some of you already know, but here's a little snippet of what we've been up to since arriving in Michigan.



//beautiful bird gift tag c/o Kelly Murray (free printable gift tags if you click here!).

love..

it's so funny to me that these are December photos. also funny that I can see my belly in photos of my feet now. this baby is done hiding. (;

in just a few short days, we'll get to see this little dancing one up on a screen. last time was such an amazing experience, I can't even imagine how much more amazing this time will be. we will be finding out the gender, but not at the appointment and actually, not until we get to Michigan with our families. so just hold your horses.

I'm mostly writing today to ask you all for some reader participation about Advent.

what does it mean to you? do you celebrate? and if so, what does that look like?

anyone do something daily in December? is it with your kids? or just your spouse or by yourself? or just at church?

do you have any favorite books you like to read about the real story and meaning of Christmas? you know, other than the Bible. I definitely have that one.

let me know!

love..

sitting here at the table.. it's suddenly really sunny and starting to rain. and all of these little yellow things start flying around, which is sort of exciting when you realize they're leaves. but then my brain gets a little confused when I remember it's December. and it's supposed to be snowing.

even after two years.

christmastime is here.

and I'm pretty happy about it.

Chad so graciously let me decorate before Thanksgiving this year so I started adding a few things here and there. I go for simple.. to avoid lots of clutter in our tiny house that already has enough. we'll be in Michigan for most of December (yes!), so I've really been wanting to enjoy our own Christmasy home for a bit before we leave. especially since every Christmas from here on out is probably going to be a lot different. (: 

and this is our sad, little tree. we never could figure out which pesky bulb was making that whole middle section not light up. I ended up turning the whole tree a little to an angle that doesn't really show it as much so I could actually decorate. can't really complain too much about a seven dollar pre-lit tree (after Christmas clearance!) that has been a champ for the first few years of our marriage. maybe it's time for a big girl tree soon. (; or maybe even venture into the real trees. haven't had one of those since I was little and it made our whole family sick, ha. but really, seven dollars? hard to beat.

I'm also planning on making these little cinnamon ornaments in the next few days because, well.. CINNAMON. am I right? and I found a little pine scented soy candle at Target that surprisingly makes our house smell like a real tree. I haven't even had to light it yet. cinnamon and pine.. if you close your eyes, you just might think you're in Michigan.

and just for fun, here's a video from our first (married) Christmas in our first tiny apartment in Michgian.

so, what are your favorite holiday traditions?

love..