Last week we celebrated Josiah’s FIRST birthday! I cannot believe my little guy has turned ONE! This has been the fastest trip around the sun yet. It seems like yesterday I held him in my arms for the first time and eagerly watched the hospital room door open for Addisyn to come inside and meet her baby brother.  Those moments of being a family of four for the first time will never fade away. I think back on those memories and see how much my tiny people have grown, and how much fun we have had in Josiah’s first year! So, it was time for a party! Josiah is not a…

  The week passed slowly, which was amazing. Our trip was not a rushed blink of an eye, which we were all grateful for. Although we went non-stop, we had two amazing kiddos who hung in there and reveled in the experiences. Josiah receives the best baby award for not making a peep on our departing/return flights, nor the entire week we were at Disney; and Addisyn was completely star struck and proved she can hang with the best of the Disney-goers. That’s happy magic right there! Here’s part dos! Day 4 arrived and we headed off to Hollywood Studios where we got down with all of the Disney Junior…

In the past month we have had a lot of firsts around the Hall house! We celebrated Josiah’s first Christmas and New Years, we had the first snow of the year and some sledding fun, we took Addy and Josiah’s first flight on an airplane all the way to Mickey and Minnie’s house for our first family trip to Walt Disney World, as soon as we got back from vacation we toured and selected Addy’s first pre-school, followed by Josiah’s FIRST birthday preparation and celebrations. Whew, that makes for one tired Momma (and Daddy)! If I could sum up our trip in two words, it would be coining Addy’s phrase, a…

Just like that, it’s a wrap! Christmas 2016 is in the books!  We had the most fantastic time celebrating Josiah’s first Christmas, and the first Christmas that Addisyn actually understood it all.  It is way more fun being an adult and living Christmas through your children, than actually being the child amidst the Christmas fun. From the time the turkey was carved at Thanksgiving we were in full on Christmas mode, and have barely slowed down. Just this morning Addy sang Frosty the Snowman at breakfast, and begged for “Buddy the Elf”, immediately after. I pleasantly obliged because I’m a sucker for all things Christmas. The worst part about Christmas was the…

Yesterday, Josiah turned 11 months old. I’m not sure where the days have gone, but somehow the calendar has continued to turn and we are one month away from celebrating his first year! Tell me it isn’t so, because I still want to hold on to these moments and his cuddly little self. The ever ending mommy struggle of wanting to see your children grow, but also freeze time to enjoy their baby-ness a little bit longer At 11 months, Josiah is doing everything but walking. He can stand, cruise around, climb on things and push his walker (and kitchen chairs!) all around our house.  He wants so badly to catch up…

There’s a new ornament on our Christmas tree this year.  It’s on the kid’s tree in the playroom, and it’s different than all the rest. It’s a scented pinecone with a beautifully scripted tag adorning it.  Under any other occasion, it would bring sheer joy.  But currently, looking at this pinecone brings sentiments of both joy and sadness.  Joy because it represents a truly bright soul, and sadness because it honors a soul that the world has lost.  Eliza Hope Darby was 4-years-old when she completed her journey on this earth just weeks ago.  Eliza is the beautiful daughter of two truly amazing, self-sacrificing, and magnanimous people who have overcame several trials…

We are in the last quarter of the first year of Josiah’s life. Where has time gone? The days past so quickly. We mark the calendars for doctors appointments, play dates, and to remember special days; and then those dates quickly become history. All the while our little ones continue to grow, change, and accomplish new feats. Suddenly, you look at them and realize they’re so different than they were the day before. It’s so incredibly exciting…but it’s a bit heartbreaking at the same time. The ongoing battles of motherhood…Oh how I want you to grow, but oh how I don’t! In the last month Josiah has decided it was time to do…

I, like all of you, have watched and waited in painfully annoying suspense over the past two years during campaigns for the historic election that took place yesterday. After much confliction, I did the only reasonable thing I could come up with, I prayed fervently over our nation and those whom were chosen to lead it.  I hit my knees and prayed that the Lord’s name be restored to our country, that His will be completed above my own understanding, and that He construct the world that would best suit my children as they continue to grow. I won’t bore you with what you already know about the election, but the truth…

My phone reminds me daily that my storage is full; there is no more memory or space left for all the things I use it for daily. My husband reminds me that this is sad, since I have a 64GB phone. What’s the problem? I have 9,042 photos on my phone. That’s right, and I’ve deleted over 2,000 recently.  Why is all that space on my phone dedicated to photos? A few reasons, with the most obvious being…I love taking photos of my children, but even more than that, it’s because those photos hold valuable memories for me. If you’ve ever lost someone close to you, you well know that our memories are far…

Today, Josiah turns 9-months-old. It’s been a quick nine months of sheer bliss as a family of four with this little guy in our lives. Where has time gone? We are finding out just how busy and amazing life is with 2 children who are 2-and-under and both now being mobile. It is crazy, it is busy, it is sometimes overwhelming…and it is the most fabulous chaos. Josiah has had a BIG month.  Shortly after he turned eight months old he began full on crawling.  While he could low-crawl (I have strict orders from my husband NOT to use the phrase “army crawling” in any sense when speaking about my children…meh, those uptight Marines!) to any object…