Moran Christmas

Happy 2017!! Hope you had a wonderful time bringing in the New Year.  Another memorable holiday for the Craigmile Crew...LJ's turn with the stomach flu.  A week after the last member had it, what the heck? I thought we would have been in the clear.

But, before that, we prepped for the Moran Christmas!

Emma in this mask cracks me up

This is how we Target, during Christmas break, with all 3 girlies and  needing to pick up a few items that take up a lot of cart space, so I let Sally help and push a cart too.  Needed to keep it fair and let LJ push.  Emma was loving it!  We also picked up our first pack of newborn...let's be serious, a small pack of newborn diapers and a larger pack of size 1 diapers.  10 lb babies is how we roll ;)

 Joey and Emily discovered that Cooper has Trivia Night every Wednesday.  Obviously Reid was the first to come to mind.  We made it a double date.  It was a lot of fun, we'll be sure to do it again!

 The Lindbergs were in town.  Always so fun to reconnect with them.  Thank you for taking the time to come out and catch up.  Amazing, how well the girls all play together, without the Mamas' help.  We actually got in real conversation with minimal interruptions, my how times have changed!

 Emma's strong selfie game ;)

 On Friday we hosted the Moran Christmas.  So fun to have the cousins play so well together!

 Grandma and George came with some fun Minute to Win It Games!

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7 little Blessings with 4.0 getting close to joining the crew!

 Emma Jean...such a character

 Emma got the first gift [VIDEO]

 Jammies to match their American Girl Dolls .  Fun day and evening with lots of laughter and Memories.  Thanks Family for coming to play!

 and then the next day was New Year's Eve.  The Martinson Family came over to celebrate.  We decided, with two Preggo Mamas we'd make it more of a day thing and everyone could peacefully go to bed in their own bed, especially since it wasn't likely that Mamas would make it/want to make it until Midnight.

The Dads and Bigs went to see Moana.

 While the Moms enjoyed nap time.  This is how you NYE when you're leggo my preggo. 10 weeks apart, take 2 {Emma and Aubrey are 10 weeks apart} So fun to go through these stages of life together!

and then everyone got home and woke up from naps and we  played and we laughed.  We fed the kiddos dinner, got them situated with a show and just as the adults were about to sit down to eat. "MOOOOOOOM, Libby's throwing up!" Ahhhhh shit...and that was a wrap.  Still hoping and praying we didn't spread it to anyone and Sally and I stay clear from getting it!

The rest of the weekend was taking down the Christmas decorations, organizing, cleaning and organizing.  We're in Baby Prep mode now!

Libby's sweet ornament she made us

I want her outfit. Tights from the Johnson Fam and Dress (it's fleece, even!) from Grandma and George

So very thankful for Daddy's willingness to get a list and tackle it so he could do most of the running around since I'm slowing down.  I may have been having a few contractions and he wasn't too thrilled about it, so he won't let me do as much as I want.  He did an awesome job setting me up for a successful week.  I feel like I have so much more time to get the little things checked off my list.  A combination of that, as well as no more holiday or birthday prep.

LJ coming back to us! Enjoying some time to do her Aqua Beads

Inviting Emma to help, they have so much patience for one another, it's the sweetest thing

In the stage of loving her baby dolls.

Happy 2017! I thought I would share this great reflection I received the other day:

"My heart is heavy tonight, gripped with the pains of this past year for friends, for acquaintances, for neighbors, for family members. My heart is heavy with my own personal pain.

I'm mesmerized at the thought that next year all that has happened this past year, all of the feelings should somehow dissipate. Tomorrow, for some reason, the pain should no longer be there, because we will have begun anew.

But that is not reality. We do not start over tomorrow because the calendar turns over a new year. We do not get a clean slate just because it is January 1st. We still have the same feelings, the same aches, the same pains, the same memories, the same mess.

I think of those lyrics, So this is the new year. And I don't feel any different.

Nothing will be different, it will have been as before.

Except for one thought that I cannot release --
 

We get a clean slate, a do-over, a peaceful heart, a restful spirit, an antidote to the long loneliness... a King who reaches out His hand and says, "I'm here."

We get that every single day, every single moment, every single breath --- we get that now.

He pulls us in, inch by inch, and we are held, safe, secure, peaceful.

And then I hear Him say, There is more to come.

We were not promised easy roads and smooth plains. We were promised suffering just as our King suffered, we were promised joy just as our God's joy, we were promised love just as He loves.

There is more to come. 

I rest in His deep embrace, and I breathe Him in, and I say Give us courage, give us strength, give us peace, give us joy.
 

And we are held by a God who never promised easy. Instead He promised to be present, to be constant, to be steadfast.

And in the heavy darkness of space, of fear, of anxiousness, He brings us the light of the stars.

He says, There is more to come.

More love, more wounds, more scars, more tears, more laughter, more joy, more peace, more experiences, more relationships, more prayer, more smiles, more saints, more light.

Neverending light.

There is more to come. 

And He is here"