i savor the moments my boys and me lie in bed and giggle and tickle and read book after book after book

i savor bein a momma a lot
my family and friends are d.lish as well
worth the world

what wonder there is in this post
WONDER is an AMAZING catalyst for finding the
savory stuff.. ya know? so glad you for you and your grapefruit eating beautiful gorgeous self

Your site is great

Savoring every moment is the saviour of happiness!

What a beautiful post!!!! I am so happy for you and your husband. You so deserve this perfect state. For me, I know intellectually that I have the power in any situation to choose how I view an event or a "moment". I always try to find the lesson or see the good. But my positive attitude seems shallow even to me. Some how these days I find it hard to FEEL the "joy" you speak of... Where has it gone? Did hurricane Katrina wash it away or was it already missing? At this point I can't remember. How does one begin to identify the "empty"? That place that is void of something like a low rumble in your stomach that needs to be filled. Speaking of stomach, I am glad you are back to filling yours with good things...
I am thankful for so many things, but I am not sure if I savor them and they do not stop my stomach from growling. I will talk to you soon--
Strength and love from the soup bowl,
Kiersten

i can't think what to savour... everything feels pretty thin at the moment...

so i'll embrace the emptiness and trust that life won't always be empty... and stop wishing that i had your life - or indeed anybody's life that is filled with the things that i think are missing

gorgeous woman,
you sound so full,
and i am celebrating with you and for you...
of the joy, of the sadness, of the path,
of you becoming a mother.

love,
leonie

Oh, I loved this entry! I have to say, I truly did savor being pregnant--the way everything tasted, like you said, the heightened sense of well being (my second trimester was probably the healthiest I have ever been, well...ever), the growing expectations about being a mother. It was like being under a spell of joy. Sure, I had moments of doubt and anxiety about the huge change, but I loved talking to my small Bean and it helped me calm down.

Thank you for taking me back to that moment. As for what I savor now? Long walks with her around the lake, introducing her to books and music and flowers, and just loving her with a fierce love.

I savor my daughter. She's teaching me how to savor myself.

And I am beside myself with happiness for you. :)

My sweet sweet boyfriend who brought my a ton of chocolate for no reason and who I feel both comfortable with and excited about. So THIS is what a good relationship feels like!!!

Oh my gosh! I guess it's been awhile since I've read. Congratulations chica! I'm so happy for you!

So happy to hear the good news. This morning at 2:37am I savored giving our daughter Dylan a cuddle and a bottle and putting her back to sleep. Yesterday I savored doing that at 4:48am. And so on... Such is the delight these little people bring that even these nightly rude awakenings are times to savor. And now we're expecting our second and I'm savoring just imagining who this little person will be come November (looks like we're on a similar schedule).

God, I so relate to your pregnancy joy! It was a very happy time for me. When I was PG: every morning I'd wake up like normal and when it dawned on me that I was growing a baby, I just beamed all over. Every day felt sacred. I no longer felt alone, and I didn't realize until then that I had felt alone before. I was giddy with anticipation.

I still feel that way when I wake up. If my daughter's not next to me (she usually is, but once in a while she sleeps through the night in her crib!), I want to run in and get her, or at least just look at her.

That's what I savor: her face, her hair, her smell, her sounds, her beautiful being.

All that and sleep. :)

P.S. You'll hear this eleven million times over the next bunch of months: ENJOY YOUR SLEEP.
xo

a most delicious post by an utterly yummy you!

me? i relish...

the colors and light and shadows in my precious photography - a hobby i am most passionate about.

the YES in being perfectly IMperfect. finally. gratefully.

and totally relishing and loving my new-found friend: GRATITUDE.

it was a long, hard road to reconciliation but here we are, and like you, dear one, i am savoring every opportunity i get to become aware of it. yes, even when i drop a whole pot of soup that took two whole hours to prepare.

thank heavens for soup! :)))

Today I went to my uncle's funeral. My dad lost his last sibling. He is the only one left from his immediate family. All my cousins on my dad's side have lost at least one parent. I know how lucky I am. I'm savoring the feeling of my family. That I still have both my parents and my brother.

A journal entry like this one, where I can savor the happines of someone I love, admire and adore.

Hi Andrea,

Been following your blog for a while now, but this is my first comment. I'm just overjoyed by your happiess! Your posts are like a breath of fresh air, and even though I'm among the women TTC, this post just brought a huge smile to my face! How can a person not be happy for someone who is so full of life (literally!) and just bursting with good energy and radiating such an appreciation for the wonderful, simple and "real" things in the world?

Heartfelt congratulations to you and your budding family.

i feel your joy radiating from here.
am going to marinate in it today.
perhaps your joy is creating magic,
for all of us on a similar journey.

love that you're craving fruities.
good stuff for your superBABYhero.
a rainbow of goodness.

love you.
denise

i feel like i owe you an apology...i haven't been to your blog for a while. you have been a huge inspiration to me and so many good arty things have been happening for me. i just haven't had time to leisurely surf like i used to. but i came today and found out you are pregnant!!! i've read about your struggles, and i have prayed for you, sent good wishes out into the universe, whatever i thought you might need. i am delightfully happy for you. as the mother of two (3 and 5 yo girls), i can tell you it's amazing. here's the one thing i tell my pregnant friends: it doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl, because you don't get a boy or girl. you get a person. you get a fully formed person with likes and dislikes and a personality. you don't get a moldable lump of clay. you get this person that you will be honored to guide through life.

again, congratulations!!!!

Beautiful post! :) You guys are going to be truly wonderful parents!
And... I agree with Sam, I think the Superhero book would be so wonderful. I know I tell you about my dreams of the Andrea Scher book at least once every 3 months, but heck... I day dream about them on my nature walks! I would love to be able to have a beautiful book where I can just flip back to a post that I've been pondering and pondering, and leave it open on my coffee table... even if that post was from a few years back. I would clearly be an excellent book customer! So in essance, I geuss I'm talking about another kind of baby ;)
All my best, I'm so excited for you guys!!
xoxo

I savor the warm feeling I get inside when my boyfriend clings to me in the middle of the night. ANd I savor in coming home every day to the happiest dog in the world who just can't wait for me to come walking through that door so he can land a kiss on me. (smile)

by the way, congrats on your pregnancy!

Right now i am craving joy.
Craving a good fat belly laugh.
Craving nectarines and grapes and mango.
Craving sunlight, warmth, bare legs and feet.

I'm so glad your joy is back.
Savor it for me. :)

We, or at least I, need role models in happiness too. So from my perspective: don't stop talking about this. Happiness is catching.

Tonight, I am savoring vulnerability. Not knowing the answers is very, very hard for me. All of my life I have been told implicitly and explicitly, you can take it, you won't break, don't cry; or as my father says, you're a toughie. Though I know all of that is true in its own way, I am tired. For the past few months I have been trying to say out loud, I don't want to be a toughie. So, tonight, I said it. I told my friend, the one whose problems I solve, that I am tired of being ambitious, tired of being challenged, tired of being the rock. I want to give myself permission to take some time to just be with me and see what is inside there beneath the hard shell.
I love your questions, Andrea, but I have never had the courage to answer.
I am still savoring the vulnerability.

I am savoring the school year being over (I teach) and having time to spend with my daughter. I waited a long time for her and had many of the same struggles with infertility that you have gone through. I really am so loving it that you are so enjoying your pregnancy and sharing it with us all. Right now I am savoring the mental picture of you happily gorging yourself with ripe, delectable fruit, and nourishing yourself and the new life you have inside. Many blessings to you..... xoxo, Julia :)

I'm savouring my decision not to return to work at the end of my mat leave. I feel surprised at how much I feel at home in motherhood, nervous about being a 'stay at home mom', excited that Raph and I feel strongly that this is the right decision for our little family, eager to see what this next year will be like with our little girl ... I am so excited to read about your pregnancy Andrea, not only because it brings you (and Matt) such joy, but also because I miss being pregnant so much. I absolutely loved it and yet it flew by and I feel that somehow I could have savoured it even just a bit more. I remember all the cravings I had (for hot pickled vegetables and *so* much orange juice) and want to echo all here who have said 'dive in' ... being pregnant awakens so many parts of ourselves, just sit back and let yourself enjoy them all.

this is a beautiful post, thanks for sharing...

unfortunatly this is a hard one for me; how i wish it could be so easy to answer but i can't right now. but it's such a question i need to keep asking myself!

Tonight I will savor being in love, and the way my body responds to the sound of his voice.

andrea, thank you for giving me so many moments of clarity, for saying the things even i didnt know needed to be said. savor it all you want girl. you are so deserving.

I was happiest when I was pregnant too. Something about the hormones being in proper balance. When you have the baby, be on the lookout for post partum depression. Having to readjust to those hormones being in a different balance - and don't be afraid to ask the doctor for help.

relish in your pregnancy, andrea. it goes by so quick. everyone told me that, but i didn't think it would. it did. now i savour the quiet, slow times in-between all the busy-ness, when i get to stare into the eyes of my eighteen month old boy. and he stares back! i wonder now if he knows how much he was loved in utero? thank you for liking my drawings, i'm humbled and honoured.

maybe that's what i need to do, get pregnant? :)

i agree with nadine - your joy is surely contagious!!

today i am happy because i went swimming - i feel SO GOOD! soon, i'll have a champagne mango smoothie. *smacking my lips*

I just wanted to tell you that seeing your journey is so inspiring! While reading your journal, I feel this very real connection to other creative people and communities, and to the journey that all of us are experiencing everyday. It is people like you who have inspired my husband and I to move to Madison Wisconsin to start over in a more creative city, it is people like you who have made me reevaluate the gift of a child, and have made my husband and I start writing journals to our future children, instead of deciding not to have any, and it is creative, strong, beautiful, loving, and amazing people like you who will shape this child that you are bringing into the world into a wiser version of yourselves. I have hope for our children's generation, because of people like you, and I wish you the best of luck with this amazing little person, and your joyful journey through life! I will read your journal to my children when they decide to happen.

All my best,

Samantha

p.s. I read the article on Rebar in this month's issue of Readymade and was so excited! You both are going to make such wonderful parents!

p.p.s. My husband and I collected a friend's e-mail newsletters and put them into book form to be published by us through Lulu.com. Have you ever thought of making your journal into book form? As a series by year or something like that. With all of your gorgeous pictures, it would make the PERFECT book(s)!

Your joy is contagious!

i think it has something to do with hope. i am embarking on a new 'me' though i am not 'with child'. it's a birth of this possibility/hope of things to come. it's a rerelease of myself into the world. the future is "pregnant" with possibilities. i enjoy everything more. perhaps when a woman actually becomes pregnant it's easier to feel those things...it's more real. so i am so happy for you. enjoy that fruit girl!!!

Savor every moment, because they all pass so quickly, it seems even more so after you have a baby. I feel as if I blinked my eyes and all of a sudden my little one went from being a little bundle wrapped in my arms to a 1 1/2 year old who won't sit still :). Each day with her is something to savor, each day she learns something new, each day she is even more fun to be around and each day my love for her grows even stronger.

What a lovely journal entry. I was always happiest when I was pregnant. My children are my world. As for cravings. I craved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every time.

I am savoring your obvious delight. :) Now, if I could only make up my own mind for myself!

I'm savoring the fact that I passed my qualifying exam!!! I don't think I have ever worked so hard for anything. But through the process I realized how much I wanted it and how far I've come! There's a poster on my wall called the season's of the soul (where you go through 12 stages from feeling confusion to "movin' out"). I've felt that in the last couple of months I've been in the "fortitude" stage but now I can finally move on to "elation"!!!

I savor every moment with my baby boy AND watching you savor your own journey.

Savor every bite of it, dear one....

I don't know why. But that post is making me cry buckets.

Even though my girl is six, I still savour the moments we spend together on the couch, reading a book or when I put her to bed and I say "I love you", then she says "I love you two", then I say "I love you three", and we keep going until we end up giggling, having reached infinity. And I think that is the love I have for her; infinity, immeasurable, sacred, gentle and sometimes very fierce.
I think you will savour this child and the moments you have, for the rest of your life.
Mia

Even though my girl is six, I still savour the moments we spend together on the couch, reading a book or when I put her to bed and I say "I love you", then she says "I love you two", then I say "I love you three", and we keep going until we end up giggling, having reached infinity. And I think that is the love I have for her; infinity, immeasurable, sacred, gentle and sometimes very fierce.
I think you will savour this child and the moments you have, for the rest of your life.
Mia

I loved being pregnant too -- it felt magical from the first moment of awareness to the delivery (and having the baby is the best part). And the magic just continues and changes shape as your child grows. My youngest babe is 11. He has had a really hard year this year at school and chose not to go to camp (all grade 5's go to camp). I felt so heartbroken at his decision but respected it. I decided that I had to do something great for him -- give him something to talk about when all the other kids got back. So.... me and my son went whale watching today! It was fabulous!!! We were so lucky to see a pod of Killer Whales who, by the way, are incredibly family/community oriented. This pod's leader was a ninety year old grandma! The skipper told us many incredible stories but the one that really touched my heart was about a pod that had a sick adult female who was too weak to swim to the surface to breath -- her family members took turns pushing her up to the surface, for days. So beautiful.

You are now part of this amazing cycle of love: absolutely (as Anne Shirley would say) enjoy every morsel of it!

Cali

Your happy reaches me in the Desert of Southern Arizona ~ and I am again, so grateful, for your words. They are all that is light and goodness.

To savor is sweet,
and these are mine:

the aurora borealis with a woodstove & wine
an open road and nothing but T I M E
NPR and Americano's
smelling orange blossoms in the spring
a starry sky & a campfire
night swimming
sleeping in
clean sheets
barefeet in grass
all of my family in one room, laughing hard
the realization of dreams
Color

you are so dear.

thank you for sharing your joy.

amy k.

This post shook me. Lately my mind has been in overdrive because after trying to reach my goal of graduating, I finally have. Now I feel like a big sign saying "now what?!" is in front of my face, in every corner, in my friend's and family's faces. It's scary and exciting because I know change is going to come but I don't want to disappoint myself. So I'm trying to savor finishing something right now and I hope to savor a marriage and kids in the future (and more).

What a wonderful time in your life right now. Makes me smile to know you are savoring every second. You deserve it.

Oh, oh! I love - LOVE - reading about your Joy.
This is so fine. Your words are filled with life and Bliss - of course, now I get to look at this life and see what i can accomplish to express Joy here - oh, I have some challenges - perhaps I'll begin to believe - again - yes! That's what I'll do. I'll bounce off your Joy and celebrate by conquering one of the challenges - I'll reclaim my Bliss - to celebrate yours - Oh, Yes! Thank you - what a brilliant world - you can share - I can be so happy that I'll find something worth doing to celebrate. All Love to You my beautiful cyber-friend.

Andrea,
I think, I believe, that there is a part of us that just knows what we want, need, desire. What will make us whole. Now I can't speak to the extended experience of infertility but I can say that I did lose babies-to-be so I do know that sorrow...But yeah, I think it's true that you just needed this baby to snap you out of depression. You don't need to disown that truth in order to still be kind to your yearning pals. If you know what I mean, and I trust that you do.

My flowers,
they seem to grow an inch every day.
The smell of the water against the leaves in the morning when the sun is just coming up.
The way the light hits my new kitchen.
Keeping a boquet of fresh flowers in a square glass vace on the kitchen table...
yum.
I am so happy for you in your new savory space :).

I am savoring the smell of the pine forest in my backyard.
I savored a bundle of baby on Saturday...my friends newborn. Well 1 month old.
She cuddled me and smelled so baby all over my shoulder. Then she found her thumb and sucked her sweet little self to sleep. I found myself swaying like a typical Mommy, loving her from head to toes. My bundles are 11 and 9 and I miss this about motherhood the most. Savor every bit!

i remember craving fruit and vanilla yogurt.
lots of peaches and nectarines.

I savor being able to slow down, and enjoy the sound of crickets,the laughter my family gives me, my son and my husband,being able to share my home so my sister could get married here, and we had a beautiful day.

thank you for sharing

Something about citrus when you are pregnant! YUM! I had to have valencia orange juice. My sister loved chili powder lightly sprinkled over orange slices.
Enjoy!!!

I savour memeories of my Mum, my goddaughters cuddles, a particular look in my husbands eyes, my brothers laugh and Andrea's entries...just wonderful

I recently found out I am pregnant, also -
and having gone through a bit of a struggle in the journey to pregnancy myself, I am wanting to savor every single moment of this new journey I am on now.
Congrats to you -
I want to come over and raid your fridge -
it all sounds so delicious.

I recognize a lot in your words - except the pregnant/baby part ;) - like:
'There was a time when I wondered if I was just permanently in a low grade state of depression' and about finding joy again.

I thought I found it, but it seemed a bit lost today. But reading your words helped, maybe it's not lost, maybe I'm just wandering today.

So thanks for sharing, for me it was a reminder, perfectly timed!

For now it's tea, bed and thoughts about what there is to savor in my life :)

This is a really divine entry. I also savour fruit, I savour my little cat, I savour getting things in the mail, I savour reading in bed.

Just when I almost succumb to the thoughts of "will I always be this exhausted...for the rest of my life?"...there is you, dear Andrea, reminding me to eat my damn grapefruit already (really, I've had one in the fridge for 3 weeks).

I felt funny too...when Paul asked me to marry him and now I am so happy...a friend said to me "was that it? was that all you needed?" Yes. It was. I needed to know that my efforts and my love were recognized, that I wasn't going to be in this holding pattern forever. Now if I could just find the job I liked...

I'm just so happy for you! Go eat some Rainier Cherries! They are the best!

"When I think of savor, I think of a spoonful of delicious food resting on your tongue, of being totally present to the gorgeousness of it, the lusciousness, the sweetness, the richness, and enjoying it completely. And that's what I've been up to lately. I am savoring this time of my life, letting it roll around on my tongue in delight. I am present to the gift of it, to the magic of a dream unfolding."

Well, that's going wholesale into MY journal. Holy moly, woman! can you turn a moving phrase!

I'm in the same place inside. I don't wish to be a mother at all but as you wrote a couple years ago, "...to give birth to something...", is such a human need. My husband and I are both living in a kind of Divine Grace these days where we are literally grateful for each moment, all the blessings that are present, from breathing to food/water, our health, to our pleasures. From the absolute most basic fact of being alive on up the chain of privileges to the luxuries of our abundance/goodies.

I do think that knowledge of loss or can often give a more poignant awareness of the preciousness of life.

I've always loved your blog...but it is especially encouraging to read as I begin to start my first round of fertility treatments. Thank you so much for sharing everything you have in the past, and your joy now. :)

I savor my husband, family and friends.
My dog children: Bailey & Max
Cool, sunny days
My camera
Our new doctor...who has given us undivided attention and hope.

I have lots of gifts in my life...but the one that first comes to mind is my husband. He is the best friend I have ever had. More wonderful than I can describe
I loved this post~~so very sweet.
Good for you.

Sara

I understand the hesitation you speak of but I think that you are still recognizing the complexity of your experience. You aren't, in fact, saying, "Well, now I'm pregnant and life is just grand and I'm not going to worry about what came before." Rather, you're feeling grand AND trying to process your depression, how it came to be, how it came to (seemingly) end.

You deserve to feel this joy and from someone who just reads your blog, I think you seem responsible in your joy. Move forward in it, don't get stuck in the analysis paralysis because in the end, that won't be useful or productive to anyone.

Okay, end of my little lecture. Good luck & it's great to imagine your kitchen right now.

Oh how wonderful that you are craving all things nutritious! after the end of 3 months of nausea -I craved EVERYTHING not so nutriious- ice cream, chocoate, bread, PIZZA! milshakes, cheese cake- oh the list goes on!
I am so thrilled for you and the fullness of your Mother Womb that has waited a long time for the realization of your longing.
XO
MB in JT

;)

i'm savouring--morning walks, how each morning the sunrise is different, moments of stillness, eat, pray, love, mary oliver's poetry, gardenburgers, alba's coconut cream lip balm, getting the house clean over the weekend, eating lunch at a picnic table outside, watering the grass in the evenings, my son tromping around in the same pair of black rainboots every.single.day no matter what the weather is like or how hot it might get

When I was in my first trimester, I craved citrus fruits and berry smoothies. I hadn't been a big fruit eater before, but it all tasted so good. For the first time in my life, I didn't feel guilty about giving into cravings. I hope you enjoy every bite--as well as every phase of your pregnancy.

This post is so honest and open and sensitive yet real.

I am about to start another round of infertility treatments to try for a second. I remember the joy of being pregnant with my son-and all the struggle to have him did feel like it made me take pause and really appreciate the happiness-to try to let it soak in every fiber of my being.

I so hope that I will feel this again soon.

I also hope for a sick free pregnancy-I felt so awful from nausea and acid reflux-yet I still ate tons of fruit:) I

Much love to you.

I am savoring your joy! It is one thing to weep with those who weep - but to be able to celebrate with those who are celebrating - that is life at it's best. Savor every juicy drop of it!

perfectly ripened peaches
stacks of books waiting on the nightstand
catching fireflies with my children
new lipstick!
bringing in cotton sheets from the clothesline
lavender in bloom
iced (sweet) tea every afternoon
making strawberry shortcakes with my daughter

remember this joy you feel, celebrate every second of your pregnancy (it will be good to look back on when you are a bit sleep-deprived ;)

it will only get sweeter.

estea

* warm bread my mum baked with butter and honey
* my dad´s callous hands
* soft sock yarn
* walks in rain

.. there is too much to mention those little things that savour my life :)

I'm savoring time on the phone with my mother even though she lives so far away.

Spending time with my children and my family
Working in the garden
Doing the laundry
Cooking and eating
Sewing/Quilting
Being in the woods or at the beach
Sleeping
Good books
Learning something new
Drinking a big glass of cranberry juice and sparkling water over ice

I went through infertility treatments to have my son, who getting ready to graduate from high school next year. Three years later, I still could not get pregnant on my own and repeated the process to conceive my daughter. So, even though I have two children, I continue to see myself as infertile. I wouldn't have it any other way, because I still remember the pain, the rollercoaster, and it truly only deepens the joy. Remembering what it took to get to this place is a reminder to live in a state of gratitude. Andrea, I do believe that pain gives us more capacity for joy. As Rumi says, "Your joy is your sorrow unmasked . . . The deeper ethat sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain . . . When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy . . . Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed." For me, remembering the pain that has led me here helps me savor the joy all the more, and you'll see what I mean when you realize how quickly the time will fly. It seems just yesterday I was where you are, and now my child is about to leave home. Enjoy every moment!

what I'm savoring right now:
grilled potato salad with bacon
asian coleslaw with granny smith apple
homemade cornbread with jalepenos, red onion and monterey jack cheese
the wonderful feel of a aqua colored linen skirt

this weekend I had the absolutely
perfect lunch consisting of:
blt made with
fresh sourdough bread
just opened hellman's mayo
thick sliced black diamond bacon
slices of gorgeous deep beautiful summer tomatos
coarse kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
hearts of romaine with stems removed
and cape cod russet chips and
iced green tea with lime
yum!

What a beautiful time for you.
It's so nice to read that you are present and mindful.

What do I crave?
The blueblueblue ocean - where I am headed on saturday.

I just wanted to say that I really love your blog. Keep sharing beautiful things like this!

As a single woman who has deeply craved a romantic relationship with a man well-suited to me, I have been told I ought not crave so much, be in so much pain, be so sure having that relationship would bring me the happiness and healing a deep-down part of me simply has not been able to find for so many decades of my life. I read your post about craving motherhood and how only getting pregnant has helped, and I feel better about, less ashamed of my own craving. Thank you, and best wishes to you and the baby!