Rambling!

Fall is my ultimate favorite time of year. From the changing colors to the smell of the air and chunky sweaters, I adore everything about it. There's this feeling of excitement because the holidays are around the corner and there is a almost always something yummy baking at our home. This fall hasn't been any different from the previous ones in many ways. However, the excitement of Christmas is even greater this year. My sister Anna comes home on the 22nd which means an amazing amount of fun. Christmas portraits are in full swing and that means the creative juices are flowing. I have holiday crafts planned with Joey and Christmas shopping and traveling on my mind. Best of all, we get to share this Christmas with the littlest member of our family, baby John Michael. There is something about a babies first Christmas that gets me. A fresh little baby to celebrate Christmas, or any child for that matter really reminds me of the Promise that God has given us. An innocent little baby on Christmas is a reminder that baby Jesus was born so that our sins could be forgiven and that the day should be celebrated as such. It's not about the fancy toys or the presents, it's about the promise and the hope that Jesus holds. This Christmas season we are so thankful for all of our blessings. Especially the tiny, innocent child and baby blessings that we have in our Joey and our Junior. Something about these two little boys gets me all choked up and teary eyed because I can't believe how incredibly blessed we are to have them. It's so incredible how quickly they grow and change and I've been trying to focus on making every second count with Joey because I know that before I know it he will be off to college, then married, with a baby of his own that I can get all sappy with on Christmas morning! So, back to Fall. Right! I took Joey out into the woods for a hike and Canon tagged along. We got some awesome fall pictures of Joey and when I developed them I noticed that they were strangely familiar. I dug out some old pictures of Joey and figured out why. Seriously, how did he get SO big? Here is to trying to get life to slow down and remembering to take the time to stop and snuggle up for a good book or bundle up for a hike in the woods because we can't take the fancy toy to heaven with us but the memories belong to us! {and to think they called Jason "the Rambler in high school...}