2017

Last night I laid in bed thinking about this year. I became a mom & Ryan became a dad. This year we became parents! Today I will kiss 2017, the best year of my life, farewell. I've always been the sentimental & emotional type, but since becoming a mom I find myself even more sensitive to precious time. This entire year has been full of hundreds of "firsts" with our sweet Magnolia & all of them bring the happiest of tears to my eyes. Remember when you were a child & you'd let a balloon go up to the clouds? Remember how you'd stand on the ground, gazing up as the balloon slowly drifted away? And then all of sudden it was gone. Life is much like a balloon set free to drift off into the blue sky. Each day is a gift to be cherished.

I set out this morning to pick my favorite photo from each month of this year, and I could not do it. There were just too many & I ended up going down memory lane. If I could end this year with a piece of advice for you my friends, this is it: take a photo every single day. And on the special days, take a bunch of photos! As I was looking through each little square I relived the emotions I felt on the most special days & even on what I once thought was a normal day. To have a phone or computer full of photos is so very good for the soul. I'm always grateful to have taken the time to document our days.

This photo was taken on a cold March morning. I was running on little to no sleep & Magnolia's diaper had just exploded over the both of us. A few candles were burning in the bathroom window sill as we soaked in the warm bubbles. Only a few months prior I'd soak in the tub with her under my skin, and my mind curiously dreamed of her, what she'd look like, how her skin would feel on mine, how she'd sound, who she was. And then on this morning, there she was. The answer to all my questions laying on my skin in the quiet of the morning. This is time. Watching her grow is watching time.



Getting to Magnolia was hard. Childbirth & postpartum was hard. A baby with acid reflux & sleep deprivation was hard. I could make a list of all the hard stuff that happened in 2017, but I'd never do it. My heart is overflowing with gratitude for every single part of this year. The pain of IVF was washed away the moment the doctor said I was pregnant. The pain of childbirth was washed away the moment she laid on my chest. The postpartum pain was washed away as I held our baby girl. The sleep deprivation was washed away each day my burning eyes gazed at our gift from God.

My sweet baby is awake now. I greeted her with good morning kisses and told her today was the last day of her birth year! I'm going to play her a few Auld Lang Syne songs on YouTube as we sit at the kitchen table.

As the calendar flips from 2017 to 2018, I want to wish you new days full of love, health, & faith. Cherish your days & snap that camera!

Happy New Year's Eve xo