Faith, motherhood & becoming

There's mom.
And then
there's me.

One sweet girl, a whole lot of love, a little Jesus, and approximately 47 unfinished tasks. A soft place to land as we grow into who God is calling us to be.

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Welcome, mama

Not a perfect-mom blog.
A grace-filled, real-life one.

I love being my daughter's mama. It's the hormones, the invisible work, the feelings I didn't expect, and the slow process of finding myself that can get messy. Here we make space for honest laughter, hard conversations, and the love of Jesus — without pretending we've got it all together.

Flowers grow in the valley.  ✿  Grace upon Grace.

A little bit of everything

There's room for all of it.

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The Beautiful Chaos

The hilarious, sticky, ordinary, magical moments of raising my girl.

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Finding Me Again

Not going backward — growing into the woman I'm becoming.

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The Unsaid Things

Hormones, invisible work, resentment and grace-filled honesty.

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Faith & Little Joys

Jesus, small mercies, big laughs and hope for tomorrow.

“Flowers grow in the valley.”

Grace upon Grace · Even in the hard seasons, God is growing something beautiful

The person behind the pages

Hi, I'm Courtney.

I'm mama to one sweet girl, a Jesus-loving woman, a matcha latte enthusiast, and a woman still growing into who God made her to be.

If there's an audiobook playing, bread rising, a good thrift find waiting, or a cool rainy afternoon to enjoy, I'm probably happy. There may also be a rather impressive laundry pile behind a closed door. We don't need to talk about that door.

I'm here for real motherhood, a little humor, and grace upon grace.

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Finding Me Again · Faith & Motherhood

I Love Being Her Mom. But I'm Still Trying to Find Me.

By Courtney · A motherhood story

I love being her mama. Let me say that first, because the hard part of motherhood was never loving my daughter. That part filled my heart in a way I can't even explain.

The hard part? Everything I didn't realize would change around it. The hormones. The invisible work. The feelings that sneak up on you while you're folding the same load of laundry for the third time because apparently the laundry basket is a magical portal that manufactures socks.

And finding me. Not the girl I used to be — she's in the past, and honestly, I'm not trying to bring her back. I'm looking forward. I'm trying to understand the woman I am now and the woman God is helping me become.

I just didn't expect that part to take so long.

Somewhere in my head, I think I imagined I would bounce back. You know, glow up, get a routine, drink enough water, become one of those women who somehow has clean hair on a Tuesday. Instead, three years later, I'm only just starting to feel like I no longer look like Adam Sandler every single day. And listen, Adam seems comfortable. He may be onto something.

But underneath that joke was a real adjustment. My body felt different. My emotions felt different. My time didn't feel like mine. I could spend an entire day doing a million things, only to look around at night and wonder why none of them seemed to count as something anyone could actually see.

It's a strange feeling to work so hard and still feel unseen.

Then there's a part I think we need to talk about more: resentment. Sometimes it shows up toward friends or family, maybe even your partner. People you love. People who aren't necessarily doing anything wrong. You know it's not fair to blame them for every feeling, but that doesn't mean the feelings just disappear. Sometimes the adjustment is heavier than you knew how to explain.

And that can be confusing when you also know you're blessed.

I'm grateful for my daughter. I love taking care of my sweet girl. I love being her mama. Those things are true. It's also true that hormones, emotional changes, endless work, and trying to recognize yourself in a new season can be exhausting. Gratitude doesn't erase adjustment. Love doesn't mean you never need help.

My faith matters here, too. I want to share the love of Jesus in this space — not because I have a picture-perfect life or a perfect faith, but because I need His grace right in the middle of the mess. Jesus has taught me that His love is never-ending and His timing is perfect, even when it doesn't match the timeline I had in mind. He's teaching me forgiveness in every part of life — including when I need to forgive myself for not having it all figured out yet.

He's also teaching me to keep looking for the blessings, because they're there. Some are easy to spot, like my sweet girl's smile. Some take longer to recognize. But motherhood is the greatest blessing of all, and I don't want a hard season to make me miss the goodness right in front of me.

One of my favorite sayings is “Flowers grow in the valley.” I love that reminder. Growth isn't reserved for the mountaintops or the seasons when everything goes according to plan. God can grow something beautiful in the messy, low, uncertain places too. Grace upon Grace.

Maybe that's what this blog is really about: letting go of the pressure to have it all figured out. Laughing when the day is ridiculous. Being honest when the day is heavy. Giving ourselves room to grow, and extending the same grace to other people that we're learning to receive.

So if you're a mama who loves her child with her whole heart but is still trying to understand herself, pull up a chair. If your coffee has been reheated four times and you have no idea what day it is, pull up two chairs. We may be here a while.

We're not going backward. We're becoming. Slowly, imperfectly, and with God's help.

Flowers grow in the valley. Grace upon Grace. And I'm so glad you're here.