- Merry Christmas! -

In the spirit of 2017.........(!!!)...

...let's revisit 2016.

Ok, maybe not all of it.

Just Christmas at least? 

I got all wrapped up in keeping my RSV-ridden child alive that I skipped right on over posting the Christmas photos!  We did our traditional "four party" Christmas again this year [we've gotta stop! With a midget in the family, it's too much packing up and driving here just to pack up and sleep there and wake up here to drive there and ...well first of all it's totally exhausting, but second, I really want my kid[s] to sleep in their own beds on Christmas Eve and wake up in their own house on Christmas morning and find the presents from Santa under THEIR Christmas tree............  We have our own mini-family now and I would love to start our own new traditions. Buuuut for this year at least, we grudgingly rode the crazy train again because we love our families and truly do want to see everyone on the holidays!] ...Anywayyyy...

Christmas Eve Mass with my Grandma!  Harper has become a nose-picking fiend when she knows she's supposed to pose for photos [how did she learn that?]...

...then Christmas morning breakfast and presents at Grammy and Grampy's!

How 'bout 'dem matching family PJs, though?!??  Our childhood babysitter sent me a link to them and I couldn't refuse! Brian is a good sport for going along with it... ;) :) ...turns out he'll do just about anything for his Lil' Bear!

Hit another family Christmas...

...and another!  Boo isn't spoiled or anything... ;) :)

All day on Christmas Monday, she ran around the house yelling, "TOYZZZZ!" and truly just couldn't get enough of all these fun new things to play with! Immediate favorites [pictured below] were the baby stroller and the vet kit [though the baby stroller quickly found its way to the basement after Brian witnessed her ramming it full speed into the bottom panel of our stainless steel stove!].

Last Christmas was pretty great, but this year was AMAZING!  It's beyond magical to witness the awe and wonder of the season through a child's eyes! 

...And now...to fast-forward back up to 2017...

[...and to find a place for all these toys...!]

Merry Merry Christmas!!!

- Resolutionzzz for the record book -

A little bit ago, I was driving into town to get some groceries and got stuck at the world's longest stoplight right next to this old junker car with a smashed in driver door and bashed out back window.  When I drive sans husband, Jesus music is my jam and the radio station is allllmost always set to 99.1 -- "Joy FM" [when Dear Husband rides along, we rock out to 93.7 -- "The Bull," or 92.3 -- "Some Other Unnamed Hillbilly/Redneck Wannabe Station"].  

So anywayssss.....  My dad is a State Farm agent and we more or less grew up helping him survey all sorts of damages, so of course I glanced over to assess this wadded up car for a hot second and immediately noticed that the driver was continuously muttering some words.  I'm sort of nosy by nature, so I quickly pretended to look forward again while secretly still staring at her out of the side of my sunglasses [my 27-year-old eyes and their peripheral vision is on point!] and .....you guys! ...Turns out she was singing along to the exact same Big Daddy Weave song that was playing in my car!  I stared at her for a few more verses to make sure I was taking this in correctly [because, like I said, this is the longest stoplight ever] before the light turned green and she floored the pedal and disappeared. 

[[This post already seems like a bunch of random rambling and it's simultaneously painting me as a psycho... Maybe it's only because I'm sugared up on Starbucks AND today is my first day wearing Joy EO so I'm feeling extra real, raw, and energetic; or maybe it's that I'm actually taking the cliche "New Year, New Outlook" approach to heart. But for a few milli-seconds after she drove away, I sat there frozen and dumbfounded at the simple realization that this total stranger had the same exact song playing in her car and the exact same praises for our awesome God and the exact same heart for Jesus!  This is a really big world ...and me and my desires and wants and wishes are just like a drop in the bucket.
 

I'm not much of a resolution maker considering all my prudent promises usually fall through by the second week of January, but here's to 2017:  making legit strides to be a more conscious daughter of God and more readily recognize the good in everyone! And all deese things too:

...See how good I am at setting non-measurable goals?! Hah. #winwin

But fo' real:  Happy New Year, friends!!! Set your resolutions high, because I have a feeling this is gonna be the best year yet! 

xoxo