Beautiful Girl in a Red Dress

Christmas 2015 has came and sadly gone! We had an amazing Christmas season and were sad to pack up all the lights and trees that Addy was so infatuated with.  She still asks me daily, “Where’s the Christmas tree?!”

It was a busy and great season for us. Addy got visits from several family members and Nana and Papa stayed a week with us. I may or may not have decided with less than three weeks left of this pregnancy that I wanted to fully re-do our downstairs front living room to create a first floor play room, and also install the kitchen island that we had been thinking over since renovating our kitchen last year.  My wonderful hubby never second guessed me, he allowed me to sell all the furniture in our front living room and purchase all the necessities for an organized playroom. He even built Addy her own chalkboard wall for her art center! He worked all through the holidays and worked harder here at home, completing the playroom, installing our kitchen island, and dealing with the Christmas hustle and bustle. He is, simply put, amazing and I thank God for him daily!

It’s a good thing we decided to convert another space to a playroom because Addisyn had a complete sleigh of presents delivered to her and I’m not sure the living room or Justin’s mancave (eh hem… the playroom upstairs) could handle anymore additions! Among all of the hustle and bustle of the weeks surrounding Christmas, we took downtime to focus on the true meaning of the celebrations.  My favorite Christmas memories this year were the amazing Christmas Eve service held by our church, and the quiet family time we spent on Christmas Eve and Christmas day reflecting on the birth of our Savior.  It was such a special time as we prepare for the birth of our own son, to spend these special days making memories of our own and being in awe of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Hearing Addisyn yell, “Happy Birthday, Jesus” delighted my heart and soul.  That girl has it going on.

As 2015 closes, and 2016 arrives our family has so much to be grateful for.  The Lord has blessed us in many ways and we look forward to welcoming baby Josiah in just TWO WEEKS! One of our Christmas gifts to my mother was a photo shoot done by the amazing Charity Mack (who takes all of our photos and is majorly talented as I’m sure you’ve seen, thanks friend for being amazing)!  Looking through those photos I see such happiness in Addisyn’s eyes (even if she was completely crabby that cold morning).  I’m so thankful to have grasped our family as it is now, a family of three.  I know that adding Josiah will only increase the love and blessings in our family, however, there’s something serene about looking at these photos and having these moments captured forever as the anticipation builds for our family to grow and change in the next few weeks. I’ve said many times in the last almost two years, that my purpose and calling from God is to be Addisyn’s mother, and I am so thankful for that.  I look at the beautiful girl in the red dress in these photos, and I think how could God bless us anymore?  And then, I realize we are just days away from finding that out!

There are almost no words to describe how I feel about welcoming Josiah to the world and becoming a family of four. I am so thankful to have such an amazing man and daughter by my side as we get ready for big changes in 2016.  Happy New Year everyone, and may you all be generously blessed!