Some December Thoughts

I am so behind on blog posts and feel like I'm behind on life in general these days.

I'm not sure when life kicked into this high of a gear, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed this week.

It's December 12th. Christmas is 13 days away. And yes, we got all of our Christmas shopping done. And yes, we've watched some Christmas movies and done some fun Christmas activities. And yes, our house is decorated (I'm staring at my lit up Christmas tree right now). And yes, the majority of our Christmas cards have been sent out or delivered to the people receiving them. But I still feel like something is missing.

There's so much talk of Christmas plans and where we are going when. My brain already hurts just thinking about it. I really just want a morning, or an afternoon, or some chunk of time over the Christmas weekend to have some time alone with Josh, so that we can do our own Christmas at home.

And I've been doing a lot of vendor events. I did 5 within the first week of December. I've got 1, possibly 2 more coming up this month.

I just feel tired. And like I'm whining. I'm really not meaning to, though. I really just want to take some time and think about why we celebrate Christmas. What does it all mean? Why do we spend all this time buying the perfect gifts and then wrapping them? Why does our calendar instantly fill up when December rolls around? Where does Jesus fit into all of it?

I love Christmas. Don't get me wrong. It's my absolute favorite holiday. It always has been. There's something about all the colorful lights everywhere and the songs and the joy of spending time with loved ones.

But I want it to be more than just a fun, busy month this year.

It's really easy to lose sight of Jesus. I've been doing it all month. I've been so worried about everything we've had on our calendar and all the things we've needed to buy, that I've kind of forgotten what all of it means. Or what all of it should mean.

I want to give gifts because it's a small reflection of the love I have for someone, and because Jesus gave us the ultimate gift by dying on the cross for our sins, not because I feel like I need to or have to. I want to do fun events with the people I care about because I enjoy their company and who they are in my life, not because it's just something we've always done or because I'm fulfilling an obligation. I want to watch Christmas movies and listen to certain Christmas songs because they make me feel happy and nostalgic, not because I want to make sure to check those off a list of things I've done this holiday season.

And so I've decided to take some time out this month to focus on the reason why this season is so special. I want to spend some time studying and reading the Word: the prophecies about Jesus's coming, His birth and what He brought to our world. I want to spend some time thinking about and expressing my appreciation and love for the people in my life. All too often we take people for granted or assume they know how we feel. And I want to spend some time examining my heart and my life to really figure out what this new year is going to look like for me. It's something I enjoy doing at the end of every year and I think it's really important for me. It helps me to be able to set my focus on some specific goals and helps me to keep myself accountable to them.

I'm also determined to make sure that Josh and I get to spend some time together as our little family of 2. I don't talk very often on this space anymore about our journey and where we've come from, but at this moment in time, we are both content and happy to be just the two of us. I know a lot of people (and it's not really anyone's fault, it's just kind of the way our society is) assume that we aren't a family because we don't have kids. But we are a family and our time together is just as important as it would be if we had 4 kids. We have been married for almost 10 years now and this will be our 13th Christmas together. We got engaged on Christmas Eve almost 11 years ago. This time of year is very important to both of us and I don't want this time to pass by without us getting to acknowledge all that it means to us as a couple and individually.

My hope is that all of us would be able to take some time out in the next two weeks and really reflect on this month, this year and our lives. Don't let the busyness or the obligations or whatever else it may be keep you from enjoying this time of year.

Oh Eight. And Oh Nine. Two Oh One Seven

And I'm two months behind again. Go figure, right?

I'm honestly not sure I'm going to keep blogging after this year. It's definitely something I needed in my life for a time, and I do like looking back on old posts to see what life was like "back then", but I just don't have the time (or, let's be honest, the motivation or inspiration most days) to take the time to write posts. My purpose of this blog was to be an encouragement to others, and it's become more of a glorified journal over the past few years. So I'm just not sure I'm going to keep it up after this year.

All that being said, let's talk about August!

August started off with lots of planning and fun for K.M. and V.M.'s co-ed baby shower! The shower turned out amazing and was so much fun! I'm so glad I was able to throw the shower with S.W. and bless our friends.

The next weekend, I went wine tasting with my wine tasting ladies to celebrate K.A.'s birthday! We had such an amazing time and I'm so glad I was able to go with them!

We spent some time with my family at my sister's house. It was a really fun day and I'm glad we were all able to be together.

And there was lots of other fun stuff mixed in there! The whole month was a busy blur but it was a good one!



And then September came out of left field! I honestly didn't even realize it was September until about the third week in. That's how crazy life felt!

We had a fun make your own pizza night with some of our friends. We tried some amazing different combos and ate way too much. It was such a fun night!

Our niece turned 6! We had a blast celebrating her birthday! I still can't believe she's already 6! Time really does fly by.

I went to CO to visit my bestie and her family (you can read more about that here).

And K.M. and V.M. brought their beautiful baby girl into the world! I'm in love already and can't wait for more baby snuggles!

September also had lots of other fun stuff mixed in! It was another super busy month, but what else is new at this point, right? Life just doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. But I don't think I'd have it any other way!

And now we are in October! My favorite time of year is starting and I'm so excited for what the next three months will bring!

Friendship Refreshes the Soul

I went to CO last month to see my bestie and her family!

I know I say this every time I get back, but I really have the best time with them. We have much needed, sometimes even really hard conversations, and I always leave feeling encouraged and refreshed.

I cried a lot on my final day there, knowing I had to get on a plane and come home. Em asked me in the car on our way to the airport what my favorite part of this trip was and I couldn't even answer her. I had to text her while I was waiting for my plane because I couldn't verbalize it through my tears. My favorite part was all of it, and I'm very much looking forward to the next time I get to be with them.

We went driving in the mountains to see the fall leaves, which was so beautiful. I feel like we often get a little ripped off where I live because sometimes the leaves haven't even had a chance to fully change before the wind and rain come in and strip the trees of their leaves. So it was amazing to see so many beautiful trees starting to get their fall best.

We went to a biergarten in the mountains as well, which was really fun. It was a place Em had been dying to try, so I'm glad I was able to go there with her. We also went to one of their favorite country bars while I was there, and had wings and lots of laughs.

We started and finished a 101 Dalmatians puzzle (the amazing Thomas Kinkade one) and played quite a few games with the kids.

We saw American Assassin in the theater and went out for drinks after at one of their favorite spots (that they took Josh and I to last year when we were there).

We also had a wonderful tea morning that turned into afternoon with Em's sister. She is such a sweetheart and I'm so thankful that I've gotten to know her a little better over the years.

And we spent a lot of time hanging out at their place with the kids. I love their little family so much and I love getting to spend time with them.

It was my longest amount of time spent there and yet time flew by as usual. I'm so thankful I was able to take this trip!

Oh Six. And Oh Seven. Two Oh One Seven.

This time I am REALLY behind! The last two months were crazy busy!

At the beginning of June, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday! They had a fun gathering with friends at their house and then we celebrated with my parents later that weekend.

We also went blueberry picking with some friends and had a yummy brunch together after.

We also celebrated Father's Day with my parents! We had a fun day spent with family.

Josh went to San Antonio for a conference for work and I had a lot of fun LuLaRoe events!

I barely took any pics in June!

Some other things that happened:

My BCBs and I read a book called The Confessions of X. It was a really interesting read about Augustine and his concubine. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a great read for the end of summer!

My appointments and Pilates classes have been going really well! I have more movement and feel stronger every day!

*******

Since I've really behind and didn't take many pictures in June, I'm just going to do July in this post as well!

We started off July helping our friends C.B. and L.B. throw a surprise party for C.B.'s mom. It was a lot of fun!

We also spent a lot of time with family. Josh's brother and his family were in town so we celebrated our nephew's birthday, as well as Josh's grandparents's birthdays.

We had a really fun 4th of July party with some friends. I'm such a fan of fireworks and we had a lot of fun putting on our own (very legal, I promise) show!

Later in the month, we went to the d23 Expo and spent some time in our happy place! We got to attend a panel about the upcoming Disney and Pixar animated movies and it was so awesome! We got to see a lot of celebrities present at the panel, including Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Paige O'Hara and many others!

We also got to walk through an exhibit about the 50 years of Pirates of the Caribbean.

There was a LuLaRoe booth at the Expo, highlighting some of the soon-to-come LuLaRoe Collection for Disney prints. It was so fun to see!

Our time at Disneyland was really fun too! The lines were so short for most of our trip! We also got to see the very first perfomance of the newly enhanced Fantasmic! We also met Zachary Levi and took a picture with him, which was amazing! We have both really loved him since he was on Chuck! Overall, it was an amazing trip and I'm so glad we were able to go on it.

 We got to sit next to each other on Radiator Springs Racers!

 Zachary Levi!!

Josh went on Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! I just walked through the line with him. This is my "I'm not going any further" face

Later in the month, I attended the LuLaRoe Convention! It was SO much fun! I got to meet some of the amazing women on my team (most of whom live on the other side of the country from me). We had a fun kickoff party on the beach that Ziggy Marley performed at! We had two awesome days of training and learning and growing. And our finale party was a private concert with Katy Perry! It was an amazing couple of days!

 Beach party!

I also got to go on a warehouse tour at the LuLaRoe warehouse, which was really cool! It was so fun to see where they sort and package up all of our orders!

I also went to Disneyland with a fun group of retailers before the convention started. My housemates and I did the Skyline Lounge dessert package, which was so much fun! We got to sit in the second level of the former Innoventions building with an amazing dessert platter and unlimited hot cocoa, coffee, soda and water! Mickey and Minnie came out to take pictures with us and we had an amazing view of the fireworks! It was such a fun time!

July was jam packed with so much good stuff. I had some really amazing LuLaRoe events, we had some fun times with friends and family and we ate far too much ice cream (but when it's over 100 degrees for days on end, there's not much else you can do).

This summer has been so great but I am definitely looking forward to fall and cooler weather. On to August!