Hey Everyone!

I hope you’re having a great December. Are you looking forward to Christmas this Friday?

I’m going to do a big recap of the last month. Starting with the end of last month because it’s been that long since I’ve posted!

Towards the end of November we were hit with a rather large amount of snow. It was beautiful!

Since then we haven’t seen much snow at all which feels really strange as we live in the mid-west and it is December after all.

Garrett continues to ask when we’ll see more snow. He was over joyed each time he slipped into his snow-gear. Darren and I went out too and I laughed hard watching Garrett being pulled on the sled. He had his head thrown back looking at the sky with the biggest smile across his face.

We spent about a week visiting my parents. It was really nice to be home around this time to enjoy my mom’s beautiful Christmas decorations. One day we went out and picked out fabric for the quilt she is making my little girl. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Handmade gifts are very special and i’m really grateful she does this.

This is our third year picking up a Christmas tree with Trees for Troops. We head over to the base and they have an entire set-up that’s really festive. I love a real Christmas tree because of its imperfections and that fresh pine smell. This year I was ready to swear off Christmas trees altogether after ours fell twice.

It was awful! We tied it up after the second fall and realized there was a strange bend halfway up the trunk of the tree. A handful of really special ornaments broke. I was able to fix two of them, thankfully!

Then I took this picture and my love for Christmas trees was re-kindled.

I finally took a step in the right direction with wrapping gifts this year. None of my best work is in a picture but seriously…I was thrilled. I used brown crafting paper and had nice ribbon to go with it. I learned it’s all about the creases from a wonderful Youtube video!

I didn’t take many pictures of our decorations but we sure did enjoy them this month. I love decorating for Christmas. I ended up starting over with my chalk board above the fireplace. I don’t have a new picture of that, sorry!

The picture below is the wreath I put together. I picked everything out at Hobby Lobby and it really wasn’t difficult to put together at all. I had picked out burlap for the bow and then I turned the corner and saw they were selling burlap bows! It wasn’t expensive either and looked much better compared with what I was going to do.

Darren and I agreed to buy a Keurig for ourselves this year as our gift to each other. We are really liking it while trying to be mindful of the cost of the k-cups. Darren picked it up from the Navy Exchange and came home with a great selection of flavors to try.

 

I wanted to share how I found this wonderful coat from Walmart for $18! I was not fitting into my winter jacket and saw the cost of maternity coats and really wasn’t sure what to do. But then I found this one and it’s perfect for the next few months. Don’t you love finding exactly what you need at a great price?

I have now been pregnant for 6 months! We are over-joyed at the thought of her. The other night was the first time feeling those sweet baby hiccups! I’ve loved those kind of moments throughout this pregnancy.

It’s a gift to carry her all these months and i’m thankful she is doing great.

There is still quite a bit left to do before we’re ready for her to be here. But we have plenty of time and I’ve put all baby preparations on hold for this week as we enjoy Christmas.

I have been feeling a little anxious over this coming year. With a new baby, a big move, Garrett starting Kindergarten, and the possibility of Darren deploying sometime in the second half of next year. It seems like we just moved to this area and before I know it we’ll be greeting the movers.

I’ll be jumping back into the hard part of military life and there is a part of me dreading it.
I’m glad God allowed our family this time to rest and be together. It was such a gift.  I’m also confident He goes before us and has a plan in the years ahead.  I know in times of difficulty He will be my peace. He cares for me and i’ve witnessed that my entire life.

* * *

Well I should wrap this up because I have some laundry to do and a little baking too! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Until next time,

Laura