Living With Kids: Casey Wiegand

By Gabrielle.

You may recognize Casey’s name from the film American Blogger. Her husband, Christopher, traveled over 15,000 miles to document the stories of those who keep blogs and share themselves with the rest of us. Have you seen it? I’ve heard it’s fascinating!

The Wiegands recently moved into a new-to-them home, and invited us in to see their holiday decorations. It’s all very sweet and mindful – much like Casey herself! – and such a relaxed way to end our tours for the year.

Welcome, Casey!

Q: Tell us all about the family who lives here!

A: My name is Casey Wiegand, wife to Chris Wiegand, and mama to three: Aiden, Ainsleigh, and Apple.

I have an early childhood degree and started off as an art teacher after I graduated from Baylor. Then Chris and I opened an art studio for kids called A Little Artsy. Since then I have become a blogger and started a blog conference called HopeSpoken. My husband is a photographer/filmmaker, and has taught me much about chasing my dreams and our purpose – the things we were made for! It’s been fun sharing our life and our story online so that people can walk with us through it all.

Chris and I met right after I graduated from college, and fell in love quickly. He is creative and sweet, and I knew I was in trouble on our first date because I had literally never met anyone like him before! He told me he loved me after three months, and asked me to be his wife on our one year anniversary. We are both creatives and both work from home. He loves making dreams come true…and he has seriously done that for me.

My oldest, Aiden, is five and started kindergarten this year. He has a heartbeat for all things animals, which has translated into us having 13 pets! Dogs, lizards, snake, bunnies, chickens, and fish. Aiden is my mini me; he’s tender, kind, and precious.

My middle daughter, Ainsleigh, is four. I started blogging around the time of her birth. I had a family blog before that where I blogged at occasionally, but my blog and what it is today came around the time that she did. Ains is independent, brave, and has an infectious joy. She literally can light up a room. I often say she possesses all of the qualities that I wish I had more of. Her confidence and bravery are a beautiful thing. Outgoing and amazing – she’s a ball of light!

My sweet third baby is Apple. She’s two years old and the most gentle, precious babe you have ever been around. Soft and sweet, loves tenderly, speaks softly…she reminds me of Aiden in about 100 ways. Apple is also my rainbow baby because we lost a baby around 12 weeks before she came and then lost another one after her. I have been open on my blog about our losses and the heartbreak involved. When something is the apple of your eye, it means you cherish it and watch over it. Our sweet apple is cherished deeply.

Q: How did this house become your home?

A: We actually just moved into this house last month! The home we were living in before this space is Chris’ childhood home. He had lived in since he was a baby, and then after college he took two years of his life to flip it on his own. He poured his blood, sweat, and tears into that home.

We fell in love in that home, came back to that house after our honeymoon in that home, and brought our three sweet babies home to that house. It holds our memories and our laughter and our tears.

We decided this summer to move. God made it very clear in various ways that this was a good step for us. Years and years of memories to walk away from was hard and emotional, but it has been such a beautiful step for our family.

We found this new home and already love it so much. It is close to family, my son’s school, and already has given much to us in just a month’s time. We are excited to see what journey unfolds in this new space. It already feels like home to us!

Q: Tell us why you love the place you live.

A: I have lived in Dallas my entire life, and adore it here. The area we live in is wonderful! We have great restaurants and parks.

We have the Arboretum, the Dallas Zoo, and the Dallas Aquarium. So many wonderful, affordable opportunities and activities for young families!

Depending on what you are looking for, you can find a huge range of prices and styles and neighborhoods. The area that we just moved into typically has higher price tags, but it’s mostly the land that is so valuable because of the location. The range is big: you can find homes for millions of dollars to $100k.

Occasionally, like we did, you can find a treasure of a home. Most people might consider it a tear-down, but we love it for its character and charm. The house we recently left is near downtown Dallas and was an amazing area for young singles. But once you have kiddos in school and a growing family, it’s a little harder to stay in that area unless you don’t mind driving on the highway all the time.

Q: How would you describe your aesthetic? What are the must-haves in your home that make you crazy happy every time you catch sight of them? (Besides your family, of course!)

A: I love a homey feel yet character. Anthropologie is my absolute favorite. I love old family quilts, beautiful colors, and textures. I want it to be a warm happy place for my family to live in.

Q: Tell us about your blog! What do your readers love hearing about?

A: My blog began in a really hard season for me. I just needed a place to process – an outlet – and people started connecting to that. I tend to feel things deeply and my heart is pretty raw, so I just freely wrote about the ups and downs of life.

Over time, as my readership grew, I had the opportunity to turn the blog also into a business. It’s neat to have something that you love become your job; to be able to have a place that is an outlet for me also become something that brings in an income is a true gift. I now have someone that handles advertising for me and we have a media kit and a range of options for businesses to connect with me.

I have connected with so many amazing people during the past four years. People have journeyed with us as my babies have grown, as I have struggled, and we all have changed. My most popular posts revolve around my children or around our losses. I think in motherhood, it’s nice to know that you aren’t alone in your feelings. That someone out in the world is walking a similar story.

My husband and I used to run an art school called A Little Artsy. We recently closed the storefront, but still have the full curriculum for schools and studios to purchase and use! When our storefront was open, we held classes, parties, and mommy & me events. We just stepped into a new season, and know that we can reopen the storefront at any time!

Q: Many of my readers may recognize your name from your husband’s film, American Blogger. Tell us about that journey!

A: American Blogger was a dream my husband had to make a documentary about my journey as a blogger. He was fascinated by the opportunities that had come my way and how I had developed such a sweet, sincere following over the years. He saw me connecting with women around the United States, and even the world, and he wanted to bring this story to the screen.

He traveled the US with his Airstream trailer and interviewed various bloggers, a lot of whom were close friends of mine. He wanted to hear the stories behind how they started and why they did it. He really wanted to tell my story. We learned a lot through the experience. It changed me in a lot of ways.

Q: What is your favorite memory from that period in your family’s life?

A: It was amazing to see him experience all those aspects I know to be so beautiful about the blogging community. So many of my friends welcomed him into their homes; he ate with their families and got to see life through their eyes.

I am so proud of him and know that years from now my kiddos will love having such a beautiful documentation of their mama’s story.

Q: What do you hope your children remember from this very moment in their childhood in this very house?

A: I hope they remember the love. It sounds cliche, but my husband and I work hard to make this a safe, happy place full of the warmth of laughter and love. I want them to hold onto every piece of that as they get older.

Q: What has been your favorite part about living with your kids? What is the one thing that has surprised you the most about being a mom?

A: I have wanted to be a mama as long as I can remember. I knew that they would forever change my life, but the love that I have for them just completely takes my breath away.

I didn’t expect the struggle with open hands. I am constantly fighting the desire to protect them and hold them so tight…then have to remember how important it is for them to learn to fly. For me to let other people love them. It’s all been a journey for me.

Q: Please finish the sentence: I wish someone had told me…

A: I wish someone had told me how hard it would be to let them go. To let them grow up and learn things on their own…sometimes even the hard way.

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So lovely, Casey! I think the line that got me most was about remembering how important it is to allow others to love our kids. I can see that truth in my own life. (Did I mention my Ralph and Olive are home for the holidays? Be warned: I’ll be mentioning that fact joyfully for awhile!)

And that concludes the 2014 home tours! It’s been a wonderful year, and there’s so much more already on the schedule for next year. I’d love to encourage you – as my P.S. does every Tuesday – to seriously consider opening up your own home to us. And especially for those of you who haven’t seen your story told here, write it yourself! I’ll help you.

P.S. – Are you interested in sharing your own home with us? Let me know! It’s a lot of fun…I promise! Take a peek at all the homes in my Living With Kids series here.