Planting Seeds Of Beauty

For my birthday, (forgot to post on IG) I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on a word that changed my life:

Matrescence.

Matrescence is the transformation a woman undergoes when she becomes a mother. We celebrate the birth of a baby, but we rarely talk about the birth of a new version of ourselves.

Motherhood didn’t simply add Ellie to my life.

It rewired me.

The things that once worked no longer fit. My priorities shifted. My capacity changed. For a while, I found myself standing between who I had been and who I was becoming.

Not lost. Not broken.

Just unfolding. 🤍

As I navigated that transition, my mind began searching for a way to process the rewiring. A way to understand what still belonged, what no longer served me, and who I was becoming.

And somewhere in that process, Iora was born.

In many ways, Iora was born from the same season that birthed my daughter. The birth of Eliana was beautiful. The rebirth of me was necessary.

Because transition isn’t limited to motherhood. It can come through loss, burnout, career changes, healing, or simply realizing the life that once fit no longer does.

That’s why I built Iora.

Not as a planner. Not as another productivity system.

But as a place for discovery.

A place to understand who you are, where you are, and where you’re being invited to grow next.

As I celebrate another year of life, I’m grateful not only for what I’ve built, but for who I’ve become while building it.

Because the greatest thing born from this season may not be Iora at all.

It may be the woman who emerged alongside it. 🕊️

— Shan
Founder, Iora
The Heart of Discovery

✨ Try Archi and join the waitlist:
www.embersos.com

Last night, I thought my baby was waking up because she needed milk.

Nope Apparently she had been promoted.

At 3:00 AM, Ellie woke up, nursed 5 times, army crawled across the bed, pulled herself up, and shouted:

DADA-DA-DA-DA! Clearly she was attempting to recruit her Dad into whatever mission she was on. 🤣

Translation: “ATTENTION EVERYONE. I HAVE ACQUIRED A NEW ABILITY.”

“HEAR YE, HEAR YE.”

Silly me to think nighttime is for sleeping. 😭

This child learned how to army crawl, and prop herself and bend over on all fours — all in the same day.

This wasn’t hunger. This was a mandatory 3:00 AM Development meeting. If it isn’t the Toddler Council Meeting with her other friends, it’s this lol.

We did no go back to bed until 4:45 AM.

Today’s official diagnosis:

Mother Shan survived the Day 1 of the Army Crawl Summit of 2026. I hear this may go on for a week or two. I’ll let you know.

Please keep us in your prayers as Ellie continues her research and development efforts.

-Mother Shan

🤣🤍- Mother

Hi! Ellie here, 10 months old!

✨I pinch mommy’s skin! Mommy says my nails are like little razors. Shaving off anything that comes its way!
✨Pastor Lucas, Evangelist Rachel and Elder Franklin deserve a raise. Mama says she pays her YouTube premium tithes. (The Toddler Council photo attached)
✨I love looking outside.
✨Dada is my favorite word.
✨Me and Chase my doggy friend!
✨ Mommy says I’m half her size now, woohoo! Soon she gonna look like baby.
✨ I not crawl but mama say I roll like bowling ball! 🎳

I run the house now!

Bye - Bye!

-

hi. my mama calls me ellie. i’m 8 months now 🤍

✨ i can clap 👏🏽
✨ i say hey & bye bye (check video)
✨ and i call both my parents dada (i know… pretty smart 😌)

i still watch my Pastor Lucas too 🤍

Daddy calls Lucas & Friends the Bishop because he preaches the alphabet to me every day. I offered some liquid gold milk to pay my tithes. the gold was accepted. bishop okay with ellie.

i laugh at my own jokes
and i watch my mama very closely… she doesn’t know i’m studying her

anyway… i run the house now.
just wanted to update you.

I be back tomorrow, the dadas say yes

My girl turned 3 months yesterday! How is this even possible?! I’m going through all the feels...

🎀𝓔𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪 𝓖𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓮🎀 is here!!

Thank you God for remembering us! We will steward her well. Becoming a Mother and a Father is such a blessing. We are both smitten and in love. In love with all the moments, all the firsts.

P.S. - Thanks everyone for checking in on us! Thanks for all the gifts, love and support. I am slow on responding but worth waiting on, lol. We are all well,
in recovery, and probably enjoying the newborn trenches more than we should lol.

🩷, the Washingtons

Happy Birthday to me! The usual yearly reflection is still in process/baking…

To Pastor Steph, Gigi, Tasha, and everyone who helped to plan and coordinate- The baby shower was everything. The attention to detail was unmatched. Everything was phenomenal. I love you all and this one was for the books.

🚨‼️Long post alert‼️🚨 But please read if we have met in Kentucky over the last decade or so. I don’t brag ever but I will boast on the goodness of God here.

To our Pastors and family in Kentucky, you guys are the real MVPs.

Thank you for holding our hands up while the battle was still gong on. Thank you for praying, laboring, and being a midwife even when there was no baby present. Thank you for standing in the gap and helping us push through. Thank you for never giving up on the miracle that was on the inside of us. Thank you for your many acts of encouragement when no one was watching. Thank you for all the secret encounters, words of advice, and tears as we waited on our window. Your labor was not in vain. We held on to those tangible seeds, no matter how big or small, we held them close and when times got hard, we walked into our already setup baby room and looked at our baby’s first gifts of love.

From the first prayer spoken 8 years ago to the last prophecy in October of 2024, (literally a month before be got pregnant) we remember.

We never received a negative diagnosis or a bad report from the doctor. We knew it was never a matter of how but only a matter of WHEN! This is your reminder to never give up on your promise from the Lord. Hang on to whatever was said or given. It will remind you of how good God really is, when you have your promise.

I’ll close this out with a video of the prophecies we received year over year until October of 2024. Literally a month before we found out we were pregnant. But this is only the beginning, the rest is to be continued…

P.S - I’m sorry if I forgot to invite you to the baby shower! Charge it to the head and not my heart. If you would like to sow into her life, her registry is in the bio.

Love, The Washingtons and from the Bump

𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣, the man that has shown me what real love feels like. When you hold my hand, it really feels held. When you hug me, I really feel safe. And when you tell me you love me, I feel like every day ahead is just going to keep getting better and better...because that’s what’s happened ever since you came into my life. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 for showing me how to walk out my faith day over day. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 for being the same man in an out of the pulpit. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 for always loving the unlovable and teaching the unteachable. Even when no one is watching, 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 for always being the hands and feet of our Lord. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 for always stewarding your blessings well. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 for all you do for us.

Your sacrifices have been great but I pray this year you see the physical manifestations of the things you have been praying for. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 for sharing your life with me, it’s been a dream to walk alongside you.