime and Zoom were able to help Luke stay connected, to see the ultrasounds even if he couldn’t be in the room, and to make sure he could process and ask questions right “alongside” me. Additionally, we have come to rely on the power of adaptability and taking things one day at a time. Lynnette learned about the pregnancy and started a new job in the middle of the pandemic, two amazing and system-shocking changes in quick succession. Trying to fathom all of the changes at once was a lot, so it was better to “chunk” things out into days and tasks.
Tell us a fun or silly story that happened to your family!
Luke and our best friends arranged to have my mother fly down and surprise me with a few weeks left in the pregnancy! Luke is not very good with secrets (he always grins and laughs anytime something is up), but he and our friends somehow kept it to themselves for over a month! The day she surprised me, it was so wonderful when we went over to their place and she came around the corner…we laughed and cried and held each other, and she was able to spend the week with us, helping out in so many ways but most importantly, just being there with us. This year has been very difficult and short on truly cathartic moments, but this (and Isla’s birth, of course) were water in the desert, and so much fun!
What does family mean to you?
Family is the group of people who you feel a deeper love for than anyone else. For us, it’s not just our biological family, but our best friends: the people who make life worth living, during the best of times, and the pandemic-est of times alike. The people who are always there to support you and make you smile, for which you’ll always seek to return the favor. It has been such a joy to know that Isla will grow up around all these wonderful people, many of whom she already greets with smiles and loving coos. Additionally, with the difficult geographic distance from our actual relatives, so many of our neighbors and friends brought over meals, spoiled us with outfits and diapers, and took time to safely meet Isla and offer their love, congratulations, and support for anything we could need. That level of community/family support has meant so much, and we are both honored to have so many wonderful people feature in our lives and Isla’s birth story.
This feature was published in The White Wren Volume 3 – pick up your print copy here!
Photography: Ariel Rose Photography
Publisher at The White Wren and Bajan Wed, Award Winning Photography + Videographer at Live View Studios, Dad, 80s music lover, crunchy health advocate
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