MADE FOR LOVE

Monday, January 2, 2023

- NYE 2022 -

2022, you were so good to us...!

We rung in the New Year in style with a seafood boil and fun with cousins!

Cheers to THE NEW YEAR!!!

2023, we can't wait to see what you have in store!

I might've said this before [yes, I definitely think I said this], but...if this isn't the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year, what is?!? There is so much magic in the air, and I love that our babes are now old enough to really appreciate the true reason for the season and participate in school programs and church events that are very much Christ-centered!

Scarlett's preschool Christmas nativity program came first, and she was cast as an angel! She practiced her lines for months before the big night and was thrilled to have both sets of grandparents in attendance to watch her special performance. Alongside her very best friends, she had a great time putting on "Christmas in Bethlehem" in the school gymnasium!

Harper was so proud of her after we got home that night that she wanted to take a picture of us snuggled in and warming up together by the fireplace! :-P

I always love all the artwork that comes home from school during December, too, as it's such a blessing for me to be able to see Christmas and Jesus through a child's eyes. *swoon*

The morning after Scarlett's program, Harper's class put on a live nativity after the Gospel reading during the all-school Mass! She was also cast as an angel and got to walk Baby Jesus up to Mary who was waiting by the manger. This was such an awesome little rendition of the special night in Bethlehem!

Annnnnd that same night, the "big school" hosted its Christmas program with each class performing a Christmas song they had rehearsed for weeks with the music teacher. We thoroughly enjoyed that program...

...from the back and/or basement of church, since our third little "angel" had recently learned to walk and was not much in the mood for being a cherub confined to a pew! ;) :)

Grateful for these three angels God entrusted to us, as [like I mentioned above!] they keep our focus on the reason for the season! Also grateful for STB and all teachers and staff who made these programs possible!

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

- CHRISTmas -

Today is April 23, 2023; so, needless to say, I'll be backdating this post abouuuut 4 months...

...but gosh, looking back on the photos of how we celebrated Christmas 2022 just fills my heart with joy that we are surrounded and spoiled by family who loves us and our children so deeply and also gratitude that we have the privilege of celebrating the TRUE reason for the season and have a wonderful parish community that walks alongside us as we attune our eyes and hearts to the newborn Christ at Christmastime! Ready the way! We are so blessed to love and be loved.

Harper got asked to carry the infant Jesus to the crèche during the procession of Christmas Eve Mass...

...and then we were off to Brian's family celebration!

On the way home from Christmas Eve dinner:

Scarlett [excitedly, looking for Santa in the sky and talking 10 miles per minute]: "Santaaaa Claus is coming to town, oh yeah! I see four red lights!!! I think it’s Rudolph! Because he pob-ee [probably] has four lights… He has ONE bright nose! And one light on his back… actually I think I see Santa about to land his sleigh!!!!!"

Harper [matter-of-fact-ly, also looking for Santa in the sky but talking 1/10 of a mile per minute:] "…..Scarlett, that’s a police car."

...But whether he was actually spotted or not, he did make an appearance overnight, and the treasures he left did not disappoint!

Scarlett: "Mom, is Santa a Fleming?"

Me: "No….."

Scarlett: "What is he?"

Me: "……….a Claus?"

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! We wrapped up the Christmas weekend with candlelight adoration at our parish, which was breathtakingly beautiful!

May the love of the newborn Christ fill your homes with light and life!

xoxo

Saturday, December 24, 2022

- The Christmas Letter: 2022 -

2022, we t h o r o u g h l y enjoyed you!

After ringing in the New Year, we only had a few sleeps before celebrating a birthday! The night before her big day, Scarlett stood in front of the mirror and said, “Hmmmm, I still look ‘da same! But I don’t fink [think] I look AS wittle [little] as I oo-sed [used] to… Wait a second, am I gonna turn free [three] eva’ eva’ again, Mommy?” We woke up to a 4-year-old standing at our bedside the next morning, and I wallowed around in #allthefeels for the rest of the weekend as we prepped for her Doc McStuffins party. Though the days are sometimes long, the years are always short; this year I really reflected on how crucial it is to not count the days, but to MAKE THE DAYS COUNT!

In mid-March, Harper excitedly rung in #7 with a gymnastics party! She bought a recorder with some of her birthday cash and spent a large chunk of the spring serenading anyone who would listen. The most frequented front-porch listener [the Amazon delivery man] notoriously sped off before her concerts concluded, but he did say once that he “loved himself a good rendition of ‘Hot Cross Buns,’” and our girl’s DAY. WAS. MADE. One afternoon in April, same said Amazon man delivered five v. v. hungry “cata-piddas” to our doorstep, and we spent the rest of the spring feeding/growing/raising them into beautiful butterflies! The kids immensely enjoyed round two of vlogging the journey for family and friends. Then! A few weeks after the butterfly release, I found a large family/colony of snails residing inside a Tupperware container [sans lid] that the older girls had been “raising” in their closet, and that was the moment I decided to call it quits with promoting/procuring wildlife experiences inside our home.

In the blink of an eye came July, which was filled with life, liberty, and the pursuit of [SO MUCH] happiness! We celebrated the 4^th in traditional Fleming family style [IYKYK] and then immediately jetted off for a family vacation to sunny Florida! Amidst pools and water parks and more pools, we also squeezed in one super magical day at Magic Kingdom which was, well, *magical* to say the least! We were grateful for the rest and relaxation we enjoyed over the summer, because it wasn’t long until the older girls returned to St. Boniface Catholic School in August [Harper – 2^nd grade, Scarlett – Pre-K 4]. Soon after settling into the new school year, Juliette had her “Wild and ONEderful” themed 1^st birthday party! We celebrated our girl at the zoo as well as with a family party at our home. Undeniably, we are all still in shock that our “baby” is one… Moral of the story? #dontblink #EVER and, of course, #makethedayscount!

All.of.a.sudden, it was fall, y’all! September was composed of Harper and Scarlett’s first soccer seasons, Juliette’s first Cardinal’s game, and our first visit to the E.R. in 7.5 years of parenting [thanks to a very serious allergic reaction to amoxicillin that even panicked the mom-nurse!]. We are hoping to repeat the first two events frequently and never ever revisit the third event! ;) :) October highlights included Harper’s artwork being featured in the local art gallery, Scarlett’s school field trip to the apple orchard, and Juliette’s sprinting behind her walker but refusing to let it go and walk on her own. We also had *3* beautiful princesses for Halloween and royally enjoyed escorting them around the subdivision to trick-or-treat! November brought our 10-year anniversary, and we took the kids to Mass at SLU College Church to show them where it all began! Brian and I recently returned from a trip to Florida where we celebrated our “once in a lifetime” love and soaked up lots of time for JUST US [for literally the first extended period of time ever since having kids, wowza!]. We had a fantastic trip but were excited to return home to our girls, as the time away confirmed that “Mommy” and “Daddy” are still our favorite titles!

With a very exciting Christmas season on the horizon, we look forward to all of the merriment and blessings that await! To all of you, we send this cheer: MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! <3

May the love of the newborn Christ fill your homes with light and life!