looking back at 2017 resolutions

This last year for me was all about DISCOVERY.

Discovering:

Joy in parenting/motherhood/being a wife. I don't know how I thought I would really be able to measure this (so much for a SMART goal!) but 2016 was such a struggle to keep it all together that I REALLY wanted to reconnect and be happy in my role as mom and wife. I feel like getting my head above water with the twins (thanks to them being a little older and more independent) had a part to do with that. Also all the other aspects that I focused on this year.

The Old Testament. This was really a two-fold resolution since in 2016 I barely had two spare moments to myself. I only got through up to Leviticus but I was able to take time more mornings than the previous year (usually had to be around 530 am!) to study OT or whatever else I felt like reading. I started off the year working out before the kids woke up, then Drew took that over the second half of the year which was actually a bit of a relief because the mornings are usually the only guaranteed (mostly) time in my day where I can really be alone. It evolved from just studying/reading up to working on my sketchbook, reading other things, doing my Mutu, and just doing things to get ready for the day. Waking up before the kids, sort of like working out, is something that always feels so hard but I NEVER regret doing it. I hope I can get further into the Old Testament this upcoming year.

My Core. It is certainly not as good as it could be, but it is definitely stronger than it was a year ago, and even six months ago when I was still doing crossfit. I think recognizing my limits due to my weakness was a big step in my core recovering. Lifting as heavy as I could and going as hard as I could did not do any good to my core or my pelvic floor. It was definitely a year of trial and (a lot of) error, but it is a work in progress going in the right direction. My 3 finger gap is now down to 1-2, and while I have not been doing Mutu as regularly as I should, I have been going a couple of times to a massage therapist who has been working on realigning my middle, which has made a huge difference. I did manage to gain 10 pounds in 2017, on top of the extra baby weight I was still carrying, but even with that added stress I still feel stronger in my core and like I have more control than I did a year ago.

Gratitude. I kept a daily gratitude journal for a few months leading up to the move in May which I think helped a lot with dealing with a lot of issues that would have upset me more. I have definitely applied this more in my life than I thought I would and am happy to say that while I still had bad days, days that I would sulk and bemoan what was "happening to me", the more that I took control of the situation, assessed it for the good and then worked on what was lacking, I consistently had better days and could enjoy parenting/life in general.

Myself. This was the one that was the most ominous to me. I wanted to figure out what made me happy beyond what I had to do in my day to day life. I was right about the other parts of my resolution helping me along in this quest...Things I discovered about myself this year:

1. I love being a mom. Parenting well does not always come easily to me but the more I choose to love my children unconditionally and treat them in a way that brings us closer together, the more I enjoy it.

2. I love being married to Drew. It's crazy to think that 1/3 of my life I have been with him and most of that time heavily dependent on him, but he's truly been my rock this past year. Moving away from Ohio and then moving to Utah posed so many unseen challenges we did not anticipate and I felt so lucky to have a partner that felt the same way I did. We definitely grew closer in the last year and especially with The Kidney Stone Incident, I feel even more blessed than ever to have him by my side.

3. I love blogging but I no longer live to blog. I only posted 128 times in 2017, which may seem like a lot but compared to all the other years where I average 300, it was a sharp drop, mostly due to the fact that I made a conscious decision (after quitting my blog forever for two weeks only to come back to it!) to blog when I felt appropriate and not worry too much about the timing of it. I don't have deadlines, I don't get paid to blog x number of times a week, so while I find it important to keep up with what is going on with my life in journal form, I am content to post only occasionally (and the last three months only single digits a month!). This does mean that I take less pictures but they are ones that I care more about instead of ones that I delete right after blogging about them.

4. I really like studying, and morning studying before the kids wake up is just amazing. 5:30 always comes too soon and sometimes (like the last two weeks) it falls to the wayside but since I know my twins are never going to sleep in past 7 ( was thrilled they slept in TILL 7 most days over christmas break!!), it feels better to know I have accomplished a few things before everyone is awake.

5. I HATE being late. HATE it. And I am late ALL THE TIME. Guess who found a good new resolution?

6. Art Education really is the best fit for me. I had some serious doubts before coming to Utah but after attending a few Evening for Educators, I am once again hooked. I know that this is something I have a passion for and I am actually looking into getting a Masters in Art Education with an emphasis in Studio Arts after I recertify (which will hopefully happen in the first half of 2019 if all goes well). I love that I have the same schedule as my kids with school and vacations, get good health benefits, and even get paid to do something that comes easy to me and that I love. That holy trifecta balances out the fact that I would never get paid in my job in a lifetime as much as Drew gets paid after 5 years with his company. And I am okay with that!

7. I love making art. And I have missed making art! I just got back into acrylic painting in the last few months and realized just how badly I missed it. I did contour drawings the other day with little a who was befuddled when I was oohing and awwing at how awesome they looked (her words: "they just look weird."). I made artwork for two shows and I am planning on submitting to the Spring Salon as well as the Autumn show in the fall at the Springville Museum of art. Moving into a blank slate of a house has been intimidating but so much fun as the white space is slowly filling in. Then once I felt a little more settled I got back into my sketchbook and have been loving that time back in a creative zone (yet another resolution for next year!).

8. I need one on one time with my kids. Full disclosure: I am a TERRIBLE mom of four kids. I am a pretty decent mom of one. When I try to take the time to have at least a little one on one time a day with each kid, I am a far better parent than when I just try to parent them all at once all day which is exhausting and not at all rewarding (sorry...but not actually sorry its truth!).

9. I've missed reading. I have a nice little pile of books always at my bedside but for the last few years they were unmoved for the most part. I felt like I had to binge and go through the whole book in a day or else not read it at all! How terrible! I am now content to get a few pages in a book or two a day and feel fulfilled. Also reading more chapter books with little d has been fun!

10. I am very interested in food. Obviously. But specifically in planning for emergencies (I started a food storage which officially just has 55 gallons of water and a can of powdered peanut butter that should last till the kids are in college), which I recently got into. I am working currently on a monthly plan where we can set aside money to spend specifically on food storage or emergency essentials, something I started doing in the last few months of the year. I also start a Whole30 on January 1, 2018 to "clean up" my food act, so to speak. While that will not be something that carries the entire year, I did announce to the family (and we mostly agreed) that our multiple treats a day (sometimes, I know it is terrible!) needed to be brought down to one treat/dessert a week, and that we would not be keeping that sort of junk in the house (we could make it!). With little d getting 6 cavities, it was a real reality hit that even though we rarely drink soda or have fruit snacks or juice, all the other junk our kids eat can really damage their teeth as well as their bodies. Also being told by my dermatologist that having psoriasis increases my risk of developing diabetes is a little kick in the backside that I need to change mine and my families eating habits.

So there you have it... 2017 was a wonderful year full of change and I was so grateful to have discovered so much about myself. I already have plans for 2018 to be a year of FOCUS so stay tuned...

the christmas letter we would never actually send (2017)

We stopped doing Christmas cards awhile back (after the twins?) but I know there are people out there who like updates and now is as good a time as ever to do one.

Dearest friends, family and loved ones,

2017 has been a wild one. Drew's work moved us to Utah after living in our home in Ohio for 3.5 years. The transition was a difficult one but we love our new home in Utah and the neighbors and friends we have met here. Our kids continue to be completely adorable and we can't believe how much they have been growing. Well, they are all still short like their mom but that's a given.

Little D turned 7 this year, with no big party since we had only moved in at the start of the summer. We celebrated by sending Uncle DK on his mission that day, and then having mostly family over (and some friends that have been family for almost a decade). The Move was SO HARD on him more than anyone else because our Ohio neighborhood was crawling with 7 year olds. This neighborhood is very young and each time we would meet a new family with a 1, 2 or 3 year old he would facepalm and complain that we were wrong about him meeting anyone his age in our neighborhood. (at least he doesn't complain about getting to hold all the cute neighborhood babies, we've had nearly a dozen born since we moved in!). And thankfully that mindset has changed over the last few months and he has a few wonderful friends his age that live closeby. The Pokemon phase has been slowly dying out (how has that lasted not even a year?) since mostly the boys just play basketball or play videogames or build forts around here. He played and excelled at a few months of basketball, and is enjoying second grade with a first year teacher who we love. His teacher constantly tells us about how much he cares for his classmates, choosing to help them with their work "so they don't get it wrong" before finishing his own work at times! His spelling/writing is getting better, he is still crazy good like his dad at math and he read his way through all the Captain Underpants books and is working on the Diary of a Whimpy Kid books...He is constantly telling us how he "gets no respect in this family" :D Ruth is still trying to get him into Harry Potter. He finally has his own room, and graciously allows us to use it as guest room. Little D loves and he loves hard, spending the latter half of this year (post move) playing a lot more with his younger siblings as well as reading to them (which he loves to do!). He is a sweetheart and a love and a light to everyone around him and we love him to pieces (even when he is sweaty, which he is a lot from all the running around he does all day!). His favorite Christmas presents were Exploding Kittens (a game) and a paper airplane kit.

Little A is a total sweetheart. We cannot believe she is already 4 years old. She also had a rough go during The Move, telling Ruth multiple times a day for the first few weeks that she was going to leave this house and go back to live with K&S (her twin BFFs). We had a lot of raging tantrums from that little lady this summer, who had to adjust to life for the first time without her friends that she had known since she was a baby. Thankfully she met and quickly befriended our next door neighbor who also has only brothers and is quite girly and like painting nails and brushing dolls hair. It has been so fun to see their friendship blossom this summer and into the fall, as they now rarely go 24 hours without seeing each other. I have gotten used to leaving the front door unlocked and seeing them race back and forth from one house to the other as they play "dressups" (a new game for little a!) and frequently go barefoot in freezing cold weather because they cannot be bothered to put on shoes! Little A has loved her church class and her online prek where she is learning to sound out letter sounds and will hopefully be reading before she goes into Kindergarten next year! She has been a wonderful help at home with the twins, as she is quite good at gathering them together (only occasionally pitting them against each other) to play make believe games, most recently relating to their favorite show PJ masks. Little A loves sleeping in (our only child to ever do so!! Usually till 9am if we let her!), cheerios with milk (EVERY DAY) for "brekk-rest", Shimmer and Shine, playdoh, painting, and coloring (sometimes even within the lines!). She takes a yoga class twice a week at the local rec center and loves getting to "workout like mommy and daddy". She is the most beautiful little girl and we are grateful that she is loving living in Utah now. We cannot imagine life without her. She loves all her gifts but especially the dresses from the twins, a sparkly purse from little d, wonder woman from daddy, and shimmer and shine from mommy.

 Lan is following right in his big sisters footsteps as the toddler that FEELS ALL THE FEELINGS ALL THE TIME. He fluctuates so quickly from sad to joyful and furious to laughing, it could give you whiplash and it's hard to keep track of sometimes. This is not to be attributed to the move, since the twins are so young and only just turned 2 before we moved out of Ohio, where their scope of friends was limited to whoever was playing with their big siblings. Toddlerhood is so wonderful with Lan and also terrifying as his tantrums lead to lots of screaming and sometimes hitting (but thankfully the banging his head on the ground has stopped...that was scary!). Lan is constantly singing, today it was "santa claus is coming to town" but usually it is the theme song to PJ Masks or Paw Patrol or one of the church songs he likes to sing. He also loves "Oh Mac Donnah" with all the animal sounds. Lan has loved the pass we got here in Utah to the farm because he loves all the animals, and although he is usually hesitant to ride the horses he is so happy when he does! It is no secret that he is the Mama's boy of the family and usually has to be within arm's length of Ruth at all times. He has always weighed more since birth than Lo, but this summer he has really thinned out, and unless they stand right next to each other (and you can see the height difference since Lo is taller by an inch or two), it is getting harder to tell the difference between them when they are wearing the same thing...which happens less lately. Ruth has been letting the boys pick their own clothes lately so Lan usually is wearing Maui, Cars, or Toy Story. He is interesting in eating anything and everything and "loves" to eat salad! He has learned to put on his own boots and is quick to strip down anytime someone mentions a bath. He is so smart and helpful and we love our Panda to pieces!

Our littlest Lo is our little baby genius! He loves ALL THE SUPERHEROS, DC comics as well as Marvel and likes to know the names of all the guys, as well as animals or anything else he doesn't know. He is quite a learning sponge! He loves to color and show off his work from Nursery each sunday (he and Lan have done a great job adjusting to Nursery out here, especially with it being so full and the fact that they struggled so much for the last year in multiple nurseries with ward changes and splits and the move!) Lo may not be a Mama's boy like his big brother but he always wants to help with anything that is being done, especially if it is in the kitchen. He is the first to help with dishes or cooking or mixing stuff. Lo has been the most interesting child because he is so different from our other three. He has not been as affectionate or dependent on his parents and siblings and has on more than one occasion stopped walking and refused to come with us somewhere when we are out in public. Threats to leave him there fall on deaf ears, he is "just fine" on his own. He is always blurry in pictures because he always moves at the last minute. He can outeat just about any kid in our family (eating avocados straight from the skin with a spoon is a favorite snack) and yet he is our skinniest little string bean (although not smallest since he is still taller than Lan!). He loves to read books and be read to, especially when the books involve him asking questions about who or what those objects are. Lo is a total package for us, just the right amount of calm and sweetness to balance out the times when Lan is wild (he does have his moments too though!). He is our family's baby, but as he likes to say, "I not a baby! I ah big boy!"

Drew has adjusted to his new role in the same company (6 years in January!) and received a promotion in the meantime since moving out to Utah. He convinced Ruth to quit her Crossfit membership so that the whole family could attend the local rec center, and has committed to going to 6am bootcamp style classes just about every morning before work! We got to go up to Montana for a few days to visit with family for the 4th of July and then down to Arizona in the fall for the first time with kids to visit his mission and see a friend get married. Drew loves the people he works with and the kids love how much more energy he has to chase after them when he gets home from work. Also the lack of work related traveling has been the biggest highlight of 2017! Drew's parents were able to help us move our stuff out to Utah and have become frequent guests at our home, which the kids love too! Drew had a kidney stone scare (it was a quickly resolved issue but still scary at the time!) but otherwise for the most part we have all been healthy this year, and we are always grateful for it!

In the midst of this year Drew and Ruth celebrated 11 years of marriage which was much different (and far more low key since it was in the midst of moving!) than last year's trip to Costa Rica, but far more rewarding. 2017 has brought more date nights and outings "just the two of us" than any other year since we started having kids, thanks in big part to parents and inlaws visits since moving (and siblings living nearby in Utah!). Ruth quit her regular gym in favor of trying Crossfit which she loved in Ohio then did the same in Utah at a friend's crossfit gym. Mid-summer, Drew started talking about getting a rec center pass to workout with some buddies from work, so Ruth jumped the ship with Crossfit and now we all go to the rec center, which has a fabulous childwatch and classes and we get to go swimming and play basketball as a family anytime we want! It was a small sacrifice for getting to work out with her favorite person and sharing that love of fitness for the first time. Ruth has recently taken up drawing and painting in the latter half of this year, as well as working on renewing her teaching license (which Drew has been wonderfully supportive of!). We also got Thanksgiving Point Passes so we have spent a lot of time at museums around Utah!

 Much to everyone's surprise, Kevin is still alive and kicking (biting, scratching...). He will turn 10 years old this upcoming spring and is still as fiesty and yet good with the kids as ever! He has taken over the whole neighborhood (if he wasn't fixed we would definitely be concerned about him fathering all the ferrel kittens we see running around the fields near our house!) and the kids all around our street adore him. He followed us door to door for when we met new neighbors as well as when we did trick or treating and dropping off christmas gifts. He is so sweet and such a handsome cat, that it only took a few days to forgive him for throwing up all over the master bedroom carpet a month after we moved in! But he keeps all the mice out of the neighborhood (or at least he brings them all to our doorstep!) and keeps the neighboring dogs "in their place" much to the dismay of our kids, who adore all the dogs around our street (and can't figure out why they cower when they walk by our house when the garage door is open....oh wait, because Kevin is lurking under our cars!). Kevin is a piece of work and while we have had our good and bad times with him, since coming to Utah, he seems to have settled much quicker (he was born here after all!). We hope he stays healthy and active but Ruth also hopes he finds a better spot to sleep in than the bathroom sinks at night...

 We had a wonderful christmas this year. After spending the last month hosting family from both sides in anticipation for Ruth's sister's wedding, Christmas eve and day were quiet (well, as quiet as it can get in our house!) and low key. We played all day, inside with the gifts and outside in the snow. Here's a little something Ruth made the kids for Christmas to house all the little action figures they frequently play with:

 (no fireplace but we still made do!)

 and we even got a little dusting of a few inches of snow on christmas eve...perfect for snowmen the next morning!

 the princess and all her gifts

 army crawling in the snow...we had good packing snow for snowballs and snowmen but about an hour into being outside the sun came out and it was so nice outside the kids took off their coats!

 "Lan, what's wrong?" "Daddy hit me with snow"

 Don't worry, he apologized (and who can stay mad at that handsome bearded man??)

 middle littles helped me put the snow army together

and then obviously back to the playing inside

2017 gave us a lot of unexpected changes and happiness...

we are grateful for this time of year that we have to reflect on how much we have been blessed and recognizing that the core of our blessings have emanated from the gospel of Jesus Christ and everything He has done for us.

We can't wait to see what 2018 holds for our family!

Love, the Dowlings

the month before christmas (anna's surprise visit, Sarah's wedding and everything inbetween)

While I was trying to figure out recently why I felt so burnt out and yet like we have done absolutely nothing the last 30 days, I realized the last month we have had a nearly nonstop cycle of family rotating through our house from thanksgiving until christmas eve eve. We had Drew's parents, then Anna, then Drew's dad, then my parents followed by Anna for the wedding. It has been exhausting and wonderful and a whirlwind and thank goodness my mom came because the bathrooms actually got cleaned (by her, she's amazing!).

So here's the last 20-30 days in a big photo dump...
New Utah license and registration and plates! The kids were total troopers.

 lots of rec center time and construction in our "backyard"

 Little A discovered the bin of summer clothes and has been wearing them all the time. It is no longer a battle I am willing to fight. Anna got us these awesome Mindy project tanks.

 we met Kimmie and her kids at temple square to look at the lights and see some snow!

 had too much fun with Anna, who worked with Drew to surprise visit me for my birthday. Best present a girl can ask for is time with her sister!!

 of course she came in time to celebrate sarah's birthday too...

 we took Anna to the Dino Museum (next time the curiosity museum and butterfly gardens!)

 and ate ice cream, that is now a new tradition/bribe. I had an awesome lunch with just my sisters!

 little d got some cavities filled and we were told no more soda (ok fine) or fruit snacks (whaaat)
I had to run to IKEA for wedding stuff so we got a new craft/food/kid table that the kids are obsessed with.

 panda posed for his painting, which was the one creative thing I NEARLY completed this month.

 the other kids were wanting to paint like me so I let them work on some nativity Anna gave them

 Lo posed for his painting (which I am not sure if I will start before the year is out or finish Lan's first?). Love that little smile.

 Thanks to Sarah's wedding I had some extra decor to complete my christmas decorating

 love love love

 gold balls everywhere! (all centerpieces for the wedding)

 reorganized the pantry (again. it's a problem) and did a run to Target...

 but didn't find a tree we liked. Little d worked on some brownies for our Ward Christmas party

 I got near-completion on Lan's painting. It has not been touched since! (that was like 2 weeks ago!)

 Oh wait we did find a tree we loved!

 Drew and little d made a special performance in our short ward christmas thingy. while I helped kids make fruit loop necklaces. Totally fair ;)

 Visited with Keely and Brandon and we got to go out for a double date (they took care of sitters for all the kids) and it was awesome. I forgot I made this a few months back but it looked too awesome in their house to take it back,

 Little d finished his second round of basketball and we are taking a break from games for a bit.

 Kevs gave his seal of approval on the tree

 can you see him below??

 Little A gave her second talk in this ward (third one this year!!) and found a present for our little neighbor...all that prek is starting to pay off!

 I got sick of painting and cleaning up in the kitchen and turned half our walk in closet into a studio. I probably need to protect the floors or something but for now I am just being suuuper careful. It is my new favorite spot in the house and is oh so quiet and awesome. Also for the record Kevin does NOT fit into this house. I got it at IKEA and decided to paint it for the little kids for christmas after failing to find a playhouse I liked enough for either gender.

 more decor for the bridal shower

 besties ;)

 tried to visit almost uncle mckay before realizing he doesn't actually work in this building

 we got a dusting of snow!

 leftovers from my dinner with Keely! insanely good food at Abergine's and I definitely want to go back. Warm salad bowls are my jam.

 more cavity fillings for little d.... the other kids have no cavities and neither did Drew or I. Poor kid. Guess who got flossers and toothpaste and toothbrushes for christmas?? EVERYONE.

Had a fun time taking N to yoga with little A!

 The twins continue daily to take over my kitchen and Lo and the Ladies had some post-yoga lunch (Lan is always the first to go down for naps)

 I got a cute christmas present from Aunt Cass (that little D quickly took over) and the twins gave me a run for my money at naptime!!! As in, emptied the entire closet after breaking the lock, and threw all their clothes (sizes 2T-6T) all over. Those clothes are now packed away in the basement. And I changed the lock on their bedroom door so I can  (very Cinderella's evil stepmother-like) lock it from the outside and they cannot get out. Totally worth it.

 visited a mall playground for the first time (it would have been cooler if we could have done the outside part too)

 and we did a lot of playing with friends... it feels sometimes like a revolving door of babies, toddlers and big kids, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

 THIS while I was feeding a friend's baby. It should be noted that A is NOT really into babies.

 At least not since the twins were born. Maybe she got burnt out? Realized it only lasts a moment and then they are taking all your stuff?? Either way... our cute neighbor got her back into loving them! and obviously little d is baby whisperer extraordinaire ;)

 favorite quote, beautiful sunset! (which we won't see as well once that house is finished!)

 what can I say? I do love to snuggle babies. Mostly my own but also my friends. (and so glad I kept my Ergo! worth its weight in gold anytime I babysit)

 my mom got the boys new suits and I can't get over how big they are getting

 we did family portraits (Anna's idea) for christmas. They would have turned out cuter if we got them all on one page but that's too hard sometimes! D and A did their own, as did Drew (and I did the rest).

 we celebrated Christmas with my parents and sisters (and soon to be brother in law!) two sundays before christmas. It was so fun and the kids loved their gifts.

 random picture but I also had a good hair day that weekend where the hair product actually did its job. then of course I went to the gym and it was all ruined but at least I got a record of it! My parents were in town with Anna at our house the week before the wedding and that meant I got a lot of time to go out with my sisters and my mom and do the gym with Drew and all that fun stuff without the kids (sorry guys I promise I do love you!!!). It was so freeing! Anna and I (okay mostly Anna) spent two days making 450 brownies (either mint, turtle, or regular) as requested by the bride. it was madness in my kitchen and oh yeah we had the bridal shower to throw as well two days before the wedding! We were crazy people but we survived and had a great time!

 those gold ballons with the confetti were my favorite.

 I only had to pay little d $2 to do this for me: Also, little A was obsessed with Sarah's Big Ring

 so many brownies! Oh little d also had a christmas sing at school the day before the wedding NBD

 the kids loved it even though he only sang one song and we had to wait almost an hour to hear him.

 he's the cutest.

 so he had school that tuesday for like 20 minutes because after the sing we came home and realized we had to turn right around and do lunch with my parents and McKay's family since it was the day before the wedding!!! Which actually took place at NuSkin even though he doesn't work at that building.

 more backyard construction... I met the neighbors and they have a toddler girl and a boy on the way. They are working on a rambler so that means our bedroom window will still have a view of the mountains/sky. Our downstairs windows however... will look right into theirs! ha!

 Sarah kept her dress a secret from everyone until the big day. It was a temple dress she got altered so she could dance around in it! Brilliant! she looked amazing!

 The wedding was the most fun wedding I have ever been do. Food was yummy, Photobooth was so fun, DJ was great and the dance numbers were really well done!

 Anna and I each had roommates that were able to make it with their kids (to play with mine of course!) it was so fun to catch up and hang out (again! two times this month!!! I am so so lucky!)

 the next day the stars aligned and I had NINE kids at my house! It was so fun and my kids were so happy to have so many friends over.

 the photobooth pictures were just too fun

 then christmas eve eve, little A and I got a little package from Ohio... Cristin had made us some dish towels (me!) and a quilt (A!). I also ran out of contacts this weekend and did an online (!) eye exam but it still had to be verified by an opthomologist so I was in glasses 24/7 which felt so weird.

 we got a lot of little neighbor gifts this year, more than I ever remember getting anywhere we lived before. It is so fun and definitely brings us together that we were all "phase one" and moved in within about 6 months of each other (all with the same problems with the builder, ha!).

I finally decided on Buckeyes for the neighbors about a month ago (after checking if anyone had allergies to peanuts. No one does so I guess we can still be friends!)

 so many buckeyes. I made THREE double batches. We have about 30 neighbors right now and we know and love all of the ones we have met (I think there are three houses on our street we have not met yet?).

 Little A was missing her Ohio twin friends so it warmed my heart Christmas eve to see her so happy with her two little friends (unrelated but they could pass for sisters!) at church. Beautiful girls!

 and a good friend's daughter who I am working on to be a regular sitter (as of now we have Drew's brother and my sister) since Drew's brother moves away in the spring!! :(

 and then Sarah and Mckay, fresh off their mini honeymoon came over for brunch and I just had to snag some pics for 2017 since we don't get many chances to get one with all of us together, especially not wearing nice clothes.

 work in progress or hot mess? you decide

 yeah, christmas cards would be a waste at this point, ha!

 brunch! Crepes with my new griddle from Anna!

and that was it!! I know there are more pics from Anna's phone and Sarah's photographer but that is all I have from my phone. Merry Christmas eve!