Patience, peace, and progress

My poor neglected blog. It’s not the only thing that has been neglected a bit these days. Between a major lack of energy and increasing discomfort, I feel like I’ve been continually simplifying my days. And I’m okay with that. There’s been lots of time spent sitting by the Christmas tree reading my “baby” manuals, lots of naps, and small constant steps towards getting some things for baby made. My pile of little crochet baby sweaters has grown just a bit and there’s a freshly sewn stack of flannelette receiving blankets and burp cloths ready to be used. A few more projects sit waiting to be tackled in the coming weeks. All simple things. Some baby legs made from kids socks, some flannel baby pants, reversible pants for a little babe named Simon, and perhaps a little fleece outfit to bring baby home in (if I have time). I also have grand ideas for some pretty fabric wall hangings for the nursery. Some of which I hope to do after baby comes, when I need a little craft project to save my sanity. Since I don’t know what we’re having or what baby’s name will end up being, it makes it hard to do a project involving baby’s initial or name, which is what I have planned. Hence, having to do it following baby’s arrival.

Oh and there’s been some Christmas baking and lots of Christmas snacking these days too! My idea of a perfect morning at this time of year, is nibbling gingerbread cookies and sipping a coffee by the Christmas tree before the sun comes up. So peaceful! To cut down on a bit of the baking work, my mom and I made some cookies together and just shared the finished batch. Way less work than each of us making a batch. The two of us are a real hoot in the kitchen in right now! Between my “baby brain” and her “chemo brain”, we should probably have someone else supervise us. But the cookies turned out delicious in the end, so no harm done. Just lots of laughter and silliness. That’s really the best way to make cookies!

Compared to past years, I really didn’t do much Christmas “making”. At 36 weeks pregnant, I kinda knew that would be case. Hubby took on the role of Santa’s little helper and put together most of our gifts for family and friends. We usually try to do as many handmade items as possible, but again, I’m okay with simplifying that part this year. Still plenty of handmade goodness going on… just more nuts & preserves than sewn things. I DID manage to write up a ton of Christmas cards, which always seems important to us to do. So I can rest easier with that complete (sorry if some of these arrive late).

There’s been quite a bit of reflection these days too. My small family feels even smaller since my brother passed away. Although, it will grow soon enough. It’s amazing how much hope and joy and love this little babe can bring, and it’s not even born yet. Just wait until it comes into this world! And yes, it will be a sad day tomorrow, the first Christmas without Blake. Although we spent some Christmas days apart over the years, he always made an effort to video chat or call. So it will be strange tomorrow not to hear from him. Instead I’m trying to get used to hearing from him everyday, in my heart and memories.

Wishing you and your loved ones, a very special Christmas!

P.S. The beautiful photo above was taken by Mr. Scott Frank, close friend and talented photographer. He did an amazing photo shoot with Marcus and I recently to capture the three of us (baby belly included). The results are just so wonderful! It made such a huge difference, having a friend take these types of photos because he knew how to capture and bring out our personalities. So grateful to you, Scott! You can follow along some of the adventures in parenthood he and his wife Shauna are experiencing these days on their blog. And one day soon, hopefully, Scott will have an honest-to-goodness website for his photography and design business.