Month: December 2018

2018: Recap

Let’s take a little look back over 2018.

I started the “Womb in Bloom” series on January 1st. I was 13 weeks pregnant.
So many doctors appointments and ultrasounds this month.
Laela started writing out her alphabet.
A group of ladies from my church planned an evening for me around Jamin’s due date, complete with good food, company, and some presents. January had been a rough month, riddled with missed due dates and miscarriages, and the support I received was overwhelming.
Dekker lost his first tooth!
We wrapped January up by finding out the baby’s gender, but we didn’t tell you guys right away. 

More appointments in February.
Brady and celebrated our ninth anniversary this month. We celebrated by going out for dinner and indulging in some shopping for our upcoming baby girl.
February was also the month where we met the doctor who would eventually deliver that baby girl.
We crossed the halfway point in my pregnancy and our appointment count slowed.
I started planning the baby party.
Rowan turned three 🙂

We started to figure out some of Solly’s bowel issues in March and got his laxative treatment rolling. And we got a piano! Not the busiest month, but those two details were IMPORTANT!

April brought in the third trimester of my pregnancy! That felt GOOD. For some reason, I was super nervous about the glucose test during this pregnancy, but I did it in this month and passed without issue.
We hit Waskesiu for the first time in 2018 in April. It was so awesome to be back.
Bikes came out and spring began.
A close friend of ours suffered great loss this month, and it was my first opportunity to see someone through their grief since I had experienced my own. It was eye-opening for everyone, and brought us WAY closer as friends.

May was a big one. Jerilee and I went on our annual Edmonton trip.
Brady shot himself in the hand at work, which turned out to be his grossest work injury yet.
We hit Waskesiu again.
Brady painted our front door purple, in secret honour of the baby I was carrying.
Laela wrapped up her year of preschool.
The school had its wind-up BBQ (where our family ate 19 hot dogs collectively.)
Solly’s birthday wrapped up the month. He turned two. 

June was another big month. We started it off by playing music at our local car show. Was SO fun.
The school had their track and field day, which Brady and I brought the whole family to see.
Solly finally started talking!
I hit full term in my pregnancy and got the final things taken care of in preparation for the baby to arrive.
I even started making some of the decor for the party.
Finally, school wrapped up for the year!! 

July was obviously the month to note. Beautiful Waverly was born on the 2nd day of the month, setting the tone for an AMAZING summer. Her birth was amazing, as was the rest of the month.
Shortly after her birth was her big party, which we sadly have NO pictures of 🙁
And just days after the party, we went to the lake for our much needed vacay.
The only part of the month I wasn’t too fond of was the very very end, where I turned thirty. Gag me. I’m still not happy about it. 

August was supposed to be quiet but it definitely didn’t turn out that way! Brady was very busy with work, and our weekends were full!
Brady and I saw Marianas Trench in concert again.
Jerilee took me to a spa for my birthday.
We crossed one year from the day Jamin was born, and days after, celebrated Dekker’s 7th birthday! 

September! Just as fast a summer began, it ended. School started back up for Dekker, and for the first time with Laela! Both were completely happy and not apprehensive at all!
This year, on the last day of summer, it snowed. Because why not? It had been four months without snow so it only made sense. Sigh.
We wrapped up the month with Laela turning five. 

October was a big month for Brady. He turned 30, and if I do say so myself, I planned him an epic birthday! We had a lot of fun 🙂
Other than that, Brady bought his work van in October, which has been far better than the stupid Astro.
And Halloween was the last notable thing in this month. Halloween was dang cute. 

We were bus-free for about a week in November and MY GOSH what a shake down that was! I’m SO thankful for our vehicle!
In that time, I went away on a ladies retreat where I crocheted for three days straight. It. Was. Awesome.
Brady and some friends got a bunch of work done on the basement in November, which was also awesome.
Wavy popped her first two teeth.

December held another road trip to Edmonton with Jerilee, to wrap up some Christmas shopping, but to also just get away together! Was SUCH a fun Christmas trip.
Brady rolled through his beer advent calendar.
We spent the bulk of December cramming for Christmas and helping some friends get a few details sorted out before winter officially hit! It felt good, and productive.

Something very notable that happened in 2018 was that our circle grew. Like grew grew. Our little village, if you will, is no longer so little. An amazing amount of people rallied around our family this year, and I truly couldn’t be more grateful. It was one of those things you don’t realize you need until you have it, and then you wonder how you lived so long without it. We’ve been fortunate to always have loving support nearby, but it feels like our circle has stretched farther and wider this year.

What an amazing year 2018 has been for our little family. Thank you to all who have been part of it. We hope to have touched some of your lives as well.

Smoothest Sunday Ever!

Yesterday, in the late afternoon, Brady and I got a group text from Carrie saying the worship leader for Sunday was down for the count. Could we step in? I called my mom right away. I knew full well that she had company the next day, but wondered if we could borrow her help for an hour during sound check and a short morning practice. She agreed on the spot, and I responded to Carrie that we could do it!

We had done music last week for Christmas Eve, but through some funny circumstances, had to leave two songs by the wayside. So we decided to do those, plus another Christmas song or two, and then a couple of old standbys that we hadn’t done in a while. The set came together easily over the phone with Carrie, and the church staffed helped us by getting the songs onto the computer and set up. It all came together!

Except that we had no one nailed down to watch the kids at church. We knew people would come help, but it just goes against my grain to assume that, you know? But I knew we were needed, and we were so happy to go and lead our church in song! So we did it, and sure enough, our people showed up.

A woman from church actually came and offered her help before the service had even started. She took Waverly and sat on the bench with the kids. For the first time in the history of leading worship, I kid you not, when we went up, Solly didn’t cry! He’s our wildcard, and is usually the most hands on, and he wasn’t! They ALL sat and stood and sang and played a little. But they were SO GOOD! No one cried or fussed or got too out of hand. Wavy just sat in those loving arms and didn’t make a peep. It. Was. Awesome.

We actually had to be up at the front of the church four different times, and our loving helper stayed with us the entire service. A couple of other people came by and said they would jump in if need be, which warmed my heart. And I was SO happy to see that no extra help was needed! YES! Thank you, kids!

Not only did the music go smoothly, but the kids sat through the service SO WELL! I had heard our pastor mention that it wasn’t going to be a super long sermon, and by the time the kids asked for coloring, I could safely assume we were halfway through. I was sitting beside Dekker, and I heard him muttering the scripture references after our pastor said them, and that alone made my heart soar!! Did Dekker listen to the sermon to its full capacity? Probably not. But he was listening!!! It made me excited for whats to come 🙂

Today’s Sunday morning was probably our smoothest yet. While I don’t love walking in expecting that someone will watch my kids, and won’t make a practice of it, I’m also learning to loosen the reins a little and just let people love us! When we came back to the bench between sets of music, I let our helpful friend keep holding Wavy. When we were packing up our stuff, I didn’t try to relieve anyone who was with our kids. So often the world sees kids as inconvenient, and I need to remember that people who offer to help with my kids clearly don’t feel that way! They’re not holding my baby, aching to pass her off as soon as possible. Just because we can do a lot of these things by ourselves, its so much easier when we let others help us.

You know how good it feels to help someone? How God rewards those who show His love? Its good to need help so those people can feel those things and reap those rewards! I so often forget the blessings poured on those who help others.

So thanks to our friends, our church, and God Himself, this morning was just wonderful! Praise the Lord for a super smooth Sunday morning!!!

True Enjoyment

While I’ve had a handful of sad, difficult moments this Christmas, I am truly enjoying my holiday! There are lots of factors playing into that, including music, delicious food, company, sleeping in, lots of coffee, all the presents, having Brady and the kids home, etc.

I spent yesterday with Cher as she settled into her new place on her first full day there. We ran an errand or two, unpacked some bags, but most importantly, we broke in the tv area with some pizza and a showing of Bird Box. That wasn’t unsettling AT ALL. 😰 Once the movie was over, we chatted for a solid 3.5 hours before realizing that it was time to go home! Whoops! (Remember that time I promised I wouldn’t overstay??) It was a super lovely day, though. I was greeted warmly by my husband, who made sure no one scary was in my garage before I drove into it, and spent the rest of the evening snuggled up in our ice cold room, watching some New Girl. Two more days to finish the series before its kicked off Netflix!!

Today has been another fun day! We spend the morning and early afternoon with SO MUCH FAMILY!

We caught up with siblings, chatted, read the Christmas story, opened stacks more gifts, and ate ourselves silly at lunchtime. It was so much fun, and felt SO good to be all together. The kids were completely elated to have so many cousins to play with!

After nap time, we went our separate ways. Our kids were all breaking down, so we headed home and though it was already a bit late for naps, we decided to put everyone down for about an hour. And when we went to go get them, even the big ones had slept! Dekker and Solly were still sleeping!

The name of the game for the rest of the day is relaxation. The kids are wiped to the point of even them knowing it! They don’t want to go play outside or do anything specific. They want to be quiet, color, play, and have a light snacky supper. Sounds perfect to me!

The teething machine is also in full support of our relaxed plan for the rest of the day. Her personal plan is to nap, and while she’s not napping, to chew her arms rather than every other teething thing we offer her. Which is her prerogative, I suppose.

I wish you all a restful, joyful day.

Everyone Loves Waverly

I should’ve put some pictures on yesterdays post but its Christmas and I’m not 110% awake or alert. Don’t judge me.

In the talks of grieving our losses over the holidays, I wanted to zero back in on the victories. I’m sure you’ve heard me say it time and time again, but bringing our Waverly home felt victorious! She is sweet as pie, and continues to be SO pleasant as the weeks and months roll on. I think she’s as happy to be in our family as we are to have her in it! The kids are SO pleased with their sister!

I’m planning a bit of a recap post for the last day of the year, like I usually do. Spoiler alert: Its been a weird one. LOTS of struggles, LOTS of grief, LOTS of anxiety, with some solid identity crisis mixed in. Welcoming this little girl was the light right smack dab in the middle of it all, and I’m SO thankful to the Lord that we could add her to our family this year.

Speaking of that particular morsel, she’s asleep, and the others are up and breakfasting. I’m upstairs blogging. Time to go get my hands on those 4/5!! Have a great day, friends!

I Wonder How Hard I Struggled

Some reminiscing this morning got me thinking about the vibe I was feeling last Christmas. I remember how was such a hard season for me. I was so grateful to be pregnant, and at the same time SO scared that it would all end in shambles again, for the third time in a row. I looked back on the blog and last year, on December 27th, was my very first prenatal appointment for Waverly. Dr. Guselle wasn’t originally booked in between Christmas and New Years, but had figured she should come into the office at least once, so she booked me on her one day in there, so we could listen to the heartbeat together, and I could have some semblance of reassurance during the holidays.

A friend asked me the other day how I survived a Christmas in grief. I told her that I just survived. I let myself be sad, and scared, and kind of simply went through the motions. It hadn’t really felt like Christmas. In reading back, I see my efforts to stay positive and hopeful, and I was reminding myself not to look too far ahead, and to be thankful for each day that I carried that precious baby in my womb. I was trying to be SO brave, but it was all a facade. I was freaked.

As you likely know if you’ve been here for any length of time, that beautiful baby carried through and has been home with us now for almost SIX MONTHS!!!

The feelings from last Christmas – the fears I carried – are still present in me to a degree. I’m imperfect, thats for sure, and its hard to let go of all the fear and pain. Christmas is stereotypically this light hearted, happy time for people, but I wonder what the percentage of the world would be of people who actually struggle way harder during this season. Grief is thicker at Christmas, I can speak for that, as can some of my closest friends.

Whether they’re folded over in pain and suffering, or joyfully celebrating and free of worries, don’t forget about your people, and your people’s people.

***

Jamin and Theo, WOW how I miss you these days. I haven’t forgotten you, and wish I could know how either of you would’ve added to our family dynamic. Your siblings have been mentioning you here and there, too. You have stockings on our tree this year 🙂 Its fun here, but I know its better there. Enjoy your party!! We’ll catch you boys later.

Brady’s Christmas Gift

I gave Brady his Christmas gift early this year. I bought him, for lack of a better title, a beer advent calendar, or as Sask Liquor would call it, an “Alpine Adventure Pack.” Its a box of 24 different beer from two different breweries out of Surrey, BC. There are 24 perforated little openings, numbered in order of how they’re to be consumed. Half bottles, half cans. I’ve had my eye out for something like this for a couple of years now, and this was the year I actually found one! Full disclosure, it was $80, which felt like a lot to drop on a gift he’d drink away, but for 24 beer, it wasn’t a bad value. Plus he’d have the month to enjoy it. 

This post won’t be everyones cup of tea (or bottle of beer, I guess) but when I was on the hunt for his gift, I found NO reviews or information about it! So this might not seem important now, but I’m making the post so someone down the road will maybe find some info on the quality and variety of this as a gift. Feel free to click out if you don’t care, haha! No offence taken. 

Here are the details, as noted by Brady along the way!

1. Red Racer, No Friends on a Powder Day, vanilla stout – 2/5

Good for a stout, but I don’t really like stout
Not very vanilla-y
Kind of a rough start

2. Parallel 49, PILS Dryhopped Pilsner – 5/5 treat beer

Nice citrus, Shock Top-esque but less citrus
Hailey’s notes: He gushed about this one aaaaall evening. Wanted a second one.

3. Red Racer, Fireside Warmth, Spiced Apple Honey – 3/5

Standard beer with spiced aftertaste
Flavor made better by eating sweets besides

4. Parallel 49, Frosted Tips, IPA – 5/5

Similar to radler, comparable to beer #2

5. Red Racer, Idiot Strings Cranberry Chili – 2/5

Super weird on its own
Tastes more cranberry-y when eaten with sweets
Too many flavours, needs less things. JUST cranberry would be yummy.

6. Parallel 49, Naked Scotsman, chocolate and coffee scotch ale – 4/5 with food

Like a lighter stout

7. Red Racer, Tea Bar – 5/5

Standard beer, fuller flavour
Could be an every day beer

8. Parallel 49, Ugly Sweater, Milk Stout – 4/5

Surprisingly light for a stout
Hint of rye and coke, somehow?
Smooth and delicious

9. Red Racer, Summit Speak Easy, extreme pale ale – 3/5

Nice flavor, stronger
Notes of whiskey
A little odd at first but easy to get used to

10. Parallel 49, Sahti Claus – 5/5

Fruity and delicious
Citrusy and crisp
Win!

11. Red Racer, Frozen Ghost, American Barley Wine – 3/5

Very flavourful and strong
Too many hops by the end
A bit winey
Surprisingly wonderful aftertaste

12. Parallel 49, Mr. Needles, pine pale ale – 3/5

Tree taste, went away after a few sips
Interesting taste, like a normal beer plus a tree
Distinct

13. Red Racer, Wine in a Treewell – 4/5

Smooth, easy to drink
Bit of a wine taste
Yummy

14. Parallel 49, Schwarzwald, Black Forest Porter – 3/5

Good dessert beer
Chocolate cake in a bottle
Haileys notes: I REALLY liked this one! Think chocolate cake and cherry liqueur. 

15. Red Racer, Liftie Southern Session Ale – 1/5

Yummy radler-type smell
Prominent grease/metal taste
Hard to finish

16. Parallel 49, Humphrey Biere De Garde – 4/5

Standard
Its good. I like it.

17. Red Racer, Sky Bunny, Dirty Blonde Ale – 4/5

Slightly more flavourful Coors light
Crisp and refreshing

18. Parallel 49, Rock the Bells, Cranberry Sour Ale – 5/5 weird beer

Beeresque cider
Yummiras drank 5/5 (Haileys notes: Its possible this one was strong?? Lol!)

19. Red Racer Treeline Campfire Juniper Smoked Farmhouse Ale – 3/5

Smells like a Christmas tree
Yummy basic beer
Hint of evergreen and campfire

20. Parallel 49, Megalomania Spiced Saison – 4/5

Smooth with a burger
Champagnesque

21. Red Racer, Shred the Gnar, Salted Caramel Coconut Ale – 3/5

Hint of coconut
So sense of salted caramel
Basic beer

22. Parallel 49, Oak Boy, Brown Ale – 4/5

Strong flavourful beer
Good with pizza 
No odd flavours, blended well

23. Red Racer, Gelandesprung – 4/5

Flavourful, pretty typical German beer
Kinda caramelly
Nothing stood out, a good beer

24. Parallel 49, Night Flyer, cappuccino milk stout – 5/5 for a stout, maybe overall

Definite hint of coffee
Signature stout taste, not bad for a stout

Thats a wrap, folks! Here’s Brady’s take on the Alpine Adventure Pack.

“Most enjoyable advent calendar I’ve ever had, bar none! Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys beer. I’m one who sticks to what I know, but this kind of helped me sample around. Some of it was really weird. Some of it was really good! It helped me know there are other kinds of beer I might light. Like milk stouts! Ya. It was really enjoyable. I’d definitely do it again if they made a new one for next year! It made having a beer every night for the month of December really interesting. Reviewing each one along the way was really enjoyable, too. 5/5.”

You heard it here first! The Alpine Adventure Pack 2018 was a WIN!


Kids’ Present Report 2018

Today post will tell you everything that Brady and I bought for our kids this Christmas. It won’t include what others got them. Just within our little family of seven. I’m mostly posting this to share gift ideas with others for Christmases to come 🙂 I’m also writing it in advance, so the tenses are a bit off, but the whole purpose of pre-writing it was to not have to work on the blog on Christmas. So I’m leaving it that way, haha!

As I so often say, to each their own, always! Whether you think we got everyone too much or too little, we all do it our own way. Please leave judgement at the door. Or on your side of the screen. Please and thank you!

To remind everyone quickly, we give our kids gifts in four categories: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. We did a couple of extras on top of that this year, as well as the kids picked names between themselves. 

We’ll start at the top with Dekker! He’s seven. Dekker’s “want” is a wallet. He’s been pretending he has one for a while now, making cards and bills for it, so now he has one! More to play with than to actually use. His need is in a similar ballpark. He got a piggy bank. It seems redundant, but again, the wallet will be more for playing and the piggy bank will service its actual purpose. His item to wear is a bright orange Gap hoodie. His hoodies are getting a bit small and I know that, if he had his say, he’d get a brightly colored one over the neutral ones I tend to pick out. His book to read is called “Iggy Peck Architect” and was strongly recommended to us. It sounds right up his alley! On top of these things, he got a new pair of jammies, a bath bomb, and a toque crocheted by yours truly. Waverly picked Dekker’s name this Christmas, and she bought him a big ole stuffed banana. Seems ridiculous, I know, but he LOVES it. Wavy’s on top of it. She knows him well.

Laela is up next! She’s five. She is getting stencils for her want this year. I feel like I have to put it on the record that I had this idea back in summer even though she’s now been using the exact same stencils at school and is LOVING them! So hopefully she’s thrilled to have her own set at home! Her need is a piggy bank like Dekker’s, but a different color. To wear, she’s getting stick-on earrings, which I’m confident she will love, and to read, I got her a Robert Munsch book about makeup. She also got jammies, a bath bomb, and a toque. Dekker bought for Laela this year, and he requested a Barbie for her. However, she had just received a Barbie, so we found a super cute dolly instead. 

Rowan’s almost four years old. His want this year was from Ikea. We got him a flashlight that you have to turn a crank in order to make it shine. Rowan LOVES flashlights, and has gotten them as gifts more than once, but they always burn out SO FAST. This will be so good for him. His need is also a piggy bank. The last one, I promise! I might throw a couple bucks in each kids piggy bank. We’ll see. To wear, he got a t-shirt that says “All BOY” on it, for everyone wondering, lol! And his book to read is an I Spy book! We recently learned that he’s great at those, so now he’ll have his very own. Like everyone else, he got jammies, a bath bomb, and a toque. Solly bought for Rowan this year, and he got him a fanny pack. I know, I know, it sounds dumb, but it’s actually awesome. All Rowan ever wants to do is carry around a couple of his favourite toys. And now he can. In his fanny pack. 

Solomon is next. He’s two and a half. For his want, we got him a hammer. He loves to hammer on everything, so we went against our better judgement and got him a hammer that talks. Sigh. I already know I’m going to hate that thing. But when you hammer it, it counts. So there’s that. His need is real bedding! He’s been using a smallish babyish blanket for a while, and while he never sleeps under it anyway, we figured it was time for a new, big blanket. So we got him a twin quilt and a cute duvet cover and pillowcase from Ikea. Its blue and has monkeys on it. To wear, he got a shirt that has a picture of a burger doing the dab on it. Another sigh. But another “he’ll love it” moment. And Dekker will LOVE it. Does anyone else’s kid still do the dab, or just mine? Solly’s book to read is called “Thats Not my Monkey” which I’ll admit was not my first choice, but it turned out that the book I purchased for him we actually already own. Go Hailey go. So I panicked and picked this one up. He, too, got jammies, a bath bomb, and a toque. I should say, though, I was trying to get the kids jammies to have matching themes. I chose breakfast. Dekker’s have a fried egg spaceship on them. Laelas are pink with fried eggs on them with heart eyes. Rowan’s have bacon on them. Wavy’s are also pink with bacon and eggs. And for some unknown reason, that was all that existed. No more breakfast jammies anywhere. So Sollys have fries and burgers on them. *shrug* I can only do so much! Laela bought Solly a stuffed blue troll.

Last but not least, Waverly! Its her first Christmas with our family! She’s just shy of six months old. She’s getting a nice little haul as well. Her want is a new blanket. She has beautiful receiving blankets, but she doesn’t have a bit of a heavier blanket. But now she will! Her need is a high chair, as the one she’d likely move into is SO gross, and the cover doesn’t come off. It was such a cute high chair but that sucker is nasty, and we got it for SO cheap so long ago that I feel ok about letting it go. Her item to wear is a thick Gap sweatsuit-esque onesie thing. She has one now and its AMAZING, so we got her the next size up. Her book to read is called “Tooth” by Leslie Patricelli. We have SO many of her books, and they’re super cute. She got her breakfast jammies, a toque, and a baby-friendly bath bomb. Rowan pulled her name, and insisted on getting her a toy in the shape of a Christmas tree. And somehow, I found one! A chewy silicone thing in the shape of a tree! And I could even get it in lavender, so you know I did.

Boom! Gifts!

I should add in here what I got Brady! I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but he’s actually had his present since the first of the month! I bought Brady a beer “advent calendar” this year! I’ll still get him some little stuff for Christmas day so he doesn’t feel left out but the biggest chunk of his gift is his beer. Every day, he gets a new beer that he’s never tasted before, just for fun! Don’t worry, we’re making notes along the way, and we’ll post a bit of a review at the end of the season. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea (or bottle of beer) but it’ll give you an idea of what to expect and see if it would maybe be a gift you’d like to give or receive next year. I think I’ll post that one tomorrow.

Thats it, folks! It feels enormous to write out what we got each kid. If you look at it objectively, we were pretty careful and intentional about what we got everyone, not to go over the top or break the bank, but its still a TON of gifts! Yikes!

Christmas Eve 2018

We all slept in around here, and got up for breakfast around 8:30. The kids ate, and then we opened a haul of gifts from a close friend. The kids hauled in a ton of loot, complete with books, games, toys, clothing, etc. They had so much fun and were SO happy with their gifts! I liked Rowan and Dekker’s hoodies the best!

After we opened presents, we started running! We found out two days ago that we’re having some unexpected company, so we loaded everyone into the van for a quick Christmas Eve trip to the city to get prepared. First stop was coffee and cookies, of course.

We went and hit a few stores, and found everything, which was unexpected and nice. We moved quickly in an effort to get home in time for naps. Brady ran into the last place on his own and I fed Wavy. We woke her to run in this morning, so she hadn’t even eaten yet! But she’s was finally asking for her bottle, and she drank super well 🙂 Yay, Waverly!

We did indeed get home at a good time! I got lunch on for the kids while Brady put away our purchases. Then he put the kids down while I dealt with a few things that are needed for the next couple of days. Once the kids were down, I showered and Brady fed Wavy a bit more before putting her down for naps, too.

Tonight is the Christmas Eve service at church! Who’s coming?? I think we’re leaving a few of our morsels at home, just because I’m apprehensive about Rowan’s spots :/ We are SO fortunate to have friends who have offered every Christmas Eve for the last three years to watch whoever isn’t well enough to come to church with us. What a huge gift to have childcare offered before you even have a chance to ask!

I anticipate a smooth evening, and our family Christmas happens TOMORROW! We never grew up worried about Christmas presents being opened on the 25th. There were even a couple of years where I remember opening gifts in January after we’d been back to school! But this year will maybe be the first time we’re doing our little family Christmas actually on Christmas 🙂 I think, rather than worrying about writing a blog that day, I’m going to post what we got the kids for Christmas, which I wrote a little while ago. Hope that suits you all!

Merry Christmas Eve, my friends! 🎄

Christmas #2 with a Side of Illness

We did our Christmas with Cher last night. The kids didn’t, but the three of us did! We ate pizza and watched a movie, along with some YouTube videos, and opened presents. My goodness, we had such a nice time! Good food, good company, good gifts, and videos of cats being terrified of cucumbers. It was a super nice evening with a super good friend!

That was Christmas #2 for us. No, they’re not traditional turkey feasts, but they sure count to me! We’re celebrating New Years early, as well. Thats tonight, haha! We don’t have tons of traditions, but we do have a New Years one, so I’m looking forward to that!

We spent the morning getting the kids and ourselves fed, and dressed and ready for church. We were ready in good time, everyone was in a good place, Wavy had drank well. Our mornings aren’t always so smooth. I was upstairs putting on some lips and a cute little blazer when Brady sent me this picture.

It would appear Rowan has Hand Foot and Mouth. Because its Christmas. And why not?

Sigh.

I checked everyone else over, and there are no spots to be seen. But this. Sucks. Will it change our plans? Maybe. Will it deter our friends and family from hanging out with us? Maybe. I don’t know. I’m SO discouraged. Ro isn’t itchy or uncomfortable, so thats good. No fevers either, nor open spots. So its not going to reach anyone else at this point, but this is just not the virus to get right before Christmas.

So plans changed, and Rowan and I are staying home from church this morning. Wavy is staying home with us, too. She’s teething like a crazy person and while she could’ve done fine at church, she will be SO much happier napping at her usual time in her own bed.

We exchanged church for Trolls Christmas. Didn’t have a lot of other options.

Trolls Holiday for the win :/ Win-ish. Its not church and its not Jesus’ birth, but it is Justin Timberlake! Lol! We’ll get back to the root of Christmas soon enough. This morning we’ll just be sucks and watch Christmas movies.

If you’re the praying type, please pray that Rowans spots just miraculously disappear! While I’m pretty confident that, at least at this point, he’s not super contagious, we hope to be around other people this season, and would LOVE to not infect everyone we love.

Get better, Rowan!!!

Christmas Has Begun!

We had our first Christmas today! Our amazing friends from across the street came over bearing cookies and gifts for our kids. They very quickly became our friends when we moved here, and have turned into honorary grandparents for our children. They love them so clearly and fully, and ask to have them over often. We love them back, for being such warm, trustworthy, supportive friends. At first, when we chose our lot for our house build, we weren’t thrilled with the location. But God knew what and who we needed! Thank you, Lord, for Tom and Rae!

They hit it out of the park with presents, and spent a couple of hours at our house this morning, playing with the kids’ new toys and games. We ate cookies and homemade chocolates and visited while the kids new stuff played and sang in the background. The kids were SO happy, and I think I can safely say the rest of us were, too. It just felt like Christmas should feel. Noisy and fun and relaxed time together with people you care about.

We ate a few too many cookies and chocolates before our friends headed back home for the day. It was SUCH a lovely way to spend the morning. The FIRST morning of the break!

After a while, the kids ate lunch and 3/5 went down for naps. Wavy woke up pretty much right as everyone went down (isn’t that always how it goes?) and Dekker stayed up and built his new firetruck Lego set. Brady and I hung out with Wavy and ate lunch, and eventually Brady took on the task of moving all the presents out of our room and under the tree. I wrapped them a while ago already but they’ve just been living up here. I’m kiiind of sick of my room being a dumping ground, so Brady did the laps with the gifts and I worked on the rest of the bedroom. Its not clean clean, but its tidier, so I’ll take it! The en suite is still a huge mess, and I have tubs of yarn up here still from my craft retreat in November. Don’t judge me. My desk is clear for use, gifts are where they belong, wrapping paper and ribbons have been put back, and I can walk from my bed to the bathroom without stepping on anything of value. I’m so relieved to have things at least close to the way they were.

The rest of today will be spent bathing kids and playing with new toys. Maybe even a Christmas movie, depending on how long baths take. Or we’ll just do it anyway. I happen to know that more gifts are making their way over tonight, which is exciting! We are SO fortunate to have so many loving people in our lives! Its just the first day of the holiday and we’re already swimming in good company and gifts.

Many more good days to come! I want to post what we got the kids, but figured I’d wait until after Christmas, juuust in case somehow word got to them. Not sure how that would happen, but better to be safe than sorry! Wait for that on the 26th or 27th, because for the first time in years, we’re actually doing our Christmas on the 25th!! And WOW, thats soon! The countdown was feeling a bit ominous very recently, but everything is ready now 🙂 So bring it on!