First, do you all listen to 'All Sons and Daughters' on Spotify or Pandora? If you don't, immediately make this happen. It's been our constant background. Well second to Good Morning America and World News, because I like my news sources to be unbiased and totally accurate.
I digress.
All Sons and Daughters is more my jam, more than the local Christian radio station. Do they vet those people before they let them on the air? I submit to you no, they do not.
Again I digress.
These last few weeks have flown by. And while our holiday season looks very different than the usual gloriousness that ensues this time of the year, it's held it's own.
We even had a fun evening decorating mom's house with her decor. This involved a pink pig, a pink themed Christmas tree, and her usual baby (ahem, fake) tree. Avery about died when she saw the pink ornaments, it's my favorite coll-ler!!
This year I've been a part of a moms group with a few ladies from church. It's hard to describe how beneficial our time together has been. To have people who are for you during a season when you find yourself at the edge of your sanity, has brought much encouragement and maturity. Their perspectives and prayers were game changers, for sure.
And to celebrate the last 6 months, we had a Christmas party involving a hot chocolate bar and amazing amounts of sugar that I immediately regretted consuming (no I didn't).
Next on our merry holiday madness: game night at the Beans. We played boys vs. girls pictionary while feasting and drinking pomegranate sangrias and pomegranate margs. The Beans sure know how to throw a party, am I right?
And the (almost) comeback from the ladies was of epic proportions.
But alas, the boys took the victory. womp. womp.
On a more mundane note, Brooks had his first hair cut. His hair is so different than the other kids. Avery's is a tangled curly mess (similar to that of Einstein), Bray's is thick and coarse (read: horse hair), and Brooks' is thin and incredibly soft.
I was nervous how he would fare during the cut, since he's a temperamental little guy, but he sat like a somber stud and looked so darn handsome when it was over.
My Birthday. I turned 30 this year and with all of our money and time going towards the house, I thought our celebrating would be minimal. But then my husband surprised me with some of our best people and a little dinner prepared by the one and only, Tracy Shipe.
Bob made sure I had my two favorite wines at dinner. Talk about making a girl feel loved.
Then Tracy served french onion soup. Followed by meat pie, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots. You guys, this meat pie was straight from heaven. It had Tracy's crust, which if you know Tracy you know what a treat that is. And the filling. Oh the filling! It was minced pork, mushrooms, potatoes, cooked in bay leaves. It was a country french pie of perfection.
Then there was dessert. Bob had a cheesecake made by a co-worker's mom and it was hands down the best cheesecake I've ever eaten. It was creamy. It was light. It was everything you'd want in a cheesecake.
This night was so special to me. Partly because Bob went to great lengths to make me feel loved, and to have your man do that is no small thing. And partly because this busy season leaves little room for pursuing friendship. Having people in your life who don't require much maintenance, and find themselves in similar spots, is something to be treasured.
This night also made me realize how lucky Bob and I are to have so many people we wished were there to celebrate with us. There are childhood friends. College friends. Friends from our first years of marriage. And friends we now do life with. We love each of you and feel lucky to have you in our story.
And since food is obviously my love language. My mom had the kids make a chocolate cake while we were at dinner. The cake was not only delicious, but was decorated in the best way.
Recognize this dress? It's the same one I've worn to every occasion that merited a cocktail dress for the last two years. Just call me french.
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| He was the best tour guide! |
Oh my word. This girl and her newfound hormones bring much hilarity and crazy to our day.
So this one time at the Tile shop. I awkwardly stood in a showroom bathroom, because my husband was negotiating tile prices and the harmonizer in me went into complete distress. Yikes.
And this guy. He's become so much fun. He gives kisses. He walks, but mostly sideways and only when he wants to. He says things like apple, water, nana, papa, ball, bar, yes, no, and a baby version of I love you. He still has his hard days where he wakes up screaming and goes to bed screaming. But I'm learning that if he's the tiniest bit uncomfortable it will result in a day of screaming. During a season of teething and colds that means we have several of these days a week, but at least it makes the good days feel really, really good :)
My dad turned 60 this year and mom threw him and some friends a little party. It was adorable.
I have to say, it's fun watching my parents have friends and a life outside of us kids. This year they bought a lake house and boat near their friend's place and every weekend the weather permits they are down there throwing dinner parties and spending hours on the water.
I hope to have that when I'm their age.
I'm also amazed by how one moment of the Spirit breaking into my day can change everything.
Well, would you look at that. There's the first three weeks of our December in a nutshell.
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