2022 Wrapped

 It’s funny how quickly the second half of this year went after the first six months seemed to stretch on so endlessly. Awaiting the arrival of my precious son felt torturous, though I had no real idea of the joy that I would soon experience. Which is good, because knowing how much I’d love this little baby would have made the wait even more unbearable. Our first baby was a very big part of our year, so don’t be surprised if the little cheesy grin boy is on a majority of this list!

1. In February, we welcomed my sister's first daughter into the world. What a joy to see how much this little lady has grown since then!

2. In March we had our anatomy scan and found out that we were expecting a baby boy, and almost as soon as we found out we told everybody! We picked his name fairly quickly-Byron- and since my husband and I are terrible at keeping secrets we let everyone in on it.

3. In June my husband and I celebrated our first anniversary! I know, we move at lightning speed, the two of us. My husband took me on a wonderful weekend in Kansas City, where I waddled around behind him at the art museum, farmers market, and shopping districts. We had dinner at Jack Stack BBQ our first night and it was so delicious. Our final night we went to Cheesecake Factory after dinner for cheesecake and a sunset walk. 

4. A month later, our son was born in the wee hours of a July morning. After praying and preparing, and with the help of my midwife and my amazing husband, I gave birth with no interventions and lived to tell the tale! I cherish those first days with our tiny baby boy. His sweet baby coos and cries, a week with my husband home attending to my every whim… I’m telling you, he’s amazing. He said his full time job was taking care of me that first week, and I think that’s a fair assessment. 

5. In September my husband and I celebrated our shared birthday by partaking in the annual Hobbit Feast the Sunday following. On our actual birthday we had a wonderful dinner with his sister and their family at our favorite Indian restaurant. Byron was there for all of it, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. This month we also celebrated the 2nd anniversary of our first date by returning to the same restaurant, requesting to sit in the same table, and patting ourselves on the back for choosing such an excellent restaurant for our first date.

6.  In October my sister and I had our first annual Hogsmeade Day. It is a day to feast like Hogwarts students in the Great Hall after a long day in Hogsmeade perusing candy shops and pubs. We made a great deal of food and more importantly ate a great deal of food. I was reminded of what it felt like to be pregnant. We plan on doing it every year—proof that we can turn anything we like into a holiday. A tasty holiday.

October was also Byron’s first Halloween!

7. November was Byron’s first Thanksgiving!! HUZZAH! I ate his fair share of pie and Turkey for him.

8. December flew by. Connor worked hard though the temperatures were dropping, but the cozy white Christmas we had with our son gave this whole whirlwind of a year a peaceful, joyous ending. We opened presents Christmas morning before church, and after worshipping with our church family, had brunch with my parents, brother, and my sister and her family. Watching my nephew open presents was the one of the best parts.

There is my not-so-exhaustive list of all the things that happened this year. We had visits from family and friends, tried our hand at growing veggies, spent lots of time enjoying this season. We gained 3 nieces, with one more niece or nephew to come this year. There were many disappointments, struggles, and major adjustments. Motherhood has pushed me harder than I could ever have anticipated. It also has pushed the storage on my phone to its absolute limit. I have never thought I could take dozens and dozens of photos a day, but I’m about 5 months and 10,000,000 photos in with no end in sight.  As I’ve adjusted to motherhood, I have overcome a lot of fear and anxiety through prayer, the love of my husband and family, and the support they give me. I am so grateful to have had a year full of such overwhelming love. More than anything, I feel peace. Peace in looking back and seeing the providence of God throughout every trial. Peace in knowing the joy of holding your very own child in the your arms day after day. I hope to carry this Peace with me into this New Year. I hope you feel it too.