January Blues

Hello 2015! After a few months of serious busy schedules and fun, real life is back in full swing. There is something a little melancholy about the month of January. The holidays are over, the weather is cold and dreary, and schedules set right back in. Granted, I love schedules, but mid-January hits and I find myself feeling those January blues. Hard core. Sheesh, I even find myself having a hard time sticking to my "New Years resolutions" by this point of the month. So a little blogging sesh is much needed today. It is quite therapeutic.

 I have been reminiscing on the holidays today and day dreaming of how.... hmmm... what is the right adjective to use here? Oh, I know! SICK. I've been remembering how sick they were. Not like perverted sick... more like cough, cough, sneeze, shiver, puke, kind of sick. And not even for me. My two boys had a rough few weeks during Christmas break. Especially Eric. I almost don't know which is worse, being sick or watching your loves be sick. Thankfully the sickies are leaving our house. Slowly, but surely. So despite our "sick" holidays, they were really delightful!

So let's go back a bit....

Thanksgiving:

Technically the holidays start with Thanksgiving, right? We spent Thanksgiving up with my family in Logan this year. My extended family (on my mom's side) got together at my grandparents' church and had a delicious feast. Of course, it wouldn't be a real Thanksgiving without some rousing games of basketball for the guys. I know, I know, most families have an intense turkey bowl, but my family is all about that basketball. Thank heavens Eric likes to play ball and is a good sport about it or else he would really hate family get togethers haha. My belly was stuffed to the brim and even little Hunter enjoyed slurping down some sweet potatoes. 

We got to watch a little high school bball over the Thanksgiving holiday. This is my little brother Jared (who is a Freshman in high school) getting put into his first varsity game. Not to mention, this was the first game of the season. And he was the fifth man off the bench. We all are so proud of this kid and his hard work.

I have a tradition of writing down in my journal "30 days of Thanks" during the month of November. Each day I find something I am thankful for and take the time to write it in pen. I always look forward to reading through it at the end of the month to see how truly blessed I am. And honestly, I have so many more blessing than what I can write down in 30 days. I really should keep that tradition going every month. This Thanksgiving was another one to be truly grateful for with dear family close by, dear friends, a wonderful ward, a cozy home, an incredible husband, a sweet baby, and most importantly the gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ.

Christmas:

I feel like this was the first year in a long time that the month of December didn't seem jam-packed with "events". Seriously, it was kind of relaxing! The month still flew by, as December always seems to do. When it comes time to take down the tree, I swear we just put it up! But I was able to get all my Christmas shopping and projects and gifts made and ready and wrapped, without having mega stress. That could also be due to the fact that we didn't do too much spending this year. Not with our small income. :)

All dressed up for church. Of course, he had to wear the right colors the Sunday before Christmas.

This Christmas season didn't feel quite right though because it was so warm and un-snowy! But a Christmas miracle came through and we woke up to snow on Christmas morning. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with the Sacketts here in Provo/Orem and had a lot of fun with all of the nieces and nephews. Between christmas caroling, movies, playing games, good conversation, and delicious food, the holidays felt just right (other than Eric being sick for all of it... boo!!)

Then we headed up to Logan for New Years and my mom's birthday. While we were up there, Hunter got sick. So both Eric and Hunter were just miserable. What do you do though? We took them both into the doc and got some meds for Eric. Too bad little baby Hunter is too small for much medication. He just has been having to wait it out... and those nasty coughing spells at 4:00 am are just THE worst! He did get shots though, which will ultimately help him, but made him feel pretty crummy for the next few days. I am so grateful that I avoided the sickness (knock on wood) and have been able to nurse my boys back to health. Being sick as a mommy is going to be the pits. I pray that my streak of good health will continue through these years of being a young mother.

Now we are back to real life. No more vacations, no more quick trips. Eric is in his final semester of school at BYU. Wow! He is almost there. I'm so proud of him and how hard he works in school. Last fall was really tough for him, but he pulled through with amazing grades. This semester is a little bit lighter of a load, which is good. I want him to leave school with the fondest of memories. Eric was accepted for an internship in New York City this summer. So at the end of April he will head back to the Big Apple and work with a PR firm there. (We are still waiting to hear which firm it will be with). Too bad the cost of living in New York is so dang expensive though... Because of that, Hunter and I will be keeping it cool here in Utah. We just can't swing all of us going out there. So we will be heading back up to Logan to live with my parents for a few months. Sorry mom and dad! What are our plans after that point? We would like to know too! I guess living on the edge of our seats with no specific direction right now is kind of exciting, but mostly just stressful. At least it is stressing out my teacher-planning-likes to know what is coming next-brain.

Hunter is so much fun these days. And he just keeps getting more fun! He is becoming more responsive and his adorable personality is shining through. He is now seven months. Yep, seven. I have been trying to enjoy each day and each stage that he goes through. Hunter is such a wiggle worm these days and is always flailing his limbs. He doesn't like rolling around though. He would way rather just chill on his back. Although he can, he has no desire to play on his tummy or push himself up with his hands/arms. He sits up by himself now and eats food like a champ! However, we just discovered the other day that he will not take a bottle anymore. He used to take one just fine, but it has been a month or so since I have bottle-fed him, and the last few times we have tried, he swats and shrieks at that bottle. Oh boy! Just when I feel like I have everything figured out... the naps, the schedule, the solid foods, etc. something comes up that is a struggle. Oh well, that's all part of figuring out how to be a mom I guess. He is such a sweetheart and those dimples and his giggle just melt me.

Wiggle worm to the max.

As for me, my days revolve around my little peanut. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Some days are long and lonely and gosh, those January blues really feel strong on those days. But I feel so blessed to be a mother. I know that this is a divine calling from God and feel so fortunate that He is giving me the chance to experience motherhood right now. Sometimes I think about all of the places we could be exploring and adventures we could be having if I still had a full-time salary and had no kids. But the second little Hunter smiles or makes a cute sound or snuggles his head into my shoulder, those thoughts poof! What "adventure" could be better than this one? 

So good luck to all of you who get the January blues like me. On a sunshine-y note, January provides sledding, skiing, reasons to drink hot chocolate and wrap up in blankets, and who could forget good ol' Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? So there are a few good things about this month. :) Happy January to you all!

"Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse,

but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine."

-Jack Ma