Before 8am {Hannah}

“Life is an adventure, and there is no script. I see something in ordinary moments. I believe that perfection comes not when you are dressed perfectly and wearing lipstick – but in little moments and interactions that make up our days and build and sustain our relationships. Let me show you the beauty in your unscripted moments…” – Karen Jacot, photographer

The Before 8am series here on Houston Moms Blog has been my favorite series to follow. There’s something so fun about taking a peek into others’ mornings to see how they run their day. And I’m a sucker for amazing photography, and Karen Jacot doesn’t disappoint – that’s for dang sure! Not only did she capture some amazing pictures for our little family, the experience of having her in our home to capture these moments and nuances was so sweet and laid back.

Truthfully, we’re not a morning family. I work from home and Aaron doesn’t go into work until the early afternoons. So on a regular day, our morning starts between 8 and 9. The exception was Easter Sunday. We needed to be at church at an earlier time than usual so we started our day with enough time to enjoy the morning and get us to church at a reasonable hour. I’m so glad that Karen spent our Easter morning with us and was able to capture this holiday that’s so special to our family.

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Aaron is always the first one up. He’ll get up and take a shower, then brew a pot of coffee for us. I’m usually tucked into bed until the last possible moment because I savor every ounce of sleep that I can.

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Our deck was finished the day before, so in our excitement over our new space – we started our day with coffee out on the deck. It was in the 60s so it was perfect weather to start our morning outside.

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We also started our spring garden within the week, so every morning one of the first things I do is water our plants. Our dog, Millie, likes to get in on the watering too.

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Before we get the kids up, I take the time to put on my makeup, do my hair, and pick out my outfit. While I’m doing that, Aaron does some work and makes the kids’ breakfast.

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Once Aaron and I are mostly ready, we go in the kids’ room to get our morning started with them. They always jump up and down in their cribs when when we walk in the room. It’s one of our favorite parts of the day. This day, they were very enamored with Karen.

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I’m telling you, Cason was staring her down. “Who’s this lady with a camera, Mom?” This is one of my favorite pictures of him. I love the expression on his face.

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They love to give high-fives!

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Cason’s foster mom bought them the sweetest outfits from Kelly’s Kids with their names monogramed on them. I was hoping that they would fit into them by Easter, but they were still too long for them to wear. Which meant that since my original outfit for them didn’t work out, I had to search for a new one. This is the thing that makes mornings stressful for me. “We have nothing to wear!!” When, in fact, there are closets full of clothes. Can you relate?

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I want to have ^this^ photo printed as a gallery wrap and hang it up in our dining room.

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Mills is thinking to herself, “Please drop something. Please drop something. Please drop something.”

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After two hours, I finally finish my one cup of coffee.

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Then, it’s off to get our bags together while Aaron finishes feeding them.

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…and I have to find another outfit for them to wear.

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Aaron and I often wonder how our relationship and our parenting would be different if we didn’t have twins. Not that it would be better or worse, just…different. We do a lot as a team as twin parents. We’re so blessed to be a team in this twin-parenting gig. This picture shows how we work as a team…I get them mostly dressed while Aaron finishes with their shoes.

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And while Aaron finishes getting them ready and getting our stuff together, I slip away to get dressed.

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I have these grand ideas of Pinterest-worthy crafts, and my thoughts for their Easter basket didn’t fall short of these ideas. However, I’ve learned that I’m mostly an idea person and not the best at execution. So the night before when I was sunburned and exhausted from working in the yard all day, I threw together their Easter baskets from a few knick-knacks we collected. As you can see from the animal crackers in an exquisitely crafted zip-lock bag, I went with a more minimalist approach. 😉 I’ve learned to show myself a lot of grace when it comes to failing turning my ideas into a reality. After all, it’s not about the Easter baskets anyway. I just want my kids to remember the bigger lessons about this holiday {and life} and the traditions we create help facilitate a conversation about the bigger meanings. We just happen to be blessed to create sweet memories {like Easter baskets stuffed with zip-lock bags of animal crackers from Sam’s} with them because of these holidays.

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I asked Karen to snap a quick posed family Easter picture for us. Thanks for letting me check that off my to-do list for the day!

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And we’re off to church!

Thank you so much for capturing this special morning for us, Karen! We were blown away by these photos and will treasure them!

To see Karen’s perspective from her Before 8am morning with us, check out her blog post.  And don’t forget to check out the rest of the posts within this amazing series as well!

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Hannah B
A native Houstonian, Hannah adores everything about her home town…except for the humidity. So when she married Aaron in July 2008, an indoor wedding was necessary to protect this ginger from the frizz of summer. After 8 years of marriage, 4 of those battling through infertility, they welcomed twins Cason and Grace into their family through the miracle of adoption in December 2013. A graduate of the University of Houston with a degree in theatre and a creative writing minor, creating runs deep in Hannah’s veins. Her goal is to live a fearless life where she works hard creating projects and ideas that make their home in her wild imagination. She loves making videos for her YouTube Channel, taking photos and writing for her blog Everything Sunny Always, and creating digital artwork. When she’s not creating, you can find Hannah at any local coffee shop fueling her adoration for a gourmet cup of joe or stuck in traffic on the Houston freeways belting Adele or practicing her future Emmy speech.

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